Rebecca Lisle's Blog

SOME people's writing has such ease and fluency that it appears to have been written straight off the cuff without a moment's thought - Roald Dahl and Hemingway for example.  If prose appears that way it probably means the absolute opposite and in fact hundreds of different attempts have been made to make the words work.  I've been trying to write a book about Tizzy the little witch and a magic potion bottle. I have written the whole thing several times over and I'm still not happy with it. But, it is getting better and better.  After each complete rewrite I put the story away to 'compost' and then the next time I look at it, it is usually clear what's wrong with it.Here, are just some of my versions of the opening. I think they get better and better.  It's not just editing that's improving it though, it's also knowing more about my characters so each one speaks with their own voice and has their own agenda.
Effort 1 was really  just jotting down ideas. At that stage I was thinking of making it a story for very young readers:
The Witch had made a potion. She gave it to Tizzy to mix up. It was a super duper potion and it was so strong that the cat couldn't stop sneezing.The Witch laughed. 'Never mind about the cat,' she said. 'It's just so STRONG!''What's it for?' Tizzy asked.'Never you mind,' said the Witch. 'When it reaches full stink you can bottle it.'
This version was more about what was in the potion itself and what the witch had made it for.
The witch had made a magic potion.A super duperwhizz bang fizz pop magic potion.Tizzy had the job of mixing it in a great big pan. She had been stirring it for ages and she was bored.‘Pooh! This stuff doesn’t half stink, Mum!’ she said. ‘Can I stop?’            The witch was adjusting her black cloak and smiling at her ghastly reflection in the mirror. ‘Keep stirring!’ she said. ‘When it reaches full stink – that’s the time to stop.’ She chuckled. ‘If you think this smell is bad . . . just you wait. When it’s ready it will blow you away!’‘What’s it for, anyway?’ Tizzy asked.‘Never you mind,’ said the witch, putting on some navy blue lipstick. ‘It’s very special. I know I should stay until it’s done, but . . .’ she looked quickly at the clock, ‘but I’m late already. I have to get my hair done and my warts waxed and there’s things to buy . . . So, Tizzy, I trust you to finish it. When you can’t stand the pong for one more second, pour it into a potion bottle and leave it to cool.’ ‘But Mum-’
Effort number 3:
The witch had made a magic potion.A super duper whizz bang fizz pop magic potion.It was Tizzy’s job to stir the potion in a great big pan. And she’d been stirring for ages. ‘I’ve been stirring for ages!’ Tizzy said. ‘Pooh!’ she added, making a disgusted face. ‘This stuff stinks, Mum!’                  The witch was busy. She was smiling at her reflection in the mirror and adjusting her black cloak round her shoulders. ‘Keep stirring!’ she said. ‘Only stop when it reaches full stink.’ She chuckled. ‘If you think this smell is bad . . . POO! Just you wait. When it’s ready it will blow you away!’Tizzy peered into the pan.‘What’s it for, anyway?’ ‘Never you mind,’ said the witch, putting on some navy blue lipstick. ‘It’s very special. I should stay until it’s bottled, but . . .’ she looked quickly at the clock, ‘but I’m late already. I have to get my hair done and my warts waxed and there’s things to buy . . . So, Tizzy, I trust you to finish it. When you can’t stand the pong for one more second, pour it into a potion bottle and leave it to cool.’‘But Mum-’‘Sorry! Must dash!’ The witch jammed her hat over her scraggly hair and jumped astride her broomstick. ‘See you later.’ She flew through the open door and hurtled across the yard like a big black bird. As she skimmed over the wall she turned and shouted back over her shoulder:
‘Don’t take your eyes off it! It’s VERY, VERY strong!’
And then the story started to get longer and I think I turned a corner: 
Deep in the forest there was once a small, crumpled cottage where Agatha Bloom the witch lived.  Agatha Bloom was not a nice witch. She never did anything very nice to anyone, even her daughter Tizzy. Their cottage was hidden by tall spooky trees and snatchy brambles.  Smoke from the chimney hung in the air around it, shielding it from any curious eye. On this particular day of this particular story, Agatha Bloom was making a magic potion.  Because she was making the potion it was not a nice potion. It was meant to cause trouble. ‘That potion,’ Agatha told Tizzy, ‘is a super duper whizz bang fizz pop humdinger of a Magic potion! So you keep your eyes on it, my girl. We don’t want any monkey business with this here potion.’‘Ok, Ma.’ Tizzy was perched on a stool stirring the horrible glunky potion in a huge pan.  ‘Pooeee! This stuff really stinks, Ma!’ she said, wrinkling her nose. Agatha huffed in disdain. ‘Huff huff! That’s nothing,’ she said with a little shrug of her crooked shoulders.  ‘You wait. When it reaches full stink you’ll certainly know it.’ She cackled. Her laugh sounded like a pair of blunt scissors trying to laugh. The noise  made the cat Pushkin’s fur stand on end.  ‘When this stuff’s ready it will blow you into the sky!’ ‘I’m not sure I want to be blown into the sky,’ Tizzy said, peering into the pan. ‘What’s it for, anyway, Ma?’ 
And here is the most recent.  Do let me know if you think it's getting better. I shared it with my splendid writing group the other day and they liked it...
Deep in the forest there was a small, crumbling cottage where Agatha Bloom the witch lived.  Agatha Bloom was not a nice witch. She never did anything very nice for anyone, even for her daughter Tizzy. Or Pushkin the cat. She specialised in mean and nasty. Their cottage was hidden by tall spooky trees and snatchy brambles.  Smoke from the chimney hung in the air around it, shielding it from any curious eye.     Agatha Bloom was making a magic potion.  Because she was making the potion it was a mean and nasty potion. It was meant to cause trouble.      ‘That potion,’ Agatha told Tizzy, ‘is asuper duper whizz bang fizz pop DIDDLE PLUM SQUISHOUS  humdinger of a Magic potion! So you keep your eyes on it, my girl. We don’t want any monkey business with this here potion.’     ‘Ok, Ma.’ Tizzy was perched on a stool stirring the horrible glunky potion in a huge pan.  ‘Pooeee! This stuff really stinks, Ma!’ she said, wrinkling her nose.     Agatha huffed in disdain. ‘Phuff phuff! That’s nothing,’ she said with a little shrug of her crooked shoulders.  ‘You wait. When it reaches full stink you’ll certainly know it.’ She cackled, which sounded like a pair of blunt rusty scissors trying to laugh. The hideous noise made Pushkin’s fur stand on end.  ‘When this stuff’s ready it will blow you into the sky!’ she crowed.     ‘I’m not sure I want to be blown into the sky,’ Tizzy said, peering into the pan. ‘What’s it for, anyway, Ma?’ 

