writing habits for authors

[Helgamite]

what do other authors do when writing. do you listen to music? want quiet?

when I write, I like to have YouTube going with some music. helps me write or at least be calm and peaceful having a bit of background noise. what do others do while writing. this is just for curiosity.

 

[KeithD]

I write to silence.

 

[Helgamite]

I write to silence.

the quite helps you think? or the no distraction keep your mind focused? curious

 

[SimonDoom]

I prefer silence. No distractions.

 

[mildlyaroused]

Usually when I'm most productive it is in silence, but sometimes I have music.

I find lyrics too distracting, so if not silence then I mostly listen to my favourite piano pieces. Sometimes I do give into my favourite songs, but it's almost always slows my writing down. I get too distracted by the words of the song to form words of my own.

More generally: lots and lots of tea, writing in the morning, no phone onhand, lots of musing to myself.

 

[Helgamite]

I've been finding some 80's music or Celtic\Slavic folk music instrumental has been helping me focus more and more as well. anything fast paced or too lyrical seems to distract. I'll even listen to sounds of a forest as well. not sure if thats a symptom of a different\damaged mind or what tho.

 

[karina_jayde]

Silence for writing, to minimize distractions. Maybe some epic music playlists for writing some battle scenes.

Editing is a different story. That's a different headspace for me, and I really like the chill/lofi ambient music playlists for my editing sessions. Gets me into a different headspace.

 

[Helgamite]

Usually when I'm most productive it is in silence, but sometimes I have music.

I find lyrics too distracting, so if not silence then I mostly listen to my favourite piano pieces. Sometimes I do give into my favourite songs, but it's almost always slows my writing down. I get too distracted by the words of the song to form words of my own.

More generally: lots and lots of tea, writing in the morning, no phone onhand, lots of musing to myself.

omg, TEA and night time for me! def helps. seems the later it is, like midnight the more creative my mind gets.

 

[mildlyaroused]

omg, TEA and night time for me! def helps. seems the later it is, like midnight the more creative my mind gets.

I cherish those nights when my creativity flairs, but mostly I get too tired by the end of the day and just waste away all my precious time from 10pm onwards. Tea is ofc the real secret

Recently I've been listening to Josh Cohen's Radiohead covers on YouTube while I write. If anyone likes Radiohead definitely check him out, they're solo piano (instrumental).

 

[Helgamite]

Silence for writing, to minimize distractions. Maybe some epic music playlists for writing some battle scenes.

Editing is a different story. That's a different headspace for me, and I really like the chill/lofi ambient music playlists for my editing sessions. Gets me into a different headspace.

i've been getting into this type of music more and more lately when i'm writing. relaxing to me.

 

[KeithD]

the quite helps you think? or the no distraction keep your mind focused? curious

My second career was editing books for mainstream publishers. I found I liked doing this to music--but instrumental only (mainly those "waterfall" soft piano music backings). I was a stage singer, so I can't have any vocals going and concentrate on anything else. When I switched to writing full time, I found I didn't even want to have the instrumental music in the background. So, I write to quiet. Most of my writing is late at night and my home office is isolated from external noise. When I'm writing, the story is living full time in my head.

 

[Euphony]

Brainstorming or macro problem solving: Music at a low level where your brain adjusts and low effort notices detail over time. Almost always Ambient or Classical. Maybe curated Witch-core.

Writing/crafting actual sentences: Silence. Even throw on the white noise machine as a backup (best $20 writing investment I've made)

 

[Helgamite]

do y'all use a story outline before you write, or do you just let your imaginations go and write? I've heard\read many writers use outlines, but alot also don't.

 

[mildlyaroused]

do y'all use a story outline before you write, or do you just let your imaginations go and write? I've heard\read many writers use outlines, but alot also don't.

If I am inspired about a story, I always have ideas about where it is heading. Sometimes I know how I want things to end, but normally I just know vague plot points I think would be interesting to explore. Often things change and shift as I actually write, so the ending might be unrecognisable by the time I reach it.

I don't like writing to a set plan, but I find some direction really helpful. So no written outline for me, but definitely let yourself think ahead and be excited about what's ahead. A messy brainstorm with pen and paper always helps me uncover new facets of my story that I never thought of!

 

[CockSparrow]

I write in silence. I have occasionally tried background music, but I tend to end up listening to the music rather than letting my mind follow the story.

