Ask the Author: R.N. Morris
Answered Questions (6)
R.N. Morris
Strong black coffee.
R.N. Morris
Making up stories.
R.N. Morris
Read in the genre you want to write in, obviously, but don't just limit yourself to that. Read widely and read actively - trying to work out what the author is doing, what works, what doesn't work. Ask yourself, how did they do that? As for writing, try to write something every day, even if it's just 50 words. Even if it's terrible. You can always make it better, but just get something down. 2,000 words of rubbish is better than nothing. And often those 2,000 words of rubbish (which probably won't be nothing) will lead you on to something better.
R.N. Morris
I'm writing on something a little different for me. Most of my books so far have been historical fiction. But this one is a contemporary set story. Also there is an element of comedy in it. I wouldn't say it is an out and out comic novel - it's a thriller, but a little bit tongue in cheek. That's all I'm prepared to say!
R.N. Morris
This is a hard one. I'm not sure I see the process in terms of getting inspired. I think you do get possessed by certain ideas that become obsessions. You live with an idea, mull it over, look at it from every side, and eventually you think, yes, maybe, there could be something in this. But it always takes me by surprise a little when I discover that I have started writing a new book.
R.N. Morris
My most recent book is Fortune's Hand, a historical novel about Sir Walter Raleigh. I got the idea of writing it after visiting an exhibition about Eldorado in the British Museum. Raleigh was obsessed by the mythical city of gold and launched a couple of expeditions to find it.
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