A Decade Out of the Writing Cupboard

The decade coming to close, kind of slipped my notice, as I’m too busy preparing for Christmas, editing one of my WIP’s and visiting Sixth Form Colleges with my eldest spawn. So I was a tad bemused when on twitter I saw a loads people posting photos of them from 2009 and now 2019 – saying where they were in their lives a decade ago compared to now. This got me thinking that this is a good time to reflect on my writing journey.

2009

The first thing is that finding a photo of me from 2009 was difficult, it was pre smart phones and so all photos were taken with either our digital compact or DSLR, with me behind the lens, so the only photo I have is an out-of-focus one taken my by then 4YO Daughter! 

In 2009 I was living in dilapidated post war bungalow that desperately needed a new roof (and walls and floors etc.) My kids were small, one at pre-school the other in Foundation class, and I was in pain. The pain was due to shallow deformed hip joints, and hyper flexibility causing me to wear the hip joints out at an accelerated rate. In the summer 2009, I went under the knife– the first of two planned hip reconstructions. However, they had to abort the surgery but not before cutting and de-strengthening all the soft tissue – making me worse. This meant I could hardly walk, and as I was on morphine for the pain so I couldn't drive either.

I was however writing, feverishly and excitably. But I was in the writers closet – sort of! I would talk at length about my WIP to family, who smiled and listened through gritted teeth, but I had no writer friends and I felt isolated, like I was the only one on the planet writing a kids book!

2009 statistics

Books completed: 0 

Competition Submissions: 0

Competition Wins/ Long-listings /short-listings: 0 

Submissions to agents and Editors: 0 

Requests for full Manuscripts: 0 

Yeses: 0 

Publications: 0 

2019

We are firmly in the age of Smart Phones, and I have teens, so there is a wealth of photo’s to choose from, of course I HATE them all!

2019 is drawing to a close, and since 2009, as a family we’ve built a house, moved 5 times, done up three houses and we’re currently living in a post-war house that desperately needs a new roof! My kids are teens, one in year 9 the other in the scary ultimate GCSE year. I’ve successfully limped away from hip surgery for the last ten years, I have however chipped off a chuck of my hip bone, (emptying a bin), and dislocated my hip (standing still!) BUT I’m no longer on opiates and I can both walk (on level flat terrain) and drive.

I am writing, and editing, and honing my craft and submitting desperately trying to get my work in print. But I’m definitely out of the writing closest, and no longer bore my non-writer friends and family (as much) with my excitable writing chatter.

In 2010 I joined my first Writers Critique Group, Abingdon Writers. This changed my life. It was a gateway – or maybe rabbit hole to a completely new world. I met my first writer buddies, Jo and Nicki – together we joined SCBWI and submitted to UV2012 – in which Jo won, and I was honorary mentioned. This was quickly followed by Nicki and I being long listed for The Times Chicken House 2013 –which Nicki went on to win in 2016! We all became part of the SCBWI Oxford Critique group, and when I moved to bucks I volunteered for SCBWI on the conference and Professional Series. Now I’m a member of SCBWI, and the Golden Egg Academy and have started a new critique group locally Green Penn with the lovely Trudie and Jessica. I blog and review books, and over the last 10 years I’ve volunteered and worked in book shops.

2019 statistics

Books completed: 4 Novels, 1 novella, 12 Picture Books, (numerous unfinished projects) 

Competition Submissions: 49 

Competition Wins/ Long-listings /short-listings: 1 Win,   2 short-listings,   2 Long-listings,    2 Honorary Mentions 

Submissions to agents and Editors: to embarrassed to say upwards of 100 

Requests for full Manuscripts: 8 

Yes: 2 

Publications: 0 

Looking at the statistics made me feel like I’ve not actually done that much, but combine that with all the life stuff, and starting up a business - and then thinking of the amount of research and re-writes and edits of each project it amounts to hundreds and hundreds of hours.

So all in all, 2019 is much more positive than 2009 – I feel more settled in my ramshackle house, and I’m in less pain. But best of all I am really fortunate to have so many writer friends and so much support, that I no longer feel isolated. Now I know that I’m not the only one writing kid’s books on the planet – in fact quite the opposite. There lots of us, and I’m happy to part of this massive friendly Kid Lit Tribe!

Writing Process Blog Tour; Work in Progress, Springbatts and Spreadsheets!

Last week the lovely Chitra Soundar tagged me in on her blog post, to be part of the Writing Process Blog Tour. She equated herself to a mosquito and gave a charming and funny insight into her current WIP’s and writing processes, so please check out her post by pressing here.

Firstly thanks to Chitra for tagging me in, and second, just to answer a question posed to me by Chitra last week; A Springbatt is what you get if you bread a Basset Hound with a Springer Spaniel, it’s a very short, hyperactive manically depressive bi-polar dog, that look rather like this…

What am I working on?

