We all know the tale of chicken licken - hit on the head by an acorn the chicken believes the sky is falling and wants to tell the king. It may sound simple but that's actually a pretty high stakes story. Okay, so we, as readers know the sky isn't really falling but it doesn't matter. Chicken Licken believes it's the end of the world and that's the important thing.
As writers we are always being told about the importance of high stakes. Whatever your story is about there must be conflict, it must be convincing and we have to make the reader care about the consequences or it just doesn't work.
Now I'm going to have to talk about the film I watched last night. Skyfall, the latest James Bond and I'm going to issue a spoiler alert. If you haven't seen the film and you don't want to know the ending do not keep reading!
Okay then, to be clear I am not a huge Bond fan. I've watched some of the films and I generally think they're quite good for a Saturday night action fest and usually make enjoyable viewing as Bond saves the world once again. Skyfall is no different. A fast paced, action packed film in the usual Bond style. (Although Adele's theme song is stonkingly good!)
But, I have huge issues with the low stakes in this plot. It starts off with the bad guy getting hold of a list of secret agents and threatening to reveal them. This is good. But then the plot meanders onto a new path whereby the bad guy is doing all this just to get his revenge on "M" who betrayed him many years ago.
This is a problem for me because to be frank who really cares if M dies? Yes, I know it's Judi Dench but let's face it she's a grumpy old cow in these films and nobody likes her much. It doesn't help her case that at the beginning of the film she gives an order that leads to Bond being shot.
So, therefore I have to wonder why large numbers of other people should die to keep her alive? Why should James Bond risk everything (including his Aston martin for heavens sake!) just to prevent her being killed? In all previous films he's shown little regard for her and now we're expected to believe he'd do anything to save her! I'm afraid I believed nothing of the sort and if I don't believe he cares why should we as an audience give a flying fig?
Still, I was prepared to go along with it. For the most part it was enjoyable and exciting and I would probably have been quite happy if not for the ending.
In my opinion the ending made this plot a completely pointless exercise ( much like the film "The Perfect Storm" which made me lose the will to live frankly). Yes, you've guessed it, after all the stunts and explosions, death and destruction the bad guy dies. Unfortunately so does "M".
Yes, they spend the whole film trying to save her and then she dies at the end.
She dies at the end.
If this had been written as a plot for a childrens or YA novel I'm fairly sure it would have been thrown out the door. The stakes are low, the consequences small, no one really cares one way or another and the ending sucks.
A masterclass on how not to write a plot perhaps?
Friday, 22 February 2013
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Do Not Disturb
Recently I watched The Shining. I've seen it before of course, Stanley Kubricks film is a classic and with Jack Nicholson in the central role it becomes a tour de force. However, this was the first time I've watched it as a writer and suddenly the whole film feels different.
I can see Jack Torrance in an entirely new light. He isn't really a bad man at all is he? Okay, he got fairly angry a few times but who wouldn't? He was trying to write a book for heavens sake and his wife just kept disturbing him. Just kept walking in when he was trying to work. Asking inane questions about how he's getting on. Making glib comments about how he just needs to get back in the swing of things. Honestly, who wouldn't get annoyed?
After thinking about it for a while I realised that The Shining was based on a Stephen King novel and things started to make sense. Stephen King is a man who would know exactly how annoying it is when people disturb you when you're trying to write. He would know that sometimes the urge to resort to violence is almost overwhelming.
Of course, you can lock yourself away in another room and insist people don't disturb you unless it's an emergency. That might work. (Unless you have children of course who don't understand the concept of privacy nor what might be considered "an emergency" - who ate the last chocolate biscuit is not an emergency!)
My main problem is that sometimes I'm working when I'm not at my computer. I may just be sitting there, on the sofa but my brain could be turning over a new concept or idea, struggling with the solution to a problem. At this point it's very important I'm NOT interrupted by requests for dinner or demands for help with homework but nobody seems to realise what I'm doing. They don't seem aware of my distraction (my glazed expression and drooling should give it away I would think but never seems to.) So they interrupt me just when I'm at a crucial moment and wonder why I'm annoyed and lose my temper.
