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The Importance of Noise to the Writer

Some writers need silence in order to work but music is the lifeblood of my writing. I like any kind of noise – coffee machine, traffic, general chatter, public transport, but music is the sweetest thing. I make a soundtrack for every book that I write and my new book, Mac Slater Hunts the Cool (April 2010) was written to a soundtrack of U2, Matchbox Twenty, Australian band Silverchair and French act, Phoenix. In fact, if you have itunes, you can access the soundtrack to the second Mac book at: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id=295701937 The pace of this music drives me through my writing day. The soundtrack changes with every book but, generally, I like big, anthemic pop / rock stuff, something with a real build. It’s better once I know the lyrics to a song and then I no longer get distracted by them. It’s just a presence. I get into Flow and the hours fly by when the right music is in my ‘phones. If you’re stuck and you want to get writing, I recommend creating a book soundtrack. Merry Christmas. May you be well and happy. Tristan.