Telling A Story Masterclass

Me totally invading Brian Falkner's personal space

I'm still recovering from inspiration overload I received at the recent CYA Conference. The day kicked off for me with a writing masterclass hosted by author Brian Falkner.

This master class ran for a few hours and was absolutely jammed packed with tips and advice on writing. I have about ten notebook pages filled. Here's just a tiny taste of what we enjoyed:

Muse
If you turn up every day at the same time, ready to work, and start writing without inspiration - then eventually your muse will turn up too.

Characters
As an exercise we were asked to share one observation about the person sitting next to us. Then we were asked to share one thing about ourselves. What was noticed was that we tend to make superficial descriptions of others, like the colour of their hair, or if they wore glasses, and we offer more personality descriptions of ourselves. So don't just decide your character is 5ft tall, short brown hair and freckles, instead tell us that they pick up any shiny objects they find on the ground, just like a magpie. This was summed up as shallow vs deep characterisation.

Conflict
Conflict must come from the story and not be placed simply for more conflict. Obstacles must seem impossible to overcome. When faced with a dilemma, give your character two choices - each with their own dire consequences, or, make them think up a third option. Also, danger must always be immediate, not something coming slowly. Characters are avoiding an oncoming train, not a possible problem that may happen some time next year.

Scenes
If you have trouble writing a full scene that includes a variety of writing techniques, try the following method:

1. Start by writing the narration. Explain what happens in this scene, where your character moves and what he does.
2. Go back through your paragraphs and insert description. Give the reader a sense of place and images for characters.
3. Now go back through what you have and add dialogue and actions.

We also talked about narration, description, writing tips, point of views, dramatic irony, overlapping suspense lines and much, much more.

Brian Falkner has a great range of novels, and I've chosen to begin by reading Brainjack:

Check out the book trailer!

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Scene Change

I only re-sparked my passion in writing a couple of years ago when I moved to my lovely country town outside of Canberra. Long cold winters by the fire provided plenty of time and ambience to work on my manuscripts.

It's no coincidence that my character (Kitty Walker) finds herself moving to a small country town in DOG SHOW DETECTIVE. I wanted to share the awe of driving pass cows in the morning, something that only a city-raised kid could understand.

The kids in my high school have been great inspiration for me too, country kids have a certain quirkiness and brashness that is endearing. I've been lucky enough to have a great writers centre not too far off in Canberra (ACT Writers) and many of you know I attend workshops religiously.

If this were a story it'd be time to shake things up. So we will.

Twice now I've flown up to Brisbane when the annual CYA Writers Conference, and I've made some good friends. So, although I hate change (here comes the inciting incident), when hubby was offered a position he really wanted at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, I wasn't too horrified.

I'll miss the cows, the country kids and the wide spaces, but I'll love being close to my dad (also a budding writer) and joining in the writing activities with Queensland Writers Centre (I've become a member already!). I can't wait to find a critique group to join too :)

My plan next year is to cut back on my teaching hours and step up my writing schedule. I is gunna be a real writer!

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Pitch Your Manuscript!

I'm back from the CYA Conference (Children's and Young Adult Writers and Illustrators). Phew, it was exhausting! But of course, it was also absolutely brilliant.

Brisbane's a fair distance from Yass, but it was well worth making the effort. There was a fantastic master class, workshops and book releases. I loved it all, especially the pitch session. I know, I know, those of you who remember my post last week, Surviving a Pitch Session know that I was FREAKING out about my pitch. Turns out pitching is no where near as scary as I thought.

I'm glad I did some research and that I took along some information about my other works. I pitched to an Editor of my choice of publishing house my manuscript MY ZOMBIE DOG, but we also talked about what other works I had ready to go and what I was working on. The editor was very friendly and put me at ease immediately. She gave me feedback on the chapters I had sent her and had some great ideas for fine-tuning the story. The best thing about meeting with the editor is that she told me she loved the idea of MY ZOMBIE DOG. That felt very nice :)

The end result was that I do have some more work to do on this manuscript. Actually one of the changes was suggested to me by kids that critiqued MY ZOMBIE DOG - they wanted my main character Zane to be older. Guess what? So did the editor. But the good news is that once I've reworked MY ZOMBIE DOG, the editor would like me to send it through to her. So, regardless of how this turns out, at least I know I'm on the right track!

