The idea for this post was recently suggested to me by my pal John Ochwat, and was also a topic in the Forums: do you listen to music when you write? And if so, what do you listen to? Does it relate to your work in progress?
Personally I don’t often listen to music much when I write, but lately I’ve been listening to quite a bit of Iron and Wine. And it relates to Jacob Wonderbar not at all. It’s just awesome.
What about you?
Alex J. Cavanaugh says
Yes, because it sets the mood. I'm also a musician, so music is a very integral part of my life.
T. Anne says
I need to listen to it before and after but during I need silence. I hear the voices better that way. 😉 *wish I was joking*
Anita Saxena says
If it's playing in the background it's ok. But, I don't usually listen to music while I write because I end up typing out words from the song lyrics sometimes. It's just a mess.
Diana says
No. If music is playing while I am writing, I tune it out. It doesn't make much sense to turn on music that I'm not going to hear.
Denise says
I always listen to music when I write. To be creative I like to be surrounded by creativity. It inspires me.
hannah says
I make playlists for all my books, but I have to turn the music off when things get serious. A lot of times, I listen to the playlists only when I'm not writing, just to get my head in the right place.
Lately the playlists have been heavy on Dar Williams.
Jenny Torres Sanchez says
I always listen to music, but it has to be a playlist I've made for that specific work–something that "feels" like it.
Kelly Lyman says
Love, love, love Iron and Wine. They are on my playlist for my current WIP. There are times when I listen to a playlist before I write to help me get in the right frame of mind for whatever scene I'll be working on. But usually, when it comes down to it, I turn the music off. If I get stuck, I press play again for brainstorming.
Chase March says
I listen to music when I write.
Sometimes I listen to rap radio podcasts. Other times I feel the need to listen to something a little softer and play some R&B or easy listening stuff.
I have found that a particular song coming on at the right moment in the writing process can sometimes even help me to tell the story.
Womanji says
A simple yes, and what I am writing depends on what I am listening too and so goes it the other way around.
sinisterechoes.com says
I could not write without listening to my fave band of all time, Bauhaus. If not them, the only other who will do is Bowie.
Stephanie McGee says
I put iTunes on shuffle and open the WiP. I just need the noise there for some reason. It doesn't matter what the music is. Except when it came to writing the climax battle in my last book. I put together a "Battle Anthem" playlist and went through that twice to write the scene. It worked really well, I thought.
Hannah Jenny says
Mostly not, because I need to concentrate more. But sometimes I have to have the distraction because otherwise I'll be more distracted (doesn't make sense, I know). With my current WIP, some of the pen-and-paper writing (how I do the first couple of drafts) was written while listening to rock radio, which I don't even like, but fits with the main character. And some of the first-typed-draft (as far as I've gotten yet) was written to celtic/new-agey stuff, which fits with the world. Now I just need to find out what the editing music is . . .
Kristi says
I can only listen to instrumental music or music with lyrics in a language I don't understand. Anything with words in English confuses my writing brain.
B.E.T. says
I definitely listen to music while I write. Sometimes it applies to the characters, lots of times it doesn't. Like now, I'm listening to a South Korean Pop group called 2NE1 whenever I write and it has nothing to do with my characters. Either that or Glee…but still!
Regina says
Music is on 24/7 for me. It is the only thing that helps me focus or I am all over the place.
Anonymous says
I'm most productive when I listen to music. I like something upbeat with a touch of romance. I listen to Latino. Since I don't understand the language the music is just background and lets my mind focus on the story. I like Julio Iglesias and Marco Antonio Solis.
mt si dad says
I listen to what the characters listen to or what era/culture the characters are in. Helps to set the mood and helps to keep me flowing in the "language" of the characters.
I am afraid of what I'd write if one of my characters was into hip-hop, though.
Paullina_Petrova says
I listen to music whenever I write. It helps me clear my head of everything that is not related to writing and to dive into the atmosphere of my book. I wrote the different parts of my book, listening to different music. These were Katie Melua, Norah Jones, Nadia Ali, Metric, Hurts…
meredithmansfield says
Not when I write as in first draft, but sometimes when I edit. Then I usually just let my playlist go on random.
