Music to NaNoWriMo by (What do you like to listen to when you write?)

I know some people can write no matter what is going on around them, but I like a little music when I’m writing. It blocks out outside sounds and helps me focus on what I am doing.

Some people can listen to normal pop radio while they write but my number one rule for writing music is that I need to not be able to sing along with it. Otherwise, I sing instead of writing which is sort of useless. Here are some suggestions to give you mood music to write to:

Yahoo Music Film Scores Station

(I can’t link to this directly but you can find it under All Stations > Music > More Stations > Film Scores)

This is my #1 biggest recommendation. This is hands down my favorite thing to write to. Last year’s NaNo, I pretty much had this station on 24/7. They play a random assortment of music from movies. No words, just instrumentals. It’s all pretty dramatic so it makes writing much easier because it adds importance to whatever you are writing. Sometimes it also affects how you are writing and makes you kick your game up a notch to match the music.

It is free and you don’t even need a Yahoo Account to listen to it. There are commercials but they are few and far between. If you write a lot year round, they have a paid version without commercials if you really want, but you don’t really need it. Commercials force you to take breaks which is good for your eyes!

Pandora – Build a Station with the keyword Enya

It doesn’t matter if you like Enya but that type of music is awesome to write to. You cannot understand half of what they are saying, it’s all so airy, so you won’t sing along but its dramatic in the same way film score music is.

Why can’t I use Pandora to listen to film scores instead of Yahoo, you ask? Well, the biggest downside to Pandora for me is that here is no way to make it just give you film scores like Yahoo can. You can try adding a famous movie composer (like Hans Zimmer) for them to play music like but even then they’ll still throw in some non-film music. Pandora also has a monthly limit over which you have to pay but it may be worth paying to have it the whole month long commercial free.

Music in another language and world music

I love Celine Dion. Her music is very dramatic. I also love to sing along to it at the top of my lungs which is counterproductive to writing. My solution? I got some of her import CDs from Canada where she sings in French. Same dramatic Celine style but I can’t sing along because I have no idea what she is saying.

If your favorite artist doesn’t record in another language, try out the top pop chart hits of another country. They will likely be the same type of music on the radio here but un-sing-a-long-able.

World Music is also great but, if it conflicts with your setting (Asian music for a western cowboy novel), it can mess you up so be aware of that. But if your setting is a distant land, having the right music can make a big difference so you may want to consider it.

So, what do you like to write to?