ON MORGAN
Morgan Bell is an Australian author and editor. Her works include Sniggerless Boundulations, Laissez Faire, and Sproutlings. See her Amazon profile HERE.
Morgan is socially @queenboxi on twitter, instagram, snapchat, youtube, and facebook.com/morganleighbell
THE INTERVIEW
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
'Keep notebooks or ideas journals. You're always dreaming anyway, might as well make use of it.'
How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
'My first book was a short story collection and collating the pieces was a great exercise in acknowledging my recurring themes. The self-awareness has helped me hone my style.'
'Keep notebooks or ideas journals. You're always dreaming anyway, might as well make use of it.'
How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
'My first book was a short story collection and collating the pieces was a great exercise in acknowledging my recurring themes. The self-awareness has helped me hone my style.'
What books make you cry?
'The Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, Labor Day by Joyce Maynard, Atonement by Ian McEwan'
'The Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, Labor Day by Joyce Maynard, Atonement by Ian McEwan'
Does writing energize or exhaust you?
'Brainstorming: energise. First draft: exhaust. Editing: energise. Final proofreads: exhaust. (I hope it's clear that I love starting things but run out of steam when it comes to finishing them.)'
What is your writing Kryptonite?
'Distractions! If there's a drama anywhere I’m getting embroiled in it rather than doing my work.'
Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?
'I think everyone has some strong emotions in their own way.'
'Brainstorming: energise. First draft: exhaust. Editing: energise. Final proofreads: exhaust. (I hope it's clear that I love starting things but run out of steam when it comes to finishing them.)'
What is your writing Kryptonite?
'Distractions! If there's a drama anywhere I’m getting embroiled in it rather than doing my work.'
Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?
'I think everyone has some strong emotions in their own way.'
What’s your favourite under-appreciated novel?
'A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, beyond the fraud controversy it is a solid and compelling tale.'
'A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, beyond the fraud controversy it is a solid and compelling tale.'
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
'I recently bought a couple of small whiteboards which I love for brainstorming. Also index cards for novel plotting.'
'I recently bought a couple of small whiteboards which I love for brainstorming. Also index cards for novel plotting.'
What authors did you dislike at first but grew into?
'I was slow to fully appreciate most poetry. Flash fiction was my gateway drug to prose poetry and then it was just a slippery slope into becoming a chapbook hoarder.'
(Image: Morgan Bell, Chapbook Hoarder)
'I was slow to fully appreciate most poetry. Flash fiction was my gateway drug to prose poetry and then it was just a slippery slope into becoming a chapbook hoarder.'
(Image: Morgan Bell, Chapbook Hoarder)
What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
'I remember the fear and animosity that can with the word ‘lesbian' long before i had any comprehension of what it actually meant, kids just parroting their parents, but the disgust transferred with the word. And I remember noticing the euphemism ‘friendly fire' during the green night vision coverage of the first Gulf War, my first real-time exposure to propaganda.'
'I remember the fear and animosity that can with the word ‘lesbian' long before i had any comprehension of what it actually meant, kids just parroting their parents, but the disgust transferred with the word. And I remember noticing the euphemism ‘friendly fire' during the green night vision coverage of the first Gulf War, my first real-time exposure to propaganda.'
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
'Jonathan the 255 year old gay giant tortoise.'
'Jonathan the 255 year old gay giant tortoise.'
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
'I have a complete first draft of one novel, and a half-finished outline of another.'
What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
'I write almost exclusively in third person and largely based on observations of real people, it's that bit of inner monologue where I make them depressed and selfish and judgemental, and that's basically me projecting elements of myself. Do I sometimes make to men more dim and sexist than the women? Well, yes, sometimes. But i also make some of them more flamboyant.'
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
'The long-game. Setting long-term goals and plans and having the discipline to implement them.'
Do you believe in writer’s block?
'For other people, yes. In my case I have too many ideas, I see hidden meanings in everything, it's almost like sensory overload. It has been brutal slowing down and maintaining focus on one project at a time, learning to slowly chip away at larger pieces. My instinct is to boil everything down to an aesops fable. Apparently that's common for oral storytellers. But it is a mission of mine to expand my range.'
'I have a complete first draft of one novel, and a half-finished outline of another.'
What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
'I write almost exclusively in third person and largely based on observations of real people, it's that bit of inner monologue where I make them depressed and selfish and judgemental, and that's basically me projecting elements of myself. Do I sometimes make to men more dim and sexist than the women? Well, yes, sometimes. But i also make some of them more flamboyant.'
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
'The long-game. Setting long-term goals and plans and having the discipline to implement them.'
Do you believe in writer’s block?
'For other people, yes. In my case I have too many ideas, I see hidden meanings in everything, it's almost like sensory overload. It has been brutal slowing down and maintaining focus on one project at a time, learning to slowly chip away at larger pieces. My instinct is to boil everything down to an aesops fable. Apparently that's common for oral storytellers. But it is a mission of mine to expand my range.'
MORE ON MORGAN
Morgan is a qualified technical writer, a member of the Newcastle Shakespeare Society, and a teacher of creative writing at U3A. Her story Midnight Daisy was awarded a Story Commendation by the She: True Stories project, with live readings on 1233 ABC Newcastle and at the 2014 Newcastle Writers Festival. Her anti-travel story Don’t Pay The Ferryman was shortlisted for the Hunter Writers Centre Travel Writing Prize. Her stories The Shift and A Deer In The Shunting Yard have appeared in Novascapes Volume 1 and Novascapes Volume 2.