As yet I haven't resorted to attacking anyone with an axe but I can see how it might happen. In fact I can sympathise with Jack Torrance a great deal. So what I need really is not a DO NOT DISTURB sign for the door but one for my forehead.
In Red.
With flashing lights.
Anyone else?
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
On the bright side
Yes well, as expected the rejections have started to come in and at this point I suppose I could descend into depression and despair once more. I could weep and wail and gnash my teeth and snarl at the evil agents and publishers who have dared to reject my second masterpiece but really, what would that achieve? I might feel a tiny bit better for a short space of time by blaming everyone else but would it really help? I'm not sure.
So, I've decided to try a bit of positivity instead...
1. My m.s has been rejected by agents.
But - none of them said " You can't write, your work is rubbish, don't ever contact me again you useless excuse for a writer." In fact, some of them were very encouraging!
2. This project may never be published.
But - maybe that's a good thing? Maybe it's really not good enough and if it was published it would fail miserably, be ridiculed on Amazon and end my career before it's even started.
3. But all the work I put into is all wasted.
No, it's not, all that work is just part of the learning process, that book may lead to me writing something infinitely better eventually.
4. But now I have to start all over again!
Hooray! Just think, the freedom to create an entirely new world, to lose myself in a new story, to enjoy that first draft high before the real work begins in the revision process.
5. But what about all the time it takes? I could be here for years trying to get published!
Yes, that's true but without a publishing contract there's no pressure on me to edit, to tour, to visit schools, to network and publicise WHILE I'm trying to write. I can just write and let's not forget just how much I love to write!
So, I think I'm doing pretty well at looking on the bright side and surprisingly all this positive energy is making me feel better too because now I can be hopeful, I can be optimistic and I can dream that one day it really will be my turn!
Try it for yourself and see how you get on!
So, I've decided to try a bit of positivity instead...
1. My m.s has been rejected by agents.
But - none of them said " You can't write, your work is rubbish, don't ever contact me again you useless excuse for a writer." In fact, some of them were very encouraging!
2. This project may never be published.
But - maybe that's a good thing? Maybe it's really not good enough and if it was published it would fail miserably, be ridiculed on Amazon and end my career before it's even started.
3. But all the work I put into is all wasted.
No, it's not, all that work is just part of the learning process, that book may lead to me writing something infinitely better eventually.
4. But now I have to start all over again!
Hooray! Just think, the freedom to create an entirely new world, to lose myself in a new story, to enjoy that first draft high before the real work begins in the revision process.
5. But what about all the time it takes? I could be here for years trying to get published!
Yes, that's true but without a publishing contract there's no pressure on me to edit, to tour, to visit schools, to network and publicise WHILE I'm trying to write. I can just write and let's not forget just how much I love to write!
So, I think I'm doing pretty well at looking on the bright side and surprisingly all this positive energy is making me feel better too because now I can be hopeful, I can be optimistic and I can dream that one day it really will be my turn!
Try it for yourself and see how you get on!
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
The Sound of Silence
My book is finished. After months and months and months of revisions I've sent it out into the world and now I am left bereft.
There is a strange sense of something missing. An emptiness almost. A space in my brain where my story used to be. The silence is deafening.
But it is also quite pleasant. After a few days of wandering around a little lost I start to enjoy the peace. My subconscious isn't constantly worrying away at plot problems and character motivation, I don't have a nagging voice in my head pushing me to keep writing and the empty space in my brain is slowly filled with the usual stuff of life.
I find I have time to do other things, to go and see Les Miserables twice at the cinema and listen incessantly to the soundtrack, to go out sledging with my family in the snow, to go out with friends and make plans for holidays and spend a few hours mooching around the shops.
I talk to my husband and my son and I listen to what they say - properly, without the distraction of the voice in my head that needs me to find a way for a to get to b or whatever.
