Need for quiet…
I was interviewed by a fellow writer: Michele A. Bell. She puts author interviews on her blog. I expect mine will be there in a few weeks. It was interesting the questions she asked me about my writing. Some I hadn’t thought about before. The one that was the most revealing concerned if I liked to write to music.
The answer is an unequivocal NO.
I MUST HAVE absolute, total, complete, utter, unqualified, unconditional and unlimited quiet. This is because I have ADHD so bad that I am excruciatingly aware of the lyrics in songs. If music is on, I can’t focus. Generally, the only time I listen to music is when I’m driving alone in my car and I can turn the radio or CD player up real loud and sing along with wild abandon.
As an aside, my husband owns a Corvette convertible. It is, without question, my favorite way to listen to music. Super loud, with the wind blowing through my hair. And for those of you have actually met me, his pretty little red Corvette may be the biggest reason I keep my hair short. We both suffer in the winter because driving with the top up is just not the same. We are so-o-o-o glad we live where we can drive the convertible nine full months out of the year.
Today is gorgeous outside, but still a little cold (sixty-something). Sometimes though, during the rainy season, we get cabin fever. On dry, cold days we will go out with the top down wearing big fluffy jackets. We just need to feel the wind in our faces and the power of a sports car under our feet. We live in the rolling hills above Sacramento. That means the roads surrounding our home wind up and down the foothills. Real inspiring location for a writer actually. But I digress.
Similar to my need for quiet, I also HATE to be interrupted. If I am writing and you ask me a question, don’t expect me to remember what either of us said. More importantly, don’t expect me to follow through on what you thought I agreed to. I can guarantee I won’t remember you even coming in my office. Feel free to query any of my family—especially my children about this subject. My inability to write on a normal schedule, with normal distractions is, in fact, the hardest part of this new career path for my entire family.
Melissa
Lyrics distract me, too. However, to help cover the inevitable OTHER noises that might distract me (the activities of other people in the house, cars driving by, even eerie silences), I have certain CDs that work… some instrumental, some ambient / new age, some nature sounds…
One of my favorites is one of the ocean… the sound of waves crashing in, a few seagulls crying, a very light instrumental music. It is one hour long, and I just keep it looping. The sound of the waves must have been recorded over a period of time, because it isn’t repetitive (ie, I don’t think they used the same 5 minutes of wave sound over and over). Very nice. And it drowns out everything else very well.
Thanks for the glimpse into one of your joys — the convertible rides with your hubby. Too funny! Never would have guessed. It has obviously been FAR too long since I hung out with Roger. I don’t even remember how many kids you guys have. lol!