Do you listen to music when you write?

Blush_01

Kind of does what it says on the tin - do you listen to music as you write and, if so, what do you listen to?

Antilles

Not while writing, but when I'm taking a few minutes break I'll stick on some Bob Dylan before getting back to the keyboard.

The Mad Hatter

Most music I find too distracting to write to - I have to give all my attention to one or the other - but I quite like to put on some TV soundtracks, like the Battlestar Galactica soundtrack, or some of Brian Eno's ambient music which can create an atmosphere without being obtrusive.

CD.

I used to but found that I was able to get into the writing more when i wasn't listening to music, I just find the music distracting, especially if i want to change a track.

EileenG

Wish I could, but while I can work in a din (usually McDonalds) if there is music, radio or television playing, I end up getting distracted.

I do have a friend who had a playlist for each of her characters which she listens to while plotting about them.

FewFew

I might listen to music to get me in the mood. If I'm writing a happy part of a book and I'm feeling a bit down, well, that just won't do. I'll sing some Aretha and then be up to the task.

Dublin141

Always. I can write anywhere with my headphones on and a bit of Queens of the Stone Age playing. I use Last.fm a lot.

IsMiseLisa

Nearly always, unless I'm writing a particularly interesting bit.

coffee_cake

No, like with studying it's too distracting.

Elle Collins

No I don't and I wouldn't dream of it. Wouldn't advise anyone else to do it either.

ThePinkCage

Have to disagree.

If you listen to the right music, it complements the book.

Can't do without it. It feeds my subconscious.

Elle Collins

ThePinkCage wrote: »

Can't do without it. It feeds my subconscious.

It disconnects mine, kind of like electrical interference, it's awful! I'd throw the radio out the window if I couldn't get it to shut up while I was writing!

Just out of nosiness, what sort of music do you find it beneficial to listen to? Are you saying that it affects the style and content of your writing?

NewFrockTuesday

Complete silence, except for the sounds of me slurping on a glass of wine and debating with the characters. I’m a night writer mostly.

I write notes and ideas during the day. I see the scenario in my head and then write it. At the moment its situational dialogue scene by scene taking place in 2 locations so I need to be able to hear everything we say. This means I talk to myself a lot and it can get quite heated - so I’m not fond of the idea of an audience - at this stage!

pickarooney

Sometimes I tell myself I can't write with music.
Sometimes I tell myself I can't write without music.
Neither are remotely true.

me-skywalker

I can write while amongst a marching band! I can switch off my senses to the exterior life around me and get very insular. I can steady my thougths so I can only hear myself think.
This was something I intially used as personal thing. Then took some practice and years of experiences through life to want to do this.

Dublin141

Complete silence is distracting to me. Kind of creepy too. Then again, I live in a noisy household; silence usually means the kids are getting into something they shouldn't.

The biggest benefit to me is that the right song sends me straight into a character's head and the mood of the scene. It takes me a lot longer to focus without music playing.

partnership

Hate to say it but I would be more inclined to have the tv going in the background than music. I watch tv and read at the same time, go on net and watch tv at same time. What can I say I am addicted!

ahayzer42

I have a playlist on my computer of all instrumental music that I'll listen to while writing. Sometimes it works great, other times I'll switch it off. It just depends on what kind of mood I'm in really.

Definitely go with instrumental if I'm listening to anything though. I have a habit of typing what I hear so I guess that means lyrics DO distract me!

ThePinkCage

Just out of nosiness, what sort of music do you find it beneficial to listen to? Are you saying that it affects the style and content of your writing?[/QUOTE]

Yes it does. I pick music that I feel fits the theme and characters and find that it gives my writing a rhythm. But music is a strong theme in my writing anyway, so the music is reference in the writing. It's the music my characters listen to.

iguana

I am right now. My neighbour is playing her music so loud, I have no choice but to listen too. I've already abandoned the garden, where I have a nice shaded table to work at, moved into the kitchen where it was still too loud and now am in the living-room with all the windows and door shut and I can still hear it.

And as you can see by my current boards participation rather than fleshing out my first draft, it is very distracting.

miec

If you listen to the right music, it complements the book.

Can't do without it. It feeds my subconscious.

I completely agree with this statement. I need music when I am doing my first draft, the creativing side of things. The beauty of i-tunes is that I can create playlists suited to a chapter / section and for me it really deepens the connection I have with the story / characters. However, when I do the editing stage I need quiet, it is too distracting.

brenny77

tried listening to some tunes but found it way too distracting, one night i was smugly building up to a good bit of a twist in a plot and found i'd accidentally typed what i heard on the radio, "so Jimmy fumbled in his rain soaked pocket for his cigarettes, he felt so low as the last bus weaved down the road. he'd have to walk for at least thirty minutes with just two cigarettes and an almost flat mobile phone for company,and in other news love rat Ashley Cole has been rumoured to be re-united with Cheryl Cole.

now i sit in silence with my biro.

Leafonthewind

miec wrote: »

I completely agree with this statement. I need music when I am doing my first draft, the creativing side of things. The beauty of i-tunes is that I can create playlists suited to a chapter / section and for me it really deepens the connection I have with the story / characters. However, when I do the editing stage I need quiet, it is too distracting.

Same here. I have playlists for characters and emotions (rock/alternative for anger, ballads for sadness, etc.). Sometimes, a song will trigger a line of dialogue or an entire scene, and then I just put the song on repeat while I'm writing it. It sets the mood for me. But the music gets turned off when I'm editing because I need to hear myself read out loud and talk to myself...