Jennifer Scoullar's Blog, page 18

Donald Maas And The Novelist’s Paradox

I’ve said before what a fan I am of legendary literary agent and author Donald Maas. I first encountered him when reading Writing The Breakout Novel. What a book! Maas outlines the essential elements of a commercially successful novel, including beginning with a defined theme. I’d never thought of doing that before. I’d just hoped a coherent theme would somehow emerge amorphously from the growing manuscript. Now I consciously plan a theme before starting the story.

But what I find most interesting, particularly when I’m at the stage of plotting a new book, is his concept of the novelist’s paradox – your story matters more than anything, and your story matters not at all. It matters more than anything because fiction injected with high purpose and high stakes carries more force than fiction that merely seeks to entertain. If it provokes thought and moves our hearts, it will remain in our memory. But an author who let’s their story matter too much, may rush past much of its potential greatness. It’s important to relax and take the time to dig deep – deep into your characters’ motivations, conviction and nature. Not taking the story too seriously gives you the freedom to explore these inner journeys. A difficult balancing act!

Donald Maas tips for writing characters that matter to readers:

- Your character matters to someone else. Whom? Why? Find a moment for them to weigh that responsibility and rise to it.

- The conflict means something personal to your character. What? What piece of them would be lost if they fail? How will they become whole if they succeed?

- What’s going on in the scene you’re writing? If it illustrates a larger principle, have your character recognize that.

- Your character is on a personal journey. Seeking what? Finding what instead? What’s already accomplished? What’s left to learn? Put it down on the page.

The Ugly Animal Preservation Society

An elephant is killed every fifteen minutes to supply an insatiable and unsustainable demand for ivory. A rhino is killed every eleven minutes for horns that have as much medicinal effect as my big toenail. Wild lions could be gone in fifteen years as we teeter on the brink of the world’s sixth mass extinction. But it’s not just the charismatic, iconic animals in trouble. Forget pandas – ugly animals should be protected too. The Ugly Animal Preservation Society draws attention to less adorable endangered species, and I can’t wait for the show to come to Australia!

Conservation issues are usually pretty depressing, so it’s refreshing for a comedy evening to take a conservation twist – scientists dabbling in comedy and comedians dabbling in science. Each has to pick an endangered (and ugly) species, and has ten minutes to champion it. At the end the audience votes, and the winner becomes the mascot of that regional branch of the society. In London it’s the proboscis monkey. In Edinburgh, the branch’s mascot is Australia’s own gob-faced squid.  The comedians take different approaches – some try to prove that their animal is not so ugly. Others admit, “They are hideous, but you know what, some days I wake up a bit rough myself!” But the main thing is to draw attention to the plight of these rare animals. These are species people don’t know much about, yet they all play a vital part in our ecosystem.

Just because an animal is unattractive, doesn’t mean we can ignore it. Take humble earthworms for example. Without them, tonnes of rotting organic rubbish would build up within months. Fly maggots perform a similar function. Micro-bats are worth billions of dollars to agriculture yearly, by eating their weight in insects each night, while fruit bats are the vital pollinators and seed-dispersers of Australia’s great forests. So spare a thought for the less sexy species. They’re important too!

Where’s The Conflict?

My manuscript is with my publisher, and I won’t return to it until edits roll around. So that means scouting about for a new idea. I’m not the kind of writer who has dozens of story ideas waiting in the wings, I wish I was. No, for me it takes a long time to decide what to write next.

Setting comes first. My books are always set in Australia’s wild places, so there are many wonderful candidates. Rainforests, deserts, mountains, wetlands, woodlands, the coast, our islands – the list goes on and on. Once I decide on a setting, then it’s time for characters and conflict.

Stories founder when they don’t have enough conflict. Characters who accomplish things easily are boring. So I always analyse a new premise to make sure enough obstacles exist between the characters and their goals. Obstacles can take many forms. They may be physical - other characters, weather, road blocks, injuries, etc. Or mental – fear, amnesia, ignorance, etc. Or circumstantial – can’t bake bread because there’s no flour, for example. I try to have the conflict evolve organically from the goal though, so no convenient, random anvils falling on character’s heads!