I am entirely of this world for now and not lost in my imagination and it's actually an enjoyable place to be. Of course I know it's only for a short time, soon the call will become too strong and I'll plunge into yet another idea/world/plot and be lost again but I believe this time is important. It gives perspective, it makes you appreciate all the things you already have in your life and it allows the creative part of my soul to rest and enjoy just being for a while.
Now I'm off to enjoy a bit more down time, a bit more Hugh Jackman and the honest satisfaction of having completing a project to the best of my ability.
There is a strange sense of something missing. An emptiness almost. A space in my brain where my story used to be. The silence is deafening.
But it is also quite pleasant. After a few days of wandering around a little lost I start to enjoy the peace. My subconscious isn't constantly worrying away at plot problems and character motivation, I don't have a nagging voice in my head pushing me to keep writing and the empty space in my brain is slowly filled with the usual stuff of life.
I find I have time to do other things, to go and see Les Miserables twice at the cinema and listen incessantly to the soundtrack, to go out sledging with my family in the snow, to go out with friends and make plans for holidays and spend a few hours mooching around the shops.
I talk to my husband and my son and I listen to what they say - properly, without the distraction of the voice in my head that needs me to find a way for a to get to b or whatever.
I am entirely of this world for now and not lost in my imagination and it's actually an enjoyable place to be. Of course I know it's only for a short time, soon the call will become too strong and I'll plunge into yet another idea/world/plot and be lost again but I believe this time is important. It gives perspective, it makes you appreciate all the things you already have in your life and it allows the creative part of my soul to rest and enjoy just being for a while.
Now I'm off to enjoy a bit more down time, a bit more Hugh Jackman and the honest satisfaction of having completing a project to the best of my ability.
Wednesday, 23 January 2013
Sending your baby out into the world.
Our books come to us as a new born idea. We must love it and nurture it and watch it grow. As it develops we must work hard to ensure it grows the right way, we must curb bad habits, prune away the unnecessary and hope the true beauty of our idea shines through.
But all of this time we lavish, all of the care we give results, unsurprisingly, in a very strong attachment developing. We love our idea, the story it has become and the thought of sending it out into the world to be judged can be difficult.
At this point it's useful to give it to those we trust, those whose judgement we have faith in and who we can rely on to be gently with our feelings. They can show us where we need to put in more work, areas that we might find difficult to see because we are standing too close.
Hopefully those critiques will give us fresh perspective and with more work and care our stories can begin to shine.
But the next stage can be one of the hardest because now we're expected to send our beautiful baby out to be judged by experts. And they might not see it's beauty, the care and effort we've invested, the love we've lavished. They may only see the things that are wrong with it, the mistakes we've made, the areas we forgot to polish. They may *SHOCK/HORROR* not love our baby at all. They may *HORROR/SHOCK* reject it.
The urge to protect out baby is strong, to keep it safe and warm and free from harm so surely we'd be best off keeping it in our hard drive and far away from those experts?
Only...how can our book ever shine if it never sees the light?
How can our work ever be appreciated if it's not out in the world?
And so, despite the fear involved in hitting the send button, in sending your baby out into the world, at some point, at some moment we have to let them go and find out if they can survive on their own.
But all of this time we lavish, all of the care we give results, unsurprisingly, in a very strong attachment developing. We love our idea, the story it has become and the thought of sending it out into the world to be judged can be difficult.
At this point it's useful to give it to those we trust, those whose judgement we have faith in and who we can rely on to be gently with our feelings. They can show us where we need to put in more work, areas that we might find difficult to see because we are standing too close.
Hopefully those critiques will give us fresh perspective and with more work and care our stories can begin to shine.
But the next stage can be one of the hardest because now we're expected to send our beautiful baby out to be judged by experts. And they might not see it's beauty, the care and effort we've invested, the love we've lavished. They may only see the things that are wrong with it, the mistakes we've made, the areas we forgot to polish. They may *SHOCK/HORROR* not love our baby at all. They may *HORROR/SHOCK* reject it.
