Does Music Inspire Your Writing?

I had great plans to get on and do a whole bunch of writing today...and then the 'phone rang and it's now 3 o'clock. I did at least manage to get one article out and up for Suite 101 which you can see here. Ironically, it's about the best way to start your day off calm and relaxed. Which wasn't the way my morning progressed but there we are.

Apart from all that, what I wanted to talk about today was music. Do you find that music inspires your writing? Do you need music to write, or do you find it a distraction?

Photo Credit: MorgueFile

I have found that a certain song or type of music can have an influence on what I'm writing, and help get me 'in the mood' so to speak. The hero of my novel 'No Place Like Home', which is set mostly in Kansas, USA (and available from all good ebook retailers, including Amazon here) was a country music star, so it definitely helped to play some of that style of music when I wanted to get myself in the right frame of mind. For another novel I am writing, there's a particular Josh Groban song that resonates with me and my characters so I'll sometimes stick that on to play a couple of times before I start work on that project.

In an interview I read with Santa Montefiore, she said that she'll play the same song over and over again when she's working. That would drive me nuts but it does go to show how music can be linked to the whole creative process of writing for various people, at all stages of the success spectrum.

I certainly can't have music on when I am actually writing though, at least not any with words. I'm too tempted to sing along and that's kind of a distraction! Usually I just prefer it quiet or sometimes I'll pop on Classic FM. I can tune stuff out if I need to, in that I've written in cafe's and all the other cliched places us writers are supposed to work, and that's fine but there's something different about 'general' noise to pop tunes coming out of the speaker next to you I think. At least there is for me.

So what do you think? Are you able to work with music blaring? Do you need it blaring in order to be able to work productively? I'd love to know! Please leave me a comment below - and happy writing!