What I Listen to for Writing: A Look Into My Playlist

I was writing a spooky short story a few years back — something called The Tainted Water, a piece that reads like one of those old Goosebumps TV episodes. Somewhere in the middle of a tense scene, a jazz backing track with saxophones playing came on through YouTube. I don't remember the channel or the song title, but I remember what happened next: I stopped thinking about the writing and just wrote. The music locked me in, and the scene came out darker and more atmospheric than anything I'd planned. That's when I realized the right track doesn't just set a mood — it unlocks something.

As a musician and writer, I rarely work in silence. Depending on the genre or the mood I'm trying to capture, my playlist shifts completely. Here's how I match the music to the work, and the science behind why it actually helps.

Blogging and Casual Writing: Lofi Instrumentals

When I'm working on blog posts or casual writing, I reach for lofi jazz, hip-hop, or lofi neo-soul — strictly instrumental. Without lyrics competing for the language-processing part of my brain, I can hear the voice of my own writing style much more clearly. It puts me in a headspace where writing feels less like a task and more like a natural flow. Right now, my go-to channel for this is The Soulfi Room on YouTube — clean mixes, no vocals, exactly the right energy.

Horror and Dark Fiction: Haunting Scores

When the sun goes down and I'm working on horror or dark short stories, the music takes a turn. I'll hunt for dark crime scores or eerie ambient tracks — the kind with a haunting melody that thickens the atmosphere and makes it easier to step into those shadowier worlds. That jazz saxophone track during The Tainted Water is a perfect example. The music didn't just accompany the scene; it shaped it. I wrote things I hadn't outlined because the sound was pulling the story somewhere unexpected.

Action and Adventure: Where the Musician's Ear Kicks In

This is where being a trained musician changes the game. When I'm writing action and adventure — the high points, the climaxes — I need tracks with energy and movement. I look for soulful pop instrumentals, moving jazz and blues, or bright backing tracks with no lyrics.

Here's what most writers won't notice: I can hear the harmonic tension in a track. When I'm listening to something with an intense rise in cadence and building BPMs, I get so locked in with the music that I start creating almost unconsciously. The subtle shifts in a song — a chord progression that feels like a chase, a melodic line that sounds like triumph — those map directly onto what's happening in the scene. And when a track shifts from a minor key to a major key, I can feel the story shift with it. A sad or tense moment naturally resolves into something more upbeat — the adventurer accomplishes their goal, the conflict finds its conclusion. That shift isn't something I plan. The music leads and the writing follows.

Mystery and Crime: The Slow Burn

For mystery and crime thrillers, I need something different from horror — more tension and curiosity than outright dread. I search for tense cinematic background music or dark jazz. These tracks have a slow-burn quality that keeps me from rushing the story. They help me stay in the moment, layering in emotion and suspense at the pace a great mystery demands.

Scriptwriting: Balancing Detail and Energy

Scriptwriting is a different gear entirely. A script is a technical blueprint — you're detailing where a prop sits, when an actor turns their head, the emotional intonation behind every line. It takes more creative stamina because you're constantly switching between dialogue and stage directions. For these sessions I gravitate back to lofi jazz instrumentals to keep my headspace clear, but when a scene calls for high stakes, I'll switch to epic cinematic or orchestral tracks to maintain that "big screen" energy.

The Science Behind the Sound

There's real research behind why this works. A study on background music and creativity found that vocal music can interfere with creative flow through what's called "semantic interference" — lyrics compete with the language centers in your brain. But instrumental music acts as a catalyst for focus, removing that competition and letting you lock into your own internal narrative (Xiao et al., 2023).

The study also found something that explains those dark horror scores: music with negative emotional valence can actually boost original thinking. Moodier sounds trigger a deeper level of imaginative processing, helping you find plot twists and ideas that a happier track might never reveal (Xiao et al., 2023). Whether it's a soulful blues track or a haunting noir melody, music isn't just a vibe — it's a cognitive tool.

What's playing in your headphones when you're in the zone? Drop your favorite writing tracks in the comments — let's build the ultimate creator's soundtrack together.

Keep Reading: If this resonated with you, check out The Multisensory Novel: Merging Fiction and Soundscapes — where we dig into the neuroscience behind why music makes stories hit harder.

Explore the Work: Browse our fiction catalog to see the stories these playlists helped build, or visit Music to hear original tracks and soundscapes.

Reference

Xiao, X., Tan, J., Liu, X., & Zheng, M. (2023). The dual effect of background music on creativity: Perspectives of music preference and cognitive interference. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1247133. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1247133