Ask the Author: Morgan Callan Rogers
Answered Questions (6)
Morgan Callan Rogers
I wouldn't call it writer's block. Sometime, when I can't think beyond a certain passage, and that isn't often, I realize I've taken a wrong turn somewhere, or something is off. Sometimes it's the setting—something is out of place logistically—or sometimes it's trying to force a character to do something that the character wouldn't do. In those cases, I might write a scene that has nothing to do with anything just to shake off what's not happening. It's usually a goofy scenario featuring the characters. Other times, my fingers slow down on the keyboard and I know what or where I'm going is off. I stop and the character and I have a talk, and eventually, we carry on.
Morgan Callan Rogers
The best thing about being a writer is inventing someone and someplace that did not exist before the imagination kicked in. How amazing is that! Every fictional character once walked around in someone's imagination before finding voice. Some of those characters and settings are so beloved that readers (including me - I would love to live in Middle Earth) are reluctant to leave them when a book is finished. That's powerful! I get to do that. That's the best part of me and I get to share it. Wow.
Morgan Callan Rogers
Believe in yourself and in your voice. You have to be tough, because everyone is a critic. Listen to those who provide you with constructive advice and decide what advice to follow. Learn from those who know what they're doing. Who are they? They're published, they're committed, they're kind and knowledgeable. If you can, write for a newspaper or a publication where you will learn to edit and revise. Journalists have to 'kill their darlings' to meet word count and space requirements. It toughens you up and gives you a broader understanding of what can be kept, and what (no matter how amazing it is) can be cut. Lastly, write every day. Follow a schedule that works for you. Love what you do.
Morgan Callan Rogers
I'm working on a third novel. Much more than that, I'm reluctant to talk about, but I will tell you that I regard my characters as having 'auditioned' for their parts! I'm regarding this work very much as a director might do.
Morgan Callan Rogers
I start with a question, or a setting, or a character who appears in my head and I begin to walk along (begin to type) with that character to see where he or she is headed. If there's a surprise and a sense of possibilities, that's a great sign. I contract with my character(s), then, to formulate the landscape they inhabit and we begin to get to know one another. The wide-open space of an adventure pulls us all along.
Morgan Callan Rogers
Written on My Heart is the sequel to Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea, although it stands on its own as a novel. When I finished Red Ruby Heart, I was happy with the ending, but as time went on, I grew curious about unresolved issues within the book. And I loved my characters! I missed Florine, Bud, Glen, and Dottie and I wanted to spend more time with them. So I began what is now titled Written on My Heart. What happened next surprised me and I was struck with the realization of how novel has its own life, its own surprises.
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