Month: July 2018

#39 – Alexandra Sokoloff – Write Through The Roof

Welcome to Write Through The Roof, the podcast for writers who want to improve their craft.

Episode 39 with Alexandra Sokoloff – thriller author & screenwriter

“You are directing a movie onto the page.”

Episode 39 – Alexandra Sokoloff – Show Notes
  • Good and evil and what good people can do
  • Screenwriters have to be plotters. Journey from impro to screenwriting
  • Milk
  • Exploration of violence against women using a female serial killer
  • Using screenwriting techniques to become better authors
  • Multi-task while appearing to have a social life
  • Taking your favourite movies and working out what the classic movies are doing: Silence of the Lambs, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Casablanca, When Harry Met Sally, The Hunger Games, The Wizard of Oz
  • Editors want a movie in their head
  • Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, Denise Mina, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Mo Hayder, Tana French, Val McDermid
  • Huntress/FBI series – to be read in order – like a binge watch TV experience
  • Hunger Moon is an unhappy read for Trump supporters

“If you’re going to talk about good and evil, you need to talk about people and what people do.”

“I do this with a total agenda of changing rape culture.”

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#38 – Gail Carriger – Write Through The Roof

Welcome to Write Through The Roof, the podcast for writers who want to improve their craft.

Episode 38 with Gail Carriger – comedy of manners paranormal romance author

“The strength of the romance genre lies in the Heroine’s Journey.”

Episode 38 – Gail Carriger – Show Notes
  • A militant plotter and a purger
  • 2000 words per day and only re-read words written the day before
  • Novellas in the independent publishing world
  • Chronic tea drinker – import from England
  • Gentle, frivolous, strong female friendships and the help of others
  • The Heroine’s Journey
  • Give yourself permission to suck
  • Beta readers with different coloured pens and revision pass for funny
  • Scrivener
  • Moving back into YA high fantasy
  • Tamora Pierce, Mercedes Lackey
  • Queer characters and power of normalisation
  • Competence: with queer main character.
  • Shared world of characters but stories are stand-alone

“No one but you has to read your first draft.”

“My goal is at least three LOLs per page.”

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#37 – Emma Viskic – Write Through The Roof

Welcome to Write Through The Roof, the podcast for writers who want to improve their craft.

Episode 37 with Emma Viskic – award-winning crime author

“I kept one word from the story. It was Commodore.”

Episode 37 – Emma Viskic – Show Notes
  • Plantser, vomit and polish
  • Writing at the extreme ends of the day
  • Belonging, communication and loss, deaf and indigenous characters. Exploration of themes throughout a series
  • Training wheels novels
  • Taking the first sentence from a novel chapter to build a short story
  • Short stories teach how to cut words, cut characters and have a clean line throughout
  • The difficulty of a crime short story
  • A 10 month unfinished vomit draft
  • Each book is written in a different way with different pressures; first book, second book and third book
  • Hilary Mantel, Peter Temple, JM Green
  • And Fire Came Down – scars and fire season

“Sending them to the farm to play with the other words.”

“There’s vomit and there’s polish. It’s a mess.”

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#36 – Michelle Worthington – Write Through The Roof

Welcome to Write Through The Roof, the podcast for writers who want to improve their craft.

Episode 36 with Michelle Worthington – award-winning picture book author

“Kids are so bombarded with visuals these days, they love verbal storytelling.”

Episode 36 – Michelle Worthington – Show Notes
  • Picture books can be scribbled on the back of napkin or receipt
  • Learning the industry & the craft after getting the first book published
  • Coffee and Mum chocolate
  • Writing a story for one person in particular. Empowering kids who are not represented in other books.
  • Reading and ask your audience what they’re reading and why they like it.
  • Talking with teachers about child development and the stages.
  • Be a lifelong learner
  • Authors are small businesses. The best businesses are the best storytellers.
    The story you create around yourself as an author. Creating your author brand.
  • Publishers are looking for people to work with, not stories
  • 80s picture books with Australian voice; Mem Fox, Mulga Bill, Man From Snowy River, YA, Stephen King, Jackie French, Nevermore
  • Pugs Don’t Wear Pyjamas based on a real person with a real pug.
  • Worries about creativity after publishing fifteen books. Stop and listen to your creative voice.
  • Coming up  – Beards and Middle Grade fiction

“Lovely words that not only look good but sound good too.”

“Authors are small businesses.”

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#35 – Shona Husk – Write Through The Roof

Welcome to Write Through The Roof, the podcast for writers who want to improve their craft.

Episode 35 with Shona Husk – speculative fiction romance author

“I like a fast and dirty draft.”

Episode 35 – Shona Husk – Show Notes
  • Writes quickly but as a plotter, edits aren’t generally structural
  • Dark mint chocolate, not coffee
  • Dark angsty and tortured heroes
  • Every other genre plus romance
  • Write novellas to learn characterisation and three act structure
  • Learning – Stealing Hollywood by Alexandra Sokoloff, podcasts, the Story Grid and movies as a reference
  • Katharine Kerr, Marie Brennan, Jim Butcher
  • Different dynamics in heterosexual, gay and lesbian romance
  • Servant of The Forest: YA Cinderella re-telling
  • Hybrid publishing – write first and then look for the right market
  • Ballet classes as research for writing

“All the wonderful world building with a happily-ever-after.”

“I write faster with chocolate.”

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