This is ALWAYS a difficult question, as it’s never just one project! I'm currently editing my YA science Fiction Novel Journey to the Bone Factory (which was longlisted for this years The Times / Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition), trying to get it ready for submission.

I'm also researching for a new novel which is in the midst of forming into a plot in my mind, which (hopefully) will be a YA Urban Fantasy Romance, about Eros/Cupid’s lesser known brother Anteros the god of mutual and unrequited love.

But the main project is a yet to be named YA Near Future Tale, that I'm penning about a group of kids and teens strive to care for the surviving animals in a city zoo, after an epidemic which has wiped out all adults. They have to face problems on how to feed the large carnivores, how to keep reptiles warm, and the perilous task of protecting the animals and themselves from the hungry marauding savages that see them as easy meat.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I believe this will be different as although it could be described as dystopian as it’s set in a world where infrastructure and government has broken down, but it’s not about a struggle against oppressors, but a group of children who work together to overcome obstacles for a united cause of looking after the incarcerated creatures that would otherwise perish. It’s study of nature and survival, which also brings animals in to YA.

It always amazes me that whenever you go into a bookshop or library the shelves are stuffed full of book featuring animals for children but stop abruptly when it gets to YA. Do teens suddenly stop caring about animals? I don’t think so, not if you think of how many teenagers want to be Vets, or veterinary nurses, or work with animals in some other capacity. So I’m writing this book for all the teen (who like I was as a teen) who still like to read about animals.

Why do I write what I do?

I write the stories that come to me. They gradually seep into my mind and take form refusing to leave until I write them down. Most the concepts evolve in my brain for months before I put pen to paper, but the ones I do write are the ones that scream the loudest, the one that want to be told. I believe that if the stories are so passionate and ignite my imagination, that other people will enjoy them too.

With the Zoo book, I believe that I've had the upbringing to write this book, as when I was a child, we as a family, bread and hand-reared parrots, kept lizards, fish, pigeons, goats and even a stickleback. This gives me a wealth of knowledge about animal husbandry which is a great platform to start research from. 

How does your writing process work?

Well writing is a craft and my writing process is constantly evolving and I like to think improving. Each project that has had a different process of getting it down on paper, but the world building, character development and plotting process is pretty much the same. Every project starts with a an idea that lodges itself in my brain and won’t stop nagging until I do something with it. First, I write the first scene that I've imagined, capturing the voice and I note down any plot points, and character notes that have come to be, at which point I file it until I have time to devote to writing the story properly. 

When I do have the time to devote to the story, I’ll dig out the files, and think, walk, and research anything that I think will help, whist brain storming the plot and profiling characters. When I’m ready I do a brief plot plan, separating the plot into acts, and chapters and planning what I think should happen when, before writing. 

The writing is fuelled by caffeine, and the ideas by walking (so much so I brought the aforementioned Springbatt's, so when I talk the dialogue to myself that people will think I'm talking to the dogs!) or driving and I write on both my PC, and pen and paper. This happens pretty quickly and the story and character evolve and strengthen along the way, bring surprises which is always a reassuring sign that the story is alive.

I tend to use spreadsheets for plotting and editing, to make sure that i don't drop any threads. I find that to make a real convincing world, that I need to be able to visualize and even taste and feel the world. So I will spend time and draw, and collect objects to help build up the images in my mind. In Journey to the Bone Factory one character can turn gold to lead, so I ALWAYS had a piece of gold and lead on my desk.

When the first draft is done I start editing, and when it’s ready my lovely critique group read it and give me honest constructive feedback, which after I've processes I use to improve the manuscript in further edits.


Finally my long suffering husband translates my manuscript into my bespoke dyslexic form of English into actual English!

So now I hand over the baton to my two tagged authors…

Gabby Aquilina who I met at my first ever critique group, Abingdon Writers. I now hand over to Gabby to introduce herself…

I've lived in four different countries in my life and finally decided England is the place for me (although never say never. I'll probably get itchy feet again one day!). I have a degree in Publishing from Oxford Brookes University. co-founded the very successful writer's group, Abingdon Writers, and am in the fingernail-biting stage of waiting for responses from agent submissions! I'm doing a lot of baking (and running to offset the cake-eating) whilst trying my hardest not to constantly refresh my emails... 

Check out Gabby’s blog next Monday the 24th March on http://gabrielleaquilina.blogspot.co.uk/

Dawn Finch a fellow SCBWI folk who I met in the wonderful web world…

Dawn Finch spent over a quarter of a century working in libraries, with over a decade of that specialising in children's libraries and children's literature. She was thrilled to discover that children's books come with children attached, and has carved out a career working with children and their development as readers and writers.