The most valuable lesson I’ve learned in my writing journey is to build in conflict by having inherent incompatibility between the goals of my two main characters. This is federal election day, so I’ll use a political example. X and Y are in love. They are also Labor and Liberal candidates respectively, campaigning in the same electorate. Raise the stakes. At the end of counting, the whole election comes down to this one seat. Make the stakes personal. They are both doctors. X has a special needs child named Z. A Labor win means ground breaking new experimental treatment would become available for Z. Y is a recovered drug user. A Liberal win would see Y’s dream of a local clinic for teenage addicts come true. During a recount, ballot papers go missing and suspicions fly.

The world of X and Y has hard-to-resolve conflict built into it. Two strong, opposing points of view, both believing in the rightness of their own positions, with plenty of points of connection. How would their love ever triumph? Now, what will I really write?

Congratulations to roslyngroves who is the winner of the Three Wishes prize draw. I’ll email you for your address. Thanks to everybody who commented!

My Three Wishes – 3 Wishes Blog Blitz

Today I’m participating in the Three Wishes Blog Blitz, hosted by author Juliet Madison. From 2nd to 6th September you’ll have the chance to win some terrific prizes at all the blogs participating in the blitz, including mine. For a chance to win a signed copy of Currawong Creek, just tell me a wish of your own. Then click over to Juliet’s blog to enter her prize draw, see the list of other blogs taking part and enter their giveaways too. How good is that? And why is it called the Three Wishes Blog Blitz? Juliet’s new romantic comedy release, I Dream of Johnny, is about three wishes, a high-tech genie in a lamp, and one very unfortunate typo that proves magic isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…

To fulfil my obligation to the blitz, I’m writing about what I’d want if a genie gave me three wishes. First I’d like to be financially independent enough to turn my boutique dog boarding kennel into a wildlife rehabilitation centre. Much as I adore my canine guests, I often fantasise that the lovely runs and sheds are full of recovering wallabies, wombats and possums instead. I’d love to do the wildlife rehabilitation course and dedicate myself to native animals. There’s nobody in the world that I admire more than our wonderful wildlife carers.

Second wish – I’d like to ride the length of the Bicentennial National Trail from north to south.  The trail stretches an extraordinary 5,330 kilometres from Cooktown in tropical far north Queensland to Healesville in Victoria. As it winds along the eastern seaboard, following the foothills of the Great Dividing Range and the Eastern Escarpment, it travels through some of Australia’s most remote and spectacular scenery. My son has offered to ride it with me if I can ever organise myself. Would love to hear from anybody out there who has already done it.

Thirdly (and this is a magic genie granting wishes right, so there are no limits) I’d like to buy up large tracts of rare habitat a la Bush Heritage. Wetlands, rain forest and temperate woodlands - the most threatened wooded ecosystem type in Australia. The problem is particularly severe in my home state of Victoria, which has lost 83 per cent of its woodland ecosystems to land  clearance. Combined with drier weather patterns, that loss has led to a dramatic  decline in woodland fauna, with recent research suggesting that  even common birds such as the red wattlebird, spotted pardalote and  rufous whistler are in trouble. I’d love to fence these areas, eliminate foxes and cats, and help restore habitats. What a thrill that would be!

You’ve seen my top wishes. To enter the prize draw, just comment telling me a wish of your own. NZ and Aust only. Competition closes 12pm Friday 6th September. Once you’ve entered my giveaway, visit Juliet’s blog at http://julietmadison.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/3-wishes-blog-blitz-official-post/ & enter her giveaway too, and visit any or all of the other participating blogs to enter more prize draws. You could potentially win a whole heap of prizes! Good luck!

Nearly There …

My new book (working title Billabong) is due for submission to Penguin on Monday. I’m putting the final touches on the first draft … and it’s good, if I do say so myself! The story is set on an imaginary river in the Murray-Darling basin, somewhere in north-western NSW near the junction of the Namoi and the Barwon – land of the Kamilaroi nation.

