I wasreading some writing prompts at random, and there was one in particular that got me to thinking. The question I asked myself, was whether the sound of total silence, either from my being totally silent, or from the silence of a room, could serve as a distraction or if it could open me up and lead to creative inspiration.
First of all, I have come to this conclusion: some days, the complete sound of silence can lead to inspiration after reading a good book, or watching a movie or documentary. However, when I am working on some professional writing, the sound of silence could serve as a distraction, therefore I play music, or I either like to hear the sound of a clock or my Braille display ticking in the background to keep me going. By the same token, too much noise, or a TV show that is easy to get hooked into can be a serious distraction for me when I am working as well.
What do you think, is the total sound of silence a distraction, or can it give you the opportunity to become inspired to write something creative? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Ann, Check this old blog post of mine out. grin Dp
https://dplyons.wordpress.com/2014/04/19/2014-04-19-essay-sounds-of-silence/
Sent from my like minded Windows 10 machine
I’ll do that.
I like silence when I write. It doesn’t distract me at all if the room is silent. I can actually hear myself think. For this reason, I moved to a rural hamlet to escape human-produced noise. This is like being on a permanent writing retreat with all the comforts of home. I sometimes use music to get me in the creative mood but when I write, I don’t like distractions like magpies squabbling with the crows.
It depends on what kind of writing I’m doing, if it’s creative, I like music. However, if it is of a professional nature, I prefer the room to be quiet.
I am easily distracted unless what is on TV doesn’t interest me. But the “sound” of silence is intriguing. If a character in a novel is experiencing silence, why is it silent? Why is there no noise? Is danger lurking nearby and all instruments of sound have been turned off, lights out? Or has there been an explosion so close it has deafened the character so he/she can’t hear anything? Is it a birth defect? Lots of possibilities.
That’s an interesting point. I’ve actually been asking other people about whether they prefer silence, or background music or sound scapes and it’s interesting enough to see that the writer to like music or instrumental stuff in the background basically balance with the ones Alllexander some likes on some don’t and it all depends on the type of mood and the type a running you doing with Quicken of interesting. I was just curious to see what people’s thoughts were.
You know, it’s interesting that you point that out. Character could be in a cabin or a tent in the middle of the woods surrounding my silence. Something to think about don’t you think?