Roz Morris's Blog, page 50

Masterclass snapshots: how to write several narrators and make them sound distinct

Here’s another of my favourite discussions from my recent Guardian self-editing masterclass… How to write several narrators and make them sound distinct One student had several narrators and was finding it hard to make them distinct. His writer group reported that they sounded too similar, especially in dialogue. One character was male and one female, […]

‘A story of a vagabonding soul’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Daniel Paisner

My guest this week is a man of many guises. He’s a prolific bestselling ghostwriter with clients who include tennis champion Serena Williams, Hollywood stars Whoopi Goldberg and Denzel Washington and 9/11 fire chief Richard Picciotto. While writing the lives of others, his steady companion is the Spa channel on Sirius; whatever they play, all […]

Masterclass snapshots: must plot twists always be misfortunes or disasters? And where does your story end?

Hello! I know I’ve been uncharacteristically quiet. I’ve been trying to finish a rather exciting project that’s turned into a corkscrew of learning curves. It’s not quite there yet, but the end is nigh. Which also seems an appropriate way to introduce this post. Yesterday I was back at The Guardian, teaching an advanced editing […]

‘After 13 books I became a real author’ – guest post at Helena Halme

There’s been quite a fuss about self-publishing on internet channels recently. Brit author Ros Barber swore in The Guardian that she’d never self-publish her fiction, which prompted a lot of us to reassert why we did. This post by me appears to join the general howl, but in fact it was commissioned several months ago. […]

Should writers tackle environmental issues instead of playing make-believe? Guest spot at Howlarium

I’m taking a short blogging break to finish a big project before Easter, but in the meantime I can leave you with some slightly unusual bloggery. Look at the question in the header. When I received it in my email, I thought I’d quietly pass. I don’t really see my fiction as a cudgel for […]

How to write a gripping, unforgettable plot – video podcast guest spot with Lorna Faith

Think of all the kinds of novels we might write … from a sensitive character study to a sprawling epic to a nailbiting thriller … are there any common factors they all have? There are. They’re my secret. Actually, they’re not a secret at all. The 4 Cs of a great plot is one of […]

How to blog about your book … without giving too much away

Following my post about not talking about novels I’m writing, I’ve had this question: I am a new author (just signed) and I am struggling with how to share parts of the story to entice readers while also protecting its integrity. Any suggestions? Don’t be a tease My first question is this. How far off […]

‘Vulnerable and isolated’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Sanjida Kay

My guest this week has been here before. Not in a reincarnation sense; she’s guested on the series, but under a different name. For her latest novel she’s using a pseudonym for a change of direction. She’s written a gritty psychological thriller about a woman who discovers her young daughter is being bullied at school. […]

Editing seminar snapshots: How much should you budget for editing your book? And how should you choose an editor?

This very good question came up when I spoke at the Writers & Artists selfpublishing summit a few months ago. And my answer… deserves a post. First, there seem to be two modes for charging: by the hour and by the wordcount or page. With the wordcount, writers can be quoted a fixed price, so […]

I wish I’d written… Five novels that make me raise my game

Sometimes I put a book down and am left a tad envious. These are books that, although I finished them several months ago, still make my green eyes … greener. …….. Night Work by Thomas Glavinic, translated by John Brownjohn Jonas wakes up one morning to find he is the last person left alive. There […]