It’s a star-crossed love story between a cotton grower and a floodplains grazier. For riverine farmer Nina Moore, the rare marshland flanking the beautiful Bunyip River is the most precious place on earth. Her dream is to buy Billabong Bend and protect it forever, but she’s not the only one wanting the land. When Rocco, her childhood sweetheart, returns to the river, old feelings rekindle and she thinks she has an ally. But a tragic death divides loyalties, tears apart their fledgling romance and turns her dream into a nightmare. Will Nina win the battle for Billabong? Or will the man she once loved destroy the wild wetlands she holds so close to her heart?

It’s a story about first love – that original blinding passion that is never forgotten. When you believe that anything is possible. When you first believe in something more than yourself. But it’s also the story of a river, of water use in a thirsty land, and the division and conflict it inevitably causes. And if you love birds like I do, particularly our magnificent wetland birds, you’re in for a real treat!

Anyway, I’d better stop talking and go back to polishing that first draft. I’ll finish with a bit of  Aussie rural author-watching, instead of bird-watching. This photo was taken at a recent conference, and is courtesy of Cathryn Hein. How many can you identify?

Smart Bitches and Thursday Blogs

For the past week or so, my life has been a literary whirlwind! The RWA Conference was, as always, a hectic mix of meeting friends and attending workshops. Before long my head was spinning, and it wasn’t just from all the chocolate and champagne. There is a wealth of craft and publishing information available at these conferences.

 

One of the sessions I attended, Blogging 101, was presented by Sarah Wendell. She’s better known as Smart Bitch Sarah from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, the most popular blog worldwide examining romance fiction. It ranges from discussions of the popularity and market reach of romance novels, to reviews and essays. She is also the author of the informative and hilarious Everything I Know About Love, I Learned from Romance Novels. Well, I learned a lot about blogging in Sarah’s session. One of the things I learned was that for maximum reach I should stop blogging on Sundays and post mid-week instead, hence this Thursday post!

I’m meeting Sarah again tonight at a welcome event for her at Penguin Books. Sarah is also presenting at the . I would venture to suggest that the MWF is Australia’s preeminent literary festival. It starts today and runs until the 1st of September.

Afterwards I’m attending The Moth Mainstage, New York’s hottest and hippest literary ticket. The Moth is a story-telling night  that’s set to make its Melbourne debut at the Writers Festival and is a beautifully staged, live theatrical production. Internationally acclaimed masters of storytelling, including comedian and host Ophira Eisenberg and Australian’s own Magda Szubanski, Tony Wheeler and Melissa Lucashenko will explore the theme of courage. According to the program, The Moth brings together entertainment, enlightenment and festivity, and promises to take the audience on a storytelling journey that will leave us spellbound. Can’t wait!

Add to this the fact that my new manuscript is due on the 2nd September (I cadged a week’s extension from my publisher Belinda Byrne at the conference!) and you can see that I’m up to my eyes in stories – and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The New Romantics

L-R Kate Belle, Me, Jan Bull, Kathryn Ledson and Margareta Osborn

I’ve joined forces with authors Kate Belle, Kathryn Ledson and Margareta Osborn to form a panel called The New Romantics. Together we present a fresh and modern take on Aussie love stories. Though none of us write traditional ‘romance’, we all have strong romantic elements in our books.

 

 

[image error]Yesterday was our very first gig. It was in celebration of National Bookshop Day, and we were warmly welcomed and entertained by the gorgeous people of Foster and South Gippsland. Many thanks to Jan and Bob of Foster’s Little Bookshop, for organising and hosting the event!

 

I talked about how a modern romance may be all about passion, but it’s not just about the passion between two people falling in love. The medieval concept of romance always involved some sort of a quest, and so does a modern love story – it is a character’s search for herself. I also talked about how my passion for the environment is channelled into my stories.

