Blogger: Rachel Kent
Do you listen to music while you write?
I came across this article from The Washington Post. It discusses a study that shows that listening to music that you enjoy can help you to focus your thoughts by increasing your “default mode network” (DMN). The DMN is active when your brain is in a state of wakeful rest and you aren’t focused on the outside world, but instead on inner thought. When you are daydreaming you are in a DMN state and your imagination might work best in this state as well. An active imagination helps the writing to flow.
If music, even music you like, is a distraction to you while you write, you might be more of a TPN or “task-positive network” writer. TPN is when your brain is active in a task or while you are doing something that demands your attention. I would imagine that some writers write best in this state of mind while others might work better while in DMN. Writing is a mix of hard work and creativity, so music might help some and be a hindrance to others. (Read more about DMN or TPN.)
If music does help you write, this study supports creating your own playlist filled with tunes you enjoy. Turning on the radio or going to Starbucks to listen to the random playlist there could be distracting for you. Having your favorite songs playing is likely best.
Do you think you are a “task-positive network” or “default mode network” writer?
Do you enjoy writing with music playing? What are some tunes on your current writing playlist?
I use music at my desk to screen out other noise. I want music without words–otherwise the words dancing through my head trip up the words marching out my fingertips, and I get a mangled mess.
DMN or TPM? It depends. Editing is TPN. Overall flow and direction, DMN. The discipline of sitting down and getting to work–Task Positive, no doubt.
Shirlee, I can relate to your need for wordless music when writing. They most definitely trip me up too, unless I’m already deeply engaged in an action scene when my husband starts playing music on his computer (I love whatever he loves). ❀
I prefer wordless music too, sometimes. 🙂 If I can find the right songs, they help set the mood for scenes I’m writing.
I bet most people are a mix of both. It just makes sense that you would need to use all functions of your brain to create a book.
I’m both. I do my rough draft and first rewrite in a DMN state (with a bit more task-focus on the rewrite), then switch to TPN for close edits. Very interesting; thanks!
I love this kind of stuff! I think that is why I took an interest in psychology in college as well.
Glad you found it interesting, too. Thanks for commenting.
Total focus, no music. Then, once I am in the zone, the house could be burning down around me and I wouldn’t notice.
Thanks for the enlightening post.
Lol! That is total focus!
Ummm…sometimes I listen to music while I write, sometimes not. Usually the TBN Christian music video station, because my CD player doesn’t work, and I don’t have all that many CDs anyway.
Christian radio here generally plays soft and soporific stuff. JCTV (or whatever it’s called now) plays some Christian thrash metal, which is good.
As for choices, when I select my own –
BONG…BONG…BONG…BONG….
I’m a rolling thunder, I’m a pouring rain…
I’m coming on like a hurricane…
Theme for writing, theme for life.
I can so envision that, Andrew! 🙂 Dogs howling. 🙂
Oh, yes!
One thing I learned a long time ago is to be able top write anywhere…Barnes and Noble or Starbucks, airport, kennel, construction site…
It’s not a ‘blanking out’ of the surroundings – I can still be aware and engaged, but I can write in the spaces between demands for my attention.
Don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. My comments here are an example; they often take quite a while to finish, between the demands of the dogs and the demands of my own illness.
Yeah, Andrew, when I’m ready to write and I know my direction, not much bothers me. If I’m struggling, everything bothers me. 🙂
Shelli, when stuff bothers me…I bother ’em right back.
🙂
I have always wondered about this! DMN describes me to a T, except I don’t mind the songs in Starbucks as long as it’s low enough that I can’t make out the words. My playlists fit the mood of what I’m writing, don’t have words, or have kind of unrecognizable words (for example, if you’ve ever heard Bon Iver). Love this post!
When I’m writing a blog post, I listen to soft music only, by David Nevue:
“The Gift”
“The Kindness of Strangers”
“The Gathering Fields”
These place my heart right where it needs to be.
On my current WIP, Women’s Fiction with a strong emotional theme and a romance element present, I’ve been listening softly to Train’s “Marry Me” and Matt Maher’s “Lord, I Need You.”
They place my heart in a tender place.
Shelli, I adore Matt Maher’s singing. ❀
Me, too, Wendy. His words connected to my pastor’s scene … so it worked perfectly! 🙂 Played lightly. Makes my heart soar.