My office is full of books. Some of books I've written. So I should feel confident about writing another but somehow every time I start a new book I meander around through treacle for weeks and can't get the thing off the ground.  

My desk is covered with papers, bits of makeup and other things that shouldn't be there ... usually a cat.

And so I swept it all away and took out my latest addition to my arsenal of WRITING: Your Book Starts Here by Mary Carroll Moore. My friend and fellow writer Heather Dyer was raving about it - we both find plotting tricky - so I bought it too.

I haven't read the whole book yet (and probably never will), but liked the look of the W storyboard structure. I love anything new so I'm trying it out for this book. (I'll try anything to get started).

When starting a book, I always tell my students to begin with THE DAY THAT IS DIFFERENT and Ms Moore agrees; she calls it the 'trigger.' This trigger hurtles the story out of the starting blocks.
But what I like about Ms Moore's advice is this, the W STORYBOARD STRUCTURE.

By arranging each of your highs and lows onto a W shape, you can see the shape of a story more clearly.

I didn't know I was going to upload this image so it comes as it comes...


The Trigger comes at the top left of the W.  It can be anything. In my story it is THE BOTTLE ESCAPES.

Then you slide down the W and as you slide you create more drama and more problems. So here I've written 'They think it's been stolen but it was the legs'.  Yes, well I understand, you might not. Somehow by writing it along the length of the W it makes more sense because it's moving, it's going somewhere, it's leading me to the FIRST TURNING POINT.

Here we have to have a conflict of some sort. Something unexpected must happen. I'm going to have my characters be really thinking The Knave of Hearts has the bottle when he doesn't. The little witch's hopes are dashed when she finds out. SO her plans change and she sets off again to recover from her disappointment. Note to self: That's sounding weak already so I think I need to change it.

