Thursday night I sat down at my computer and put on my headphones, grabbing a brownie, a glass of milk, my cell phone, and made sure to stuff the printer with enough paper: I was getting ready to write my annual submission to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

First thing first, I opened up Microsoft word and iTunes. I mentally cracked my knuckles (because, unlike Jack Snyder, this is something I have never been able to do) and thought over my story idea. Finally I maximized my iTunes window and selected The Song.

The Song refers to Fake Empire by The National, which I listened to on repeat for 35 times while I was writing, or for 114.5 minutes, which amounts to roughly two hours, if the calculator on my computer has done the math right.

It’s sort of a routine I do when I write: I pick one song very carefully to match the mood of whatever I’m writing and play it over and over and over again till I’m done with my piece. I do this when I’m filming something too.

Once I played a song 160 times in the same day because I was filming — which is quite a lot, by the way.

I’ve been asked a couple times before why on earth I listened to one song so many times in one sitting, and how I could stand to do it. I’ve always answered that it helped me write better, but I wondered if this was really true.

I often find myself sitting down to do homework that doesn’t completely engage me, such as math (considering I’m a right-brained human being), and I’ll find that I can’t focus without listening to music.

I began to wonder if this eccentricity was unique to me or not, so I did a bit of research. I found out that I am not alone. In fact, I’m in company with some of the arguably best writers in history.

Apparently, Hemingway believed in writing 500 or more words a day. Faulkner liked to drink whiskey as he wrote. Dan Brown keeps an hourglass on his desk and, when each hour is up, he puts aside his manuscript and does push-ups, sit-ups, and stretches. Stephen King writes no less than 10 pages a day. Thomas Wolfe stood up when he wrote.

So maybe next time you are having trouble writing that English paper you should try listening to the same song on repeat, pouring yourself a glass of whiskey, and maintaining an upright position. I can guarantee you an A.