Avery June says
I think music would keep me from giving each character their own, consistent voice.
Bree D says
Never. Listening to music is a serious endeavor and requires almost as much concentration as writing. I don't consider music "background".
Anonymous says
Yes ! Absolutely ! But it must be in keeping with the style of what I'm working on . For instance I've been listening to both Martha Wainwright's Piaf album & the music of Serge Gainsbourg . I'm hoping that it bathes my current project in that certain ' je ne sais quoi '.
TheWriterStuff says
I listen to music with just about everything I do, including writing; mostly jazz but also gospel or world music. If I'm working on a particulary difficult passage, though, I sometimes "pull the plug" long enough to "hear" what I've written. Once I'm happy I plug in again and continue.
Kiara says
All the time. So many scenes have been written on the basis of a song I've listened to or a mood it has put me on. Any number of things can contribute towards my writing through music.
It helps focus me. When I'm listening to music and writing, there's less chance of being distracted by trivial things, simply because I'm blocking the outside world and focusing solely on the world I'm creating.
Though I will admit I've had times where I've written and it's been impossible for me to listen to music. Usually when I'm writing a major scene and need all my concentration for it. When music turns into a distraction, I know it needs to be turned off.
Good post!
Marquita Hockaday says
I do every now and then. Sometimes I try and have it relate so it can get me more in my character's head. Sometimes it can be distracting because you want to sing along with the words that you know 🙂
Scarlet Passmore says
I have to listen to music to get into the mood. In fact, I listen to a specific kind of music; the orchestral soundtracks to the Final Fantasy series. Sometimes, if I know a specific song matches the scene I'm doing, I'll play that one on repeat. I'm trying to incorporate the FullMetal Alchemist soundtracks I have too, but the game ones have a special place in my heart ^^;; It can't have lyrics though, or I get caught up listening and it breaks my train of thought.
Travis Erwin says
When stuck a well written tune seems to open my mind. So while not often I do on occasion turn on some singer songwriter types.
February Grace says
Absolutely- music is vital to my writing.
Sometimes a song will inspire me and I'll sit down and start writing because of it (even if the writing has nothing directly to do with the song lyrics, it may remind me of a character I'm working on and so inspire original material.)
Also, when I'm planning to sit down and work on a new project, I'll make a playlist of songs first to set the tone of the atmosphere. For my top secret NaNo project this year, a genre I haven't tried before, the music was vital to help me create the right environment.
Words and music, inextricable for me 🙂 Great question!
Oh, and what I listen to when I write varies wildly but when I really need to haul on something, I tend to revert to two bands: Keane and Coldplay. I know the music so well it lights up the creative centers of my brain as my mind dissects each song while I'm writing but since it's so well known, doesn't distract me.
~bru
Sheila Cull says
Yes! Mostly violin and piano sonatas. Fav living classical musician, Yo Yo Ma (Cell0), divine.
Fav dead, it's a tie between Chopin and Mozart. And, I'll leave it to two.
Does anybody else under 43 like classical too? lol.
taratyler says
Not as much as I did at first. The sci fi thriller I'm working on requires more concentration. If I want to get more done, I have to turn it off.
My ipod has a little of everything.
Except country ={
From the Beatles to Journey to Green Day to Black Eyed Peas and beyond!
G says
I usually need complete silence when I write. Helps with my imagination going off the deep end when need be.
However, I'm finding that listening to music while I'm editing (currently going through a fourth round of editing my manuscript) helps keep me alert while doing it, plus it quite often puts into a groove as well.
Hard rock does it for me. The harder the better.
wonderer says
Yes, but only classical and usually non-vocal. There's a specific "classical relaxation" CD I often put on; it's become my writing music. My last novel was written to Beethoven's 9th – which movement depended on the mood of the scene. Worked great.
Mark says
vocals distract me as I spend time listening to them instead of writing, but I like to have some music going so I use only instrumental – mostly guitar like Strunz & Farah or Jesse Cook.
Lisa Tener says
No music. It disturbs my concentration.
stacy says
Yeah. I listen to a lot of classical and film music as well as world music. I can't listen to anything with lyrics unless it's in a foreign language—otherwise I spend too much time trying to figure out the words. But music helps me think.
