Taylor holds an MA from Stanford University where he was a Stegner Fellowship winner in poetry and where he later taught creative writing.

While still at Stanford, Taylor moonlighted as a singer in a rock band and started writing songs.

He signed with Geffen Records and began a musical career that produced seven albums, principally under the name Roderick Falconer.

Taylor then began write story ideas and screenplays for television and film, often with his son Bruce, leading to the scripts for theatrical movies such as The Star Chamber and scripts for pilots like Annihilator and the Western-themed movies Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues and Wild Horses.

In 2009, Taylor and son Bruce completed work on Open Graves, a contemporary horror film.