The urge to protect out baby is strong, to keep it safe and warm and free from harm so surely we'd be best off keeping it in our hard drive and far away from those experts?
Only...how can our book ever shine if it never sees the light?
How can our work ever be appreciated if it's not out in the world?
And so, despite the fear involved in hitting the send button, in sending your baby out into the world, at some point, at some moment we have to let them go and find out if they can survive on their own.
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Super Submission Letter - Mark 1
Submission letters are hard. Trying to sound original but not quirky, trying to pitch your book but not sound arrogant, trying to make each letter individual but not sound like a stalker.
However, you should be reassured that as long as your letter sounds nothing like the one below you're probably not doing too badly ;)
Dear Sir/Madam
I have riten a 900 page children's picture book about a vampire rabbit called Bunpire. His jurney to self enlitenment contains many important mesages that children need to know. I am sure once you have read the enclosed handriten copy you will agree that this book will make me milions.
I have chosen you to reprezent my book and ensure I get the best deal posible including a large persentage of all film rights and merchandizing.
I expect you to contact me forthwith with a contract so that no time is wasted and I can begin my meteorik rise to fame and fortune which will make even JK Rowling's career look mediocre.
Yours expektantly
A. L Ousywriter
P.S - I have also included my own drawings for which I expect to be paid dubble.
P.P.S - Please don't keep me waiting, if you miss out on this deal you will always regret it!!!!!
P.P.P.S - I have riten another 17 books about Bunpire's adventures and these will be available to you once the contract has been signed.
P.P.P.P.S - Please don't suggest any changes or editing as my genius cannot be interfered with or even understud by most people.
However, you should be reassured that as long as your letter sounds nothing like the one below you're probably not doing too badly ;)
Dear Sir/Madam
I have riten a 900 page children's picture book about a vampire rabbit called Bunpire. His jurney to self enlitenment contains many important mesages that children need to know. I am sure once you have read the enclosed handriten copy you will agree that this book will make me milions.
I have chosen you to reprezent my book and ensure I get the best deal posible including a large persentage of all film rights and merchandizing.
I expect you to contact me forthwith with a contract so that no time is wasted and I can begin my meteorik rise to fame and fortune which will make even JK Rowling's career look mediocre.
Yours expektantly
A. L Ousywriter
P.S - I have also included my own drawings for which I expect to be paid dubble.
P.P.S - Please don't keep me waiting, if you miss out on this deal you will always regret it!!!!!
P.P.P.S - I have riten another 17 books about Bunpire's adventures and these will be available to you once the contract has been signed.
P.P.P.P.S - Please don't suggest any changes or editing as my genius cannot be interfered with or even understud by most people.
Monday, 7 January 2013
Happy Blogaversary!
Yes indeedy, my blog is officially one year old (Wahooo!!) and I thought I'd host a little party!
Who to invite though, that's the problem?
Well, a few of my favourite authors of course -
Roald Dahl - a genius in the art of writing for children and despite not being with us any more his work lives on forever.
Cressida Cowell - author of the fabulous How To Train Your Dragon Books
Stephanie Meyer - I loved the Twilight Series and can't wait for The Host to be released as a film in March 2013
Suzanne Collins - Hunger Games trilogy is a masterclass in plotting and voice , adooore it!!!
Laini Taylor - Daughter of Smoke and Bone is incredible, read it now and then buy the sequel!
Kristin Cashore - Beautiful writer, read Graceling or Fire for some fantasic fantasy world building.
I'll also need to invite some of the people who have written fab books on writing - my personal favourites are these -
Harry Bingham - Getting Published - author and founder of the writers workshop penned this very helpful book that covers all aspects of the journey to publication.
Nicola Morgan - Write to be Published - the crabbit old bag herself offers up some great advice on writing, agents and getting published.
Mary Kole - How to write Irresistible Kidlit. Mary is an American agent and her book was one of my Christmas presents (to myself!) It offers up very specific advice for childrens and YA authors, covers a great deal of writing craft and offers up examples from books on the market right now. Love this book, definitely recommend it to you all if you have any crimbo money lying around waiting to be spent!
