Ask the Author: Sandra L. Rostirolla
Answered Questions (6)
Sandra L. Rostirolla
Research. I go for a walk. I talk it out with a friend. I skip the section and move on. I don't worry about my sentence structure and jot down just the basics to get through what ever is blocking me and tidy it up later. I accept the fact that thinking is also writing and allow myself the freedom to 'think' without chastising myself for not 'writing'.
Sandra L. Rostirolla
Perpetually living in a dreamworld! I've done the whole 9-5 thing and abhorred it. I like my schedule being my own; I like living with my characters; I like listening to their stories, feeling their pain, their anguish, their love. In short - I love telling stories via my fingers.
Sandra L. Rostirolla
Many aspiring writers say to me, "I have an idea for a story, I just don't know where to start." When I workshopped the screenplay version of CECILIA in the Australians in Film's Writers Room, one of my peers inquired as to where I got the idea to start the story with a young woman in a forest watching as a deer foraged on fiddleheads. My answer was simple. Act I of the ballet that inspired my novel was titled: "Cecilia in Plockton". When I thought about what Cecilia would be doing in Plockton, this image was the first one that came into my head, so I wrote it down. From there, the next image followed, then the next and so on.
New or aspiring writers are notorious for editing themselves before they even write a single word. My advice is to not double question the image in your head. Put it on paper and trust that the words for the next image will come. After all, as Stephen King points out, there's only one way to write a book - one word at a time.
I also tell aspiring writers that if they don't believe me, maybe they'll believe George RR Martin. He once got an image of a young boy watching his father behead a man. The image wouldn't leave him, so he wrote it down. This simple act of putting an image to paper spawned one of the best fantasy series ever and a brilliant HBO show.
New or aspiring writers are notorious for editing themselves before they even write a single word. My advice is to not double question the image in your head. Put it on paper and trust that the words for the next image will come. After all, as Stephen King points out, there's only one way to write a book - one word at a time.
I also tell aspiring writers that if they don't believe me, maybe they'll believe George RR Martin. He once got an image of a young boy watching his father behead a man. The image wouldn't leave him, so he wrote it down. This simple act of putting an image to paper spawned one of the best fantasy series ever and a brilliant HBO show.
Sandra L. Rostirolla
I'm currently in the brewing stage of Book 2 for CECILIA. I pretty much know what happens in Chapter 1 (i.e. what the answer is to the unanswered question at the end of CECILIA), and that's about it.
My good friend is pushing me to write a story for NY Time's Modern Love section. Since I've given myself this goal for my writer group (see answer to previous question), I'd better get cracking and write it.
My good friend is pushing me to write a story for NY Time's Modern Love section. Since I've given myself this goal for my writer group (see answer to previous question), I'd better get cracking and write it.
Sandra L. Rostirolla
I'm one of the lucky ones. I have a writer group that weeks monthly. Part of our meetings includes setting goals. When inspiration lacks, I still force myself to write as I don't want to be a lame and miss my goal. It's really that simple. If I'm truly blocked on a story point, I'll do a tonne of research.
For example, with CECILIA, I wanted more than just the typical good vs evil relationship. After days of research, I came across St. Augustine’s Enchiridion. Chapter 13’s assertion that “there can be no evil where there is no good” not only solved my Goddess of Light's relationship with her dark shadow, it solidified my stakes – if good loses, all will be lost.
For example, with CECILIA, I wanted more than just the typical good vs evil relationship. After days of research, I came across St. Augustine’s Enchiridion. Chapter 13’s assertion that “there can be no evil where there is no good” not only solved my Goddess of Light's relationship with her dark shadow, it solidified my stakes – if good loses, all will be lost.
Sandra L. Rostirolla
Four years ago, my brother passed away unexpectedly. After spending three months back home in Sydney, Australia, I returned to Los Angeles with a fire lit in my belly – life was too precious to waste time not striving for one’s dreams. At the time, my focus was on writing screenplays. Cecilia, the novel, was a happy accident.
Inspired by a modern ballet that he had seen in Bern, Switzerland, my husband decided to write a ballet. Jumping at the chance to try something new, I offered up my services as librettist. Since ballet stories typically run only four to eight pages, I figured the assignment would be a quick and fun learning experience. How wrong was I. Each scene that I presented was met with the same response: “That’s great, just expand it a little more.” Needless to say, a little more became 90-pages.
Six-weeks into the project, Kurt’s workload exploded and the ballet was placed on hold, indefinitely. When I presented my colossal outline to him and inquired as to what I was supposed to do now, he replied: "Write the novel."
Here's a bit of trivia:
Cecilia is named as such because St. Cecilia is the patroness of composers.
Many characters and scenes are inspired by the artwork of Leonardo da Vinci, including:
Cecilia – Study for the Head of Leda
Amalardh – Bust of a Warrior in Profile
The Senators – Five Caricature Heads
Cecilia telling stories to children – Virgin of the Rocks
Siersha appearing to Cecilia – The Annunciation
The final battle – The Battle of Anghiari
Inspired by a modern ballet that he had seen in Bern, Switzerland, my husband decided to write a ballet. Jumping at the chance to try something new, I offered up my services as librettist. Since ballet stories typically run only four to eight pages, I figured the assignment would be a quick and fun learning experience. How wrong was I. Each scene that I presented was met with the same response: “That’s great, just expand it a little more.” Needless to say, a little more became 90-pages.
Six-weeks into the project, Kurt’s workload exploded and the ballet was placed on hold, indefinitely. When I presented my colossal outline to him and inquired as to what I was supposed to do now, he replied: "Write the novel."
Here's a bit of trivia:
Cecilia is named as such because St. Cecilia is the patroness of composers.
Many characters and scenes are inspired by the artwork of Leonardo da Vinci, including:
Cecilia – Study for the Head of Leda
Amalardh – Bust of a Warrior in Profile
The Senators – Five Caricature Heads
Cecilia telling stories to children – Virgin of the Rocks
Siersha appearing to Cecilia – The Annunciation
The final battle – The Battle of Anghiari
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