crazy cat lady asked Penelope Douglas:

Do you listen to the music on the playlists while you write? Do you create them before, during, or after you write the book? Do songs come to mind while you are writing a part of the book or do some songs inspire sections in the book?

Penelope Douglas Hi, Lisa!

All of the above :) I might hear a song and decide it will be good for a certain playlist, maybe not even having started the story yet. Other times I'll find the song as I'm writing the book.

And yes, certain songs inspire actual parts of the book. For instance, Apocalyptica's I Don't Care for the tree scene when Jared tells Tate he wouldn't care of she were alive or dead.

Music is my biggest inspiration. Not every reader is going to like the music I put in the books, but I think anything an author can do to add to the reading experience (like Pinterest boards, as well) are fun and appreciated by readers.

I always write to music, however, I don't always write to the playlists. Songs where you can "sing along" are distracting. I'll be trying to write, and before I know I'm accidentally writing the lyrics. LOL. So I write to classical or instrumental, and strange as it may sound, bands like Slipknot. Metal is a constant bombardment of noise that you can't really sing along to and it's steady, without a lot of change in rhythm. It works.

Thanks for your question!

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