MURDER SHE WROTE
Lucy Roth explains why the beginning of her new feminist revenge drama opens with a killing
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s someone with fast, fragmented and obsessional thought processes, I 100% lack consistency in my approach to writing books. This could be seen by some, I imagine, as a bad thing, perhaps even an unhealthy thing, but I’ve found that, as long as I can channel the mayhem, it works well enough for me! I can respond to the plotter/pantser question differently depending on the day, and I often have at least three different stories whirring around my head all at once. It’s disorganised chaos but, as soon as I hit the keyboard and the words start coming out, they tend to fall into place pretty quickly. Some I plot carefully, others I just write a pivotal scene for and build something around it.
There are, however, three ingredients I like to piece together like a jigsaw before I begin a writing project: the hook, the main character and the social theme.
As someone who began writing in the area of mental health (and social justice more broadly) – a sector I have worked with for many years – I’ve always had a strong desire and drive to change hearts and minds – and to help people feel less alone with the words that I spew out. I know, I know – it sounds so virtuous and sickly, but it’s where I began – writing opinion pieces about social issues and stigma, getting my anger out of my body and into my words, and, often, having rows on social media with misogynistic TV presenters or Meghan Markle haters.