Writing with Ambiance
I’m a big proponent of the writing playlist (find my master writing playlist here.), but sometimes I need a little something extra to set the writing mood. Here’s a collection of my favorite “ambiance” Youtube videos–complete with lovely, lightly animated art and ambient sounds like rain on a window, a bubbling brook, or the gentle groaning of a carriage. I usually put these on the TV or my non-dominant monitor while I write to help me focus. Most of them can be paired with your favorite writing music.
This is one of my favorites. The art and fluttering leaves are just gorgeous, and the sounds are subtle.
I like this one because it has a lot of thunder.
Wherever this is, I want to be here. Take me to this rainy porch and that steaming cup of coffee.
Is it getting a little cold in here to you? This one has great howling wind in it. It evokes this great isolation where you and the elements are at odds. This one helps me get in the mood to write my new fantasy romance project, The Storm King.
You come in from the snow, someone has prepared the fire…the blizzard continues outside, but you have the comfiest chair in the world, the crackle of flames, and a steaming mug at hand.
This one’s very idyllic and features a little music rather than just ambient sounds. I love the water sounds, and the art is gorgeous. Takes me back to being a baby level 1 Night Elf the first time I ever played World of Warcraft.
This one will put you in the mood to go write a carriage scene. That gentle creak of wheels and steady clop of horse hooves.
A darker, quieter version of the fantasy village video above. When night has fallen and things are geting dreamy.
You’re an astronomer in your study, or a writer in your bedroom…so long as it keeps raining and the candles continue to flicker.
It’s wet outside. You’re camping, and it will not stop raining. You hunker down in your tent. Or there was an all too brief summer shower and you long for more rain against the window to help you write.
Your wizard master’s hard at work in the study and doesn’t like to be interrupted, but it is your favorite place to curl up and read. And you do love digging through all his priceless artifacts.