I've reached the 2nd conflict point, ie the next RISE in the W. Here we want another conflict or dilemma to happen. This has to be EXCITING. My little witch is going to find the Beanstalk I've written on my storyboard. That doesn't sound exciting yet. Maybe it will be in the way I write it... humm, more work needed.

After the 2nd conflict things get worse as the little witch tries to get hold of the runaway bottle. Where is it? What is it up to?

Next problem is worse because the bottle has messed around with the Wicked Queen and no one should do that. Here we come to the 2nd turning point, at the second bottom of the W.  This is the lowest point of the story where it will seem all is lost and the little witch will never find her bottle. The Little Witch is resourceful though and gets out of trouble. Along the way she helps Snow White and so by being in the right place at the right time, (or something), she finds the bottle and traps it.

I do need a more interesting ending. It looks a bit bland on the W but I've shaped it out more in a synopsis.  I'm still needing a sort of Epiphany moment near the end.

The point is, using this W template has helped me shape something from nothing in just a few moments. Now I've got to flesh it out and work on it. But I'm already somewhere with this book instead of nowhere - or even worse, for me, ten pages written and a brick wall facing me because I don't know what my characters want or how the book is shaping.

It's only a start but a start is better than no start.

Now I'm going to write a detailed synopsis and when I'm happy with that I'll start writing the words.

Happy writing.

The working title for this latest book was Monkey Crossing. Quite simply it was where the idea started, with monkeys being taken across a desolate landscape by a girl. I hadn't a clue why or how or anything. The title has stayed as it often does because now I can't separate that original idea and feeling with the finished work.

I began the story in August 2013 and finished the first draft April 2013, final draft August 2013. It's currently about 72,000 words.

AND what I'm asking myself now, is why was it such a struggle? Because it was. I spent hours writing myself up against brick walls and having to backtrack and start again. Why did I have so much rewriting and such sticky tangles? Is there an easier way of doing it I asked myself as yet again I trawled through the manuscript changing the way someone spoke or the intention with which they spoke because I'd set off with them being like this and now they were like that?

I'm sure I could have made it better in every way if only I'd PLANNED it.

If anyone mentions the dreaded words, synopsis or book plan, chapter breakdown, character traits ...blah blah, my eyes glaze over and I stop listening. I can't do it. I won't do it. It's too difficult. I just want to write interesting sentences and have fun getting my characters in and out of the complications that I put them in.

BUT everyone says it's easier with a proper plan. Everyone. Even other writers who also hate plans and maps and things. So THIS TIME I'm going to plan my book. I really am. After all, I have just about every book under the sun about writing: 'How to Write' 'The Creative Writing Process' 'Write a book in a Week' 'Basic Plots' 'How to Plot' etc etc and I do admire them sitting there in my bookshelf, pristine as they day I bought them. I open them. I shut them.

OK, but this time I'm approaching it differently.  I'm going to try and keep track of how it feels to write using a plan and see if it is easier with a bit of ground work (not much - I'm just too much of a corner-cutter), done before hand.  My next book will be simpler and shorter, aimed at  a younger reader and so I know it won't have the complications that Monkey Crossing did and so I suppose it's a bit easier, but we'll see. (And what's wrong with making things easier?)

I knew I was going to be writing about fairy stories and characters from nursery rhymes so the first thing I've done is uploaded some photos on my pin board at Pinterest. This is a splendid way of wasting time while pretending to do 'research'. Don't you love that word? It makes me feel so important.

Next I went back to a story that I'd written called Little Blue Legs and re-read it. I knew there was something wrong with it but it was only after having left it to compost that I could see what.  (And in this case the composting was over a year). I could see what was wrong immediately.

  My main characters didn't know what they wanted.

How to put this all right (plus everything else)?  The most important part of any story, I think, is what makes the characters do what they do. SO what did my main characters want?  I sat and thought about it. I played with this problem and that idea and it was pretty straightforward really:

Tizzy does not want to be a witch.
The imp in the bottle does not want to be in the bottle.

