I'm pleased to welcome the lovely Lara Morgan, author of the awesome Rosie Black Chronicles and a WA based writer! I really enjoyed the first book and am looking forward to reading to the sequel. You can read my Goodreads review for Book 1, Genesis, here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/202889998.
So, let the interview begin!
JB: What is your writing process like? Do you make a plan/outline and work from that? Or do you start typing and let the story evolve itself?
LM: There’s a bit of a divide among writers between those we call plotters and pantsers ie writing without a map, and I fall a bit between the two with a leaning toward the pantser. I generally start out making lots of fairly long notes on how I think the story will progress, who the characters are and their paths within the story and how everything might end. These notes often are written in hasty scrawl as ideas come to me so there are not always even that legible but it’s the act of writing them down that helps me crystalise what my story will be. Then I draw a plot arc on a big A5 art block. Essentially it’s a diagonal line across the page where I place dots and short descriptions of the beginning, major plots points and the end along the line in what I think might be the order of the scenes. I usually know how a book will end, in a general sense, and what the main dramatic turning point will be midway through the book. Then I just start to write. As I write the smaller details always change – sometimes even the larger one. A character will appear, or change in importance, or I’ll discover a plot point I had thought would work wouldn’t so things get very fluid and I end up with a very long, overly complicated, sometimes confusing first draft. And as I write I break once or twice to summarise the scenes I’ve written in short paragraphs then make notes again as to how the story will progress. It’s a long process and I often wish I was the kind of person who could make a detailed plan first up so I knew exactly how the story went but that doesn’t work for me. I get bored if I know everything first up and it makes me feel trapped and stymies my creative flow so I have to keep things open ended and allow the story to go where it will. After about 3 drafts it’s usually making some sense. One thing that rarely changes though is the ending. Ninety per cent of the time I have quite a clear picture in my head of how the story will end.
JB: What is next for you now the Rosie Black Chronicles are finished?
LM: I have the third and final book in my adult fantasy, The Twins of Saranthium, to finish. It’s been languishing in the corner while I completed the Rosie books and I am over due to get that one done. Hopefully I will be able to finish it this year. After that I have ideas for more young adult books and there are two adult stories I really want to get to, but I can’t discuss any of them yet they are still in the embryo stage.
JB: Would you like to see the Rosie Black Chronicles made into films or a TV series? If so, who would you cast as Rosie?
LM: I would love to see Rosie on the big screen and I get asked that a lot on my blog. It is something I’m actively pursuing, though I can’t say anymore at this stage and let’s remember getting a film made can take YEARS! As to who to cast as Rosie, that is such a hard question. I’ve said in the past that Caitlin Stasey, who played Ellie in Tomorrow When the War Began, could be a good pick but I honestly don’t know, there are so many talented young women in film and TV today. I think I’ll leave the choice to future casting directors, but if any readers have a preference I’d be really interested to hear it. Let’s start a debate on my blog. Go to www.laramorgan/wordpress.com and get posting!
JB: Great idea! Let's get it rolling! So, which authors do you admire, and why? What was your favourite book as a teenager?
LM: Ursula Le Guin is an inspiration and I am in awe of her ability to capture the emotional core of characters and establish a scene in so few words. Octavia Butler for the scope of her imagination and characters. Harper Lee, who wrote one of the best books in the English language. Shakespeare, a genius at reflecting back at us humanity in all its facets. Tolkien, the grandad of fantasy, because he invented a whole new language and for the depth of the world of Middle Earth. And that’s just a few, give me a scroll and I’ll go on and on!
As for my teenage years, I read a lot of romance. I remember loving the novel of the film Romancing the Stone and reading it too many times to count! The Outsiders was also a favourite as was Wuthering Heights. The book that has had the biggest impact on me though has always been The Lord of the Rings. My mother read it to me when I was a child and I can still remember how afraid I was of the dark riders pursuing Frodo. I think The Ring and The Hobbit, along with the Narnia books, have been the foundation that steered me toward writing my own stories.
JB: Yes, I was a huge fan of S.E. Hinton too! Do you prefer writing adult fiction, or YA? If you like both equally (and I suspect you will) what are the differences/challenges?
LM: I do like writing both and I approach both in the same manner; I want to tell the best story I can and stay true to the characters. The main differences between adult and YA is the length – many publishers prefer YA to hover around the 80,000 word mark whereas my adult novels are much longer - and the complexity of plot. My adult novels tend to be more complicated in terms of including more political/socially complex ideas whereas YA is driven more strongly by character and plot. I also won’t include graphic sex or violence in YA, by which I mean you’re not going to find Game of Thrones type of scenes in them! The challenge I find for my YA writing is not to make things too convoluted. My editors are always asking me to keep the plot threads more streamline please. But l also think readers like a challenge so I can’t help throwing in as many twists and turns as I can!
Thanks for stopping by at Dark Ink, Lara!
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