To be in my personal 'writing happy place', I prefer dead quiet or music appropriate to my mood. I do not, on the other hand, find myself to do well with constant traffic in and out of my room, door slams, running cats/barking dogs, wrestling, or video game sound effects. It's summer vacation. With four kids home all day every day, imagine the impact these strict parameters have on my word count. Mmmhmm.
And what do I do when stories need to be told now or never, but they're completely separate from what I'm working so hard to complete. First world problems, absolutely, but still new and confusing to me.