Writing to Muse-ic

The whole Starstruck series has not only been written on a treadmill, it’s also been written while listening to a playlist I created specifically for these books. It has helped to put (and keep) me in the right state of mind, and to identify with what my teen characters are going through. I thought my readers might be interested in knowing exactly WHAT music I’ve been writing to all this time, so here’s what I have on shuffle in iTunes, playing nonstop pretty much any time I’m writing:

Take A Bow                4:35     Muse   Black Holes & Revelations
Starlight                       4:00     Muse   Black Holes & Revelations
Stockholm Syndrome  4:57     Muse   Absolution
Supermassive Black Hole        3:29     Muse   Black Holes & Revelations
Map Of The Problematique     4:19     Muse   Black Holes & Revelations
The Small Print           3:29     Muse   Absolution
Sing For Absolution    4:55     Muse   Absolution
Ruled By Secrecy        4:52     Muse   Absolution
Soldier’s Poem                        2:04     Muse   Black Holes & Revelations
Invincible                     5:00     Muse   Black Holes & Revelations
Assassin                      3:31     Muse   Black Holes & Revelations
Exo-Politics                 3:53     Muse   Black Holes & Revelations
City Of Delusion         4:49     Muse   Black Holes & Revelations
Hoodoo                       3:43     Muse   Black Holes & Revelations
Knights Of Cydonia                6:07     Muse   Black Holes & Revelations
Uprising                      5:03     Muse   The Resistance
Resistance                   5:47     Muse   The Resistance
Undisclosed Desires               3:56     Muse   The Resistance
United States Of Eurasia / Collateral Damage 5:48 Muse The Resistance
Guiding Light              4:13     Muse   The Resistance
Unnatural Selection                 6:55     Muse   The Resistance
MK Ultra                    4:06     Muse   The Resistance
I Belong To You / Mon Cœur S’ouvre À Ta Voix 5:39 Muse The Resistance
Falling Away With You           4:41     Muse   Absolution
Fury    5:02     Muse   Absolution
Endlessly         3:49     Muse   Absolution
Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)                   4:18     Muse   The Resistance
Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)     3:56     Muse   The Resistance
Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)              4:37     Muse   The Resistance
Soul’s Lament              5:45     Philip Wesley  Dark Night of the Soul
Thoughts Of A Dying Atheist 3:07     Muse   Absolution
E.T.                 3:26     Katy Perry       Teenage Dream
Time Is Running Out  3:59     Muse   Absolution
Hysteria           3:48     Muse   Absolution
Apocalypse Please       4:13     Muse   Absolution
Butterflies and Hurricanes       5:02     Muse   Absolution
Blackout          4:22     Muse   Absolution

As you can see, my Starstruck writing playlist is HEAVILY dominated by Muse, though I also added a couple of others (like Katy Perry’s “E.T.”—which you have to admit, fits pretty well!) Muse’s album “The Resistance” has been especially inspirational and appropriate for the Starstruck series. In fact, I can name a theme song for every book in this series from that album. Listen to the following songs after reading each book and see if you can spot the lyrics that most inspired me!

For STARSTRUCK (book 1): “Uprising”
For STARCROSSED (book 2): “Resistance”
For STARBOUND (book 3): “Exogenesis Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)”
and for STARFALL (book 4): “Exogenesis Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)”