Profiling Characters with Music
 
It started when Shakira's Whenever, Whereverpoured from my headphones and into my brain. The scene came alive in my imagination, and I knew that song embodied my character.
 
Granted, not everything fit. My character, Derek, is male. Some of the physical attributes Shakira sings about just don't apply. But the passion, surety, and obsession? Totally.
 
That doesn't always translate out onto paper while I'm writing. But it lingers there, in the back...