Why hadn't I thought of thinking about that before? WHY? Because I'm always so keen to get on with my writing that I won't stop and think. Well now I'm thinking. Now I've got the beginnings of an idea because I know what they want and this will make them behave in a particular way. It will form their character. Hooray.

Next step I'm going to have to open one of those books and learn how to PLOT.

Wish me luck.

My latest book BRIGHTLING is published on 2 January. Hooray! I'm so thrilled.


This is the second book inspired by the work of Charles Dickens and this time the book I've used is Oliver Twist. However, as you can see from the cover, the hero is a girl - called Sparrow - and she has a companion, a cat called Scaramouch. So far not much like Oliver Twist.

There are also the flying horses - of course there are.

Miss Minter is my Fagin character. She wears red lipstick and has dyed white-blonde hair and sits on a pink chaise lounge.  Not very Fagin, except in her evil nature!

My favourite person in the book is Gloriana. She is the character of The Artful Dodger but in my book her role is different.
     
Gloriana is the first person that befriends Sparrow, like the Dodger does, when she arrives in Stollenback and takes her to Miss Minter's attic room.  I think this black and white image is perfect - you get such a sense of urgency there. Gloriana's chacater is also Nancy . . . but I don't want to give too much away...

If you’ve never watched David Lean’s film of Great Expectations, I urge you to do so. It is a terrific film and although when I first watched it, age about 9, I was confused by what these ‘great expectations’ actually were, it didn’t matter and I loved it. It had so many extraordinary characters and I loved following Pip as he grew up and did things wrong, rectified his mistakes and became a better person. The scariest moment is at the beginning when Pip is in the misty graveyard and the convict leaps out at him.  


When I first began writing THE SPIN, I wasn’t thinking about Dickens but as my synopsis developed, I realised it was very similar to the plot of Great Expectations. I’d put in a scene with a boy being leaped on by a strange man one eerie dark evening and knew that strange man would come back into the boy's life and help him when he needed help.  The book was a joy to write.  I thought, well, Dickens won’t mind, so I’ll go with it. And I did and the book has now been short listed for several awards and nominated one of the books of the year by LoveReading4Kids.
BRIGHTLING comes out in January 2014, published by Hot Key books. They have done a wonderful job of making it a glorious book.
When I started BRIGHTLING, I knew I was going to have help from Dickens again. This time I’ve used Oliver Twist as my inspiration.  In my book the protagonist is a girl called Sparrow – in fact most of the characters are girls, except for the horrible Tapper who is the ‘Sikes’ character. 
I love this wonderful illustration of Sikes on the roof with his dog - Tapper also meets his end on a roof. My protagonist has a cat to keep her company - a very special cat.
You will have met some of the characters in Brightling in The Spin but there are many new ones too.

Last week I was in Chichester and surrounding countryside visiting schools as part of the West Sussex Book Award.  THE SPIN
has been short-listed for this prestigious award. I won't know the result until March next year . . . a long time to wait so I don't think I'll keep my fingers crossed.  I don't expect I will win, but I really liked being part of this amazing event and getting the chance to see so many pupils from so many schools.

I was taken to each venue by Tracey or Susan from the Schools Library Services.  Westergate Community College was a huge place recently renamed (Ormiston Six Villages Academy) so we thought we'd gone to the wrong place . . . It was there that I met the lovely Bibi and she's given me permission to use her name in a story and I will one day, I liked it so much.

The most brilliant library I've ever visited was the library at Chichester Girl's school, run by Kate Angus and her amazing helper Sue.  Sorry my pics don't do it justice.


Sue has a listening dog and I was so sorry he wasn't there that day because I've never met one before and I'm always interested in new experiences. Sue's dog tells her when the door bells goes or when her phone rings because she can't hear it.  He nudges her arm. How amazing is that? (Store away for future book idea . . .)

The place where I gave my talk on Wednesday was very different - a hall big enough to hold three or four tractors quite easily - the wonderful Sidlesham Primary School. The children were delightful and I had a lovely afternoon.  This was what Ms Bailey from Seal Primary Academy had to say about the visit:

Many thanks for the inspiring talk you gave last week to thechildren taking part in the Book Awards. They greatlyenjoyed the whole afternoon, hearing how your story writingbegan as a child, your inspiration and thewriting/publishing process. The children came away "buzzing"from the afternoon and it was an enjoyable minibus trip backto school as they took turns reading extracts from yourbooks! They have already requested several copies of yourfollow up to The Spin to go into our school library so we
can read it together.
Lovely isn't it? And these are her photos:


 I have lots of different coloured pens and do 'special' curly writing!


