What's your age again?

My love for Disney began at a young age.
How can you not love Mickey Mouse?

I refuse to grow up. Sometimes I think I'm more childlike now then when I was younger, or at least when I was a teenager. There was so much pressure to be cool and disillusioned, you couldn't just be a kid. As I got older I rediscovered my childishness and have revelled in it.

Yes I love all things Disney, watch a lot of 3D animated films (which can be excused due to my occupation) and read Young Adult books. I refuse to let go of my imagination, my childlike wonder and my ridiculous eternal optimism. It's who I am.

Many YA readers I know are above the targeted age group, although the expected age is stretching further into the 20s and 30s these days. It has been speculated that because more people are living at home with their parents for longer, that they're not growing into fully-fledged adults until later in life. Perhaps that's why they cling to the books of their childhood? To that I say: phooey! I still read YA because of the story. That's what we're always told is important: story, story, story, and YA books are jam-packed full of story. They take risks, meld genres and push boundaries. Restrictions and rules are made to be broken in YA. They zip along at a break-neck speeds, are thrilling and unputdownable.

When I was growing up and pretending to be an adult, I knew that I had to move out of the children's section of the bookstore (this was before YA existed and books were classified as being for “older readers”). I tried—I really did—to find a genre that suited my tastes, but it always felt wrong. Making me pick a genre was like making me choose my favourite Disney princess, but I loved them all! Why couldn't I read a mix of drama, fantasy, adventure, sci-fi, romance and horror? Oh wait...I could. So I scuttled back to the one or two shelves for “older readers”, ducked my head and hoped I looked younger than my age—I didn't, my height always put a stop to that.

Occasionally I would branch out into other sections of the bookstore but my taste of adulthood left me feeling cold and distant. There was something missing; I was being held at arm's length, not being immersed in the stories like I wanted to. The novels didn't spark my imagination or make me grip the pages into the wee small hours of the morning, refusing to let go until I discovered what happened. They were, of course, well written and interesting, but I didn't love them. So I continued to return to the children's section until time passed and the shelves gradually expanded, turning into multiple bursting bookcases. These bookcases were labelled “Young Adult”. This once small section of the bookshop was now overwhelmingly popular and not just with kids that the YA age bracket officially targeted.

Yet there is still a stigma with YA that you are reading books for children. I've been known to pretend I'm shopping for my younger cousins when at the book store, my eyes darting this way and that—hoping no one suspects the truth. But I shouldn't be ashamed of loving good stories. And these are the stories for me. No matter what my age, I will always read and write YA fiction.

Who's with me?

Painting a novel

The below quote caught my eye in last week's Australian Writers' Centre newsletter:

“Writing is not like painting where you add. It is not what you put on the canvas that the reader sees. Writing is more like a sculpture where you remove, you eliminate in order to make the work visible. Even those pages you remove somehow remain.”

-Elie Wiesel

As a painter, however, I have to disagree with this statement. I've painted in oils for around 15 years and there is a strong connection between the traditional process of oil painting and my manuscript writing process. I'm not one of those write by the seat of your pants kind of writers. I need to know where I'm going so I can get there. I'll develop the climax of a book from the outset and then plan the journey. I won't be able to stop myself from jumping ahead, blocking out the general plot and scenes in broad strokes before returning to add further detail—much like the process of oil painting.

I was taught to paint in oils by the fabulous Fiona Bilbrough. The traditional method is to first cover the canvas in one colour to form the base of the work. When no white remains, I'll dip a rag in turps and rub away the paint to reveal the basic structures of my subject. This is my plan, similar to a rough guide of my novel.

Once the mysterious shape starts to come to life I'll be compelled to add colour. I'll pick basic tones to outline different areas, much like the process of fleshing out scenes by adding dialogue, descriptions and the characters thoughts. During this stage there will be much adding and subtracting until the structure of the painting emerges. Painting in oils allows for this mouldable approach. Nothing is set in stone. I'll rub back the parts that aren't working, I'll use my medium sized brushes to block in elements, and work and rework until the image begins to hang together. This is similar to the process of creating the second to how-ever-many-drafts-it-takes of a manuscript where I'll push and pull the language until I hit upon the right sentence, the right scene, the right emotion. Where no section is left underdeveloped and each inch of the canvas is worked with the same level finesse.

I'll then use my smallest brushes to add details: a flick of white to the rim of a metallic bowl, the cut of the palette knife for the edge of a table, the purest black added to the shadows. I'll polish the piece until I can run my eyes over the canvas and no section cries out for more development. Much like when I'll read through my manuscript and not cringe, question or struggle. It's ready.

