What kind of music do you listen to when writing?

[DarkSongofErrin]

Depends on what I'm writing or the scene I'm writing.

Music always makes me picture something. it was a song that inspired me to start writing in the first place. But for example I listen to the rain song by led zeppelin often when I'm trying to convey a peaceful, harmonious scene.

[Lady_R]

I don't listen to any music when I write and none when I paint either. I was talking to some artist friends about this not that long ago and I seem to be the minority.

I find music very distracting and it really influences how or what I write.

I save music for cleaning, driving, dancing and other times when the music can be a focus. (side note - I love singing in my car so the music is always blaring)

[T. Trian]

Whenever we write, we usually put together a playlist that has most of the songs K. Trian and myself enjoy, music that puts us in the right mood to write the given piece (e.g. medieval/renaissance music, some folk, lots of metal for sword fantasy stuff, ambient, noise, dubstep etc. for sci-fi and so on and so forth). Sometimes we even have a specific song for a specific chapter (though we do this mostly with sci-fi since some ambient pieces are so creepy they just add that extra-something to an already disturbing chapter).

[Kim Fierce]

Lots of times I like silence, but others, especially when editing, I like music. While writing The Divide I listened to music more than ever before: the characters attend concerts and listen to music quite a bit, and I even made up two band names for the book! (Razor Burn and Sham Rock.) So I listened to a lot of Disturbed, Evanescence, Muse, and the song Superman by Goldfinger.

I used to think of music as a distraction, but now it just depends on the scene and my mood. Sometimes the right music helps me get in the right frame of mind, but then if I get too distracted I have to turn it off.

[Abacas]

While writing, i likes and used to listen little softer and slow music, which does not distract the concentration while writing, infect provide the right thought for writing. Other people might have different choices.

[April Days]

As a songwriter and pseudo-singer, I don't listen to any music when I'm writing. I've got enough stuff rolling around inside my brain, without adding cacophonous noise to the mix.

Maybe I just don't multi-task well.

[SJNew]

I don't listen to music while writing properly, as I find it too distracting (I also haven't forgotten accidentally typing the lyrics to 'Master of Puppets' into an essay on child development because I was listening to Metallica while writing it ). However, I do listen to a lot of music while working through ideas and scenarios, and this can vary depending on what it is I'm trying to work out. In general, though, I find Mumford and Sons and Florence and the Machine to be particularly inspiring.

[SelmaW]

I may, er, listen to dubstep.

[amandakelley]

I should of seriously looked at this forum better before I wrote my post a few minutes ago. :| Didn't see your post! I basically just asked the same thing. :|

I listen to a lot of different music while writing, it has to be the kind of music that makes me feel something though. Or bands and singers that I love.

Like: Within Temptation, Florence + the Machine, Evanescence, We Are The Fallen, Breaking Benjamin, Firelight, Lady Antebellum, etc.

I always have Spotify up while writing. My current playlist for my WIP has 45 songs on it.

A few songs on it are:

1. Bring Me To Life - Evanescence
2. If I Die Young - The Band Perry
3. Help Me Close My Eyes - Those Dancing Days
4. The Truth Beneath The Rose - Within Temptation
5. Never Let Me Go - Florence + the Machine

[MikeCheck]

When I was working on my first draft, every time I sat down to write, I would listen to "My Notes" by Atmosphere. I don't know why, but that song always gets me in the right move to be creative.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeqGNPLn2ZA

[kruschev]

i just don't listening to music that much anymore at all. it's strange, because i couldn't go a second without it. i fell asleep to music. i can't say for certain this is a result of my being serious about writing. i began my novel almost two years ago. though, i've traded monthly trips to the record shop for half price books.

occasionally, i feel that i need to listen to music and i find these folks good atmosphere. tom waits, the decemberists, joanna newsom, godspeed! you black emperor, sigur ros, drive by truckers, sufjan stevens (especially his christmas album)

[calling33]

I find I don't really listen to anything but if I do, it depends on my mood. USually something punk rock like NOFX, that really gets the creative juices flowing.

[katjapants]

I tend to listen to softer things when I read or write, like classical music or Enigma. Anything harder or louder than that tends to be too distracting for me and I don't actually get anything done.

[BethEllyn]

lifelong PROUD Hanson fan right here lol so I listen to them a lot when I write. and Taylor Swift to get into the teen romance vibe