Hi gang, Craig with you again. I’ve been toying with something I think you’ll be interested in. First you get some background.
When I started writing I used to play classical music in the background. I can’t handle anything with vocals or I won’t focus on the task at hand. This worked well for about a year, until my wife started having the same days off I did.
When you get up at 4:00 to write, your wife won’t appreciate your classical music while she’s trying to sleep. I started writing in total silence.
Time marched on, and we wound up with different shifts again. I made a playlist of theatrical music and that helped. (Still no vocals.)
This year we got one of those silly Alexa devices for Christmas. After about a day of trying to stump her with obscure blues music, the new wore off. Then, I was writing one day and asked Alexa to play the sound of a thunderstorm. (We’re starting to get to the point, I promise.)
The popular term is ambient noise, and it really helped. One thing I have to watch for is white room syndrome when I write. Alexa has hundreds of ambient sounds to pick from. Listening to city sounds was amazing. It reminded me there are traffic sounds, and jet aircraft to help flesh out my scenes. Marshes and swamps have frogs and insects, even a bit of wind.
About this time, I mentioned this in our top secret Story Empire cave. Staci Troilo told me about Ambient Mixer. This is a site where people make their own ambient collections and share them with everyone else. You can listen and search for all kinds of things. The Slytherin Common Room is pretty cool. If you sign up for free, you can make your own tracks. I’ve done this and the results are great. I have some for some future books, but also have a track called Serang that I really like. (It has wind, birds, a bamboo flute, and martial arts sounds.) Unfortunately, I have to dedicate some screen space to make it work while I write. Like this:

Ambient Mixer has some limitations, but is a ton of fun to use. You get about eight options, so if you’re writing for a while it starts to repeat.
I also really like YouTube. I’m not going to give you a tutorial, because you just go there and search. It has a ton of things, and most of them last about ten hours. There are quite a few without advertisements, which I prefer. The downside is figuring out how to write and play something at the same time.
Might not be an issue for you, but I found that playing YouTube on my phone, while broadcasting to a Bluetooth speaker works pretty well. This preserves my big iPad for the writing part of this adventure.
YouTube mixes sometimes include a bit of theatrical music which I enjoy. I’ve been working with a lot of pirate themes in my current WIP. Creaking ropes, cannon, sloshing waves, shouting, all serve to remind me to add some of this detail to the smoke and smell of black powder.
This is still a work in progress for me. I find I want a different ambience when I change scenes. Gathering a few links for the day seems to be a good idea. (At least in my case.) I can visit Serang out in the wilderness on her quest, then switch to James aboard Lanternfish. The sounds remind me to include a bit more environmental data in my descriptions.
You might want to check some of this out. Ambient sounds have come a long way since they used to call it white noise. There are any number of spaceports, haunted graveyards, or casinos for you to take advantage of.
It looks like many of these were made for gamers. If your dungeon campaign needs a drippy catacombs an ambiance exists for it. That same track can really help with writing, too.
Even in my Hat series, there are times I need a spooky forest, a diner, or even a busy street, and someone has created something to help.
Let me hear from you. Do you think you’d ever use something like this? Does anyone else suffer from white room syndrome? I appreciate the reminder that crickets are calling at night, or that insects exist everywhere.

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I’m a little late to the party. But I’m listening to soft classical music as I type this, and all day when I’m writing. (Right now it’s Czech Suite: Polka Op.39
By Antonin Dvorak). I don’t like silence while writing, although if need be, I I do hear birds singing and leaves swaying when I can leave the window open. I definitely can’t write to music with words. Thunderstorm white noise would lead me to writing suspense, which is okay, but for me, classical is what works for all genres..
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I started out with classical, but am more into silence these days. The ambient noise is great, but it requires a bit of pre-planning to make it fit the writing I have planned.
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You have mentioned that your write to music before, Craig. I know that others do too. I am one of those sad people that can’t have music playing while I do things. I have tried it but it just irritates me. I don’t need silence. I can actually put up with a lot of background noise when I work or write, but just not music.
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I’m inconsistent on that front. If it has lyrics, I can’t do it. The music sucks me in. Instrumental things have been helpful a few times.
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Reblogged this on wordrefiner.
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Thanks for sharing, Mark.
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I love this post, Craig. I have several CDs of nature sounds, classical, and a mixture of music and nature that I still enjoy listening to. I used to write to Mozart, but have been writing in silence for a while now, although I appreciate nature sounds. I think I may try this and perhaps use the newer tech and check out the site and YouTube and see where this leads me. Great idea and suggestions, thanks.
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So glad it appeals to you. It far exceeds nature sounds these days. There are taverns and seedy dives galore. Sometimes you just need that kind of environment.
