Category: research

#66 – Alison Morton – Write Through The Roof

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On July 20, 2019

In historical fiction, non fiction, podcast, research, scifi-fantasy, short story, thrillers, world building, write through the roof, writers, writing, writing tips

Interview with alternative history novelist Alison Morton

‘Exercise your writing muscle in different ways on different days.’

Episode 66 – Alison Morton – Show Notes

  • 30% plotter and 70% pantser
  • Black moments: when it all falls apart for the main character
  • Writing versus marketing
  • Tea imported in from England – sergeant major’s tea
  • Wanted to explore female-led action stories with a Roman flavour. But needed to create an alternative history world to feature strong female leaders. Values, betrayal, rebellion, resilience
  • Alternative history research: taking history and twisting it but anchoring back to the facts.
  • Using historical logic – what would have happened if?
  • Collaborating with other writers, exchanging ideas, being accepting and giving
  • A team effort to produce a book
  • Robert Harris’ Fatherland, William Boyd’s Restless, Sebastian Faulks, Lindsay Davis, Georgette Heyer
  • Aurelia: going back to write the backstory of the grandmother of the main character of the Carina Mitela series
  • Writing short stories and novellas

‘30% plotter and 70% pantser.’

‘You do need other people to get a successful book out.’

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#59 – Rebecca Tope – Write Through The Roof

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On April 6, 2019

In historical fiction, interview, mystery, place, podcast, research, write through the roof, writers, writing, writing tips

Episode #59 – Interview with cosy-mystery writer Rebecca Tope.

‘I didn’t get published until I was 50.’

  • Written 35+ murder mystery novels as a pantser
  • Coffee or gin
  • Themes of natural burials & anti-technology.
  • British cosy mysteries featuring a village pub.
  • Mobile phones affecting crime stories & the inclusion of drones
  • Practice – millions & millions of words
  • Writing groups didn’t help
  • Mentoring others helps own writing – seeing the good & bad in aspiring writers
  • Brutal feedback
  • Long apprenticeships & writing competitions
  • Biography of Sabine Baring-Gould – writer of ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’
  • Research – a lot of research done for the biography & historical fiction but little research for murder mysteries
  • Celia Fremlin (domestic suspense), Agatha Christie, Lee Child, Kate Atkinson, William de Morgan
  • Settings – real & fictitious
  • The Grasmere Grudge, Secrets in the Cotswolds, the Patterdale Plot
  • One draft

‘Readers don’t mind if they think their house is the scene of a murder.”

‘I only really do one draft.’

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#51 – Hester Fox – Write Through The Roof

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On December 12, 2018

In feedback, gothic, historical fiction, inspiration, podcast, research, write through the roof, writers, writing, writing tips

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

Episode 51 with Hester Fox – artist & writer of gothic historical fiction

“A love letter to New England set at this beautiful house.”

Episode 51 – Hester Fox – Show Notes
  • Not necessarily writing every day but doing things ‘writing-related’ every day
  • Tea, snack, cosy-up with the cat or coffee shop ambience
  • Conversion from pantser to plotter
  • Dark, gothic with a happy ending – strong female relationships and romantic love
  • Embracing the darkness as an exposure therapy
  • Making every word count
  • Critique partners – sharing chapter by chapter. Feedback and accountability.
  • Cadence and rhythm in a first draft – making notes to keep the momentum going
  • 19th-century authors – Jane Austen, Dickens, Hardy. More recent – Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, Susanna Kearsley, Simone St.James, Josh Malerman
  • Historic homes in New England and day job as inspiration for The Witch of Willow Hall. Interacting with objects and houses on a daily basis
  • Second novel – The Widow of Pale Harbour – 1840s Maine during Poe-mania and a gender-flipped retelling of Beauty and the Beast

“Juicy relationships set against a dark background.”

“Making every word pull its weight in a sentence.”

