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I don't listen to music when I write. I need silence.

I don't listen to music when I write. I need silence so I can hear the sound of the words.

I don't listen to anything when I'm writing. I need total quiet, which is astounding, given that I spent years working for a newspaper and having to write features surrounded by ringing phones and people shouting.

When I write I find a quiet place.

I am in total silence when I write - I don't even like the sound of the dryer going - I like the quiet.

Silence is best.

I can't imagine writing a novel without some sound. When you're facing a few hundred blank pages, silence can be cold.

Because music is a language unto itself, when I'm writing, I need silence. I need to hear the music and the rhythms of the words inside my thoughts.

Silences have a climax, when you have got to speak.