Music & Writing

There are a lot of people who can't write without a bit of music playing in the background or blasting in their ears. There are people who have to write in silence. And there are people like me who need a little of both. There are times when I need it quiet to write and there are times when music is okay.

I've discovered something odd that has been happening to me lately, and that is, I can't write if the music is related to the scene I'm writing. Strange, I know. I was writing a scene that was meant to be a little suspenseful because my character could get caught at any moment by some dangerous people, and I was listening to some love song. These characters aren't even close to being romantically involved.

The song that I was listening to was Never Stop by SafetySuit. The wedding version. I don't even know how that worked out but it did.

I've also notice that if I have a short playlist and keep it on repeat, that works for me. The repetition ends up being predictable background noise that won't distract me. I'm great at tuning things out. If it's silent, I tend to get antsy and distracted by everything. The smallest noise will distract me because it's something I'm not expecting. With the short playlist on repeat, it helps me maintain some sort of control of the noise around me.

Maybe it's just me that has this strange way to stay focused but at least it helps.