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Like you and(it seems) many others I once listened to classical music as I wrote. Particularly Sibelius. Then found that the uplifting and sometimes sombre (lol- spelled correctly as I am British- despite what spell check says) strains of the music changed the characters to suit the mood of the music. I tried ambient sounds via Alexa and though good it did not really work for me. Strangely, on another authors suggestion I tried “Phaedra” by Tangerine Dream and that worked for me. I have found that most of their works do.
I am not suggesting that it would work for all but it is well worth a try. Just as an aside I have a friend (not boasting) who writes, deep and complex hard Sci-fi whilst listening to death metal at excruciating volumes. Everyone to they’re own.
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That last bit is awesome. We all have to find what works for us. I even wrote to the reverb heavy music of Ennio Moricone one winter.
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I enjoy Moricone but cannot imagine that it would not influence what I am writing. I think that he “describes” with his music.
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It was the right music for my scene, though. After that I had to change.
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I listen to a lot of music – but never when I’m writing. Anything with words would intrude too much, and with classical music I become swept up in the pleasure of the experience. I have used ambient noise to help me sleep when I’m in pain or simply to shut down a busy mind but I’d never considered having it on in the background while writing. It’s certainly worth a go. Thanks.
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Thanks for the comment. It’s one of those odd things that could work for more than just me.
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I can’t listen to music and write, but I’ve never tried thunderstorms or marsh noises. Intriguing. I’m tempted:)
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Check some of it out. You might find it helps. Maybe a construction site for some of your tales.
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I do enjoy background noise when writing, or working. I have always been that way. Your experiences are interesting. Thanks.
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Thanks, Dan. It was a new theory to me, so I decided to share.
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It’s interesting to find that there might be some reason for what I’ve just been doing (and which some people think is weird).
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There is no weird in writing. A week or so ago we had a post about acting out your scenes. Also, have you read one of my stories? Ha Ha! We do whatever it takes to make it work.
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Ambient sounds–what a great idea, Craig! Thanks so much for sharing.
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I’d love to learn if they work for you.
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When I write, which isn’t often these days, I like noise. It doesn’t matter what the noise is. Music, with or without lyrics, outside noises, television. It really doesn’t matter. When there is no noise, then I can’t concentrate.
I am checking out the ambient mixer site. Thanks, Craig.
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I envy you. I could be more productive under those circumstances. As it is, I’ve learned a new trick.
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I usually prefer silence to write, but can see how listening to certain sounds could really influence the settings. Thanks, Craig!
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I’m a confirmed silence writer. I get myself in trouble when I don’t flesh out the setting often enough. This is a great trick and doesn’t feel like a audible interruption.
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Great point, Craig. I’ll have to check this out. Thanks.
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Have fun with it.
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Personally, music is an activity on its own. I just can’t focus with any music or TV playing in the background. But I haven’t really tried ambient mixer and the like. Thanks for the ideas!
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Hope it works for you.
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I love having ambient noise in the background, Craig, and your post prompted me to incorporate that. I find that it raises the vibration in my home. It’s there, but not there, if that makes any sense. My faves are found on YouTube with 396 to 528 HZ. Great suggestion and I will have to look into the Ambient Mixer. Thanks, Craig!
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It’s a weird topic for a writing blog, but I find it quite helpful.
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I need silence while writing. I’ve never understood how people can write in busy coffee shops or whatever. That said, this sounds great. I definitely can write while there’s music or sound (sans vocals). Love the idea of creating a playlist for each MS. I’ve heard of that but never tried it. Thanks, Craig. 🙂
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Huh. I lied. Just remembered a MS from years ago. I listened to Janis Joplin whenever I wrote that one. From silence to Janis. Wow. I could write a whole post on that.
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LOL. That is quite a change!
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Sounds like an interesting one.
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It is. 😁
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The beauty of the author community. There are things to try, and if they don’t work out you haven’t lost anything. Maybe you’ll find something that helps.
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True. I do enjoy that aspect. The sharing of what-works-for-me ideas to try. This is one I will try. Thanks!
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Good luck with it.
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I make a playlist on YouTube for each book. When I slide on the headphones, I’m right back in the story. The cool part about YouTube is people post everything. I needed a video of a specific forest for I Am Mayhem, and sure enough, a hiker videoed six hours of trekking through the exact wooded trails I needed. Worked perfect! The mixer sounds great, though. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks, Craig!
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That’s great. I use YouTube along with the mixer. Longer scenes seem to be YouTube’s strength. Shorter ones work better with the mixer.
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I make playlists as well on Spotify! Music inspires me.
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We are a lot alike that way.
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Thanks Craig. This sound like a brilliant idea.
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Like all writing tips, try it. If it doesn’t work, don’t try it again. You might find something that really helps.
