Every time I turn around, it seems authors are posting about their favorite playlists. I’ve even seen several books with music playlists listed in the credits. Carrie Vaughn (author of the “Kitty” series of werewolf novels) regularly keeps track of her inspiration music in the credits of her books. Gini Koch (author of the “Alien” series – which also has a character named Kitty) has her protagonist actually listening to the tunes while she guns down the bad guys or changes baby’s diapers.
This interesting trend is made more interesting to me by the fact that many authors claim that they can’t write without the television on or their music playing in the background. The noise helps them focus, they say. But I question that rational.
It is a proven scientific fact that people find it hard to focus on more than two things at a time. That’s not to say there aren’t extremely talented people in this world. Just that the more “things” we pile on around us, the harder it is to concentrate on just one of those things.
I have selective hearing. Every child has selective hearing, actually. It’s why we never hear our parents when they want us to do chores, but we can hear them from a block away if our parents say the words “money” or “treats” in a whisper. (Oh, come on. You know it’s true.) But I wonder if that selective hearing trait continues on into adulthood for everyone. It certainly did for me.
I remember working retail when An American Tail came out and the store had a ten minute video on loopback all day, every day, for months right outside my department. It took me all of three days before the only time I ever noticed it was when it was NOT playing. This trait continues today. When I go out to write, I put on anime, movie, or video game soundtracks. Depending on my mood (or what I’m writing), I might load up the peppy KOR music or the dramatic Batman Begins music. But I have noticed that once I start writing, when I get into the groove, I completely forget I have music on. I’m not actually listening to it, and I’m definitely not hearing it. Not until something pulls me out of the groove.
The reason I use the music is more to drown out the other Starbucks customers, or the annoying background music that some odd universal law requires to play. Music is my white noise, and I rarely put on tunes with actual words to them because I want to sing along with those tunes (especially if it’s Billy Joel). At home, the t.v. is off or I’m in another room with the music on when the SO is watching Top Gear. If I’m alone, if he’s outside, or if he’s playing games elsewhere, there is no music. There is no t.v. Because it just distracts me.
What about you? What are your writing habits with music / noise? Do you really, truly hear and listen to the music when you write? Or do you just play old tunes that you know backwards and forwards so you don’t have to listen to the music?
Maybe I’m the weird one. So, please, let me know your thoughts on the matter.