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#46 – Peter McLean – Write Through The Roof

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On September 30, 2018

In crime, fantasy, historical fiction, interview, non fiction, podcast, research, world building, write through the roof, writers, writing, writing tips

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

Episode 46 with Peter McLean – urban & grimdark fantasy author

“Grimdark doesn’t work like that. If your leg gets cut off, you’re going to get gangrene.”

Episode 46 – Peter McLean – Show Notes
  • Writing binges. Plotter and pantser
  • Strong black coffee and whiskey
  • Thriller writer at heart but in the fantasy genre
  • Aftermath of war, Peaky Blinders, retired service people as sensitive readers
  • Defining “grim dark” – consequences and more in line with reality
  • Reading and writing
  • First novel published was the fourth novel completed
  • Ed McDonald, Sarah Pinborough, Crab- cakes and Courtesans – republican Athenian social history, Anna Smith Spark, Joe Abercrombie, George RR Martin, Stephen King, Tanith Lee
  • Exploring different POVs
  • Writing urban fantasy but reading swords and horses fantasy
  • Priest of Bones inspired by a gangster character in a Joe Abercrombie novel and Peaky Blinders
  • The explanation behind the name Talonwraith

“I am one of the most undisciplined writers you’ll ever meet.”

“Just years and years of practice. I don’t think there are any shortcuts.”

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#32 – Margaret Skea – Write Through The Roof

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On May 27, 2018

In historical fiction, interview, podcast, research, residency, Uncategorized, write through the roof, writers, writing, writing tips

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

Episode 32 with Margaret Skea – historical fiction writer

“I like taking myself and my readers to a place we’ve never been.”

Episode 32 – Margaret Skea – Show Notes
  • Storyboard on cardboard with post-it notes
  • Silence, chocolate & freedom from distractions
  • Exploring conflict and tribalism after growing up in the Troubles.
  • Self-editing, being ruthless, editing as a puzzle
  • Details, getting research wrong and rabbits
  • Journey into historical fiction
  • Trying writing in 1st person and present tense
  • Katharine Luther as a shadowy character and inspired by 500th anniversary of the Reformation
  • Winston Graham, Daphne du Maurier, Rumer Godden

“The more words I lose in the editing process, the more successful I think the editing is.”

“A good editor challenges me.”

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#26 – Burhan Wazir – Write Through The Roof

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On April 15, 2018

In editing, interview, non fiction, podcast, research, write through the roof, writers, writing, writing tips

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

Episode 26 with Burhan Wazir – award winning journalist & editor

“Why is this happening? And why now?”

Episode 26 – Burhan Wazir – Show Notes
  • Career progression from reporter to editor and back to writing
  • Morning person and productivity
  • Proper Scottish writing fuel
  • Middle East, immigration, Brexit
  • The personal in journalism; adding yourself into the story
  • Constant refining: 20% writing and 80% rewriting
  • Reading other good writers: William Finnegan’s Cold New World
  • More historical context; the world has always been complex
  • History of British mosques and the Rotimatic
  • WikiTribune model: news stories as living documents
  • Madeleine’s tip – strange writing rituals

“20% writing and 80% rewriting.”

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#21 – Amanda Bridgeman – Write Through The Roof

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On March 11, 2018

In characters, interview, mystery, podcast, research, romance, scifi-fantasy, thrillers, write through the roof, writers, writing tips

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

Episode 21 with Amanda Bridgeman – space opera & sci-fi thriller writer

“Take all writing advice with a pinch of salt.”

Episode 21 – Amanda Bridgeman – Show Notes
  • Not necessarily writing every day, but working on the book business every day
  • Dead cold silence to write
  • Fueled by crumpets
  • Sci-fi thrillers but ongoing character driven sagas with a bit of romance
  • Writing military without a military background; research including Facebook groups and input from fans
  • Learning from other writers but with limits. Finding stories you like and analyse why
  • Ernest Cline, Andy Weir, Emily St.John Mandel, Stephen Moss, Lindsay Buroker
  • Time of The Stripes inspired by a walk to the shop to buy chocolate and current events
  • Setting stories in the US
  • Madeleine’s tip – Taking a Break

“Believe in yourself and your voice.”