Unfortunately many of my other stories are mysteries and the feedback was that mysteries are not popular with kids at the moment. I figure that's okay, they're bound to come back as a trend and then I'll have several manuscripts ready to go.

My advice to you? If you get the chance to pitch in person to an editor (or agent if you want to go that route) then do! The personal feedback you get is well worth it. I'll blog more about the workshops at the conference later, but for now, my brain needs some recharging.

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Marketing DIY for Authors

I've been a workshop glutton. My latest was on Marketing Your Book run by author Aleesah Darlison. Okay, so technically I don't have an actual book that I can hold in my hand, but I do have MY ZOMBIE DOG and DOG SHOW DETECTIVE out there pitching.

The great thing about this workshop is that we covered marketing yourself as an author and your unpublished manuscript to editors and agents. Some of the things we were asked to consider were:

• What do you want from your writing career? Do you want to be known for your ability to raise controversial subjects, or for your wit and sense of fun? Knowing this will help understand the image or persona you want to put forward. I'd like my books to show that sense of humour and fun within the Aussie culture. I'd like to celebrate the oddity that is people.


• What is unique about your writing? For me it is that teaching gives me an insight to children's interests in literature and theme topics. Plus I write a really good dog.

I've come away from this workshop with a to-do list:

1. Build a Facebook Fan page. Okie-dokie, you can help me keep that page by clicking on the like button in the FB box to the right, or just going to this link: CHARMAINE CLANCY 


2. Build a Youtube Channel page. Sort of done. I've set it up now, you can visit here: CHARMAINE CLANCY YOUTUBE I need to find some more relevant videos that I can store there, and this is where I will keep my book trailers (when I have book trailers).


3. Have a one sentence answer ready for when I am asked 'what do you do?' Mine is: I write mystery, fantasy and adventure fiction for children.


4. Do up my Writing CV. Okay, haven't started that one yet.


5. Write my synopsis for all my manuscripts, even those that are not yet finished or even written. You should have a synopsis ready at a pitch incase the editor/agent would like to discuss your other works.


6. Practice my pitch for this weekend's CYA Conference!

What's on your Marketing DIY to-do list?

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Surviving a Pitch Session

I have pitch-fear!

Next week I pitch. Not the safe kind of online, or written pitches I've tried thus far... no... I pitch in person. I really didn't think it would be a big deal. After all, I've sent my first ten pages in, they'll either like it or they won't. So what's 15minutes chatting with a publisher?

Gulp.

Now that it's fast approaching I am in panic mode. Eeek! What if I just make a fool of myself - and not in the good way I usually intend to make a fool of myself? So, in preparation for the CYA Conference in Brisbane, I am searching for advice on pitching in person. Here's what I've come up with so far:

Don't:

• Act like they are providing a service to you. You are not doing them a favour, treat them like you have a product to sell to them. (Fabianspace)


• Assume they will make allowances for you because your work is just so special, play by the rules. (Fabianspace)


• Spend the whole time talking about your manuscript and going over what they've already read. Make a personal connection. (Nathan Bransford)

Do:

• Welcome feedback. You don't have to implement every change suggested to your manuscript but take it all in for serious consideration - this person knows what they're talking about and the feedback is generously provided to help you. (Nathan Bransford)


• Know the summary or synopsis of your story by heart. You might be asked to refresh their memory. (Redlines and Deadlines)


• Have a synopsis handy for any other manuscripts you have ready or nearly finished. You might have time to discuss those. 


