Roz Morris's Blog, page 58

‘An expectant silence, a connection to something greater’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Kathryn Craft

I have been looking forward to sharing this Soundtrack with you. I’ve known the writer for a number of years on social media as we’ve moved in the same Venn diagrams, but when I saw the pre-publicity for her latest novel I had to approach her for this series. One of the hallmarks of these […]

How to think like a novelist – with help from Station Eleven and Emily St John Mandel

‘I am very good at imagining doom. That is why I write novels.’ The other day I posted on Facebook about my horse’s health problems, which I have been worrying about, and finished with those words. Imagining doom. This made me wonder: what characterises the writerly mind? I thought I’d run a diagnostic on the […]

I write because… I’m totally unsuited to anything else – interview at Chris Hill’s blog

Today I’m at the blog of Chris Hill, which I’m rather chuffed about because Chris has appeared on some impressive writing shortlists: The Daily Telegraph Novel In A Year competition; the Yeovil Literature Prize; the Bridport. (And of course you might know him already from The Undercover Soundtrack.) Chris asked me how I ended up […]

‘His voice brought me back to where I began’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Joni Rodgers

My guest this week returns for her third appearance on The Undercover Soundtrack. And it’s for her first novel, which she’s reissuing in a director’s cut, after reclaiming the rights. Plotlines and characters have been reimagined according to her original vision, and music was vital to recreating the book in her mind. Indeed, the story […]

Help – my characters are all too similar! 5 tips to make them distinct

I���ve been asked this question twice recently – in a conversation on G+, and by a student at my Guardian masterclass the other week. In both cases, the writers had encouraging feedback from agents, but one crucial criticism: the characters all seemed too similar. And probably this wasn���t surprising because of their story scenarios. Both […]

‘An anxious, urgent sound: the music of chance’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Jim Ruland

This week���s Undercover Soundtrack is so raw and honest. Although all great books are personal journeys for the writer as well as the reader, this one has a truly traumatic back story. The writer lost a dear friend while he was drafting it, and his soundtrack is as much a journey of grief and recovery […]

Why writing a novel is not like writing for your day job – and how to transition

Yesterday I was teaching an editing masterclass at The Guardian. During the lunch break I got chatting to a desk editor from its sister title The Observer, who remarked that he���d always been curious about writing a novel, but wondered where his journalism instincts would be a hindrance and where an advantage. (He was also […]

‘A horse, a hat and a fight for freedom’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Tanya Landman

My guest this week grew up in thrall to wild west movies, especially the ones with epic theme music. Many years later, she was reading some history books as research and stumbled across the freed slaves who were conscripted to fight the Indian Wars. Those early movie memories with their sweeping soundscapes came back to […]

So You Want To Be A Writer – musical taster of past shows

I just discovered that Mixcloud, where Surrey Hills Radio archive the show I present with bookseller Peter Snell, has a function to share episodes on WordPress. Now you might be thinking I’ve posted a lot of audio and video recently, so let me reassure you I haven’t abandoned text. That would be somewhat absurd for […]

Magic ingredients for a great plot – video and podcast at The Creative Penn

What is plot? What ingredients are essential, regardless of genre? How do we use themes effectively, and subplots? What makes a satisfying ending? Author-entrepreneur and heroic podcaster Joanna Penn invited me to her podcast to answer these questions and more – and as you see, at 33:47 you can be assured of authorly hilarity. You […]