StoryGodmother Newsletter #20
Hello!
Welcome to the next Story Godmother newsletter. It’s been a while since the last one as things have been so amazingly busy! How are we one-third of the way through the year already?! Milestones like this are a great opportunity to look at where you are with your work, and asking what you would hope to achieve in six months’ time, or by the end of the year. Setting yourself kind and realistic targets (and remembering that life can happen, and goals can be flexible) can help push your work forward and help you make the most of your time.
BOOK NEWS
I’m so excited (and sad!) that the very last book in The House At The Edge Of Magic series is out next week – Thursday 4th April. In The Lighthouse At The World’s End, Nine and her friends are headed to the mortal realm in search of the only thing that will shake a very tricky witch off their tail: a priceless stargold locket. It lies hidden in the Nest of a Thousand Treasures, guarded by Nine’s old foe – the formidable gangmaster of all the thieflings in London.
Even if Nine can get her hands on the locket, the friends must find a way to release its power – and for that they must travel through the World Between Worlds to the lighthouse on the Isle of Illusion, where nothing is quite as it seems…
The cover is beautifully illustrated by Ben Mantle and designed by Chloe Tartinville – and I am so grateful for all the amazing artwork throughout this book and the whole series. I’ve loved working on this series and with the brilliant editors, Gráinne Clear, Emily McDonnell and Non Pratt at Walker Books.
Thank you to all of you who have supported the series along the way.
If you would like to pre-order a copy, you can do so here: The Lighthouse at the World’s End – Booklink (walker.co.uk)
As with all of the books in the series, 5% of royalties go to baby charity ICP Support.
FILM NEWS
I love storytelling in all its many forms, and I also run my own production company - Sword & Fiddle Productions - with my husband, Alyn. If you’re interested in my screen work, please do check out our first short film, which is released on Wednesday 3rd April. It’s a documentary short (15mins) shot in beautiful Devon, celebrating 50 years of the Tiverton Canal Company, one of the last horse-drawn barges in the UK. And it’s also my debut as producer and second unit director! This was the most amazing ‘office’ to work in.
The trailers are all up on our Vimeo account and you can find the full film on Tiverton Canal Co.'s official website after the release date.
For more info on what we're getting up to, you can follow Sword & Fiddle Productions on social media at:
https://www.facebook.com/SwordandFiddle/
https://www.instagram.com/swordandfiddle/
Our main website is at https://www.swordandfiddle.co.uk
We've also got a Mastodon-compatible social hub on the Fediverse at https://social.swordandfiddle.co.uk. Alyn posts there more then I, but that's where news is often released first because we control it.
COMPETITIONS
FREE COACHING COMPETITION
As a thank you for subscribing to the newsletter and to help coaching become accessible to all, I’m offering a FREE 30-minute coaching session (worth £30) via a lucky draw every newsletter, for anyone who would like to take part. Sessions can include anything you like (except for feedback on a text), such as discussing ideas, dealing with problems in your writing or writing life, discussing industry, etc over a Zoom call. For more on the coaching sessions, please see my Coaching page.
If you would like to enter, please email comps@storygodmother.co.uk with COACHING 31.3.24 in the subject line and you will be entered into the draw. All entries must be received by the Wednesday after the newsletter is sent out. So, in this case, please get your entries in by Wednesday 3rd April 23:59BST.
I will contact the lucky winner directly, so if you haven’t heard anything, please assume you’ve not won this time, but please do try again next time! If you’ve already won a free coaching competition, please can you refrain from entering again this year to give other people a chance to win. Thank you.
Looking forward to working with more of you this year!
RESOURCES
When you spend a long time with your characters, they can become very real and do indeed start taking over the story. I had an interesting experience with one of my characters recently who had become fed up because another character was (totally consistent with their personality) stealing every scene.
I had written the full draft 1 and was going back to edit the opening chapters and noticed the bounce was just missing from my main character’s point of view chapter at the beginning of the story. Oddly, it’s the only chapter where he doesn’t quite seem himself. Something was wrong.
As writers, I think it is so easy for us to lie to ourselves, pretend it’s ok, and hope no-one else picks up on the problem that we know is nagging us at the back of our minds. Usually, I’m aware of these nags and act on them (because it actually saves time even if it’s painful to address!), but with this particular story I was writing it quickly and was trying to ignore the problem with this chapter, hoping it was just me worrying about it, and it was all fine.
I’m a very independent writer as I’ve been writing for a long time, before there were accessible writing buddies, crit groups and strong online communities. So, I’m not in the habit of sharing my work before I submit it. However, on this occasion, I sent my opening chapters to Kate Walker, who is a very talented writer and editor, and I received some very helpful, constructive feedback. And yes, this character came up. What was going on with him?
As a result, I finally took my head out of the sand and addressed the issue. One of my favourite things to do with characters is take them for a walk and have a heart-to-heart. For me, this is a brilliant way to talk to them just as they are, outside of plot and scenes... just as a person. So, I took him out and we talked. I was expecting my character to be annoyed about this other character who is stealing his thunder, but no. He was sad, which really tapped into that secret, deeper layer of himself which he rarely lets anyone (including me) catch a glimpse of. I gave him space to talk about his feelings (it was a looooong walk), and I truly listened. As writers, it can be tempting to constantly be putting words into our characters’ mouths, and pushing them into action, but sometimes just being with them as people is the most valuable use of writing time.
After I had listened, we talked about ways to move forward. I gave my sad character the reassurance he needed and encouraged him to stand up more to this other character (who I briefly brought into the conversation to explain they had to share nicely!).
The result? After the walk, I went back home and rewrote the chapter. My character was back to his normal self. I was much happier with the writing, and so was he.
This shows the value of:
1) Addressing problems when they occur and not ignoring them! If YOU have noticed them, someone else will.
2) Sharing your work for feedback.
3) Spending time with your characters as people.
4) Not giving up when the challenges come.
I hope this is useful to you! To check out Kate’s services, see: Kate Walker Children's Author – Creating stories and encouraging new writers to make their writing shine.
CHARACTER CORNER
A new addition to the newsletter going forward is Character Corner, where I look at tips for writing great characters. For the first ever Character Corner, we’re looking at:
Entering a scene
When your character enters a scene, they are not just doing so because you need them to or want them to. It is part of a continuous story, and part of your character’s continued cognitive and emotional experience. To help write scenes authentically, ask questions like:
• What mood was my character in when we last saw them?
• What was my character doing before they entered the scene? (You may not write this, and the reader may not see this – it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened).
• How does my character feel about the setting they are entering?
• How familiar are they with this setting? Do they have any specific memories or experience of this particular setting or a similar one?
• What are the objective power dynamics in this scene with any other characters? What are my character’s expectations of the power dynamics in this scene?
• What is my character thinking and feeling as they enter the scene?
• What is my character predicting is going to happen in this scene? How does that affect them?
END NOTES
Finally, just a reminder, if you’re interested in critiques, feedback on opening chapters, or coaching, do check out my website: www.storygodmother.co.uk
Good luck if you’re entering the coaching competition. Speak to you soon amd if there’s anything you’d like covered in the newsletter in the Resources section, please do let me know at sparkles@storygodmother.co.uk and I’ll see what I can do.
Thanks very much!
Story Godmother.