Today’s question from the Marketing for Romance Authors 52-week blog challenge: What music, if any, do you prefer to write by?
Well, this’ll be a short post. I simply cannot process words inside my head if someone is singing or speaking words nearby. I’m probably in the minority here; I know lots of writers who find the background noise of a crowded café helpful to their writing process. Others assemble playlists for each novel, or even for each character.
I usually write in silence. If my mental focus begins to flag, I’ll (make more coffee then) go to YouTube and pull up mellow jazz, bossa nova, or meditation music to play softly in the background. The music must be instrumental. I used to listen to salsa music with vocals, but after three semesters of Spanish class, my brain gets distracted trying to translate the lyrics.
Here are a few of my favorites.
Rainy Day Jazz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSGyEsJ17cI
Coffee Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asDgLQZhcpY
Night Jazz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L5DLUg-0_4
For sexy scenes, Brazilian Jazz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6InG9F7G5vk
This one claims to be science based: Study Music Alpha Waves. It has kind of a sci-fi feel, quite meditative but not soporific: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPni755-Krg&start_radio=1&list=RDWPni755-Krg&t=8558
Yeah, yeah, I know there are many other ways to stream selected music: Spotify, Pandora, Sirius radio, but my attitude is “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” YouTube music is free, easy, and right there at my fingertips.
What’s your favorite writing music? Or do you prefer silence. Or chatter?
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It’s true about distractions. It’s really hard for me to write if I’m distracted, but it’s outside conversation (like the cafe noise you mentioned) that I find hard to work through. I use the music to block it out and put me in another world when I’m writing. Editing is different. I like total quiet for that.
I’m with you. I rarely have music playing when I need to concentrate on something else. If there are vocals, I simply MUST sing along, which isn’t terribly conducive to writing. Soft classical music is okay sometimes, but even then, I can get distracted and carried away by it.
Because if it’s lively classical music, I’d have to conduct the orchestra with my pencil.
I also have several YouTube playlists that I listen to….’Favorites’, ‘Potential Karaoke songs’, and each karaoke night (2) has their own list, for me to practice.
Some interesting music there. I too like you tube.
lol The best for me was when I was listening to baroque music and typing. It is so mechanical I could get the words out faster.
I tried writing in a noisy café, but it’s too distracting, or I’m too nosy. I do like listening to music while writing in certain phases of my book. Not a first draft though. I need my head clear. I use You Tube a lot while writing when I do listen. Most of my Pandora playlists are country. Sometimes I need something else depending on what scene and which character I’m writing.