I know many authors listen to a playlist when they write. Some curate playlists with songs that encompass the atmospheric tone of the book or chapter. Others listen to songs whose messages match whatever scene they’re writing or that remind them of a specific character to help them get into that headspace.
I’ll be honest: I have no specific pattern of listening to music while I write. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I have songs that just run in the background to drown out noise. Other times I listen to a song that fits a character or the world to help inspire me. Sometimes it’s a single song, other times it’s an album. It also depends on the type of writing I’m doing, like fiction or academic, and if the writing is coming easily or not at all.
For my first WIP, The League, which I wrote the summer I turned 16, I alternated between a specific song and a completely unrelated album. The song was “Won’t Stop Running” by A Great Big World. The story in the song (at least my interpretation of it) perfectly fits my jaded, wounded MMC, Keenan. I listened to this song primarily to get inspiration. When I was actually writing, however, I listened to Taylor Swift’s 1989 album. Not for any particular reason, since the songs are all so different in messages and tempos, it just helped me focus when writing by drowning out my surroundings. I didn’t consciously choose it to be my writing playlist, it just happened.
However, for my second WIP, tentatively titled The Alchemist’s Ghost, I listened to a single song on repeat: “Fire Escape” by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. With this one, the beat and the urban setting of the song fit with the setting and protagonist of my book. This was a song I had heard on the radio a few years prior and remembered when I began working on the manuscript, so I sought it out and listened to it whenever I was writing.
Then there’s my third WIP, an untitled YA fantasy. I haven’t even begun writing the first draft yet, just the character development and worldbuilding. Still, I have discovered a song that helps me get in the writing mood and focus on the project: Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department.” It in no way has any connection to the novel and isn’t even my favorite song off that album, but it’s a song that runs perfectly in the background when I’m working on anything related to this book.
For times when writing is difficult and none of my usual music is helping, I listen to “Vuelie” by Cantus off of the Frozen movie soundtrack. It’s not a soundtrack I’ve ever sought out, but the vocalizations in this specific song activate my brain and help me hyperfocus. Similarly, for times when I am still able to write but lyrics are distracting, I listen to Spotify playlists of instrumental versions of popular songs. These were particularly useful whenever I was on a tight deadline for an academic paper when I was getting my bachelor’s degree.
Despite all these examples of listening to music while I write, there have still been times when I’ve written without listening to anything at all. These were mostly short stories I wrote for my creative writing degree, but even that isn’t consistent because I listened to “Peace” by Taylor Swift (as you can tell, I’m a fan) while writing one short story because it matched its tone.
Much like my varied writing ideas and processes, the music I listen to while writing, or whether I listen to any at all, also differs from project to project and writing stage. Mostly, I just let my brain choose what it wants to listen to when writing, be it a random song, album, or just the background noise of everyday life. That’s my advice for anyone trying to write, whether for school, work, or pleasure. Trust your brain and its weird choices. If it works, it works, so don’t resist it.
Allison Burton 