 

 

Margareta (author of Bella’s Run and Hope’s Road) talked about her own, marvellous brand of rural fiction. As a fifth-generation farmer, her ties to the land are very strong and her books convey a sense of place, community and belonging. Kathryn (author of Rough Diamond) gave us her hilarious take on romantic comedy. Kate (author of The Yearning) discussed whether or not that happy-ever-after ending is an essential element of a modern romance novel, and much, much more.

All in all it was a fabulous day, and an encouraging beginning to our life together as an author panel. We are available for events and festivals! Contact the lovely Kate Belle (ecstasyfiles at gmail dot com), who has become our de facto organiser. I look forward to many more stimulating authorly discussions and would love for you all to join us sometime in the future!

Sunday With Catherine Lee

Please welcome a terrific new indie crime writer to Pilyara – Catherine Lee. I first met Catherine in 2008 at a Varuna Residency with the legendary Peter Bishop. The question posed in her then fledgling manuscript has intrigued me ever since – does the heart have a memory? Her terrifying novel has since won a Varuna crime-writing award, and I’m thrilled to announce that Dark Heart is now available on Kindle and POD from Amazon. So without further ado, it’s over to Catherine!

Welcome Catherine. Can you tell us a little about your new release, Dark Heart?

Dark Heart is the story of Eva, a young woman who gets a second chance at life when she receives a heart transplant. After the transplant Eva begins to have nightmares, and she soon discovers that the previous owner of her new heart was a serial killer. The killer’s final victim is still missing, and Eva realises that it could be the missing woman now haunting her dreams. She teams up with the victim’s husband and a fellow transplant patient, who has also experienced the phenomenon of cellular memory, in order to listen to her heart and help find the missing woman. Meanwhile Detective Charlie Cooper and his new partner Joey Quinn have two mysteries to solve – can they reach the final victim in time, and who murdered the serial killer?

What do you love most about writing thrillers, and do you think it’s important for books in this genre to have an element of romance in the story?

I love the twists and turns that thrillers take, I love coming up with outlandish ideas and figuring out how to make them work. I’m not sure that all books need to contain an element of romance, but quite often it’s a good fit for the story. Once you get to know your characters they tend to tell you what they need, and Eva just happened to need a hint of love in her new life.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you write detailed character profiles, or do you find the characters come to life as you write?

Plotter, definitely. I had an elaborate spreadsheet for Dark Heart, which I developed after discovering that the first 30,000 words I’d written were going nowhere. I needed a plan, so I ditched the draft and spent the next three months plotting every chapter on my spreadsheet. It worked, and I’ve been refining my process ever since. I’ve moved onto Scrivener for my second novel, Dark Past. I love Scrivener, it’s a brilliant tool for writers. As for characters, I find character profiles quite boring to write. I prefer to let them speak for themselves, although I did find one exercise suggested by a friend quite valuable to use when a character is too wooden or boring. Rather than answering profile type questions, sit down and come up with twenty random things about them. It sounds too simple, but I find I get a much clearer picture of the character by doing this.

How long does it usually take you to write the first draft of a novel?

I’m not sure I’ve worked out what’s usual for me yet, as I’ve only just finished the first draft of my second novel. I do know that the second was a lot faster than the first, and the faster I write the better the quality of the draft.

What is a typical day like for you?

I like to write in the mornings, I find that if it’s not my first job it doesn’t get done. It’s my most important job, so I’m slowly getting it cemented into my daily routine that mornings are for writing. I’m almost halfway through a degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, so my afternoons are currently taken up by study. In the evenings I try and wrap my head around all this social media stuff. It’s a lot of work, but being able to connect with readers and other writers so easily is priceless. There are a lot of really lovely people out there.

Since everybody needs a break, even when doing something they love, how do you like to spend your time away from writing?

I try and go for a walk every afternoon, just to get away from the screen. But the thing that really takes me out of my writing head, which as a crime fiction writer can be quite a scary place, is looking after other people’s children. I have none of my own, which is a personal choice, but I just love being Aunty Cat to all my friends’ kids. I’m sure that in years to come I’ll be known as the crazy aunt who reads and writes books all day, and I’m just fine with that.

