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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best book magazine in the UK“, sisters writing as Rosalyn Robilliard talk about the inspiration behind their science fiction story, The Wall Isn’t A Circle, which features in Writers Of The Future Volume 40.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed sisters Rose and Alice Robilliard, who write as Rosalyn Robilliard, about what inspired their new story, The Wall Isn’t A Circle, and their creative writing process.
Tell me a bit about who you are.
We’re two sisters from the UK – Rose and Alice Robilliard – who write under the single pen name Rosalyn Robilliard. We grew up in Essex, but then moved to opposite ends of the country. Rose now lives in Manchester with her husband and little black cat, Jynx, and Alice lives in Norwich with her partner.
When did you first WANT to write a book?
We’ve both loved fantasy and science fiction from a young age, and grew up creating stories together. Both of us dreamed about writing a book when we were younger, but it was only when we lived together for a year after university that we talked about trying to do it together. Writing our first novel is still something we’re determined to tackle in the near-future and we’ve got a few different ideas in the making at the moment.
When did you take a step to start writing?
We started talking about writing a book when we lived together for a year in Manchester. We spent a lot of time planning out a novel that never really went anywhere, then a few years later we found the Writers of the Future contest, and started writing short stories. That was when we really started to see progress in our writing, and the first time we actually finished a story (which felt like a huge achievement!).
How long did it take you to complete your first story from the first idea to release?
Our story ‘The Wall Isn’t a Circle’ which features in Writers of the Future Volume 40 took about two months to write. Our story is about a notorious tech company who create an app that allows users to see through the eyes of anybody in history. There was a lot of back and forth – particularly on the second part of the story where things get more complicated.
What made you want to write The Wall Isn’t A Circle?
Our latest release, The Wall Isn’t a Circle, is about a notorious tech company who develop an app that let’s users see through the eyes of anybody in history. It follows a young lawyer completely out of her depth, as she tries to unravel the lies and secrets of the past.
We’ve both always been fascinated by the idea of time travel, so we wanted to write something for enjoyment: to imagine it was possible. But we’re both also aware of how the world is changing, how personal data is becoming increasingly commodified and the many roads that might lead to in the future. So we wanted to write something that considers where the boundaries of this lie.
Is it ok if the whole world can see every part of your life? Is it ok for us to look back at past generations and pull apart their lives without permission? Where does privacy start, end and how far are we willing to stretch it for the sake of entertainment?
What were your biggest challenges with writing The Wall Isn’t A Circle?
The ability to drop into other people’s minds and see any part of their life created real complexities for plot and character, so we spent a huge amount of time riddling this out. The more complicated the plot became the more we also had to think about how to explain everything to our readers without it getting boring, so that was a real challenge. There was definitely a sense of ‘knowing when to stop’ when it came to unpicking and tweaking things with this story.
Who or what inspired you when creating your Protagonist?
Macy was inspired by a feeling, rather than a person. The feeling that the world is watching you, and judging you for the things you do. We wanted Macy to be somebody who was heavily influenced by this feeling, in particular what other people thought of her and who they thought she should be.
It’s so easy to say that ‘you shouldn’t care what other people think’, but most of us struggle with this, and a lot of us do change who we are to try and fit in or be seen as successful.
Our story is about being able to see through other people’s eyes, but it’s also about being able to see every aspect of another person’s life. That sense that other people are watching you, judging you, knowing every detail about you. It’s something that a lot of us find terrifying. So, it was important that Macy already felt this even before the new technology was developed.
Who or what inspired you when creating your Antagonist?
Even though Macy is working against Brookvu as an organisation, we were very conscious that we didn’t want our antagonist to be a faceless corporation. We wanted somebody behind the suits and fancy branding who showed that even the most scandalous corporations have people behind them who are messing up, making human mistakes, and acting the way they do because they too have people they love and care about. Adriana developed as the antagonist behind the Brookvu brand: a human being making terrible mistakes, but also trying so hard to do the right thing in her own eyes.
What is the inciting incident of The Wall Isn’t A Circle?
Our story kicks off when Brookvu (a notorious tech company) release an app that lets users see through the eyes of any human in history. Macy, our protagonist, is a trainee lawyer, already in pursuit of Brookvu for their dodgy previous releases, but this new app opens unexpected doors that takes Macy on a perilous journey into the past, unravelling long-buried secrets.
What is the main conflict of The Wall Isn’t A Circle?
Macy needs to find evidence to take down Brookvu in time to save the nation from chaos unravelling around their new app, but also to save her own job and future career.
Did you plot The Wall Isn’t A Circle in advance, or fly by the seat of your pants and write freely?
It was a mix! We spent an evening thinking of all the possibilities around our initial idea and imagining where we wanted the story to end. Then we wrote a first draft from start to finish. Afterwards, we went back and completely rewrote the second half after realising it just didn’t quite work. Ultimately, we’re very flexible in our process, and always open to making big changes if that’s what the story needs.
Did you get support with editing, and how much editing did The Wall Isn’t A Circle need?
Yes! The editing process was really helpful. The team at Writers of the Future did a fabulous job of providing editing services and even a round of beta reading which was so insightful. Our story did need some editing – mostly around making things super clear and understandable for the reader, which was what we found challenging from the start. We definitely learnt a huge amount from going through this process, so we’re super grateful to the team at Writers of the Future, all the beta readers, and in particular, Jody Lynn Nye, for guiding us through it all.
What is the first piece of writing advice you would give to anyone inspired to write a story?
There’s two of us, so we’ll give one piece of advice each!
Rose: don’t let fear stop you from writing. We all write rubbish stuff all the time, but that’s because we’re practising: like learning the piano or riding a bike. You’ll fall off a lot at the start but don’t let that stop you. Just dive straight in and get something written from start to finish. You can worry about improving it later, and you’ll probably find other tips and advice make a lot more sense once you’ve got that first draft as context.
Alice: don’t be afraid of rejections. It can be really hard to hear that someone doesn’t want to publish your work, especially if it’s coming after a flurry of other no’s, but it happens to everyone. Getting rejected means you’re getting your work out there, you’re getting it read, and that’s an achievement. Rejections are part of the path towards getting published.
Can you give me a hint about any further books you’re planning to write?
We don’t have anything set in stone at the moment, but we’re in the initial stages of scoping out a novel. We’re trying to find something that we’re both super passionate about, to make sure we’ve got that motivation to reach the end. We both love dystopian fiction, so that’s a strong possibility for our next focus.
And, finally, are you proud of your accomplishment? Was it worth the effort?
Absolutely! The writing world is incredibly tough, with rejections left, right and centre, and fresh ideas increasingly hard to find, so we always celebrate any moment of success – whether it’s getting shortlisted or just finishing a story. For us, being featured in Writers of the Future still feels like a surreal dream-and it’s such an honour to be featured alongside such incredibly talented writers and illustrators in this edition.
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Contest resources
Enter the Writing Contest https://www.writersofthefuture.com/enter-writer-contest/
Free Writing Workshop https://www.writersofthefuture.com/writing-workshop/
Writing Podcast: https://www.writersofthefuture.com/podcast/
Writers Forum: https://www.writersofthefuture.com/forum/
Writing Contest Rules https://www.writersofthefuture.com/contest-rules-writers/
Contest Judges: https://www.writersofthefuture.com/writer-judges/
Contest Blog: www.writersofthefuture.com/blog
List of Writers of the Future & L. Ron Hubbard books https://galaxypress.com/l-ron-hubbard-books/
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