My 10 Favorite Spotify Writing Playlists

I am ever-so-slightly a “method” writer. I write my best action scenes after working out, best woodland scenes with a cedar candle burning, best creepy escape scenes with the soundtrack to Bloodbourne playing in the background. I invariably imagine my best new ideas when I’m in a new place.

Like a million other writers out there, my favorite and often most accessible way to immerse and enhance my writing is with music. Playlists are a tool to wield carefully. Sometimes when I find a playlist that particularly enhances my writing abilities, I ration it. On the flip side, some playlists pack so much inspiration power that I listen to them over and over again. Below are 10 Spotify playlists that I love to listen to while writing:

1. Best for Light Spook

Halloween Cottage Ambience Playlist, playlist featuring various artists

October 2021 is when I discovered this playlist, but six months later I haven’t stopped listening to it. This playlist is perfect for adding that touch of witchy cabin in the woods to any scene. Pairs perfectly with a crackling wood candle.

2. Best for Starting Something New and Heroic

La Belle Epoque, album by Audiomachine

This Audiomachine masterpiece has happy songs and sad songs, and every song communicates new beginnngs into perserverance. Audiomachine was my #1 Spotify artist for 2021 and this album was a big part of that. I regularly listen to the entire album start to finish, especially in the mornings when I need a relatively quick beat to write to. Excellent for reaching word count goals.

3. Best for Mysterious Adventure

Watermark, album by Enya

This Enya album is my go-to for worldbuilding.

4. Best for Deep Thought

Deep Theta 2.0: Brainwave Entrainment Music for Meditation and Healing, album by Steven Halpern

Halpern’s album brings additional space into any room. I love to use it paired with quiet scenes or when developing character arcs.

5. Best for Magnificent Heroics

Fantasy Board Gaming, playlist by Spotify featuring various artists

This playlist is amazing at boosting wordcount and writing action scenes. Some of the songs are scary, some are thrilling, some are excited, all of them inspire.

6. Best for Light at the End of the Tunnel

Kaladin (Original Book Soundtrack), album by The Black Piper

The Black Piper’s album is *chef’s kiss* for increasing tension and driving plot forward.

7. Best for Scary Villains and Escapes

Bloodbourne Original Soundtrack, album by SIE Sound Team

I love to write villains to this masterpiece. Great for near escapes too.

8. Best for High-Tension Thrillers

Blue as the Turquoise Night, album by Eric Jacobsen, Sandeep Das, and Kayhan Kalhor

This album is a fantastic tension builder for thrillers, mysteries, and chaotic dances across a crowded palace leading to a murder. (What??)

9. Best for Slow Dread

Better Alone, playlist by Trent Reznor

This playlist haunts me. I love to listen to it while writing detective work and “realizing all is not as it seems” scenes.

10. Best for Writing a Difficult Scene

In A Time Lapse, album by Ludovico Einaudi

Last but not least, this incredibly versatile album is my go-to anytime, for any scene and any mood, even if I feel truly stuck. I’m inspired by this album when writing anything from a funeral scene to a championship scene and I’ve yet to meet a scene that this album can’t lead me through. Amazing for boosting word count, conducting character deep dives, and getting out from a rock and a hard place.

That concludes my list of 10 Favorite Spotify Writing Playlists. I hope you find something new that inspires you. Happy writing and listening!