Barb W says
I don't listen to music while writing. I get too caught up in the music and forget what I am supposed to be doing.
Lillian Grant says
I do listen to music and it depends what I am working on. I am currently writing a story that has a heroine who is defying the world and I listen to Rebel Rebel by David Bowie on repeat. It must be her theme tune 🙂
mlevy says
I go so far as to find the perfect song to set the tone for each chapter or scene that I'm working on. I always find motivation from music in my writing. Or maybe that's just my justification for spending hours searching for the perfect song. Ah, procrastination, how many, many forms you take.
R.D. Allen says
I have a really hard time writing without music. Of course, it has to be the right music, so the first ten minutes of my writing time is usually picking muse music. It usually varies between stories — each narrator, in fact, has their own taste in music — and there are only a few songs that inspire the general audience in my mind.
"Far Away" by Apocalyptica is one that applies to all my stories so far, so I can turn that on repeat sometimes and it works, but usually I have to find the specific song they want to listen to.
Recently, with the three narrators in the novel I'm writing, the most common sounds are by Paramore, Fall Out Boy, and Josh Groban.
Lucinda says
I prefer to listen to the clock ticking on the wall, but when I cannot hear it ticking due to other sounds, I put a heavy-duty set of headphones on and listen to music without words…ranging from native American to Yanni and David Lanze.
Sometimes I listen to pure old-time classic to drown out any interference or inhance the damn scotch.
Had a bad day today wondering down memory lane…so, yeah, very loud music helps drown out the memories.
bottom line…music only when needed.
ps…too bad Nathan, that you decided to quit agenting. I just finished a beauty and was considering sending you a query.
Best of everything on all your adventures in life.
gotta love this one….word verif: In Ape. Just one more monkey…
Harriett Starr says
THE SMITHS,FLEETWOOD MAC, HAPPY MONDAYS and a touch of JONI MITCHELL (only on the first draft)
awwwww IRON AND WINE , SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS …the ultimate love song ( someone sang it to me once :))
https://downandoutinprimrosehill.blogspot.com/
Dawn Pier says
Yes…almost always there is something on quietly in the background. It varies but I am a believer in the Mozart effect, so am very careful WHAT is on.
Strangely, during the writing my WIP I have noticed that often upon starting a section or chapter, a song pops into my head that is the perfect "theme" for the chapter. For example, "We're on a road to nowhere" by the Talking Heads started resonating when I started writing about my wedding day.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CCsQtwIwAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DAWtCittJyr0&ei=3iAATYD5JsP68Abjqu2qBw&usg=AFQjCNFy0MpICiHnBDHoGkqwIxY6K6sArA&sig2=Lcp405NC4dAGmR9m-bHq_A
Lady G Pendragon says
I definitely feel more inspired when I listen to music. I find that punk rock is the best for tapping into that rebellious, writerly spirit deep within. Green Day…yay!
wry wryter says
My music…TV on in the other room.
My husband is having a couch affair with Judge Judy…bitch.
When I'm alone…"New Age" very quietly, love it.
Becca C. says
Sometimes it really distracts me, but depends on the project. Certain WIPs, I listen to music all the time and I make playlists specifically for that story. Certain other stories, though, music scatters my thoughts and I just can't.
Deniz Bevan says
It's fun having a playlist for your story? I’ve got two at the moment, the one with all the Turkish and Ladino songs, and the one with the Cistercian chants. All my other playlists are the default bands I turn to when I just can’t decide what to listen to, but have to have music on! Here they are: https://www.youtube.com/user/denizbevan33
Deniz Bevan says
Oops, question mark instead of exclamation point!
Carson Lee says
Sometimes.
There's power in silence.
There's also power in Dylan.
And Fleetwood Mac.
Patrick Neylan says
I have a special playlist of music I can play while reading and writing.
Much though I love punk rock and heavy metal, it's too distracting so my playlist largely consists of classical, jazz and prog.
It's heavily skewed towards Beethoven, Neu! and Can, with a bit of Miles Davis thrown in. I've got a thing about Germans. My kids hate it.