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Do you listen to music while writing?



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Fri Aug 25, 2017 8:28 pm
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Lumos says...



I have to force myself to listen to music (when I don't forget about it, which I normally do).

Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what kind? Do you think it's improved your writing?
  





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Fri Aug 25, 2017 8:42 pm
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PastelSlushie says...



I listen to music while doing anything! Except for school - I'd get my phone taken away. And sleeping, the music keeps me up.

The type of music I listen to depends on the genre of the story I'm writing. If it's happy and humorous, I play some upbeat pop/country music. If it's horror, dramatic, sad, etc, I listen to either songs with sad meanings/phrases or heavy metal (this is usually my choice).

The chapter or scene I'm writing plays a role too. If it's a romantic chapter or scene, playing a song about suicide or a heavy metal song I can't understand because of screaming won't help my flow. The song I'm playing has to match the theme of the scene I'm writing.

I wouldn't necessarily say songs have improved my writing because that depends all on me, but it certainly helps the flow of what you're writing.
  





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Fri Aug 25, 2017 9:22 pm
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Virgil says...



Sure! Math rock or other instrumentals usually. I can listen to music with lyrics but I can't let that distract me. I don't listen to music all the time? On enhancing experience, I don't believe so. The music may influence me but that doesn't make my writing automatically better.

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Fri Aug 25, 2017 10:07 pm
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rosette says...



It depends.

I don't have to listen to music while I'm writing, but if I'm struggling with conveying a certain tone - like, gloominess - then I'll find some music that suits that. That actually helps me a lot. And while it may not improve my writing a ton, I think it helps. A little.
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Fri Aug 25, 2017 10:15 pm
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birk says...



Only soundtracks that go in the background and doesn't pull my attention away.

For a long time now, Brian Eno's '8m1' has done me very well in the background. Gets me in such a mood for writing.
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Sat Aug 26, 2017 1:35 am
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CarryOnMrCaulfield says...



Yes, although generally it is only classical music or instrumentals that, in my mind, have themes similar to those within the works that I am writing at the time.

For instance, if I am writing a historical fiction set in the 14th century Holy Roman Empire, I would most likely listen to symphonies by Wagner.

Occasionally I will listen to my Floyd LP's, but really only when I am writing something that is YA. The YA novel I am writing has that sort of deep, philosophical tone to it.

An old writing ritual of mine used to be undressing, slipping on my bathrobe, and slamming three beers while listening to "Let it Go".
  





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Sat Aug 26, 2017 6:12 am
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deleted30 says...



Weirdly, I cannot listen to music at all while I write. I usually have it on in the background while I do anything and everything—paint, draw, clean, work out—but when I'm writing? Hard pass.
(I do often listen to music before and after writing, though.)
  





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Sat Aug 26, 2017 6:40 am
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Mea says...



I have music on almost all the time while I'm writing. It's almost always instrumental, but since I almost always listen to instrumental music anyway, it's not much of a change from what I generally listen to. It blocks out noise and is comfortably familiar. I match the music to my mood more often than I match it to the mood of the scene I'm writing. Except for battle scenes. Then I turn on something epic and get to work. :D
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Sat Aug 26, 2017 1:19 pm
Deeksha says...



Lumos wrote:I have to force myself to listen to music (when I don't forget about it, which I normally do).

Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what kind? Do you think it's improved your writing?


Yes! I always listen to music while i am writing cause sometimes written work can be really boring. Music is the only thing that can add fun to it.
My work ends really fast while i am listening to music. :D
  





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Sat Aug 26, 2017 1:42 pm
Feltrix says...



Yes, all the time. The music sort of makes my brain focus on fantasy better. All of the music I listen to are soundtracks from various movies, because if it has lyrics, I always end up writing the lyrics instead of my book. I actually have a file organizing the music based on what scene I want to write. Dialogue, Action, Grim, etc.
Intrepid Explorer
Squire of the Green Room
Harbinger of the Cosmic Squid
Brief Castaway
Founder of Hermits United
TIME Magazine's 2006 Person of the Year
Dark Matter Overlord
Kind of a Big Deal
  





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Sat Aug 26, 2017 3:53 pm
CarryOnMrCaulfield says...



I'm writing a low speculative fantasy epic (my love child), and whenever I am writing a chapter or interlude that occurs in the Northern region of the continent, I play the House Stark theme on loop.
  





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Sun Aug 27, 2017 1:39 am
tigeraye says...



I have this habit where I find one song that "fits" the story I'm working on and then just play it on repeat while I'm writing. I don't know if anyone else does this.
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Sun Aug 27, 2017 2:50 pm
Dreamy says...



Absolutely, it's almost like a second skin now. I had trouble writing with music on since I thought I was incorporating the feelings the music evoked rather what I'm supposed to be writing for the story.

Later, I couldn't really write anything without music on, even a simple email to a friend. And for the type of the music; it's all over the place, actually. Though, my favourite genre is folk rock, inde music.

And I'm not sure if it has helped me become a better writer because I haven't correlated it as this. Maybe this is just a phase, maybe the habit might change.
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Sun Aug 27, 2017 5:43 pm
Holysocks says...



Not anymore. I used to listen to music while writing, but then I'd end up dancing instead of writing... so... I only do that now if I'm really down-in-the-dumps or something, because otherwise I don't get any writing done! :P

I should look for more instrumental music to listen to while I'm writing, but ah, I'm too lazy. And I also find it's clusters my mind too much sometimes to have music going while writing.
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Mon Aug 28, 2017 8:26 am
TriSARAHtops says...



Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't! :P

I probably listen to music when I'm writing more often than I don't, but I think that's just because I listen to music when I do most things where I don't want to be distracted by The Outside World. But if I get really into what I'm writing and go super focused, I tend to stop paying any attention to the music I was listening to, so it doesn't really make much difference one way or the other.

I do like making playlists for the projects I'm working on, because they help "set the tone" but if I'm honest it probably has more to do with procrastinating from actually writing.
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