I *can* listen to music when I write, but then I find I am much slower because I focus too much on the music. I also find it depends on the music style: I can get away with listening to music without lyrics (AIR for example) but if I switch to music with lyrics, my productivity drops a lot as I never get “in the zone”. I never listened to music when I was studying as it was too distracting. So things are not much different now!

I guess rather than blotting everything out (as when drafting), I have to really focus on the actual words when I edit, and nothing else. Silence is golden.

I’m in two minds about this. Yes, music inspires me, but it has to click, like you say, doesnt it? Since most of my writing is intense and end of the world-y, I obviously listen to a lot of Muse and Evanescence (See, I have awesome music too) but soundtracks are a good way to go. I remember when I met Michael Marshall (Woo!) and he mentioned that he often listened to the soundtrack for the Rock when he wrote, which i thought rocked at the time, because I did the same (Hero worship, go figure) but I can get distracted by lyrics. Also, I’m not too good at multitasking. I may tend to drift when music is on.

So here’s a counterpoint, do you listen to music when editing? What circumstances are better for listening? Generating raw material or moulding what you have?