On Giant’s Shoulders: The Power of Music in Writing

Music has always been very important to my writing.

I finished my first novel, Gatekeeper I: The Finding, in one all-night writing session powered by instant oatmeal, Easy Mac, and U2’s Unforgettable Fire album on repeat – particularly the song “Bad”. I finally sorted out the true ending of Gatekeeper III: The Keeping (my outlining journal contains several previous, discarded versions of the climax and epilogue) on a 10-mile run listening to “Save Me” by Muse over and over and over...