The Creative Process Behind Making Music and Writing Books at the Same Time

July 3, 2026

You Can Do More Than One Creative Thing — Here's How

The creative process for multi-passionate creators doesn't have to be a juggling act that ends in burnout. The honest answer is this: you don't split your focus — you let your creative outlets feed each other. Making music and writing books aren't competing endeavors; they're two instruments in the same orchestra. When you understand that, everything changes. I've lived this firsthand as XoTyree — releasing the Mixed Feelings EP, the Long Story Short album, and my novel Nightmare Eyes — all while building businesses, staying sane, and honestly having fun doing it.

Why Multi-Passionate Creators Struggle (And It's Not What You Think)

Most people will tell you the problem is time. It's not. The real problem is creative identity guilt — the feeling that committing to one art form means betraying another. You sit down to write a chapter and your brain hums a melody. You open your DAW and suddenly your character's dialogue is louder than the beat.

That tension isn't a flaw in your wiring. It's actually a signal. It means both things matter deeply to you. The trick is building a creative process that doesn't ask you to choose — it asks you to sequence.

The Real Creative Process: Seasons, Not Switches

Here's what I've learned: creativity works best in seasons, not in hour-by-hour task-switching. Instead of trying to write 500 words AND track a verse on the same Tuesday morning, I give each project its own season — a dedicated window of creative energy where that world gets to breathe.

• Season-based focus: Spend weeks or months in deep mode on one project. Let it consume you in the best way. Then shift.
• Cross-pollination journaling: Keep a single notebook where music ideas and story ideas coexist. A lyric becomes a chapter title. A character's emotion becomes a hook. Let them talk to each other on the page.
• Protect your input: Great output needs rich input. Read voraciously. Listen to music outside your genre. Live your life loud enough that you have something real to say.
• Capture, don't force: The best ideas arrive uninvited. Build the habit of capturing them instantly — voice memos, notes app, napkins — without pressure to act on them immediately.

How Music Informs Writing (And Vice Versa)

When I was developing Nightmare Eyes, the emotional architecture of certain scenes came directly from how I think about song structure. In music, you have a verse that sets the scene, a pre-chorus that builds tension, and a chorus that releases it. Storytelling works the exact same way. A chapter that doesn't resolve its emotional chord feels unfinished — just like a song that never reaches the hook.

On the flip side, writing fiction deepened my lyrics. When you spend time inside a character's psychology — their fears, contradictions, and desires — you start writing music with more dimensional emotion. The Long Story Short album carries that energy. These aren't just songs; they're short stories set to sound.

If you want to experience what that cross-creative energy sounds like, stream XoTyree on Spotify or find the full catalog on Apple Music. And there's a new album in post-production right now — follow the artist page so you don't miss the drop.

The Mindset Shift That Makes It All Work

Stop asking yourself which creative path is the right one. Start asking: what story am I trying to tell, and which medium serves it best right now?

Some feelings are songs. Some are chapters. Some are both. Nightmare Eyes started as an emotional world I needed to explore — and prose gave it a depth that a three-minute track couldn't fully hold. But the music I make as XoTyree carries the same emotional DNA in a completely different form. Same soul, different vessel.

That's the superpower of being a multi-passionate creator: you have more than one way to say something true.

Practical Steps to Start Today

• Name your seasons: Look at the next 90 days. Designate them as a writing season, a music season, or a blended season with clear priorities.
• Create cross-project playlists: Build a playlist for whatever you're writing. Let the mood of the music guide the tone of the prose — and notice which tracks spark the best scenes.
• Ship something small: Perfectionism is the enemy of the multi-passionate creator. A finished demo. A published short story. Momentum is the medication.
• Build community around the full you: Don't compartmentalize your audience. Let your readers know you make music. Let your listeners know you write books. The people who love the whole version of you are your real community.

The Invitation

If you've been holding back on one creative dream because you're already pursuing another — this is your sign to stop choosing. Go grab Nightmare Eyes on Amazon, put on a XoTyree playlist, and let yourself be inspired by what it looks like when someone refuses to shrink their creativity into a single lane. More is coming — including two more books, Altar Ego and Enchanted Echoes, and a new album that's going to hit different. Follow the journey. You'll want to be here for it.