For me, music creates a state of mind and can influence the direction the story takes. Listening to Frank Sinatra will push the story in a more nostalgic, romantic direction, while listening to Blink-182 may push the characters to entertain sarcasm and embrace their daring side. However, I tend to choose my writing music by the mood I’m in when I sit down to write, rather than the mood I wish to create in the story. My taste in music spans several decades and multiple genres, but when I write, I typically put on some form of rock—classic, punk, folk, alternative—anything I can sing along with. Some writers find music with lyrics distracting, and it can be, but if it puts me in a better mood while I’m writing, I can usually power through the story for hours on end.

I tend to go with a web-based music player rather than my own music library. Part of the reason is because I listen to that music on my MP3 player all day at work, but also it means I don’t have to manage the music from my computer, where I’m supposed to be focusing on my writing. I have a few stations on Pandora I like to listen to while I write, a U2 station, Third Eye Blind, Blink-182, and Weezer, all of which are perfect “background” music to have—except when Pandora goes off the grid and plays something off-genre. Otherwise, if I’m looking for something more current, I like to pull up I Heart Radio and tune into my favorite local station, Channel 93.3 in Denver, which plays new rock music, as well as some “throwbacks” from the past twenty or so years.

In Quiet on the Set, Rylie’s music of choice is classic rock, which is also where my musical education began. I grew up on classic rock and oldies with bands like Aerosmith, The Beatles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, the Cars, Eric Clapton, Janis Joplin, the Rolling Stones, and a lot of others.