Writing to music

I write most of my short stories, articles and reviews whilst music is playing. It helps me relax. It removes the rest of the distractions of the world and let's me get on with things.

Or at least it does most of the time. I'm sitting here now wanting to get some writing done and am having the most amazing difficulty finding music I can allow to flow over me - to just fill in the background. It happens sometimes. I'm finding even the music distracting, yet turn it off and I can hear the TV downstairs (family are watching some film or other, I don't know), the wind outside, the central heating system and about a dozen other noises. And they're getting into my head.

I can type blog entries, write emails, even do the day job (programming) with a much higher level of distraction than writing. I can do all of these while watching movies. I picked the remake of Hills Have Eyes whilst doing all this kind of stuff earlier (including the night's first blog entry).

But writing's different. I have a couple of ideas that I want to get down, a new Jeff story and another dark sf tale, but I'm yet to find my coverall audio background. I've had Yes on - a band I have been a fan of for three decades and know virtually every note, familiarity is good for blocking music. It didn't work, I was listening to it.

I tried my usual sure-fire - Suzanne Vega. I started concentrating on the lyrics. I've tried Rammstein in case getting rid of the English would work. It didn't I tried Tangerine Dream (no words) but still nothing. So I'm listening to the Frankie Goes to Hollywood greatest that's just come out and typing this, hoping that when I finish I may have found my head.

If all else fails I'll take a pad and a pen and go to bed. I've written a number of things longhand. Some times it just works best.

Wish me luck!

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