Does White Noise / Ambient Sound Actually Help Your Writing? – Steve Boseley

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Sue Vincent

Reblogged from Steve Boseley:

Silence can be a distraction. Quiet Please sign

Bear with me whilst I qualify that statement. When I’m writing, silence can be a distraction.

It might be a cliche, but writers and coffee shops go together like James T kirk and Doctor Spock, Harry Potter and Quiditch, Psycho and shower curtains. Ever wondered why that may be the case?

Well, for some, writing in silence may be necessary – I sometimes read my work out loud, which I find helps me to pick up any obvious errors, double words, missed words, poor dialogue. I personally find that difficult when I’ve got Sam Cooke singing in my headphones.

But anyway, is silence really ever silence? Depending where you write, there may be a background hubbub, traffic outside, children in another room, shoppers buying their coffee, or perhaps you struggle with tinnitus and there is always something going on in your ears when you stop and pay attention.

All that being said, should we even ever strive for silence? Well, there are several schools of thought on that very subject…

Continue reading at Steve Boseley

About Sue Vincent

Sue Vincent was a Yorkshire born writer, esoteric teacher and a Director of The Silent Eye. She was immersed in the Mysteries all her life. Sue maintained a popular blog and is co-author of The Mystical Hexagram with Dr G.M.Vasey. Sue lived in Buckinghamshire, having been stranded there due to an accident with a blindfold, a pin and a map. She had a lasting love-affair with the landscape of Albion, the hidden country of the heart. Sue  passed into spirit at the end of March 2021.
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15 Responses to Does White Noise / Ambient Sound Actually Help Your Writing? – Steve Boseley

  1. Mike says:
    April 11, 2018 at 21:53

    I usually write in silence – no radio, windows shut, all by myself. For years, I thought I had to have it that way. Then one day, when my wife and I traveled to see family, I wrote while my wife drove. She had the radio going (the driver, like the captain of a ship, decides whether to maintain radio silence). And of course, there are the distractions of cars zooming past, the bumps in the roads, and the occasional salty comment from my wife about other people’s driving skills. But I zipped off several pages of good first draft. What a pleasant surprise! Now I never miss the opportunity to write when we travel.

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    • Sue Vincent says:
      April 11, 2018 at 22:31

      I’m always the driver, but I write in my mind a lot of the time. There is no silence where I live, with the constant hum of machines around the home, but it is quiet and I generally have the doors open for the dog. No music… but always birdsong, and in summer, there are cows 🙂

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    • Steve Boseley says:
      April 13, 2018 at 14:45

      My wife doesn’t drive, so i could either let her have a go at driving, or i could write while i drive. Not sure which i prefer!

      Liked by 1 person

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  3. thereluctantpoet says:
    April 12, 2018 at 02:14

    Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet and commented:
    Come see if you agree with “Does White Noise Ambient Sound Actually Help Your Writing”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Widdershins says:
    April 13, 2018 at 01:40

    Short version – YMMV (Your Mileage May Very) 😀

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

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