Describe your writing in three words.

Man, that’s a hard one. Let’s see, if I could be so bold I’d probably go with intriguing, fast-paced, and unpredictable. Dark Heart certainly meets those criteria, and I’d love to think I can do it again!

What are you working on next?

My next book, Dark Past, will again feature Detectives Cooper & Quinn. This time they are investigating a family with a secret in their past that someone is willing to kill to keep hidden. I can’t tell you too much about it just yet, but it will include some genealogy as well as delving into the cutting edge territory of gene therapy.

Thanks so much, Jenny, for hosting me on your fabulous blog.

Could you live with the heart of a killer? Fraser Grant was a kidnapper, a vile, murdering sociopath. Now he’s dead. Murdered in his own home, the women of Sydney can breathe easy again. All but one. His final victim is still missing — chained up, running out of time, and awaiting a captor who will never return. Detective Sergeant Charlie Cooper is desperate to find the missing woman alive. On the verge of quitting Homicide after a decade chasing the brutal killer, this is his last chance to atone for all the victims he failed.

After a life-saving heart transplant, Eva Matthews just wants things to get back to normal. But when she learns she has the heart of the serial killer, will nothing stop the nightmares that plague her? Dark Heart is a detective story, a race against time to save a life. But it’s also an exploration of cellular memory, the intriguing medical phenomenon of patients receiving more than just an organ from their donor. The terrifying serial killer may be dead, but that is just the beginning…

Connect with Catherine on Twitter, Facebook or on her website.

Q&A with Pamela Cook

Please welcome fellow rural author, Pamela Cook to Pilyara. She’s also  a fellow horse lover, which makes her doubly welcome. Pamela is a writer, teacher and mother of three gorgeous daughters. She also manages a menagerie of dogs, rabbits, birds, fish and horses and her favourite pastime (after writing) is riding her handsome quarter horse, Morocco. And now it’s over to Pamela, to answer some questions about her wonderful debut novel, Blackwattle Lake.

Hi Jenny and thanks so much for having me on your blog.

1. Tell us about your call story Pamela. How did you receive your first offer of publication?

I’d been writing for just over ten years and had spent more than five of those years working on a literary style novel. In November 2009 I took part in Nano – National Novel writing Month, a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. I put that one away and went back to my original which I entered in the QWC/ Hachette Manuscript Development Program in 2010 but had no luck. I entered again in 2011, submitting both novels and was lucky enough to be chosen to attend the program with my nano novel, Blackwattle Lake. This was an amazing opportunity – a one on one with a publisher, who had read my book. After taking Vanessa’s advice on board I revised the manuscript and sent it back at the end of April 2012 and was ecstatic to receive a phone call about 6 weeks later saying Hachette wanted to publish it. although I hadn’t heard of rural fiction in 2009 when I wrote it this genre had become hugely popular in that period of time, which no doubt helped me get my novel over the line.

2. What is your novel Blackwattle Lake about?

Blackwattle Lake is about Eve Nicholls, who inherits the property where she grew up. On her return to the farm she has to deal with the ghosts of her past – both the dead and those still living but is also drawn back to her love of the land and of horse riding. A series of unexpected events force Eve to confront her painful memories and find the courage to re-connect.

3. What or who inspired this story?

It began with the image of a woman standing at the gate of a rural property, unable to get in as the gate is locked. My daughters and I have 6 horses between us, so I decided to follow the old advice “write what you know”. Doing it as a nano forced me to keep writing and not stop to revise along the way so the story just flowed and came out pretty much as it is in the published book – with a few tweaks and revisions of course.

4. Are there any parts of it that have special personal significance to you?

The property Eve inherits is based on Darkes Forest Ranch where we keep our horses, just south of Sydney. That’s the place I pictured in my head as I was writing. We also have a holiday house on the south coast of NSW which inspired parts of the setting and the town. The horse scenes are pretty special to me – I didn’t take up riding until later in life and it has been an amazing experience to share with my three daughters.

