Writing and Music

joeyc · Dec 30, 2010

Do you guys listen to music when you write?

I have a "soundtrack" picked out for my current WIP, songs I think that fit certain characters, the theme songs for the book, etc.

BenPanced · Dec 30, 2010

I just listen to whatever's available or what I'm in the mood for. Usually, when I'm out at a coffee house, I'll have my iPod with me.

Wayne K · Dec 30, 2010

Not while I write, but I do listen to it to get my head into the time I'm writing about

LJD · Dec 30, 2010

occasionally.
I just listen to whatever I feel like, I don't pick music that I feel relates to my WIP.

CtS · Dec 30, 2010

I usually listen to movie soundtracks just to drown out the noise wherever I'm working. Something nice and quiet that I don't have to pay attention to. In a perfect world I'd have a nice, quiet place to write in peace with only white noise... -sigh- But very rarely does that work out.

Crayonz · Dec 30, 2010

Yes. I just crank up whatever music I can listen to without actually hearing it. Music that I can drown out easily (which, to me, means songs I know by heart) and helps me ignore any background noise at the same time.

Storyteller5 · Dec 30, 2010

I sometimes like music on.

I read The Hour I First Believed (Wally Lamb) earlier this month. It was interesting to find a playlist of songs at the end of the book and his list was ordered along the lines of the story.

JimmyB27 · Dec 31, 2010

Crayonz said:
Music that I can drown out easily (which, to me, means songs I know by heart)

I'm the opposite. If I know it by heart, I'll get distracted singing along to it.

I generally try to go for stuff without any lyrics - usually classical or sometimes a bit of jazz, depending on my mood.

maggi90w1 · Dec 31, 2010

Never while I write. I've tried it.Both with and without lyrics, but it's not working for me at all. I feel totally distracted and...clogged.

bearilou · Dec 31, 2010

I have whole playlists of music from soundtracks. I can't write if a song has lyrics. I get sidetracked and start singing along.

ChaosTitan · Dec 31, 2010

Sometimes I like to write in silence. Sometimes I need music. Usually I'll pick something that fits the mood of the WIP I'm working on.

Namatu · Dec 31, 2010

I almost always write with music playing. It serves as great background noise and allows me to filter out everything else but what's in front of me. I don't usually get distracted by lyrics so will listen to whatever I'm in the mood for. On the rare occasion the music becomes more irritating than helpful, I shut the it off.

Libbie · Dec 31, 2010

I need to have quiet in my writing space so I can hear what's going on in my head. No music for me, no TV, no anything. Ambient sounds from the city are permissible.

jaksen · Dec 31, 2010

All my characters have theme songs. Sometimes the songs vary by chapter or action. Like 'J when he's in a bad mood,' or 'R, contemplative.' But they are instrumentals and I don't really want to say what music genre as it's highly unpopular in the US. (It's most popular among young males in northern European countries.)

But yes, I listen to music. I got in the habit so I could tune out my noisy family. I invested in good headphones years ago and when I pop them on, people are supposed to leave me alone and let me write.

Fearfully Yours · Dec 31, 2010

I have to listen to music. I can't focus, otherwise. Mostly I listen to alternative or indie stuff, but I do have rock, rap, hip-hop, and pop on my iPod as well.

Chris P · Dec 31, 2010

I usually have my local university radio station on, playing the best alternative tunes anywhere. Either that or one of a few internet radio stations I frequent.

I do have soundtracks to my books, and certain songs just seem to fit certain scenes, even if they have nothing to do with each other.

san_remo_ave · Dec 31, 2010

If I'm writing for a long period, I like to listen to epic music soundtracks without lyrics, so I have melody in the background but am not tempted to get distracted and sing along. It fills up the empty space and acts a bit like white noise for my muse.

Lainey · Dec 31, 2010

I'm always listening to music when I write. Usually I just have itunes on shuffle.

Kandybar · Jan 1, 2011

Sometimes I need music, sometimes I don't. It's really variable.

whimsical rabbit · Jan 2, 2011

I don't, not while writing. Music tends to take over every single inch of me. I sink into it and let go completely. It's like I'm inside it. It would be to distracting to do it while writing.

Likewise, I dedicate at least an hour a day to just lie down or sit at my desk and listen to my favourite songs. I don't do anything else simultaneously. I just sink into it. It's a form of meditation really.

I do have theme songs for my novels and characters though. They're like my novel's soundtrack. It helps me brainstorm sometimes.

Happy New Year everybody, by the way.

shaldna · Jan 2, 2011

I find that I can't listen to music while I write, but I like to have the TV on in teh background, usually some sort of documentary, egypt, or the ocean are my favs. Or true crime if it's late at night.

Aimless Lady · Jan 2, 2011

I do have playlists for WIPs that I listen to before writing to get my head in writing land. Depending on the scene I'm writing, I will listen to music.

KyraDune · Jan 2, 2011

I listen to music when I write, but nothing specific.

DancingMaenid · Jan 2, 2011

Sometimes. I've made playlists for some projects, and there are some albums I especially like listening to. I like movie soundtracks.

I haven't been in the mood as much to listen to music lately, though.

cherylfoster · Jan 3, 2011

I usually listen to film music just to drown out the noise, where I work. Something nice and quiet, I do not need to be aware of. In a perfect world, I have a nice and quiet place to write in peace with the white noise. I just crank up that music I can listen without really hearing.

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