My Novel Soundtrack: Chapter 3, Everyone's Waiting by Missy Higgins

I had a strange experience when I was revising Close To Home – one of those moments of synchronicity that are often hard to comprehend. My daughters and I were watching the wonderful Missy Higgins perform onstage and running behind her was a film clip, being played as a backdrop to Everyone’s Waiting. This became a favourite Missy song of mine as soon as I heard it but as I listened to her sing the words and watched the film version of her stand on the shore of a deserted beach and then walk into the water another almost identical scenario ran through my head.Instead of Missy stepping into the sea it was a younger version of Charlie, the protagonist of my book, grieving and lost, unsure about what she would do with her life, lured by the pull of the ocean. I wrote this scene before the book itself had even been thought of (and long before Everyone's Waiting had been released), when it came to me one day and I just had to get it down. As Charlie’s story and backstory unfolded it seemed to fit perfectly with her narrative.While Missy wrote the song about her decision to continue with her singing career the lyrics can apply to so may life situations. The opening lines capture Charlie’s feelings perfectly: I know all the lines to sayThe part I’m expected to playBut in the reflection I am worlds away In Chapter Three, Charlie stands on the beach at Curlew Point and remembers back to a time sixteen years earlier when she’d stood in exactly the same spot. The scenario in Missy’s clip is identical to Charlie’s and there's a section towards the end which is spookily similar. If you watch it you'll get a clue as to how Charlie was feeling and what decision she made.In three more weeks you'll be able to find out exactly what happened to Charlie when Close To Home is released.Hope you enjoy the clip and the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiFKGbH4NzE Have a great day. x