• Do your homework. Know a little about the publishing house you are pitching to. I'm pitching to Black Dog Books and know that they have novels aimed the same age group as my manuscript and in the same genre. I can specifically point to some of their current books and say my novel is like a cross between this novel and this one. At the very least, know that they publish the sort of genre you produce. (Writing World)

That's all I got - any suggestions????

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Phooey to the End of Books

I don't think so!

Many conversations about the future of books, publishing and reading seem to be gloomy these days. I read blogs, hear radio conversations and even meet authors that think authors will suffer great income loss over:

A. the introduction of ebooks

B. cheap ebooks (99c)

C. competing with tv, movies, internet and gaming for children's attention.

I say phooey to all that. I think the future of books is brighter than it's ever been. Here's how I validate my excitement for this industry:

1. The introduction of ebooks has enabled MORE people to access fiction in a variety of mediums.


2. By having a novel available online, you have opened your readership up globally. You don't have to rely on only reaching a national market. If an Australian publisher prints one of my novels, I will still have to try to secure an agent/publisher for each other international market such as the UK or US.


3. Cheap ebooks have excited readers and tweaked an interest in otherwise cautious customers. This in turn develops a fad of reading, the more you read the more you want to read. 99c will gain initial interest, but readers will evolve to be more aware of their own taste and more discerning towards the quality of fiction they read. I now scrutinize my purchases and do not base my choice on price. I trust other readers to do the same.


4. Hooray for technological distractions. The iPads, laptops and iPhones might be popular with teens for the games they supply but the wonderful phenomenon I'm noticing is kids that wouldn't usually want to buy books now want to, all because they can download them onto their iPod etc. I had a yr7 media class (12-13yr olds) and introduced them to online books via Amazon. I showed them how you can get Kindle for your iPod. They were all so excited about this and most downloaded the app. A lot of these kids would have scrunched their noses up at me suggesting they borrow a book from a library.


5. Ebooks are making reading a very popular trend. This in turn makes people want to own books and buy books for their shelves as well as their iPads. It has almost become a fashion statement for our living rooms. Don't believe books are trendy? Department store catalogues are expensive to produce and distribute, this makes space on them prime real estate. As you can imagine, front page is pretty special. In the past. I've only noticed books get a small corner of a page in the middle somewhere. Yesterday I was so surprised and pleased to see a Big W catalogue feature the first TEN pages all for books and that they now sell the Amazon Kindle here in Australia!

So, aren't you excited?!

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World Building for Fantasy Novels

You've got the whole world in your hands...

Wow. Another amazing writers workshop.

This time the workshop was held in Canberra and it was run by the extremely talented and popular author, Fiona McIntosh.

World building for fantasy novels was the focus of this workshop, and my head is still spinning from all the great advice Fiona generously shared. I have pages and pages of notes on this topic now, but here are just a few points Fiona got across about world building:

• You need to introduce your fantasy world in the first chapter. Readers are impatient now and want immediate satisfaction, so along with the hook, character and inciting incident, they want a sense of setting. In my story THE COSTUME MAKER, my characters are sent from this world to the fantasy world. I can get around this by using a prologue that occurs in that world.


• Don't get hung up on the details of your world. Yes you should know your world and love it, but ultimately readers purchase books because of the characters and story. In some of the best Fantasy novels you barely notice the world because you are so lost in the story.


• Read novels in the genre and the sub genre you wish to write in. Focus on the way they set up their world.


• Don't over-describe everything in your world. Assume your reader is intelligent and imaginative and can fill in the gaps. They've seen a blue sky before, don't spend five pages on it.


• Culture is part of the world. Think about food sources, language, authority, etc.

Okay there was loads and loads more, but you'll have to attend one of Fiona's amazing workshops to learn it all. I can tell you she has inspired me to take a more professional approach to my writing. Fiona shared with us her schedule for a great balance between writing as a profession, family and life in general. I'm keen to get productive!

And to brush up on my reading I've got The Whisperer on my bookshelf:

Plus I've just ordered Royal Exile, the first in the Valisar trilogy - what amazing cover art!

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