It took me forever to find this thread that I knew existed. I should have put it in Tips & Tricks instead of General Discussion, but oh well.
This isn't technically writing music, but it's similar, so I'm posting it here instead of starting a new thread for it. I stumbled onto this cool YouTube channel called Mindscapes. It's full of videos that are basically white noise with different themes - some are relaxing nature sounds set in different environments, while others are more music-like. I thought it might be inspiring for those of you who find actual music distracting, but want something more than total silence when you write. Here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCklz_LyHU8JnpgEgbDMLN1A/videosI don't usually get into that kind of thing, but I found the one called Bedside Life Support while I was researching for a scene with a character waking up from a coma, so I gave it a try. I found it totally distracting at first and kept laughing at it, but after a few minutes, I was able to semi-tune it out so it became background noise, and it actually really did help me focus and get into the scene more. I listened to the full hour of it without even realizing it and stayed focused on writing the whole time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGkvyZNT9wM&feature=youtu.beThere's also a zombie/horror-themed one called Dead of the Night that might have been helpful when I was writing Song for the Undead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUDvHLGpnGA&t=1721s