Roz Morris's Blog, page 77

‘Music to unite and reunite’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Denise Kahn

I first discovered this week’s guest when a Google fairy revealed she’d written a novel about reincarnation and music. I had to try to recruit her. She turned out to be even more suitable for the series than I could have guessed. Her mother was an opera singer. She wrote her first novel to help […]

How to switch point of view without confusing the reader

One of the deadly sins of writing is the ‘head-hop’ – inconsistency with the narrative point of view. The writer will be following one character’s perspective, then forgets to keep to it, or switches to another in a way that creates a logic hiccup. The problem is often subtle, which is why it’s hard to […]

How to nail Nanowrimo – post at Writers & Artists

Nearly November! I’m at Writers & Artists today with a preparation regime for November’s big writing event, National Novel-Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). It’s ultra-streamlined to suit all writing approaches. If you like to create a detailed synopsis, my tips will get you going. If you want only the barest essentials, they’ll guide you while giving you […]

‘Grime meets classical’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Polly Courtney

My guest this week grew up on classical music. Childhood piano lessons inspired her latest novel, Feral Youth, about the relationship between a troubled teenager and a piano teacher. One pivotal scene came while she was listening to Wagner; the surging music seemed to insist she create a dramatic bonding moment between her two principals. […]

Are you an author or a publisher? How indies are making their own rules

Tomorrow (or maybe today or last week, depending on when you’re served this post) I’ll be taking part in a Book Industry Communication debate on the future of ISBNs. I’m providing the author perspective, so as part of my research I canvassed opinions to see what the mood is. Much of the feedback centred on […]

‘This song was the sway of her hips’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Adrienne Thompson

My guest this week says she discovers characters through songs – from the outline of their stance to the troubled depths in their souls. For her, this is when the book comes alive and she understands what pulls the characters together – and what will drive them apart. Certain songs became the mental habitats for […]

How to develop a writer’s instinct

How do we develop a writer’s instinct? How do we get the confidence to strike out creatively? How might we become more original in our writing? I’m thinking about this because the other day I heard an interview with the British actor Peter Bowles. He explained that much of the time in acting life, he’d […]

‘Searching for truth’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, TJ Cooke

My guest this week says he uses music before he sets hands to keyboard, to help conjure the creative mood. Sometimes it works the other way around; he’ll be writing and will realise the mind-jukebox is directing a scene to the structure or lyrics of a song. He trained as a lawyer but quickly found […]

3-ish tips for pitching your book

I’m slightly early with my post this week. On Saturday I’m an author in residence at Barton’s Bookshop as part of the national Books Are My Bag celebrations this week. After that, Morris HQ is on cyber-shutdown for the weekend as we celebrate a friend’s 40th. Just as I was wondering what (on earth!) to […]

‘Music goes to the long-ago brain’ – The Undercover Soundtrack, Wolf Pascoe

Before words. Before thought or language. My guest this week spends his professional life challenged by the reflexes and intricacies of the long-ago brain. By day he is an anaesthetist; an inducer of sleep and guardian of the unconscious. Sometimes that’s more eventful than you’d think. By night he is a poet and a playwright. […]