As far as outlining goes, I usually start out with an opening and an ending; getting from one to the other just happens as I write. And, sometimes, I end up at a completely different destination.

 

[Helgamite]

If I am inspired about a story, I always have ideas about where it is heading. Sometimes I know how I want things to end, but normally I just know vague plot points I think would be interesting to explore. Often things change and shift as I actually write, so the ending might be unrecognisable by the time I reach it.

I don't like writing to a set plan, but I find some direction really helpful. So no written outline for me, but definitely let yourself think ahead and be excited about what's ahead. A messy brainstorm with pen and paper always helps me uncover new facets of my story that I never thought of!

so basically, like me, you write down what comes to you, even as you are writing and then read back over and change what seems to be better?

 

[KeithD]

do y'all use a story outline before you write, or do you just let your imaginations go and write? I've heard\read many writers use outlines, but alot also don't.

Nope. I have some notes, but no outline for fiction.

 

[mildlyaroused]

so basically, like me, you write down what comes to you, even as you are writing and then read back over and change what seems to be better?

Yeah, I write what comes to me in the moment. But I'm always thinking a few scenes ahead in my mind. Sometimes for short stories I know the entire story, but I don't outline scene by scene.

Though maybe unlike you, once I've written something down (that is, words into the manuscript) I very rarely go back and change them. I do my agonising in the moment, but once the scene is finished, it's usually finished until major rewrites/next draft hits.

 

[Helgamite]

Yeah, I write what comes to me in the moment. But I'm always thinking a few scenes ahead in my mind. Sometimes for short stories I know the entire story, but I don't outline scene by scene.

Though maybe unlike you, once I've written something down (that is, words into the manuscript) I very rarely go back and change them. I do my agonising in the moment, but once the scene is finished, it's usually finished until major rewrites/next draft hits.

ok. kind of a spur of the moment, see what hits, write it, then re-edit when its done and needs it?

 

[EmilyMiller]

what do other authors do when writing. do you listen to music? want quiet?

when I write, I like to have YouTube going with some music. helps me write or at least be calm and peaceful having a bit of background noise. what do others do while writing. this is just for curiosity.

My absolute favorite time to write is during an hour-long Teams call, set up by a person I don’t know, on a topic which is neither relevant to me or my department, nor requiring of my technical expertise, at which I do not have to either present or opine, and whose purpose is - at best - murky to all attendees. Oh, and one in which it’s acceptable to turn your camera and mic off.

Emily

 

[Djmac1031]

Silence for me. Background noise of any kind distracts me to no end

 

[Devinter]

I write in silence as well, or with music without any lyrics on low volume. And then the music has to fit the mood that I am going for in the story, or else I find it might influence me on some sort of subconscious level. In fact, if I have something like a show on where people are talking, or if I'd be in an online call with people for work, I couldn't focus anymore and I'd get no writing done. I am too easily distracted by sound.

I have a bunch of other habits as well. For example, I never go anywhere without a small notebook as I prefer to write down ideas the old-fashioned way. I also sleep with such a book next to bed and almost daily I will write some thoughts for stories down whilst trying to sleep, waking up in the middle of the night, or first thing in the morning. A lot of my best story ideas have come from an otherwise tired brain.

Oh, and 95% of my writing is done without socks on. It helps. Trust me. (EDIT: Fully clothed otherwise! Get your mind out of the gutter!)

 

[alohadave]

do y'all use a story outline before you write, or do you just let your imaginations go and write? I've heard\read many writers use outlines, but alot also don't.

Anything longer than a couple hundred words and I use an outline or at the minimum a plot summary with the ending figured out. Otherwise I have blank page syndrome and get nothing done.

 

[ronde]

I write at night when the house is quiet, no TV, no music, no nothing except me and the clicking of my keyboard. I have on occasion listened to soft jazz if I'm writing about a bar where soft jazz would be the main music. Anything else is too distracting.

When I start writing a story, I make a few notes about names so I don't confuse them and I have a pretty firm grip on who my characters are going to be, how the plot is going to play out, and how I'm going to end the story. Other than my notes, it's all in my head. If I tried to outline what I'm going to write, pretty soon I'd be writing what my outline says I should write instead of what my characters are telling me they want to do.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I write in silence. My ADHD kicks in if there are any distractions.