Concise Update
Finally started work on a Young Adult novel, rather than just making notes – 10,000 words written in 2 weeks
Unexpectedly got a place on an a-ma-zing Writing For
Young Adults residential course at the beginning of October
Detailed Update
While “B4” (kids’ book) has been off in the hands of others, I have not been idle, oh no no no :-) I spent the two weeks before the school holidays making a start on my Young Adult novel and managed to crack out 10,000 words during that time. If I use "Hunger Games" as a rough benchmark then I only have another 90,000 words to go...
Young Adult literature is my passion and the genre I would always read by choice. It took the online Oxford Writing for YA course last year for that realisation to properly dawn on me and work out that being a writer meant predominantly writing YA fiction, as far as I was concerned.
I actually only started work last summer on “B4” because I’d been carrying the idea in my head for so long, I figured I should get it out and perhaps just use it for a bit of writing practice, getting my writing muscles flexed and warmed up. Who knew that I would fall in love with Ben and Ned so much and want to turn their adventures into a whole series?!
Working on this YA book (let’s call it CAF for easy future reference) is an interesting and different experience to my kids' book. For a start I'm not entirely sure what it's all about. That may seem strange from a non-writers' point of view. Perhaps it's even strange from a writers' point of view :-/ I love it though! In the same way that when a reader reads a book, the story gradually unfolds and they get to know the characters, I'm on the same journey of discovery while writing the book.
For example, when I sat down to write the first chapter, I knew my protagonist (let’s call her C), the vague setting and that she had some other people with her. But I didn't know exactly how many and who they were until I started writing. One hour and 553 words later they had appeared - a male friend and annoying girl both the same age as C, and completely unexpectedly an eight-year-old boy, who I suspect is going to become hugely significant in the course of the story. I didn't even know he existed until I got writing! It’s such an exciting, bizarre and almost magical process!!
Detailed Update
While “B4” (kids’ book) has been off in the hands of others, I have not been idle, oh no no no :-) I spent the two weeks before the school holidays making a start on my Young Adult novel and managed to crack out 10,000 words during that time. If I use "Hunger Games" as a rough benchmark then I only have another 90,000 words to go...
Young Adult literature is my passion and the genre I would always read by choice. It took the online Oxford Writing for YA course last year for that realisation to properly dawn on me and work out that being a writer meant predominantly writing YA fiction, as far as I was concerned.
I actually only started work last summer on “B4” because I’d been carrying the idea in my head for so long, I figured I should get it out and perhaps just use it for a bit of writing practice, getting my writing muscles flexed and warmed up. Who knew that I would fall in love with Ben and Ned so much and want to turn their adventures into a whole series?!
Working on this YA book (let’s call it CAF for easy future reference) is an interesting and different experience to my kids' book. For a start I'm not entirely sure what it's all about. That may seem strange from a non-writers' point of view. Perhaps it's even strange from a writers' point of view :-/ I love it though! In the same way that when a reader reads a book, the story gradually unfolds and they get to know the characters, I'm on the same journey of discovery while writing the book.
For example, when I sat down to write the first chapter, I knew my protagonist (let’s call her C), the vague setting and that she had some other people with her. But I didn't know exactly how many and who they were until I started writing. One hour and 553 words later they had appeared - a male friend and annoying girl both the same age as C, and completely unexpectedly an eight-year-old boy, who I suspect is going to become hugely significant in the course of the story. I didn't even know he existed until I got writing! It’s such an exciting, bizarre and almost magical process!!
The story currently feels like a huge jigsaw, where only a few of the pieces are in place (things I know at this point). There are so many more that are still to be filled in and connected together. I'm not even completely sure what the big picture is yet. Musing over that is my main plan for the rest of the summer holidays.
That musing will be much more intentional than it might have been though, as I have suddenly got possibly the ultimate opportunity for a potential YA writer! At the beginning of the year, I discovered a Writing For Young Adults residential course that the Arvon Foundation were putting on (highly regarded organisation). Unsurprisingly it was already sold out as it’s taking place at Ted Hughes’ old home in Hebden Bridge, only has 16 attendees and has world renowned YA writers as tutors – Melvyn Burgess, Lucy Christopher and Meg Rosoff. Starstruck or what!!! Having kicked myself for not having found out about it sooner, I decided to put my name on the waiting list as a “you don’t ask, you don’t get” kinda situation, figuring I’d probably be about number 167 on it ;-)
Imagine my surprise last week to get a phone call to say that a place was suddenly available for me!!!!! Excited was a massive understatement – I kept going light-headed all day as I forgot to breathe properly :-D The next day I kept going light-headed too, but this time the breathlessness was due to fear rather than excitement :-S These tutors are hugely successful writers. There’s only 16 of us on the course. There is nowhere to hide. Argh!!!! I am still thrilled, but fear remains the predominant emotion! Good fear though, I guess, the sort that should provide great motivation to get on with some serious work in the next few weeks :-)