David Nevue is probably my favorite pianist. And the songs you chose? Definitely on my playlist. I see we have that in common, Shelli. 🙂
🙂 You know, Jeanne, I heard them first from Ann Voskamp.
Me too, Shelli. 🙂
I am SO TPN! If I’m doing anything on a book–plotting, writing or revising–I need silence. Music distracts me. But I love listening to music when I cook or do other things!
Studies like that are so interesting, and can I say, Rachel, that the mouse photo is adorable? No music for me. Not with a focused task like writing.
I love that little picture, too! I guess somebody had to torture their pet to get the photo though…
I do have a playlist for the novels I write, but I can’t listen to anything while I’m writing. When I do listen is in the down times when my mind is free to wander and play, like driving the car or puttering around the house, especially in the morning right before I start to write. Music often inspires story.
Yes, Lori, it’s so inspiring.
As I’m beginning to develop playlists for my books, I’m discovering aspects about my characters through the songs in the playlist. 🙂 I’m loving that.
This describes my process exactly. I’m a classically trained cellist and I love music. But when I’m writing I simply cannot have any distraction except maybe the hum of my fan. It’s when I’m daydreaming, driving, or getting ready in the morning that I listen to my music. It helps me develop images and moods that I end up using in my writing–just not when the laptop’s actually open.
Ah! This suggests that your imagination flows with the music and then you need the quiet to actually focus on the task. So you are a mix of both of the types as well.
Rachel, I am a bit of both when writing. It was by accident I discovered that my daughter’s piano playing in the background inspires poignant prose (especially if she plays her own compositions). And romantic or melancholy scenes are easier to write with lovely instrumental music.
No words for this wordsmith.
Thanks for another intriguing post. Now I will go check out the links you posted.
Blessings ~ Wendy ❀
What a fascinating post. I tend to be more the TPN, most of the time when I write. Sometimes I listen to music to block out other noise, or to get into the feel of what my character is feeling. Sometimes I listen to instrumental music to set the mood for the scene I’m going to write. But, I write fastest (in my first drafts) with silence. 🙂
I love to sing, so if a song has words, I get caught up int he lyrics and sometimes harmonizing to them. 😉 Not great for writing.
I’m finding, as Lori mentioned above, that listening to playlists for my books during non-writing times is adding depth to my characters. I’m liking that. 🙂
When I write and create a new story, I need total and complete silence. Just pure calm. TPN.
When I edit, I have a playlist, mostly instrumental. DMN.
When I work around the house? Helllloooooo, loud music. Everything from Elvis to Gloria Estafan.
I like to have music on while I work around the house, too!
I do not listen to music when I write. But I do listen to music when I brain storm. Put on Christmas tunes and to the dishes to think of a Christmas story, perfect for me. Or at church during worship I’m often getting story ideas.
I had to stop listening to music because it seemed to distract me–as a youngster it was a necessity but that has changed over the years. Now, I listen to nature sounds on a couple of remarkable sites and tracks from similar CDs on Spotify. That really works well for me.
I listened to music while I worked when I was younger too, but have drifted away from it. I’m not sure if it would distract me now.
I am definitely a DMN person. Before I write a ms, I create a secret playlist on Spotify and listen to it over and over as I’m writing (some songs on repeat depending on the scene I’m writing). I generally add songs to the list during the writing process. The cool thing about creating playlists is that you can embed them in your website or share it on social media with your readers when your book comes out!
I didn’t even know you could create a secret playlist on Spotify. 🙂 I’m so behind the times.
I”m definitely DMN. I love to have music playing–but like you said, it has to be my playlist. Something that makes me feel relaxed. Or at least something that puts me in the right mood for my scene. Recently I was listening to the techno orchestra of the Pacific Rim soundtrack while writing over my lunch break at work. But my earbuds weren’t plugged all the way in, and one of my coworkers came over to ask why I as making so much noise. Oops! 🙂 It’s all subjective, I suppose. 🙂 Great post, Rachel!
Lol! 🙂
I’ve never been able to focus with music playing, even soft instrumental songs. I was a music composition major in college – I can’t turn off the “analysis” part of my brain, the part that’s constantly waiting for this chord to resolve or notices that the bass line would have been better if it had gone down instead of up in that particular spot . . .
Nose-cancelling headphones are fantastic 😀
Especially noise-cancelling headphones on a hamster, right?