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Sitting out here in the country, I have the background sounds of nature right outside my window. Of course the odd sound will now and again distract me from writing as I seek out an explanation as to what I just heard.
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That’s wonderful. I’ve had that happen in a campground. Still, sometimes I’m writing about a spaceport, or a creepy tunnel. There are ambiences for those, too.
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Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Check out this helpful post from C.S. Boyack via the Story Empire blog titled: A trick that works
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Thank you for sharing, Don.
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You’re welcome.
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I love that mixer. It’s so much fun to play with to create the exact track you need. And as I write on a laptop instead of a tablet, it doesn’t show up on my screen at all, so it’s really out of the way when I listen to it.
I’m glad you’re having fun with it.
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I can pull my phone trick with the mixer, too. The image was just to show my experimentation. Thanks for telling me about this. I find creating mixes to be fun in its own right. (Just not during my writing time) It have a couple of instances where it really helped with my scenes.
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Oooh, such a cool idea, Craig! I have a few apps on my phone that do this, and thanks to Staci, I have also used ambient mixer. I listen to instrumental music when I write but I also like ambient sounds. I don’t really have a problem with white room syndrome (if anything, at times I have to pare back my descriptions), but this is a great idea for homing in on atmosphere for so many different situations!
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Your descriptions are always wonderful. Mine are more of a second thought, and I’m trying to fix that. It’s come a long way since Joan’s cassette tapes. I even made one for mad science, and one called Good Liniment for my future project.
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I definitely have to play with that mixer more than I have!
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I think a lot of folks are going to find this idea (and your wonderful suggestions) very helpful, Craig. Alas, if I have any sound at all going on when I sit down to write, I can’t hear the voices in my head! (They’re the ones that dictate to me as I tell my stories, so I really need to be listening to them as I go.) However, I know a lot of writers don’t care for silence as they work, and I think they’ll appreciate learning about what’s available these days.
And for myself, I think I’d quite like to have some of these sounds to keep me calm while I’m doing boring household chores. I can totally see me washing dishes with lovely swamp noises going on in the background. 😀 I think I’m going to give it a try. TV just annoys me, so why not find something way more interesting and relaxing? It would be good when I do my deep breathing exercises, too. (Taught to me by my daughter, the Yoga instructor.) So, even if I don’t want a single sound while writing, I think I’ve just found a way to make my chores much less onerous. THANKS! 🙂 Super post!
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I tried it as a remedy for white-room syndrome, and it worked. It’s not distracting like music. There is the old-fashioned volume control to make sure it isn’t overpowering. I know people use it for all kinds of things, and chores sound like a good target.
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Craig, this is brilliant! I have never thought of this. I don’t like having music on because I feel it pulls me away from my scenes, but I think ambient sounds might actually enhance my scenes. I love what you said about it helping you to write more about the sounds and other surroundings. I’ve downloaded the app and look forward to trying it. Thank you! 🙂
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It might not work for everyone, but it helped me. My last scenes were written to a Napoleonic War ambience. Distant cannon, even horses, helped me with that scene.
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I’m interested – when you listen to ambient sounds, do you find that these start to feature in your narratives? Does the ambience that you create in the room start to make your characters behave in a different way?
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I haven’t seen it go that far, but I can see it happening. It’s just a reminder to include a bit more depth in my scenes. Someone might turn a collar up against the wind, that kind of thing.
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As much as music inspires me to write, I need silence while writing. I have listened to the ambient mixer when I wanted to set a certain mood or help describe a scene.
I’ll take you back longer than that. I used to have cassette tapes of night forests, desert winds, thunderstorms, etc. Used to listen to them while falling asleep. 🙂
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That’s what I remember, too. We called it white noise back then. I need silence, but somehow this doesn’t come across as a problem. It really helped with a Serang scene.
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Excellent tool, Craig. I’ve used my Alexa for this, but the Ambient Sounds Mixer sounds like one to check out. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Reblogged this on: https://harmonykent.co.uk/a-trick-that-works-story-empire/
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Thanks for the reblog. The mixer is fun, but when you first try it, dedicate some time just to have fun with it. Once you find a few try it for drafting new material.
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Thank you, Craig, you’ve helped me think about how sound affects my writing. If I’m wording a particular scene, I need silence. If I’m conceptualizing, dreaming, then ambient sound helps. Like you, with vocals, I’m too distracted to write anything. And, if there’s a chatty robin outside my window, I know it’s time to take a break and enjoy a conversation. 😊
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I get the backyard visitors, too. Then dogs want out. It has helped more than I expected and I will keep playing with it.
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I can definitely see the merit in writing a spooky mystery to the sound of a thunderstorm, so I will be checking this out! Thanks Craig!
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It makes a difference for me. Your mileage may vary.
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I intend to find out!
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