Next I'll go to the framers where they'll prepare my work for public consumption. Whilst writers and artists often create for themselves, they also create for an audience. As a writer I want nothing more than to be told that the reader enjoyed my story, that they couldn't put it down. This is the moment I am waiting for.

The painting is hung. People gather. They stand back. They squint. They lean in close. Their response?

 

Meh.

That's the worst. I don't want my audience to be indifferent, I want them to care. A negative reaction is better than none at all. I've spent hours creating this piece, or in the case of my manuscript: years, and in one brief moment my work's worth will be decided. All I can do is hope that my hard work pays off. That someone out there will enjoy my work as much as I've enjoyed creating it.

Two of my still life paintings

My cleaner named Procrastination

I've never really believed in procrastinating. I'd much rather get stuck into something then sit around and talk about it for hours or days. At school and university I could never understand why people would waste the day away and then scramble at the last minute to finish off their project or homework. I couldn't handle that sort of stress. I preferred to finish my work as quickly as possible and then spend the evening however I wanted. My family likes to remind me that I never worked passed 6:30pm in high school, just so I could spend the evening watching TV. I managed to retain this non-procrastination streak well into my university studies.

Writing a novel, however, has brought out the inner procrastinator in me. I find myself doing small tasks, any tasks, to avoid writing when I'm not inspired. I'll clean the floor, dust every bit of furniture I own, do my washing—even hand washing!—any menial task that will keep me away from my desk and the daunting vision of a blank page. The strange thing about procrastination is that during these tasks I will become inspired to write. Characters will start talking to themselves in my head (weird, I know) and situations and scenarios will arise. It's almost as if my story pushes its way into my subconscious when I'm not trying so hard to write. It also helps that I have an extremely guilty conscience. I would be the world's worst criminal, turning myself in five minutes after committing a crime. Any time I could be writing, my subconscious will plague my thoughts with guilt. There's no escaping it. So I'll put the vacuum cleaner away, drop the duster and sit down to that blank page that seemed so daunting an hour ago. Once I start typing it's like my procrastination never existed.

Days go by and then I start to realise the house needs a vacuum, a dust and my washing is piling up, but I'll keep writing to avoid these tasks. Writing becomes my procrastination for housework. Then, just like that, I'll lose inspiration and the blank page will begin to mock me. I'll flee to the sanctuary of cleaning products and hope my characters will start talking to me again. Thus the procrastination cycle continues.

Anyone else have a great anti-procrastination technique to share? 

The Return of Sequelitis

In my last post, I examined what it was about sequels that frustrated me and turned me off from reading the next instalment. This week I want to share what I love about sequels and what keeps me entranced with a series.

If you study my book wall (see below), which is what I've named the stack of books in my bedroom which no longer fit in my existing bookcase, there is certainly a trend to be found. Aside from the fact that most books I read are YA Speculative Fiction, and for some reason: the majority have a black spine, they also tend to belong to a series. This started many years ago, when I struggled to find authors which I enjoyed reading. I purposely searched for novels in a series so that I could guarantee there would be at least two more books that I could buy from the same author and enjoy. Now it seems like the bulk of YA novels (especially in Spec Fic) are part of a series, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a stand-alone novel, which can be a good thing or bad thing—see previous post! Today, let's focus on the good.

More of what you love plus something you didn't expect:

A sequel is like a nice warm cup of coffee (or tea–your choice!) that you have each morning: it's familiar and comforting. It brings a sense of homecoming; the characters are welcomed and beloved, the writing style is reassuring and you can submerge into the world with ease. Yet sometimes you want a dash of spice with your coffee (or my favourite: peppermint). Great sequels do this, they maintain all the reasons you loved the first book but also add something that is different and unexpected, yet still fits within the world already established.

One of my favourite YA sequels is Kendare Blake's Girl of Nightmares sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood, which has to be one of the best book titles of all time! The sequel has all the gore and fantastic creepy detail from the first book, but also feels new and fresh by adding a layer of adventure that wasn't in Anna Dressed in Blood. I can't recommend that duology enough, go read it people!

Sequels flesh out the world:

World building is essential to good Speculative Fiction, so no matter how unbelievable your premise is, the reader can picture the world in their mind and are swept along for the ride. This takes time, you can't just cram the whole world's mythology down a reader's throat in the first few chapters, unless you want to commit the dreaded “info dump”. The more complex and different the world is to our own, the more time we need to spend discovering it as we turn each page.

