Sound or Silence?
A common topic among writers: Do you prefer to write in total silence, or with some kind of background noise? In my experience, most writers need some sort of background noise, be it music, or the gentle rhythm of their favorite coffee shop.
I can say that I have tried writing with almost any kind of background noise, and with none at all, and have found that my preference fluctuates with the scene or sequence that I’m trying to write. I’ll stream music while writing a certain part, but when there is a drastic change in setting, character emotion, etc. I find myself taking out my earbuds to write in silence, or switching to my favorite ambient noise generator to listen to whatever I think will set my mind in the right place to best capture the scene at hand.
Here’s the ambient noise generator that I use, by the way. It can emulate the sound of nearly any setting you might want, with awesome customization options to allow the user to remove any sound you find disruptive. Try it!
As far as music goes, I listen to a variety of genres. Again, my preference will change based on the scene I’m writing. I use Pandora mostly, so that I don’t have to be bothered by setting up any kind of playlist. I find that it’s intuitive enough to have learned my different preferences through my station combinations, likes, and dislikes, so that I’m always hearing different songs from similar artists when I want to, but can switch to a station based on a different set of artists or songs and get a completely different sound. A useful tool for someone with strange whims.
Spotify is another great tool that I typically use when I want to hear specific tracks. In his introduction to On Writing, Stephen King wrote that the music he listens to has a profound impact on his writing. I would venture to say that many writers experience this, and I myself have identified certain songs and artists that can by themselves, alter my mindset (for better or for worse) and influence my writing. If I feel that one of these could help me out of a tight spot, I turn to Spotify and throw it on.
Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t. Creativity is a fickle thing.
