Sunday, September 19, 2010

Background Noise

If you speak with twenty writers you'll hear twenty different versions of how, when and where they write.  Some need total quiet and peace, some write in snippets of time, some spend solitary, uninterrupted hours at the keyboard.  Others can write anywhere, minutes or hours at a time and somehow make it work.  Some people love to work in a public coffee house or a quieter setting like a library.  A few fortunate writers can escape to a serene B&B or something similar and have near solitude, protected from the distractions of family and the noisy world.
I grew up on a farm with a full house.  Seven children, a dog and lots of family chores to fill most hours of the day.  Free time could be measured in minutes not hours.  I did my homework in front of the TV because the only hours I had to watch it and were the same few hours I had to spend on my homework.  Even with the distractions of my favorite western shows, the buzz of family conversation and usually my father snoring away, I managed to complete assignments and study for tests.  Perhaps that early training with all the background noise is why I write best when I have a movie or the TV playing nearby.  It has to be a rerun, of course, and usually I select it by theme. 
Currently I have Firefly playing on the desktop computer while I work on my laptop.  I'm not going to go into what my WIP is about but the movie gets me in the correct mood.  Later I might slap in something like Sense and Sensibility though I might have the dialogue memorized already.
So what do you need keep the writing flowing, quiet or noise? Public venues or your office with the door barred and locked? Does what you're working on influence how and where you work?

7 comments:

Tara Maya said...

You've been well prepped for the multi-tasking age. I can listen to music, but not watch tv. Unless it is Cars, which I've seen a hundred times.

Victoria said...

I'm very used to writing with total chaos around me. Good choice with Firefly! I'm dying to watch it again. I'll put in LotR or Dark Angel as background noise - like you it has to be a rerun. Or I'll turn the music up really loud. Sometimes, when everyone is away, I like it quiet. It just depends on what kind of mood I'm in (and how much chaos I've been dealing with)
V.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Tara, sometimes I listen to music too. My ipod is never far from my desk.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Victoria, LotR is also one of my favorite. I often put in on when I'm working on one of my fantasy series.

Jemi Fraser said...

LOVE Firefly/Serenity :) Whedon is a genius! I don't mind noise or quiet - whatever is there!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Jemi, I'll never forgive FOX network for canceling that show.

Helen Ginger said...

I need quiet. If my husband's on the phone in his office, I have to shut my door. He has a voice that carries through the house.