Often there are ideas and concepts only hinted at in the first novel and sequels provide the opportunity to develop these into fully-fledged themes and plots. It's a wonderful pay-off for readers when they experience that light-bulb moment and pick up on a small detail that was mentioned in book one, which becomes paramount in the sequel. It's a great reward for those who stick with a series.

Characters become more interesting and detailed:

When you really love a book, you want nothing more than to spend additional time with the characters and see how they evolve. Whilst characters should always change in someway by the end of a novel, often it's not until the sequel that we can see the full extent in which the events of the first book has transformed their lives. It allows characters to feel more real and have greater depth. 

As mentioned in my previous post, if I don't care about the characters then I'm unlikely to return to the series. My favourite books are character-driven stories, it's their lives, plight and adventures that I am enraptured by. It's often said that in a good book you cannot separate plot and character, that one is fiercely intertwined with the other. Most of the series I have read follows this structure and are strongly focused on characters in addition to having a fantastical premise. With a series you have to keep developing the characters from book to book, they cannot remain stagnant, or the reader will become bored and find the story predictable.

That's not to say I don't read and enjoy stand-alone novels, but I always experience a feeling of dread as I near the final pages of an enjoyable book, at least with a series I know it's not over yet!

If you have any series recommendations please let me know.

Until next time,

Astrid

My ever-growing book wall

Are you suffering from Sequelitis?

What makes a good sequel? It's something I've been asking myself a lot now that I'm writing my first sequel. To a lot of people 'sequel' is a dirty word, but not for me. I love a good sequel/series. If you fall in love with the characters and are captivated by their story then you want to read more, right? That said, I don't believe in extending a stand-alone story for the sake for it, some are perfect as a once-off entry. I'm also not-so-keen on film sequels—unless they were originally intended that way—as they can taint the original. I'm thinking specifically of a popular sci-fi film trilogy in the late 90's that should have stayed a stand-alone film. The first film was perfect on its own; audiences don't need every question answered, we're smart enough to fill in the blanks.

But anyway, back to books. Often the first book only glimpses at the potential of the world being developed and sequels are an enjoyable return to these worlds, allowing the author to delve deeper and expand their universe. However, the stigma that sequels are never as good as the original remains true for novels. I can think of two or three sequels that I thought were as good, or better than the original book. Sadly most feel rushed, or the magic that kept you glued to the page has gone. Perhaps the sequels were too close to the original, making the story feel tired and derivative.

I decided to look at all the series I've read in the past few years where I quit reading before the final book. Surely I could find the culprit to sequelitis! The trend singled-out book two as the main cause. So what was it exactly about the second entry that turned me off reading the rest of the series? I narrowed it down to three main issues:

Unnecessary new love interest

This drives me crazy and is very prominent in YA Speculative Fiction sequels. Why would I want to read about a new character that breaks up the main couple that I've invested in? Who is this new character anyway? Why should I care about them? Usually I don't, and they're just a plot device to keep the main characters apart. I've read a few books where this new character has felt completely tact-on and out of place. This pulled me out of the story as I could feel what the author was trying to achieve: they wanted to tear the main characters apart only to bring them back together at the end of book two, or in book three. I'm not against having a new love interest if there is a point to that person, aside from them being an obstacle to our main characters' happiness.

Obstacles for the sake of obstacles

Relating to the above point, where you feel a new storyline is thrown into the mix just to prevent the main character/characters from achieving their goal, with no connection back to book one or the established mythology. This can be in relation to lots of new characters being inserted (again, why should I care about them?) or some left-of-field plot twist. I believe the best sequels are when book two leads directly into the plot of book three, and no, I don't mean by ending on a cliffhanger. If you can skip book two and feel as though you haven't missed anything, then chances are the author has inserted obstacles for the sake of obstacles.

I don't really care what happens

This one is the hardest to define as it's more of a feeling than a concrete reason to say why I don't continue to read a series. Often it's because I never really cared enough about the characters in the first place. This can be due to the characters not being likeable, relatable or interesting enough, or it could be that the main plot or theme never really captivated me in the first place. This comes down to personal taste, as one theme will appeal to readers more than it will to me. Perhaps I was lured in by the cover, or the blurb, but by the time I've reached book two (if I even made it that far) I can't imagine spending more hours reading about characters and plots that I'm not really invested in. For example, if I read one more book about angels I might start tearing at the pages like a wild animal. That's not to say there aren't well-written books about angels but I feel it's currently overdone and I'm ready to read something fresh.

Next time I'll post about what I do like about sequels. In the meantime, let me know what annoys you about sequels and hopefully I won't make the same mistakes!

Until next time,

Astrid

What on Earth is Speculative Fiction?

