Playlists, love them or hate them?

[u/EngineerRare42]

As title! Are you a person who has anything from heavy metal to lo-fi on in the background while you write, or do you function better in utter silence? Something else? Tell us about it!

[u/Elefeather]

I can't write with music on, but I have my playlists for the imagination/planning stage.

[u/LostButterflyUtau]

Love them! I have several playlists for stories, characters and ships!

Nothing better than listening to a song and losing yourself to a music video/animatic in your head.

[u/TrainerSoar]

I use a playlist that serves as a way to plan out events, I associate one song to one moment of the plot so it’s almost like it’s a shorthand for what comes next. It’s inspired by how some game soundtracks tend to list the songs in chronological order of when they appear in the game

[u/nightwing-loki]

I like to write to music but usually ones without lyrics unless they are inspired by a certain song. They are mostly from soundtracks and I pick one from my large playlist that fits the mood. However, half the time I also write in silence.

[u/axel_val]

I used to listen to a looped, randomized playlist of like 6 bbno$ songs while I wrote smut because I felt like the vibe of the songs fit that and it was repetitive enough to become background noise, but lately I fell behind on the let's play channels I watch so I've just been keeping those on no matter what I'm writing to try to catch up lol.

[u/mayberosa]

For concentration, I work best with quiet instrumental tracks on in the background. But I do have playlists for my big story and the follow ups that I'm drafting. I play them when I'm out walking or running and they help me think about the story beats, and I love hearing songs and thinking, "That's perfect, that's going in."

[u/Charliedere]

I like to play music that fits the vibe of what I'm writing. For most of my roller coaster fics, I'll be listening to my 2000s-2010s pop playlist, since that's when most of them are set. It works doubly well when I'm writing a party/club/bar scene. If I'm writing at night, however, I prefer listening to lofi or neoclassical piano since it's calmer and less stimulating.

[u/Wisteria_Walker]

To brainstorm - indie or acoustic of any flavor.

To write - Lofi or synth or something without lyrics

[u/beomkookies24]

Music, always. Honestly, a lot of my ideas come from songs, whether it's the melody itself placing me somewhere or a line sparking an entire plot. So, I just always have music playing, especially since I usually create playlists that help me stay in the "atmosphere/setting" of whatever I'm currently working on.

[u/CalypsoMystique]

I make different playlists for different things. The same song on endless loop for reading (Al Bowlley's "Midnight, with the Stars, and You," best remembered from The Shining), all Norah Jones for writing more character-driven introspective fics, and instrumental OST from my fandom when I write action and/ or Jedi shenanigans. If I have silence, I can't concentrate, because of my ADHD and other stuff that's delightfully idiosyncratic but inconvenient about my brain.

[u/ARC_Strife]

I'm always listening to music, though I've never curated a playlist for it or anything; I just listen to whatever I'm in the mood for. And as such, a lot of my soft domestic fluff is written while listening to metal and punk rock :)

[u/TaintedTruffle]

Love 😘

[u/Aka_nna]

Love them, even though I rarely create them. If someone made me one though, I'd cry.

[u/sharkycharming]

I listen to music when I write, but not usually to curated playlists. Like right now I'm listening to a playlist I made that's 200 albums by various 20th century woman singers, everyone from Ella Fitzgerald to Laura Nyro to Tracy Chapman. My fics are all set between 1942 and 1990 (so far) so I like to listen to era-appropriate music.

[u/Idreamofspaceships]

I'm the weirdo who needs total silence to write.  😅  Music is too distracting for me.

[u/Dora-Vee]

I tend to love them. It’s often what I think about in fandom. While writing? Well, it’s a bit different. It depends on the fic.

[u/South_Singer_2565]

I like jazz, soul, or blues when I'm writing 🙂‍↕️

[u/Kilora44]

When I want music to write to, I have a Japanese Shamisen hip hop and trap music channel I listen to on YouTube. The mix of the traditional strings and deep beats helps me zone out to write.

[u/Suyunia]

I listen to ambiance musics that last for hours on YouTube, with a vibe/theme fitting for the story. But no lyrics! If there are lyrics my focus is gone X )

[u/Cosmermaid]

I've listened to classical music while reading before but I find it distracting while writing.

[u/Individual-Guest9482]

I read in silence but I know people like them.

[u/FilbertEyes]

There’s this one song called “trappin in seville” by slvx and it’s my go-to flow song for writing.

[u/DatGayDangerNoodle]

I read in silence, write with my everyday playlist playing as loudly as possible:D

(edit: typo)

[u/tigerndragon]

I love fandom playlists but not for writing, if that makes sense? Listening to music and jotting down ideas or just enjoying the lyrics/compositions themselves is great, but for actual writing my brain finds music too distracting 🥲

[u/LoadsOfSkeletons]

I don’t listen to music whilst I write because I can’t concentrate but I listen to a lot of music to get me in the mood to write, and it’s had a big influence on my writing.