Ask the Author: John Moralee
Answered Questions (5)
John Moralee
The idea for The House in Willow Lane came from an incident that really happened when I was a boy. A friend lost a ball over a high fence into a back garden. The fence was too high to climb over – so we had to go up to the front of the house to ask for it back. In reality the owner was a kindly old woman happy to let us look for it in her garden, but I wondered what it would be like if the owner had not been so friendly. What if a boy stumbled upon a big secret? That situation became the start of my novel. The rest of the story developed organically.
The House on Willow Lane
US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HY0GN9Q
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HY0GN9Q
The House on Willow Lane
US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HY0GN9Q
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HY0GN9Q
John Moralee
I don’t like to write down a plot in great detail. That doesn’t work for me. Planning like that kills off my enthusiasm. Instead I prefer to think of an interesting scene, picturing it in my head like I’m directing a movie, a movie with an infinite budget and complete control of everything. Once I’ve imagined it, I like to write the story down before I forget it, adding details as I go. The story normally flows out without too much effort if I’m inspired because I want to see where my ideas go. It’s tempting to wait until everything feels right before writing a word – but I can’t wait for inspiration. I just have to sit down with some paper or my laptop and write something. I switch between projects when I lose inspiration for one thing – so I don’t lose interest.
John Moralee
I’m working on a new collection of horror stories, plus some new short stories for submitting to anthologies and writing competitions.
John Moralee
Write until your fingers bleed. Read until your eyes explode. Learn what other writers have done – good and bad – so you don’t rehash old ideas. Read critically – studying style and technique. Buy several dictionaries and a guide to grammar. Learn by writing as much as possible. Only submit stories after you’ve left them for a while and reread them with fresh eyes. Edit your work carefully – but not too critically. Fix errors and rewrite to improve readability. Submit stories only after making them as good as you can. Don’t take rejection personally. Don’t assume your work is no good just because it is rejected by someone. Try again. And again. And again. Never give up. Believe in yourself.
John Moralee
I love telling stories and challenging myself to come up with something that will – hopefully – entertain other people. Writing a story is like completing a jigsaw puzzle without a picture to guide you. You don’t know what the result will be until you finish putting the pieces together – but you feel a great sense of accomplishment once it is done.
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