Hey everyone! It’s Clara Kensie again, with a new Question of the Week! Pretty much the only thing writers love as much as writing is talking about writing. So each week here at Adventures in YA Publishing, I post a question for you to answer. The questions cover all topics important to writers: craft, career, writers’ life, reading and books. Together we’ll become better writers by sharing tips and discussing our habits and practices.
My answer: I can write in silence, but I almost always have my earbuds in while I write. I use music to block out the world around me so I can focus on my manuscript. However, I am a singer, and if I know the lyrics, I will sing along. Therefore while I’m writing, I must listen to music without lyrics, or lyrics I don’t know. I often listen to the Sigur Ros station on my tablet’s Pandora app. Sigur Ros is an ambient post-rock band from Reykjavik, Iceland. I love their music but I don’t understand the lyrics, so it’s perfect writing music for me. I also listen to the symphonic and classical music Pandora stations, as well as the Doctor Who station (I know, how awesome is that?), which plays movie and television scores. Scores are lyric-less, and they often have a sweeping, epic feel to them—perfect for writing romantic scenes—or they have a pulsing, urgent tone, perfect for writing action scenes.
I like the idea of making a playlist for each manuscript—a set of songs that match the tone of your story to put you in the right frame of mind to write it—but I’m reluctant to make one myself. Why? Because it would take me days, probably weeks, to select the perfect songs. And that’s time I’d rather spend writing!
YOUR TURN: Do you listen to music while you write? What do you listen to? Do you make playlists, and if so, how do you chose your songs? Or, do you prefer to write in silence?
