Do You Whistle While You Work?

So, do you guys listen to music while you write?  I think I am pretty much the only writer that doesn't listen to music while I work on my projects.  I have to have complete silence, or else I can't concentrate.  Here is what my book would look like if I listened to music while writing:


Gaga Nuala kept very still.  She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath.  Something was wrong.  She could feel it in the deep morning air; the faintest stirring, like a bad romance rustle of wind in the trees.  But there was no wind.  She opened her eyes and looked at the bright sun, as it began its ascent into the sky.  Her poker face eyes dropped, and she surveyed the land around her. 

Yeah...so no music for me.

But music does inspire me sometimes. 




 Like when Selena Gomez's song Naturally came out, I envisioned my book being played out during the song like a trailor for a movie (in slow motion and very dramatic of course).  But then my mind took it a step further and envisioned Selena Gomez singing every song in the movie, and of course the movie would be a made-for-tv Disney flick starring none other than...Selena Gomez.  And then I threw up in my mouth a little. 







But, I do listen to music in my office at the library while I work.  There, I have to have it.  My boss and I can pretend we can sit in companionable silence, but in reality it's just that awesome awkward silence that happens when there is just two of you in a small space, with the clacking of keyboards and crunching of candy (okay, that would be me).  So we listen to the radio. 

But that's different.  I have no one in the room with me when I write, and anything can be a distraction for me, including music (and coffee houses or libraries for that matter- those small sounds magnefy 100 times for me...which is interesting since I'm pretty much deaf). 

Thats why I also can't write while Little Monster is awake because this is what happens when she is:

Me: (finally finished cleaning or watching a show, I creep into my room while Little Monster has been quietly playing for a whole 30 minutes...finally I can get some work done)
I hear a rush of wind next to my ear just as I open my laptop
Little Monster: (appearing out of nowhere- grinning at me, her face an inch from mine)  Watchya doing?
Me: um, some work.
Little Monster: (hovers her chocolate-covered fingers over my keyboard (where'd she get the chocolate??) Can I have something to eat???
Me: Um...weren't you playing in the other room for like, 30 minutes while I was sitting on the couch?  You could have asked me then.
Little Monster: (stands and just stares at me with that huge grin still plastered on her face) Can you write, 'I tooted' on your screen? (she breaks into hysterical laughter, flinging herself across me and my keyboard, successfully wiping out whatever I had written in the two seconds before she found me)
Me: (sighing) Okay, lets get you something to eat

Yeah, so no writing while other things are going on in my house.

So, my writing regime: I need complete silence, and basically for everyone to be either a)gone from the house, or b) asleep.  So its a small window of opportunity, but I make it work.  It's what I have to do for the time being, and I can deal with that.

So what's your regime?  Do you listen to music while you work?  Do you need to be alone, in your room with no distractions?  Or can you go to a cafe or library and write there?

A Saturday Full of Momish Things... and Gaga

I think this past Saturday was one of those eye-openers for me.  You know, like you are going through life blissfully unaware of something and then BAM, it smacks you in the face. 

Mine was the fact that I'm a mom of a kindergartner.  Like total, volunteer PTO, school t-shirt wearing, donating food, making-small-talk-with-other-moms, mom.  And that's weird for me.  Because this is more what I'm used to:

Dressing up with Little Monster and dancing to this lady's music:

Yes, that is REAL meat.  Yum.

But she's like old now, and actually doing school stuff and I can do it with her.  Which is totally cool.  I figure, I better do all this stuff now, while I'm cool because in approximately 8 years I will be the dorky old mom that embarrasses her in front of her class because I volunteered at the book sale at her school.

THEN I'll be really floored- I'll realize OMG, I'm the dorky old mom.  (But I swear to all that is holy, I will NOT get a minivan.  If I do- you have my permission to shun me from the cool-mom AND the dorky-mom club)

But for now, I'll blissfully go through life thinking I'm awesome to my 5-year old by visiting her at her school,  volunteering with the PTO, taking her to gymnastics and having playdates.  But the really cool thing?  I can also do not-so-mom-like things with her like staying up late to watch a movie, eat cookie dough, and dance to Gaga.  I don't have to sacrifice who I am just because I'm a mom.

Even though I feel like I'm all about the momish duties right now, I know Little Monster and I will never stop dancing.

P.S. I got my first blog award!!  Colene Murphy from The Journey *gave it to me!  Thank you so much!  I've only been doing this for a month, and I can't believe how many readers I have so far.  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog.  Even if I never get published, having a readers and followers on here is enough.  Thanks for making me feel legit!

*And I totally give this back to Colene- she has a WONDERFUL blog (okay, not giving back like not wanting it, but giving back like rewarding it back to her... because she gave it to me...and she's awesome..erm, you get the idea)

The rule is, I need to pass it on to 5 people.  Here are the ones that I frequently stalk and am giving this award to:

Andy at Writing Myself Crazy (okay I know you are a boy, and this is kind of girly, but you are totally my crit partner, PLUS you have an awesome blog!)

Maggie at The Juniper Breeze is Blowing In

Rhiannon Hart (who totally just sold her debut novel!!  Woot!)

Angela Darling at Chasing Fairydust