I really did like the idea of the children reading aloud bits of the book on the way home. I wish I'd been there. My father used to read to me and my sister and brother and we so loved it.
Mums and Dads - never stop reading to your children!!!

What's in a face?

Apparently you can infer all sorts of things about a person just from a brief glance at their features. It's all down to the brain being very clever and networking information from the part of the brain that perceives the face and the bit that decides if there's anything threatening or useful showing in the face.

Over time - a long time - the ability to quickly extract information from faces has allowed mankind to predict something of the character and behaviour of the people we look at.  We can tell who might blow up at any moment and who might be trustworthy.


 Would you trust this cat?  

Personally I wouldn't. I think it's evil. It's smiling - but what a tight, weird smile -  and what is it looking at? What can it see? It's dreaming up some awful demonic attack. This is a cat that would blow! 

This extraordinary image, above, was made by Odires Mlaszho.  It is a collage combining a black and white image made in 1945 from a book called Roman Portraits with the cut out eyes from Paul Swiridoff's 1960s photo of a German politician. It is very arresting. Very spooky. The two images fit together almost seamlessly. This becomes a man that I doubly would not trust.
And what about this baby? It's not a real baby, but a replica of a child that died. I think it's very odd. That baby knows he's on the way out. He can see it coming. I can't imagine if any of my children had died that I'd want a waxwork of them lying around the house forever reminding me of the tragedy. But someone did. 
I've just started work on a new book. I was trying to find a good face to work with. I didn't. But I did find some interesting ones to keep me, as usual, from getting on with my writing. 

The library at Cadbury Heath Primary School used to be a sad place, such a sad place that the Headmaster and his colleagues were on the point of closing it and using the space for something else.
This is what it looked like:


 It does looks unloved and there are very few books.  So what were they going to do?
The primary school I went to in Leeds did not have a library - in fact I can't remember ever even seeing a book in there, though there must have been some. I've always loved reading so every Saturday I went with my family to the local library to choose some books; we were all great readers. The place was very special, with wooden floors, brass fittings and green leather seats. I loved the smell of beeswax polish and the hush of the place.  I yearned to stamp books with a stamper like the librarian did.

It is so important to have access to books, even if you can't read, the pictures can be great. Books are imperative to keep the brain ticking over and to inspire; to encourage one's vocabulary and imagination, to be able to lose one's self in another world is simply bliss. I wouldn't have known what to do without a regular supply of books each week.  They were far too expensive to buy in those days and there were no Oxfam Book shops either, which is where I get many books now.

So a huge thanks to King's Forest Housing Association who came up with some MONEY.  They donated £2,000 towards the school library and with that generous donation, and donations from the PTA, the library was able to buy books and a computer.  

This is what it looks like now:

I don't think the Headmaster is getting out a pistol to shoot me (I did talk rather too much), but it does look as if he is.
They even have a computer which is programmed with all the books. The year six volunteers, shown in the picture, can now use this computer and keep track of the books - a job I'd have died for at that age.
So I was delighted to be asked to open the new library by Mrs Lepak, especially because I got to do this:

I have always wanted to cut a ribbon and I got a massive pair of scissors to do it with too. What joy.
So congratulations to Cadbury Heath and all the people who helped to make this happen.  I hope the children will enjoy the new library and learn to love the books - it's packed with super reads at the moment, so get in there all you children and love READING!!!

Well, is there inner potential, that's the question.  I'm certainly not sure there's any in me. I suspect that my innards are devoid of anything. Everything. I'm trying to write and I can't. My inner muse or well of inspiration or whatever, is now nothing but a clogged up puddle of mud.

I wondered if a self-help guide might help. Although I don't want my own self-help, I want someone else to help. Actually I guess I want someone else to write my 'book words' for me.