After many years of trying she managed to get her own book for young people published and in 2013 her first novel - Brotherhood of Shades - was published to great reviews. She is currently working on the sequel as well as a YA novel about a fifteen year old serial killer.

You can find out more about Dawn at her website; www.dawnfinch.com or follow her on Twitter @dawnafinch

To read Dawn’s post next Monday check out her blog at www.deefinch.wordpress.com

My First Author Talk to ADULTS!

My First Author Talk to ADULTS!

Back in January 2012, I went on BBC radio Oxford Jo Thoenoes’s afternoon program with my writer buddy Jo Wyton to talk about Undiscovered Voices and the advantages of being in Writers Groups (to read about it press here). Shortly afterwards I was invited by ‘The University of The 3^rd Age’ to speak at one of their weekly meetings about my writing. So on Monday that’s exactly what I did…

I’ve done talks about fairy tales to primary school children before, but usually just classes of up to 30 pupils, and they have all been rather small, with me sat in front of them with laptop presentation and props, and having lots of interaction. This however was very different. I turned up to hall and was quickly set up with a microphone, my USB stick was whisked away, and they set me up ready for the talk. I was also given a remote to move the slides on, that had a laser pointer! I sat on the stage and watched whilst 130 adults gradually arrived and filled the sea of empty chairs, trying not to chock on my nerves.

I decided to structure the talk as my writing journey. I began speaking about my love for storytelling and making books as a small child, going through my troubles with dyslexia, and discussing my art work at University, where I rekindled my passion for fairy tales. I talked about how ‘Through Mortal Eyes’ came about, the personal circumstances which inspired me to write, and the aims of the book. All the while, I had bouts of laugher, sighs in all the right places, all of which helped me relax and settle into the rhythm of the presentation.

One of my first books, penned age 6

The next section was about the research of the novel, the reading of fairy tales, explaining why I used certain tales, and briefly telling tales that I thought audience would not be familiar with; like, ‘The Three Snake Leaves’ by The Brothers Grimm (too much squirming from the audience!).

 It was very interesting to see how my talk was challenging older people’s perceptions of fairy tales, and how similar this was to the reaction I get from children. I found this part of the talk very liberating, being able to talk about the darker side of fairy tales instead of having to sensor to be age appropriate for my usual younger audience.  Making the most of the opportunity, I spoke about the Siberian tale that has been a huge influence on the story about Dog-Headed People, and about the very real fifteenth century Hungarian Countess, Elizabeth Báthory, who tortured and murdered young women to bathe in their blood.  I talked about how local legends and places feature in the book sparking a healthy debate in the audience and even laughter – especially when we questioned why Disney had not adapted any of the fairy tales I spoken about!

I began to close by talking about writing, editing, submitting and the importance of having writer friends, the likes of SCBWI and Abingdon Writers, to help you whip a manuscript and submission package into shape, but also to help you stay sane!

Image of Elizabeth Bathory from Wikipedia Public Domain

I finished with hope. The Chicken House Long listing, the importance of celebrating small victories in a world of so much rejection, and then finally I read an extract from ‘Through Mortal Eyes’ finishing to applause.

With the lights now on, I could see that everyone was indeed both awake and attentive (and still mostly smiling) and so the Q&A section began. I had lot of questions; about fairy tales, writing, dyslexia, YA literature, all of which sparked further discussions. When the Q&A was over I had many people come to speak to me and ask even more questions, which was very encouraging.

All in all I was very pleased and relieved about how the event went. The University of the 3^rd Age, were very welcoming and made me feel at ease. I have some work to do to improve certain bits, but on the whole I’m pleased that, like my art work, my writing style was a good catalyst for discussion; and that is exactly how I like it. 

So I'd like to say a big Thank You to the, U3A Abingdon, for inviting me and making me so welcome!

The Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing

I have really enjoyed reading fellow writers The Next Big Thing blog posts. It’s really interesting and inspiring learning what other people are working on. Especially as usually we all know everyone is typing away engrossed it their stories, but rarely get a glimpse of what that stories actually is until the writer has polished it enough to let out of their grubby mitts for critiquing.  

Thanks Jo Wyton for tagging me in, and if you haven’t read Jo’s blog press here. And without further ado here is my Next Big Thing Blog Post…

What is the working title of your book?

Journey to the Bone Factory

Where did the idea come from for the book?

 A dream – I dreamt a scene that was so vivid I woke up and wrote it down.

What genre does your book fall under?

YA Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Dickensian - it’s a real mixed bag. However I've heard from agents that mixed genre is big at the moment; Russell T Davis’s CBBC Wizards Vs Aliens is evidence of this. So, with a bit of luck (fingers crossed) it still will still be ‘BIG’ when I'm submitting! 

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones, for the main protagonist Jack.