Must not forget to invite some of the other blogs I've been reading over the past couple of years that have offered up such brilliant advice and support.
Notes from the Slushpile
Wonderful blog by Candy Gourlay, Maureen Lynas and others with a wealth of information. A must read!
Help I need a Publisher
Unfortunately Nicola Morgans blog is no longer active but has some brilliant posts on everything about writing.
Tall tales and short stories
If you love reading interviews with other authors and agents this is the blog for you! It's on a break at the moment but will hopefully be back with more insights into the writing process soon.
Kidlit.com
This is Mary Kole's blog, full of brilliant posts on the craft of writing plus a plethora of info on everything agent.
Most of all though, I must invite all the lovely people who read or follow my blog - THANK YOU!!!!!
Let's face it, as writers we all want an audience and it's amazing to know that someone out there is reading what I post and your comments or emails really help me to know I'm not suffering alone!
I'm planning to keep blogging in 2013 and would like to start the year off with a positive vibe. It's all too easy for me to sink into despair or doubt or angst (as my faithful readers may have noticed!) and no doubt I will again as I gear up for another round of submissions but to begin 2013 I'd like to say
Let the party start ....
Who to invite though, that's the problem?
Well, a few of my favourite authors of course -
Roald Dahl - a genius in the art of writing for children and despite not being with us any more his work lives on forever.
Cressida Cowell - author of the fabulous How To Train Your Dragon Books
Stephanie Meyer - I loved the Twilight Series and can't wait for The Host to be released as a film in March 2013
Suzanne Collins - Hunger Games trilogy is a masterclass in plotting and voice , adooore it!!!
Laini Taylor - Daughter of Smoke and Bone is incredible, read it now and then buy the sequel!
Kristin Cashore - Beautiful writer, read Graceling or Fire for some fantasic fantasy world building.
I'll also need to invite some of the people who have written fab books on writing - my personal favourites are these -
Harry Bingham - Getting Published - author and founder of the writers workshop penned this very helpful book that covers all aspects of the journey to publication.
Nicola Morgan - Write to be Published - the crabbit old bag herself offers up some great advice on writing, agents and getting published.
Mary Kole - How to write Irresistible Kidlit. Mary is an American agent and her book was one of my Christmas presents (to myself!) It offers up very specific advice for childrens and YA authors, covers a great deal of writing craft and offers up examples from books on the market right now. Love this book, definitely recommend it to you all if you have any crimbo money lying around waiting to be spent!
Must not forget to invite some of the other blogs I've been reading over the past couple of years that have offered up such brilliant advice and support.
Notes from the Slushpile
Wonderful blog by Candy Gourlay, Maureen Lynas and others with a wealth of information. A must read!
Help I need a Publisher
Unfortunately Nicola Morgans blog is no longer active but has some brilliant posts on everything about writing.
Tall tales and short stories
If you love reading interviews with other authors and agents this is the blog for you! It's on a break at the moment but will hopefully be back with more insights into the writing process soon.
Kidlit.com
This is Mary Kole's blog, full of brilliant posts on the craft of writing plus a plethora of info on everything agent.
Most of all though, I must invite all the lovely people who read or follow my blog - THANK YOU!!!!!
Let's face it, as writers we all want an audience and it's amazing to know that someone out there is reading what I post and your comments or emails really help me to know I'm not suffering alone!
I'm planning to keep blogging in 2013 and would like to start the year off with a positive vibe. It's all too easy for me to sink into despair or doubt or angst (as my faithful readers may have noticed!) and no doubt I will again as I gear up for another round of submissions but to begin 2013 I'd like to say
Hurrah for writing!!
The creative process has far surpassed what I ever imagined when I first began writing two years ago. The journey has led me to discover much about myself, has taught me how to cope with challenges and rejection and just keep going. It has also led to me making some new and very lovely friends so with that in mind I wish everyone super good luck this new year - including myself!Let the party start ....
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