The trouble with this book is I am already full of fear and personally I think it's plain dangerous to do something you know for sure is scary. That's why it's scary. To stop you from doing it. Sensible really. Protective.So this book is no help at all.
Apparently I do have an inner genius, really I do. There's lots about it on the internet. I have to find it, that's all. Unlock it. So I turn to my store of images which I gather as I go about the world, hoping one day they will become something. Anything. Since I always find doors inspiring and interesting here are a few of my favourites. They might give you inspiration. But these doors are . . .

                          

Locked. Maybe for ever.OK.  
I've got more photos. I've got these fascinating boxes, surely full of wonderful ideas and exciting plots:
How about this ancient box. What was it used for? Why the huge lock? Surely I can be inspired by its mysterious paintings of birds and spiky plants?  

What are those two chaps hiding in there? Are they smiling? I'm sure they look smug. I have the feeling they know the secret of how to write a good book and they've got it locked up in there and won't tell.
And what's inside this 15th century iron cask? The secret to the Universe? The best plot in the world?
And although I have some extraordinary keys - 

guess what - they don't unlock anything.
So back to the self-help books.  "How to be Happy" Impossible. It'll never happen. "How to write your novel in one year!" That's far too long. I want it done by the end of the week.  "The Easy Way to Write." That's just lies - there isn't one. "Everything I know about Writing." Fine, but you know it, you're successful, stop showing off. I know nothing. I can't write a thing.
Finally I take the plunge and write my very own self-help guide. A must for all would be novelists. It's called "The Only Way To Write"by Rebecca Lisle. Because there is only one me and only one way to write. And the best thing about it is it won't take long to read and it really does work!
There is one page of credits and acknowledgments: 
Firstly, I thank myself for all the hard work I've put into this book, myself for being my constant support and critic, myself for never giving up hope and belief in me and myself for feeding me constant cups of coffee and buns. I will never forget you. 
On the following page the advice begins. And ends. 
Stop faffing around and get on with it. 

Rebecca Lisle  www.rebeccalisle.com
My most recent book THE SPIN, published by Hot Key Books has been nominated for the West Sussex Children's Book Award - yahoo!

So what is the Next Big Thing?  For most of us it's going to be a BOOK, but I don't know, it might be a BABY or a FILM or even a CHOCOLATE CAKE.

I was tagged by the lovely Lydia Syson who is also published by the fantastic Hot Key Books.   We met recently at Folly Farm where we were indulging in a writing weekend. This did not involve writing  (at least for me) but lots of talking and thinking and eating and drinking.

Today I'm also tagging Alex Woolf and my Bristol writing chums, Amanda Mitchison and Tracy Alexander. 

So, to the Next Big Thing Questionnaire, here we go:



• 1) What is the working title of your next book?  
The Spin
• 2) Where did the idea come from for the book? 
I started with a boy, an orphan boy who wanted to become a sky-rider and because he was a poor orphan skivvy in a kitchen that was an impossible dream. So, I had to make it possible. How? Give the orphan a mysterious benefactor, I thought. Then I realised my plot was not some brilliant idea of my own, but the plot of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. It’s a terrific story. Just the opening sequence makes my skin tingle. So, I helped myself to some elements of Dickens' great book and added flying horses and an Academy for sky-riders on top of Dragon Mountain. What fun!
• 3) What genre does your book fall under? 
Mystery and adventure. Oh, and a bit of fantasy.
• 4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition? 
I really can’t imagine because I don’t know any actors who are flying horses . . . or who can ride them.
• 5) What is the one sentence synopsis of your book? 
Against the odds, orphan boy rescues orphan flying horse in thrilling adventure.
• 6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? 
An agency, David Higham Associates Ltd.  It will be published by Hot Key Books on 3 January.
• 7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?  
About a year. Yes honestly because I’m slow and I wanted it to be good, the best.
• 8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  
 I've tried to keep the flavour of Dickens' books with lots of characters and twists and strange goings on. A couple of reviews have likened it to Rowling or Riordan.
• 9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?  
I wanted to write a book about a lonely dragon but everyone said that there were too many dragon stories so I changed my dragons into winged horses and then the book came alive.
• 10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? 
 It's a page turner. There are multiple little clues and hints about what is really going on. There is a thrilling chase at the end as the spitfyres (the flying horses) battle to reach the Silver Sword. It's funny and sad.