Taylor Swift and the Ultimate Writing Playlist
It is a well-documented fact that I am a Taylor Swift fangirl. I mean, this essay is evidence alone. (I also once took a picture of her to my hair stylist so I could have her bangs. Oh, and there’s the time I slid into her DMs because I thought I had a good reason for her to give my friends tickets to her concert, but those are stories for another day.)
I am fascinated by so many aspects of her life and the way she has navigated the ups and downs of her career, but, at the end of the day, she mostly just happens to be one of my favorite writers.
I love the way she takes ordinary things like Christmas lights and car rides and gives them a magical sheen. I love her ability to say in a single couplet what might take me a paragraph to convey. I love how she’s honest and writes right in the middle of wherever she’s at. And, I love that when I pay attention to how she uses her words, I always feel more keen to pay attention and energized to write more things down.
And so, this creative exercise was born.
I didn’t want to be the only one inspired by our girl Taylor, so below you will find 13 writing prompts, each inspired by a different Swift song throughout her career. Oh, and bonus: You can find this playlist on Spotify!
So grab your favorite Cardigan and open up a document with lots of Blank Space. Are you Ready for It?
(I mean, I had to. You knew that was coming.)
Our Song
In this early relationship, love sounds to Taylor Swift like a slammed screen door, taps on a window, and laughter. Think about the sounds of a relationship in your life—good or bad or somewhere in between. (The way my three-year-old presses one single key on the piano to alert me that he’s out of bed or the chorus of our kids cheering for my husband any time he enters a room comes to mind for me.) Try to convey the tone of this relationship by focusing on the song it sings (or maybe the sounds it doesn’t make).
The Best Day
Think about your best day as a child. Write about it. Think about your best day as a teenager. Write about it. Now, compare the scenes. Is there a constant source of joy? Has something changed from childhood to adolescence? Is there a universal theme you can pull from the two days? The common thread in this Taylor Swift song is a loving, reliable mom. Consider how someone could relate universally to your two favorite days and then bring them together to write on that theme.
Back to December
So this is me swallowin' my pride
Standin' in front of you sayin' I'm sorry for that night
And I go back to December all the time
Have you ever done anything you regret or wish you could go back in time and do something over? Maybe you wouldn’t have cut your own hair or maybe you would have spoken up when your brother-in-law let his stomach-flu ridden toddler spread her germs all over the house that one Christmas (two completely hypothetical situations). Maybe you would have said more. Maybe you would have said less. Maybe you would have gone with a different color. Whatever it is, write that scene and then consider its implications today. Are you better because of it? Has it changed you? Is it even worth the regret anymore?
Never Grow Up
Taylor Swift had this to say about writing this song: “‘Never Grow Up’ is a song about the fact that I don't quite know how I feel about growing up. It's tricky. Growing up happens without you knowing it.” I once asked an older friend of mine when she knew she was a grown-up, and she told me it happened when she was at a fancy wedding, drinking a cosmopolitan while her babies slept at home with a babysitter. Can you put your finger on the moment you knew you were an adult or did you grow up without knowing it? Are you different now than you thought you’d be as a child? What do you want to tell your own kids about growing up? Tell the stories that answer these questions.
All Too Well
Something I love about Taylor Swift’s writing is her ability to notice and give weight to small moments that others might pass by. This song has two of my favorite examples of this: “You almost ran the red 'cause you were lookin' over at me” and “We're dancing 'round the kitchen in the refrigerator light.” Spend a day making a list of all the tiny moments. The coffee mug waiting by the sink. The tiny hand reaching for you from the crib. The quick glance as you walk away. At the end of the day, take your list, set a timer for 15 minutes, and write about what all these little moments have in common or about how they make you feel.
Blank Space
Taylor Swift wrote “Blank Space” in response to how she was portrayed in the media; she created a character based on how she was so often perceived. “The character is so interesting though,” she told People Magazine after the song was released. “If you go and read these gossip sites and they describe how I am, [it’s] so opposite my actual life.” Are you ever misunderstood or perceived inaccurately? (People often say I’m laid back which makes my husband howl with laughter because I am the most high-strung person he knows.) Write about it: Turn the misconception into a character or set the record straight.
Delicate
I love the song “Delicate” because it’s such an honest rendering of exactly where Swift is at the beginning of a relationship (also she just dances with abandon in the rain for the music video). It’s tempting to write about things we feel like we already have the answers to or situations we are on the other side of. Think about something you’re living right now. Something unresolved. Something you haven’t quite figured out. Write about being in the middle. How can you end the story without tying on a tight bow of understanding?
Seven
“And just like a folk song / Our love will be passed on”
What is something you hope to pass on? Maybe it’s something tangible: Photo albums. Baby blankets. Well-worn college sweatshirts. Maybe it’s a quality: Kindness. Hope. Humor. Maybe it’s a dream or a wish or a belief. Put it into words.
New Year’s Day
Taylor Swift had this to say about “New Year’s Day”: “I was thinking about how everybody talks and thinks about who you kiss at midnight. And I think that is very romantic. But I think there’s something even more romantic about who’s gonna deal with you on New Year’s Day. Who’s willing to give you Advil and clean up the house? I think that states more of a permanence.” Consider either side of this: Is there something in your life that is whimsy and warm but also fleeting? Or, was your first thought about something or someone more permanent? Choose one and consider the way it makes you feel. Then, write about it.
Death by a Thousand Cuts
“Death by a Thousand Cuts” is a break-up song inspired by the Netflix movie Someone Great, and, as it turns out, Someone Great was partially inspired by Taylor Swift’s song “Clean.” Think about the last book, movie, television show, or song that you can’t quite get out of your brain (for me, this is my recent rewatch of When Harry Met Sally). Think about what exactly moved you—what it made you feel or why it elicited such a strong reaction—and then write about it.
Daylight
My favorite line in this song is “I once believed love would be burning red / But it’s golden, like daylight” because a.) it’s beautiful and b.) it’s a reference back to a previous lyric from her song “Red”: “Loving him was red...burning red.” Think about something you once thought you understood clearly. Has the perception changed? Do you view it through a different lens? Has time and experience taught you a better or different way? Write about both your past and your present viewpoints. Tell the story that changed your mind.
Cardigan
This song references a vintage tee, high heels on cobblestones, Levi’s, a sweatshirt, and an old cardigan. Make a list of every piece of clothing that tugs at a memory or makes you feel something. Then, write descriptions of each piece. How does it feel? What does it smell like? Are the colors faded or vibrant with the tags still on? Work all these details into a scene, and use them with intention to convey the feelings and mood.
Happiness
“There'll be happiness after you
But there was happiness because of you too
Both of these things can be true”
Think about a both/and situation in your life—two seemingly opposite things that you hold in the same hand. Grief/expectancy. Life/loss. Sorrow/joy. Laughter/tears. Hope/Pain. Applesauce/Ketchup. Write about how both of these things can be true or how it’s possible for them to work together.