5. What do you see as the major themes in your book?

Eve’s story is about courage, forgiveness and belonging. It’s a huge step for her to return to the farm because of a past tragedy and the fractured family relationships that ensued. But once she’s back there Eve re-discovers her love of the land and of horses and also the sense of being part of a community, all of which she had completely forgotten about – or at least chosen not to remember. In facing the past Eve not only has to forgive others but must forgive herself.

Thank you for visiting Pamela, and telling us about your terrific debut novel. It’s funny, but I didn’t realise I was writing rural fiction at first either! I really relate to that part of your call story. Forgot to ask you what’s next, but I believe your second novel Essie’s Way, is due for release in December 2013 – just in time for Christmas. Congratulations!

For Eve Nicholls, walking up the driveway of her childhood home brings up many emotions, and not all good. The horses that she loved still dot the paddocks but the house is empty, and the silence inside allows her memories to flood back. She’s glad to have her best friend Banjo the kelpie with her . . . and a bottle of bourbon. Her plan is simple: sell the farm, grab the cash and get the hell out.

Despite Eve’s desire to keep a low profile, within days of her return she runs into all the people she hoped to avoid. At the house she is surrounded by memories and worse. But with a lifetime of clutter to sort out, there’s plenty to take her mind off it all. Slowly, she begins to discover the girl she used to be: Angie Flanagan – adventurous, animal-loving, vulnerable. When tragedy strikes, Eve realises that changing her name all those years ago in an attempt to hide from her past has not changed the truth of what happened or who she really is.

Blackwattle Lake is an engaging debut for those who long to uncover who they used to be, and who they might still become.

Contact details:

Website: www.pamelacook.com.au

Blog: www.pamelacook.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamelaCookAuthor?ref=hl

Twitter: @PamelaCookAU

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Fellow author and blogger Lord David Prosser (http://barsetshirediaries.wordpress.com/ ) has kindly nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award! After a little online snooping I discovered that he is actually a Lord. He’s the Lord of Bouldnor, an hereditary Manorial title lost in the mists of time, well the 1400′s anyway. I wonder how his Lordship feels about me being a staunch Aussie republican? Anyway, thank you for the nomination.

As an award winner, I’m asked to:

Display the award certificate on my website and include a link to my sponsor.
List five unusual facts about myself.
Present 5 awards to deserving bloggers and drop them a comment to tip them off.

I’ve fulfilled the first condition which is to thank my sponsor and link back to his blog. Secondly I must post the award badge to my blog – done. By the way, I’ve changed the rules a bit to suit myself. Us colonials aren’t good at taking orders, my Lord. Okay, now for five unusual things about me.

I once drove a tractor for a living.
I have a great interest, affection and admiration for insects, particularly the social insects – wasps, ants and bees. Many insects display curiosity, learning ability and parental devotion (as you’ll discover if you read my first novel, Wasp Season) They are fascinating and highly underrated creatures.
At one stage I gave up my job as a lawyer to become a full-time foster carer.
I love to buy spent hens from battery farms. There is nothing quite so heart-warming as rehabilitating such birds, watching them learn to scratch, nest and dust-bathe etc. In return I get their friendship and lovely fresh eggs for many years.
I am a member of a little writing group called the Little Lonsdale Group. Since its formation just a few years ago, four of our members (including me) have become published by major publishers – Random House, Penguin and Simon & Schuster. Pretty good going, huh?

Now for the part where I nominate five other bloggers. Drum roll please …

Storie – Diane Simonelli

http://dianesimonelli.wordpress.com/
Margareta Osborn – The Voice Of The Bush http://www.margaretaosborn.com.au/blog-listing
Jenn J Mcleod – Come Home to the Country

http://www.jennjmcleod.com/blog/
Whitney K E – Aspiring Romance Author

http://whitneyk-e.blogspot.com.au/
The Ecstacy Files – Kate Belle – (Over 18 only!)

http://ecstasyfiles.com/blog/

And nominees, don’t feel obliged. I know how busy you all are!