Do you listen to music when you write? Or do you imagine a soundtrack to go with your story, as if it were a movie?

I’ve been contemplating the relationship of music and writing – two different expressions of creativity – and the connections that are sometimes made between the two. In our world of movies and television as forms of storytelling, mood music has become a common reference point for the imaginative mind.

Periodically in writing groups online, someone will survey preferences among writers for listening to music while writing. I’ve always been one who preferred to write in silence, but favourite musical genres or mood music appear to be generally popular, though I’m far from alone in my quiet world-building universe.

Once in a while someone will even include a playlist in a novel, expressing that these are the songs they would recommend as the story plays out…