Music... or Not

I create in silence, I analyse to noise.

This strange fact hit me this week while trying to write a major uni essay. It just wasn't working for me and I couldn't work out why. Then I thought back to my early uni days and realised I did all my study to music.

You see, in the time I have been writing romance I have learnt I work best when I listen to music before I start to write (for inspiration) but once I start to write I need quiet!

Yet to write an academic paper I listen to upbeat music while doing research, then music without lyrics (or I find myself singing) while writing the paper.

I guess it's that right brain/left brain thing again.

Research music example

 Academic writing music example

Creative writing inspiration music example

Brain Meltdown

This year I have had to go back to uni. Not because I have any deep-seated need to study, but because if I want to keep my job I have to do this.

I'm finding it very difficult to write my assignments. Not the word count. Those piddly little numbers, eg 2000 words, are but a blink now I'm used to writing 50-70 thousand words. It's the writing style.

I'd forgotten what it was like when I started writing seriously and had to switch off my scientific brain and switch on my creative one. I think that was much easier to do than switching the other way. Possibly because I am still *trying* to keep my creative writing flowing all the while trying to write academic reports. Talk about brain meltdown.

The father of the brain dominance field is Ned Herrmann. In essence his work showed the left brain controls analytical and sequential thinking and the right brain controls interpersonal and imaginative. So to effectively write my univeristy assignments I need to activate my left brain - all the while keeping my right brain functioning for my creative writing.

My brain is at war with itself and I'm not sure what the outcome will be.