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Roderick T. Macdonald

Goodreads Author

Website

https://rodericktmacdonald.com/

Genre

Fantasy, Fiction

Influences

Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Patricia McKillip, Roger Zelazny, Anne McCaffrey, ...more

Member Since

August 2017

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Hello.

My name is Roderick T. Macdonald, but friends call me Roddy. I am a writer of fantasy fiction. I grew up Scottish, have become an American, and have always loved writing.

I have a tendency to smutty jokes, a love of rock and heavy metal, and a cat.

I have many collections. All incomplete. The cat shredded one of my comics.

I grew up playing snooker, and play pool with more enthusiasm than skill. (I'm not bad, I just don't practice enough.)

I am happily married and live in Colorado. I got off the plane here, and never left.

I am very happy to meet you, as second hand as this is. I have lived a long time in worlds of my imagination, and eventually I worked out how share those worlds with others. I hope you enjoy the things I have made. ...more

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Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?

Roderick T. Macdonald "That icy touch behind your ear, the sinking feeling you experience when you know everything has gone wrong, and there is nothing you can do to stop, …more"That icy touch behind your ear, the sinking feeling you experience when you know everything has gone wrong, and there is nothing you can do to stop, or change that hideous fact. That’s what you’ll feel tonight, when it wakes you, but don't worry; the feeling won't last forever..."(less)

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Roderick T. Macdonald I don't think I have ever been truly blocked, but I have run into difficulties with scenes and sections of a book, or had general motivational lapses,…moreI don't think I have ever been truly blocked, but I have run into difficulties with scenes and sections of a book, or had general motivational lapses, shall we say.

When I'm wrestling with something and having a hard time resolving a problem in writing I have maybe 4 main responses. First - sleep on it. I just admit I'm not going to solve that problem right now, and rely on a good night's rest to let me come back at it with a fresh perspective. I tend to wake up with ideas, so this approach serves me well. Sometimes being a dog gnawing at a bone just causes frustration and zero progress for me.

The second response is also simple: I go for a walk. I am an inveterate daydreamer, so walking and allowing the world to wash over me will often spark a new thought, or help me spot a new perspective on whatever it is that is bugging me. As with the sleep remedy, the aim is to switch my mind off the problem, and allow it to work unfettered - get the conscious process out of the way so to speak. I don't know how it works, but it does!

Third - read a book/watch a movie. Go and inhabit another narrative, not the one I'm struggling with. Again, this is a way of resetting my mind, and feeding it stimulus, which allows me to re-approach my problem refreshed. Sometimes in reading or watching, I will find myself thinking about that dramatic structure, those characters, their dialogue and motivations, and wonder how I might handle something similar, and those thoughts morph into a potential solution to my problem. Or I just get totally sucked in and simply enjoy what I am experiencing for its own sake, and am refreshed by it - which again, can allow my brain some respite from the problem that has been frustrating me, and so I will often have a little Eureka! moment and find a way through the problem.

The fourth way is to persevere. If I'm struggling with a section, and I don't think it is working - I tell myself I have to get through it in order to get to the next section I am more excited about. Just get something down, even if I think it is cardboard, and move through it, promising to redraft and rewrite as required, but just get through it and move on. If the other three strategies have failed, then this one has to be broken out and stuck with, as anything else is just likely to be a procrastinatory tactic, designed to keep me away from finally dealing with my issue! When I have done this - I often find that all the extra work on the section that once caused me such stress has resulted in a very good outcome, and writing that on review I am very happy with.

I hope this answer helps!(less)

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Roderick T. Macdonald’s books

Average rating: 3.87 · 31 ratings · 12 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Thief and The Demon 3.84 avg rating — 25 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Killer and The Dead 4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2021 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Gardener and The Goddess (The World Belt Series) it was ok 2.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

294 posts
Roderick T. Macdonald's Blog

Writing as Collage

Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! First off, the first of two October sales of The Killer and The Dead starts tomorrow! (UK and US) 1st to 8th of October. Start off the spooky season with a serial killer facing down the undead and his own familial dysfunction! You know you want to. I …

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Roderick is Currently Reading

Roderick Macdonald is currently reading

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

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Mar 01, 2020 08:31PM

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Roderick’s Recent Updates

Roderick T. Macdonald wrote a new blog post Writing as Collage Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! First off, the first of two October sales of The Killer and The Dead starts tomorrow! (UK and US) 1st t Read more of this blog post »
Oct 01, 2025 04:42AM · like

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Roderick’s Quotes

“I saw the Old Moon with the New Moon in her arms, hovering above a row of poplars. The”
― Roger Zelazny, Nine Princes in Amber

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