“Where do you get your inspiration for your novels?”
This is usually one of the first questions people ask when they find out I’m an author.
It also happens to be one of my most favorite to answer.
One of the biggest sources of inspiration for me comes in the form of music. So today I thought it would be fun to share what songs inspired me as I wrote my most recent novel, A Broken Kind of Beautiful.
Here they are, in no particular order. I’ve included snippets of the lyrics beneath each video, as well as a short blurb explaining how each song inspired me.
A More Beautiful You by Jonny Diaz
Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way…
Little girl twenty one the things that you’ve already done
Anything to get ahead…
I’ve been involved in junior high ministry for a long time now. For five years, I’ve seen the message society is sending our young women about beauty, and so much of it breaks my heart. Who can measure up to such a standard of perfection?
Often, not even the models themselves. Just look at Ivy Clark. To those on the outside looking in, she may have a glamorous life. But from the inside looking out, things don’t feel glamorous at all.
Like this song, I wanted to write a story that peeled back the glittery veneer we see on magazine covers and get a peek at what might be underneath.
Broken Girl by Mathew West
Look what he’s done to you
It isn’t fair
Your light was bright and new
But he didn’t care
He took the heart of a little girl
And made it grow up too fast
This is a song for the broken girl
The one pushed aside by the cold, cold world
You’re not the worthless they made you feel
There is a Love they can never steal away
Those damaged goods you see
In your reflection
Love sees them differently
Love sees perfection
I heard this song while working on edits and it nearly took my breath away. This is Ivy’s song. Right here.
Her father didn’t want her, and her uncle used her for his own gain.
She bought into the lie that the more she gave, the more she’d get, not realizing that pieces of her heart were being stripped away by a long line of men just wanting to drink their fill.
But like the words of this song, she is not the worthless they made her feel. God can take what is broken and create a masterpiece. Ivy doesn’t have to stay broken.
Better than a Hallelujah by Amy Grant
We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah
How can our miseries sound like a melody to God?
It doesn’t seem to make sense, at least not on the surface. I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s during some of the most broken moments of my life that God has drawn me closest to Him. And man, there is something so beautiful about that.
It’s a message that resonates deep inside my heart–beauty from brokenness. It’s a theme that has inspired all of my stories, especially this one. It’s a theme I will continue to explore as long as God gives me stories to write.
Bloom by Moriah Peters
Have you ever heard you are beautiful
I know what you’re worth
But you don’t see it at all…
I wish you could see you were made for more
And your wildest dreams can’t compare
To what God’s got in store…
This last one isn’t a song I heard during the writing or editing process. It’s one a reader shared with me in the weeks leading up to the book’s release. Another song that so beautifully portrays God’s love letter to Ivy in this novel. She might feel washed up, used up, dried up–like the best life has to offer is behind her–but little does she know, God is only getting started.
If you’ve read A Broken Kind of Beautiful, are there any songs that came to mind as you read Ivy’s story?
Hi Katie! I finally got around to checking out your website…it’s BEAUTIFUL! I’ve decided that I want to be you when I grow up:)
I have always loved music, and have used songs on my blog. I’m excited to come up with the songs that both influenced me and best fit my latest character…very cool idea!
Blessings!
Jenny Farrell
[…] last week we talked musical inspiration, I thought it’d be fun to continue in that same vein this […]
How beautiful! I totally get it. Music is my muse for creative storytelling too! 🙂
I should have thought of Broken Girl for her. Matthew West is one of my favorite artists! More Beautiful You definitely fits Ivy, too. . . . If I had to pick a song for her, I would say Redeemed by Big Daddy Weave.
“Bound up in shackles of all my failures, wondering, ‘how long is this gonna last.’ But You look at this prisoner and say to me, ‘Stop fighting a fight that’s already been won!’ I am redeemed, You set me free. So I’ll shake off these heavy chains and wipe away every stain. No, I’m not who I used to be. I am redeemed . . . . Thank God, redeemed.”
Ivy started out as the Broken Girl from Matthew’s song, but at the end, she became the freed prisoner in this song. Her stains were washed away. She was redeemed.
Thank you for sharing! I love that music is such an important part of your writing and books! 🙂
~Sarah
Katie,
I create a playlist for every book I write and I like to share them with readers once the book is released. I enjoyed seeing (and hearing) what music sparked your creativity for A Broken Kind of Beautiful.
I immediately thought of “Beautiful You” when I read the book. And I used that video in my review.
I can hear these songs and see Ivy going through her journey. I loved this book and believe it should become mandatory reading for every middle school and high school girl.
I would love for young women to hear this message, Ane! So blessed by your words!