Music and Writing
My daughter listens to music when she does her homework.
Rock music blasts from the basement when my husband is working out.
The house is a silent tomb when I’m here alone, working.
Or, it used to be.
I had always found music distracting. For “cerebral” or creative tasks, I always worked in silence.
Until I got stuck, one day, in my writing, no matter how many times I stared at my outline. I don’t believe in writer’s block as an excuse, so I tried to power my way through my problem. Nothing worked. Then I remembered my daughter’s reason why she always listens to music: “It takes my mind off the stress of the work.”
I was stressed, so I tried it. I was worried I’d have to find music to fit the mood of my characters, or the action I was writing, but I gave up on that. Too much pressure; too much music from which to choose. Instead, I went with instrumental music, so I wouldn’t get caught up in lyrics.
And it worked!
Maybe you have always worked with music; maybe you’re more like me. My point isn’t that music is going to be your silver bullet; it’s that there may be other processes you might have dismissed before—but could now work for you.
There’s no right or wrong in writing. It’s trial and error. The key, though, is to keep an open mind.
Or, in my case, an open ear. 🙂