Write Every Day: 05 November 02019

[silveradept]

Greetings! This is the Write Every Day Check-In Post for 5 November 02019.

I've been doing a lot of listening to music while composing things. At least, where I can - it's hard to do at work, because work is a place that values each person being able to choose what soundtrack they would like for their lives. At home, there's only so much background noise that the people living here can take before they have to have it quiet as well. Thus, headphones are my friends, especially when I want to sink into composition. Or marathon gaming sessions. Both of these things are possible. Depending on which day it is, only one of them might get done, but they're both always possible.

So, here's my question for you. Are you a music (or background noise) while composing person? If so, what's your go-to material? If not, is there something else that you really would like to have when you sit down to write? Let me know about it in the comments.

Today, in writing, I made significant progress on an assignment, having decided on a general shape of things. I have no idea how far it's going to go, or where it's going to end up, but I've at least got a first scene to work with, and that will be enough to keep things going until we reach the end of a scene. Or a work. Could be either. We'll see what happens, yeah?

Here's the tally so far:

Day One: alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, azurelunatic, bladespark, carenejeans, chanter1944, china_shop, cornerofmadness, lferion, ofmonstrouswords, sanguinity, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, umadoshi, yasaman, ysilme

Day Two: alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, azurelunatic, bladespark, carenejeans, chanter1944, china_shop, cornerofmadness, lferion, ofmonstrouswords, redsixwing, sakana17, sanguinity, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, teigh_corvus, umadoshi, yasaman, ysilme

Day Three: alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, azurelunatic, bladespark, carenejeans, chanter1944, china_shop, cornerofmadness, lferion, redsixwing, sakana17, sanguinity, sierranovembr, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, umadoshi, yasaman, ysilme

Day Four: alexcat, alexseanchai, azurelunatic, bladespark, carenejeans, chanter1944, china_shop, cornerofmadness, lferion, nafs, redsixwing, sanguinity, sierranovembr, silveradept, sylvanwitch, umadoshi, yasaman, ysilme

Day Five: alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, azurelunatic, bladespark, carenejeans, chanter1944, china_shop, cornerofmadness, lferion, sanguinity, silveradept, sylvanwitch, umadoshi, yasaman, ysilme

Comments

[auroracloud]

I wrote things on the 5th.

Can't usually listen to music while writing, I get distracted, start listening to the music too much and can't hear my writing thoughts, so to speak. Music can inspire me about stories, characters, whatever, though, I just can't be listening to music and writing at the same time. Except sometimes I use it specifically as a writing exercise, freewriting with the music on the background and let it influence the text as much as it will (which is a lot). I generally can't use music as background for much anything except cleaning and crocheting. I need to either focus on the music or not listen to it at all.

I don't have any specific must-haves for writing, though often I like having a cup of tea around. And it's good to have my fingerless mitts because it helps keep my wrists from getting sore.

[silveradept]

That sounds like a pretty complex relationship with music. But yay for tea and mittens.

[auroracloud]

What's so complicated about it? I don't think it's complicated. It may not be the standard of our culture today, but to me it's straightforward. Music has a strong influence on my emotions and imagination, and when I listen to it, I tend to focus on it. So if I'm listening to music, it's usually hard to also focus on writing. And the music will occupy the imagination and emotions so it's harder to use them for writing. Music works better for me when I can focus on listening to it, it's all. When I do chores or such, I don't need to think as much, so I can listen to music. I don't think it's so weird.

I'm also really, really easily distracted, especially by sounds. So I need to minimize distractions if I am to focus.

That said, I sometimes can specifically use music hijacking my emotions and imagination if I don't need to write anything specific, but just want to see where the music will take me. But it doesn't often work when I already have a specific scene in mind.

[silveradept]

It seemed like there were attempts to balance out not being distraction and the sometimes usefulness of having music grew evocative. I was thinking of something more complicated, clearly.

[auroracloud]

To be fair, I was having a bad day (or a few, rather) so I may have been unclear in how I expressed myself, as well. Sorry if I sounded excessively touchy; the aforementioned bad day, and music being an emotional topic for me. Nobody's fault, that.

[silveradept]

Nobody's fault. No offense taken or intended.