by Steve Laube
Some write in silence. Some write with music in the background. Some write with music playing through their headphones (or earbuds).
I’m curious as to what you, our readers, listen to while writing. Or if you write in silence. In the comments below let us know your favorites. Maybe we can discover some new musical inspiration together.
I read somewhere that Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, credits the group Muse as her inspirational background music. She even provides a playlist on her web site of the songs she listened to while writing Eclipse. (Here is that playlist.)
Years ago Ted Dekker mentioned that he listened to hard rock while writing his intense thrillers.
When it comes to music I am wildly eclectic. Most of the time my work day is silent. It can be a challenge to find the mute button when the phone rings. But when I feel the need for some background music to cover the hum of the fluorescent lighting I go in multiple directions.
1) A classical Baroque station on Pandora radio. I could listen to Bach and Vivaldi all day.
2) Solo piano music. I have a playlist of 90 albums that would play continuously for 26 hours without repeating a song. Artists like George Winston, Liz Story, Kurt Kaiser, and Jon Schmidt.
3) A contemplative contemporary artist playlist. The playlist is entitled “Thoughtful Music.” It includes artists like Vienna Teng, Melody Gardot, A Fine Frenzy, Charlotte Martin, Natalie Cole, Imogen Heap, Natalie Merchant, and Sara Groves.
4) Other days the mood trends toward acapella music with artists like Glad, Rescue, The Real Group, Take 6, Manhattan Transfer, and The New York Voices.
But if I need to let off some mental steam the playlist gets a little louder. This one includes artists like Flyleaf, Red, Fireflight, Skillet, Hoobastank, Linkin Park, Muse, etc. Or classic rock from Boston, Queen, Three Dog Night, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago, etc.
What do you play when the Creative Mood is in full swing?
Generally, I keep a broad collection of soundtracks from my favorite composers (Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, John Williams) on shuffle when I’m writing. Sometimes I’ll use a particular playlist (ex. “Contemplative” or “Action”) to fit a scene. Several characters in my work-in-progress have songs by Red and Skillet, so I listen to those when I need to get into their heads. Interesting question!
If I’m not writing in bed next to my sleeping husband, I might listen to George Winston or Michael W. Smith’s instrumental albums (which are like movie soundtracks), but if it’s raining out, I’m in the mood for Strauss Waltz’s or Gershwin jazz. Silence is also good.
As a former journalist used to writing in the buzz of a newsroom, a silent work environment is creepy. When I work on my historical novel, I’ve found bluegrass music (often hymns) sets the right tone. But I absolutely cannot listen to it any other time!
I can’t listen to words with songs, but love to listen to music when I write. I love scores from movies, so I play music on pandora from movies. My favorites are anything from Lord of the Rings or Pirates of the Carribean.