Max von Sydow  - as Gamps the Rag-Bonner gypsy of the stars that trades the universe most valued commodity –secrets.

Alex Pettifer - to play Zef, the young Rag'n'Boner who becomes Jacks friend and helps Jack to travel to The Bone Factory.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Jack lives life by the rules until one day, he breaks every one, setting into motion events that’ll shake the whole galaxy, and sending him on a quest to a mysterious abandoned planet that’s home to The Bone Factory, and a prisoner so dangerous he’s been marooned on the furthest outpost of the galaxy.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Hopefully Agency.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I’ll get back to you as it’s still WIP, but I'm hoping that the first draft will be complete by Christmas.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Going to answer this slightly differently - I would say this is Dickens V’s Firefly (although I only saw firefly after I started writing it)

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

As I said I had a dream which I wrote down, I then submitted the small piece of writing to my crit group and got a really positive response so I decided to continue working on it. I’ve never written Sci-fi before so it’s slightly daunting but the world that appeared in the dream was so well formed and visualised that it inspires me to write to try and capture some of its atmosphere and dog-eared beauty.  

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Heaven’s Gate – the galaxy’s shanty town – home to the most poverty stricken folks, which is paradoxically paved in gold as the planet is solid pyrites or ‘fools Gold'

Rag’n’Boners – The gypsies of the stars that trade in rags and‘bones – the 'bones' being dead bodies.

A Bone Factory – where they recycle dead bodies into pillows, ceramics, candles and resins.

So here are the writers I’m tagging in who will be talking about their Next Big Thing very soon…

Dawn Finch

Who has two of my dreams jobs; being both a library Consultant and published author of ‘Brotherhood of Shades’! Fellow SCBOOIE and fan of dark literature. Check out Dawns Next Big Thing by Pressing Here.  

Ozlem Yickici

Talented artist (I can say this as we studied Art together at uni so I know she’s talented!) writer, SCBOOIE and overall lovely person. Ozlem like me is Dyslexic and is writing YA fairy tale inspired books. To check out her Next Big Thing post Click Here.

Liah S Thorley  

Travel Journalist with a theatrical past life and now writer of historical, sci-fi and fantasy (sometimes two at once) adults and YA books. Fellow Dyslexic and Abingdon Writer, to read about Liah’s Next Big Thing Press Here.

Also check out KM Lockwood, who Jo also tagged, to see what KM Lockwood's Next Big (Watery) Thing is Press Here.

Writers on The Radio: Jo Wyton and Me (Sally Poyton) on BBC Radio Oxford

Here is a piccy of Jo and I before the interview!

So yesterday, Monday 20th February 2012, Jo Wyton and I were interviewed by the lovely Jo Thoenes on her afternoon show on BBC Radio Oxford.  It was a great experience, despite having wound ourselves up to the point where we were both actually vibrating with anticipation whilst also shaking with nerves, we managed to get through the interview, and what’s more really enjoy it.

Jo Thoenoes made us feel really relaxed and the whole experience was just like having a friendly chat, abet in a pillar-box-red room, with lots of flashing lights, switches, and big microphones before our faces.  We covered subjects such as writing groups and how we met at Abingdon Writers. The importance of having writing friends, (from the likes of Abingdon Writers and SCBWI) for both the writer sanity and the mental health of their loved ones. Jo also asked about our books, I explained a little about Through Mortal Eyes, and Jo about her YA contemporary novel Magpie, about three teenage girls who have been separated by a secret. We also discussed writing in general and of course the Undiscovered Voices competition and its impact on our writing since being picked as Honorary Mention (in my case) and Winner (in Jo’s case).

Yes it would appear that I'm Jo's plus one!

The interview lasted about 45 minutes, yet seemed much less whilst in the studio. After we left BBC Radio Oxford HQ in Summertown, we felt a buzz of excitement; we actually did it, talked whilst on air, without too much stumbling or thankfully swearing! And with a bit of luck we both made sense.

If you want to listen to the interview, it’s on the BBC Radio Oxford's web-site listen again page until 27^th February or just press link here  to BBC RADIO OXFORD. The interview is about an hour into the show, so you may have to skip at bit.

So I at least feel rather pleased as I can say that I’ve done something new this week, (as it doesn’t happen very often,) and I greatly enjoyed it too. 

Jo Wyton and Me (Sally Poyton) on BBC Radio Oxford; Talking Writing and More -20th February 2pm

Ok yes, we’re on the radio being interviewed about writing, the importance of writing buddies, and critique groups, plus entering competitions like Undiscovered Voices.  I am so nervous I’m worried the microphone may pick up the sound of my teeth chattering.  But if you’d like to tune in to hear us then here is the link so you can listen via the web BBC Radio Oxford. 

Wish us luck...