I’ve written my first novel while listening to Mozart’s – Requiem.
That music influenced my writing. It set the dark mood of the entire story and I named each of the eight parts of the novel as the main 8 melodies in Requiem.
Classical music, unlike pop music, is a complex piece of art designed with precision and it all happened in composers head. It took them years to complete and perfect a piece adding a layer by a layer of instruments on top of each other until everything fit perfect harmony.
I listen to music while writing to shut myself in the world of fiction and to close the door for all distractions (usually my wife and kid).
I can’t listen to music with lyrics, it distracts me. Classical music only sets me in a different mood.
Sometimes, I stop and listen to a classical piece, but I don’t see that as a distraction. I only stop to admire the masterpiece for a moment and then I move on. Being aware that somebody, centuries ago, composed something magnificent puts me in a position to feel shame if I don’t try hard enough to write as good as I can.
Seeing myself as an artist is something that flatters me, and the only way I could be a true artist is to give my best work possible. Sometimes my best is not good enough, but at least I know that is the best I could have done.