Yesterday I attended the NSW Writers' Centre course: A Whole New World: Writing Speculative Fiction. Some of you may argue that I appear to be addicted to writing courses—those of you may be correct. But no matter how many courses I do, there is always something new to learn, especially if the course is taught by the wonderfully talented and inspirational author Pamela Freeman.

I think yesterday's course is edging out all the other courses as being the best I've attended to date. Not only was it extremely informative, packed full of great, read-to-apply information, but it was also specifically about Speculative Fiction—try saying that five times!

For those of you who are asking: 'what on Earth is Speculative Fiction?' Well, it's an umbrella term for the sub-genres of Science Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Fiction of the Fantastic, Horror, Paranormal, Alternate History, Historical Fantasy, and of course: Kids/YA which includes all of the above sub-genres. Basically, Speculative Fiction encompasses my favourite shelves in a bookshop. And yes, I'm one of those weird people who still buys books from a bookshop. Sadly, we are a dying breed.

The first book in my YA trilogy crosses multiple sub-genres in Speculative Fiction, mostly Fantasy, Paranormal and a bit of Horror thrown in for good measure. Seeing as I am currently plotting and planning my sequel, I was specifically interested in hearing how to best structure stories which arc over multiple books. I had been struggling with Plot Point 1 in my second book, but with Pamela's help, I was able to see that Plot Point 1 is actually the climax from my first book! Finally, everything started to fall into place and my fingers itched for a keyboard.

It was a really great and an inspirational day, and as always, wonderful to meet like-minded people who share my passion for writing and reading Speculative Fiction. Hopefully, in a few years time, there will be many more Australian Speculative Fiction authors on the shelves of bookshops. Of course, I'm hoping my name will be amongst them!

Until next time,

Astrid

The Australian Hunger Games - yes please!

Over the last few years, I've been on a researching and fact-finding mission for any information on how to become a published author in Australia. Whilst there's a wealth of information online, it can often be a little overwhelming. Sometimes you just want to be told what your next steps should be in a concise easy-to-digest format from someone who's been successful in the process. Enter the Australian Writers' Centre's 'How to Get Your Book Published' course!

Armed with my new blog, written on the back of my work business card—classy!—I attended the two hour course with much enthusiasm, preparing to leave the session knowing exactly what my next step would be. In the past three years I've attended four other courses at the Australian Writers' Centre and they have each been fabulous in their own way. I've completed Creative Writing 1, Creative Writing 2, Into to Novel Writing and Blogging for Beginners. The courses are always full of like-minded people who want/need to share their writing, which is always one of the great joys of these classes—being surrounded by kindred spirits!

The course was presented by Geoff Bartlett, author of Comedians in the Mist, the adorable Cattitude and Mutterings. Most information I've garnered from different courses and festivals tend to leave me a tad overwhelmed, and often, a little disheartened, but Geoff was very encouraging whilst remaining realistic. Although the stats remain the same, 95% of submissions are passed based on proposals alone, he delivered the material without leaning towards the doom and gloom version, which I really appreciated.

Here's a few nuggets of wisdom I learnt on the night:

It takes between 12–18 months to publish a book. *Sounds pretty fair to me.

The media will always back local talent over international talent. *Yay for Australian authors!

Think outside the box for marketing opportunities *Still mulling this one over.

Literary agents are mostly interested in authors already published or a celebrity. *Sadly no and no for me.

Literary agents have a 50% hit rate with manuscripts they pitch to publishers *That's pretty awesome! Now I'm wondering how I can become an instant celebrity...

On a full moon all the lunatics come out *Ha! Must remember not to behave like a lunatic around publishers...



But my favourite part of the night was Geoff's theoretical scenario:

“Let's say Astrid wrote the Australian version of the Hunger Games...”

To which I replied, “I like the sound of that.”

“Then literary agents will be interested in representing her, pursuing other writing opportunities for her, such as writing for film or an episode of Home and Away.”

Whilst I wasn't so keen on the Home and Away offer (no offence Home and Away fans), I started imagining that my book *will* be the next Hunger Games, one can always dream!

So what are my next steps? Well, it sounds like an agent is off the cards for now, so I will be crafting a kick-ass proposal for publishing houses that accept unsolicited manuscripts. Slush pile here I come! ;) 

If you have any questions about publishing, or suggestions on how I can become an instant celebrity, please let me know in the comments. For other aspiring authors, I highly recommend the 'How To Get Your Book Published' course, here's the link: http://www.writerscentre.com.au/sydney/getyourbookpublished.htm

Until next time,

Astrid