I can’t even walk and stay upright, listening to music, so writing to music would likely give me a brain spasm.
Lol! Probably shouldn’t try it.
I’m certainly TPN. Generic background noise like wind or traffic can be tuned out, but music always distracts me. My primary learning style is visual and auditory is my lowest so I wonder if people’s learning styles influence which type they are.
I bet there is a correlation.
It’s not a must, but I do prefer to have music playing when I write. It not only helps me tune out everything around me, but actually to focus as well. As for playlists? I actually tend to find a song or two that I assign to each character, believe it or not, so that when it’s time to write a scene with them I can dial into them more clearly for some reason.
I love that you assign songs to your characters! How interesting.
No music, no noise, total silence and lots of coffee.
Although it sounds awfully dreamy to be able to listen to music. Maybe classical would work? No words.
I can handle wordless music when I’m doing blog stuff, like responding to comments, design, etc. But, when I’m actually writing, I get in a zone and turn off the music. Hours pass, and my husband usually interrupts to remind me to eat.
Interesting info! Thanks 🙂
I use music as a cheat-sheet to emotion. 🙂 Listening to music is such a quick way to viscerally experience passion or delight or anger . . . When I write, I only listen to songs that provoke a strong emotional reaction in me, because *feeling* the emotion helps me to channel it into my story and my characters.
I have a custom playlist for each book I’ve written – and I save them so I can play them later and remember, instantly, the *feel* of that particular book!
I seem to gravitate to one singer for a particular work as company on the journey. My first book it was Leonard Cohen. The one I’m about to release it was Colin Hay. It is the sound and mood of the music, I think, not the words. Though Cohen is an amazing poet and his words are worth pondering. Always fascinating to hear his mystical Jewish reflections on Christian themes. Not every Christian’s cup of tea, I suppose, but would that we all thought and felt so deeply, and had the sense of the holy he has at his best. “If it be Thy will” and “Anthem” blow me away.
I seem to gravitate to one singer for a particular work as company on the journey. My first book it was Leonard Cohen. The one I’m about to release it was Colin Hay. It is the sound and mood of the music, I think, not the words. Though Cohen is an amazing poet and his words are worth pondering. Always fascinating to hear his mystical Jewish reflections on Christian themes. Not every Christian’s cup of tea, I suppose, but would that we all thought and felt so deeply, and had the sense of the holy he has at his best. “If it be Thy will” and “Anthem” blow me away.
Sorry for the duplicate Rachel! I hit the button twice. Hope you will delete.
I’m late to this conversation, but I’m glad I took the time to read this today! It explains so much. I need music when I’m writing, but silence when I edit. The music helps me to get in the creative mood–sometimes I use playlists, other times I just put on Pandora and listen to instrumental hymns or film scores. Once I get to the editing stage, I need a different sort of focus and prefer silence. Oddly enough, I still sometimes put in my earbuds with nothing playing. Something about the action helps me to know it’s time to work.
Karen, I totally agree! I *cannot* edit with songs going. It’s like it stops me from “hearing” the words I’m silently reading.
I am definitely TPN. I can’t have any noise at all when I sit down to write. Even noise out in the hallway is a distraction. Not sure why, because I used to have the radio and TV on when I was a kid to do my homework.
Sometimes I prefer silence and sometimes I like soft classical music in the background. I don’t know if it depends on my mood or what the character wants.
Only recently have I realized how important music was to the writing of my first book. It wasn’t TPN or DMN. The music I listened to pulled me into worship and healing as I wrote about hard memories. Such an unexpected gift.
I wrote about it today on my blog: http://aftonrorvik.com/blog/2015/02/09/storm-sister-soundtrack/
I’ve never met a writer for which music did not inspire or play a role in writing, whether it’s during the actual writing, or during down time. My moods, seasons of life, etc. dictate when and how I use music in my writing. As a musician (I am a pianist and in music ministry at church), music is always on my mind. I have this dream of writing a song for each novel. I’ve completed two novels (minus one scene), and the song I’ve written is for an incomplete novel.
DMN to the core. i once asked Joe Hill if he listens to music while he writes and he said for one of his novels he had on a steady diet of KISS. i prefer relaxing, soothing, atmospheric songs to help take me away from the grind of the real world. sigur ros, explosions in the sky, mogwai, boards of canada are a few constantly in rotation for me.