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Paula needs quiet to write.
Some people can write in crowded cafes, some listen to their
favourite music or ‘mood’ music, and others seem to be able to write anywhere,
anytime, even with the television on.
Unlike them, I need peace and quiet to write. Anything else
is a distraction, even an irritation. I need to be able to immerse myself
totally in the ‘moment’ of my story, and in my characters’ thoughts and
feelings. If I become distracted by music, people talking, or something on TV, I
lose my ‘link’ with the story, and find it hard to get back into it.
Maybe it’s a sign of getting older, because I’m sure I used
to be able to distance myself from external noise, or maybe it’s because,
living on my own, I have become used to the house being quiet and not having
any interruptions, particularly in the evenings.
Having said all that, I’ll admit to being able to think
about a story anywhere. Driving can provide a good thinking time, and a pub
lunch with my brainstorming friend can solve in less than an hour a problem I
have battled with for several hours in the peace and quiet of my study.
What are your writing habits? Peace and quiet? Or can you
write anywhere?
I need relative quiet although I'm used to having the dog moving around and other people in the house, so interruptions and distracting noises do happen. I just hope no one speaks to me directly!
ReplyDeleteI will have to stop interrupting you by 'chatting' in an evening, although we're very quiet when we do that! :)
Online chatting is something I choose to do, which is different from being forcibly distracted! :-)
DeleteI write best when it's quiet, as in early morning and everyone but the cats are still asleep.
ReplyDeleteIn my case, it's the evenings when I need quiet. As you know, I am not a morning person!
DeleteI write best when it's quiet. I can handle some background noise on occasion, but it needs to be abstract. I can't do it with the TV, for example, because I'll get caught up in that story rather than my own.
ReplyDeleteAgree, and songs have me singing along instead of concentrating!
DeleteAlthough I have found them helpful for brainstorming.
DeleteI, too, can only write if I have peace and quiet. My poor husband knows better than to disturb me if my study door is closed. That is the clue!
ReplyDeleteLOL, Margaret, I can just imagine Ken hovering by the door, wondering if he dares to knock! :-D
DeleteI guess it depends on what I'm working on. Sometimes if I'm drafting, having soft music on in the background helps keep me focused. But it needs to be something without lyrics.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm editing, I need quiet for sure.
LOL, I'm the other way around. I need quiet for the first draft, but can cope with background noise for editing, although I think I may blank it out!
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