“The key to a good book is mystery and intrigue.”

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#12 – Oscar de Muriel – Write Through The Roof

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On January 6, 2018

In gothic, historical fiction, interview, paranormal, research, write through the roof, writers, writing, writing tips

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

Episode 12 with Oscar de Muriel – writer of Victorian murder mysteries

“It’s not sipping a glass of wine and staring out the window.”

Episode 12 – Oscar de Muriel – Show Notes
  • Fuelled by wine and cheese
  • Jurassic Park (the book) the first inspiration
  • Discipline
  • Spreadsheets
  • Being a chemist is very useful for murder mysteries
  • Isaac Asimov – The Black Widower’s Club and Lucky Starr series
  • Banshees, MacBeth and Bram Stoker
  • Not a whodunnit but a ‘who will do it’ – balancing reader’s expectations while trying something new
  • Madeleine’s tip – Text to Speech functions

“Thanks to Malbec for its contribution to this book”

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#10 – Dee Dee Chainey – Write Through The Roof

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On December 17, 2017

In folklore, non fiction, podcast, research, storytelling, superstition, write through the roof, writing tips

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

Episode 10 with Dee Dee Chainey – Folklorist & freelance content marketer

“Bringing magic to the mundane”

Episode 10 – Dee Dee Chainey – Show Notes
  • Do your writing first
  • Instagram pictures of cake
  • Dark folklore; Krampus, hand of glory and the tooth fairy
  • Confidence
  • Don’t keep rewriting the same piece, move on
  • Squeezing a massive topic into an introductory book
  • A non-fiction writer mainly influenced by fiction
  • Aubrey Burl, Carrie Ann Noble, Jackie Morris, Phillip Pullman
  • Madeleine’s tip – 10 story ideas per day

“What do you want to say to the world and to yourself”

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Hand-me-down superstitions: magpies, silver coins and calendars

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On August 12, 2017

In folklore, non fiction, not writing, paranormal, random writing research, reading, research, stuff about me, superstition

What superstitions did your Gran or Mum hand down to you?

With my writing and research for Folklore Thursday, books I’m reading and ideas for a new story knocking round my head, I’m in a real folklorish and superstition-filled place at the moment.

My mum passed a few superstitions down to me. No shoes on the table, no open umbrellas inside and cutting crosses in brussel sprouts. So now, I’m curious what superstitions and folklore traditions other people inherited and still follow today.

I put a question out to the Folklore Thursday community

Here’s a summary of the responses…

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Borek, biryani and skyr: notes from flaneuring

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On July 3, 2017

In city, inspiration, research, travel

I’m back at my writing desk after a four week break of flaneuring and flouncing about Europe.

From the buzz and crowds of sunny summer London. Pints on the pavement, sun-bathing in the park, striking a stony Tube face, history intermingling with hipster. A city uniting against tragedy, once again.

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What exactly is a Bunyip?

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On November 25, 2016

In aboriginal myths, bunyips, folklore, free books, research, writing

For all of you non-Australians still wondering what a Bunyip is, I wrote a piece for FolkloreThursday.com on Bunyips, exploring the folklore and the blurry details of the mysterious Bunyip.

Read The Bunyip: Australia’s Mysterious Man-eating Swamp Beast in full here.

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Birching, medieval peasant life & Norse names: random writing research

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On November 22, 2016

In fantasy, historical fiction, inspiration, my writing life, nanowrimo, random writing research, research, Uncategorized, world building, writing tips

I’m in the midst of Nanowrimo and closing in on 50k. Hoorah! I dip into research as I write and so I thought I’d share a few random links for interesting things I’ve researched during the past few days. My Nanowrimo manuscript is fantasy, so I’m going all medieval on your arse.

Birching

The use of birch rods for punishment and birches were always my favourite tree. I now look at them in a different way.

birch-245533_640

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