First Drafts, Rewrites and New Story Ideas!

I finished the first draft of a children's novel about 8 days ago. I'm leaving it for about a month before I begin reworking it into a, hopefully, better second draft.

Stories are strange things. They really do take on a life of their own, the characters say things and make decisions that can change the course of the story completely. For this particular manuscript, I thought it would be a chapter book of about 5-7,000 words. However, it turned into a novel for slightly older readers (but still under 12) with more serious themes then intended and came out at just under 15,000 words when completed.

When I get into turning it into a second draft in mid-May, I'm hoping to add a couple more chapters, flesh out the beginning and rewrite the beginning of one particular chapter that is, currently, 'telling' more than 'showing'. If all goes according to plan, I estimate it to come in at around 20,000 words, which means extending quite a bit from the current first draft word count of 14,523.

This story surprised me in that I allotted about 6 weeks to finish the first draft and yet, miraculously, I finished it in half that time. About 19 days after beginning, the first draft was finished! I really surprised myself as that never happens when I write!

So, now this manuscript is away in my plastic box of manuscripts for a little while, I of course have some other projects going on. First of all, I am making some touch ups on a picture book manuscript that I plan on submitting to publishers shortly as well as a contest for Unpublished Manuscripts. I also have my children's fantasy novel. I have not worked on it for almost a week or so, unfortunately. Other things have bested me and I had to break my own pact of writing 2 pages a day. I have about 6 or 7 chapters remaining on that novel and it currently stands at approximately 30,000 words. I hope to have it completed by my deadline of 30th May and, as my uni assessment is almost over (for just a couple weeks of 'free time') I'm sure I will make it.

Apart from that, I am outlining several books and making notes and tenderly 'beginning' two new books. These have been very difficult. I wrote the first chapters of both and crossed it all out. Things weren't flowing, it didn't feel 'right'. I felt like a big fat failure in all honesty, because I thought the stories for both of them had worked themselves out in my head and yet when I began writing I just knew I wasn't doing it right. Luckily, the outline for one, another children's book, is going well and it is becoming clearer in my head so I think that one I sh
all write next.

The second book, for slightly older readers, is a more serious book featuring friendship, death, divorce, homelessness and death (Sounds a right laugh, I know!) is still floating around in my head, generating the 'backbone' of the story until all its pieces fall into the right place. I hope then something will 'click' and I can start that book with it feeling 'right'. This second book is the one I crossed out the first chapter to. I really think I will need to write this one a bit out of order, as the beginning is unclear to me. However, I have often written bits and pieces of a story and matched them up later so I am not worried.

I have been reading a lot of books but have not made Review videos or indeed a blog post for quite a while, so this post is to make up for that. I promised myself I would post at least twice a week to get myself into that habit but things come up just like they always seem to do.

I've just finished a couple Judy Blume books and a Jacqueline Wilson.  I have pile of 7 or 8 other library books by my bed, amongst them Lois Lowry, more Judy Blume, Katherine Paterson, Robin Klein, and a Jackie French. If I finish this piece of assessment for Uni today, I'm hoping to devote a couple days to pure reading and writing!

Until next time.

Book Reviews

Here is Episode 2 of my series of videos 'Brenton's Book Reviews' - every few days or every week I will talk about terrific books (mostly Australian books) that are new ones I have discovered and love! Sometimes it will be old books I love and also books I have found that I want to read next. Featured in this episode is Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn and Destroying Avalon by Kate McCaffrey. Plus, at the end, I show the books I will be reading next!

Ideas Are All Around ...

Having an idea for a book can either be easy or difficult for a writer. It's also the question published authors seem to be asked the most. When once asked 'Where do you get your ideas?', children's author Morris Gleitzman said he got them in the supermarket, by the shelf with the Vegemite.

As for me, I often have the problem of too many ideas! I'm closing to finishing the draft of one novel, half-way through writing a second book, and already have ideas for the next three at least. My ideas notebook is chockers with ideas: how I usually get them is the time-old way of 'What if?' Taking ordinary everyday objects or events in the real world, but putting a twist on it and looking at it from a different angle.

For an example, walking home the other day I saw a butterfly just ahead of me fluttering by a hedge. I rarely see butterflies and this particular one looked quite unusual. It was black, with what looked like white stripes on the lower part of their wings. It was fluttering around appearing confused. I looked across and saw two other butterflies in a nearby tree. Immediately my brain began turning, 'What an unusual looking butterfly. Why does it look like it is flying around so crazily? Is it scared? Is it a friend of those other two butterflies? Is it trying to run away from them? Or has it been banished by the other two butterflies?' Thanks to this butterfly I had an idea for a story title but a full idea for a plot has yet to develop.

All in all, the most common ways I get ideas is subconsciously. Things just 'drop' into my brain, whether it be a story title or character name, or a line of dialogue or just a kernel of an idea such as, "Kids start a war in the playground," or "Girl is teased for having glasses". This is not to say they develop straight away. I have unused ideas in notebooks from 2007 and 2008. Sometimes I have an idea and years later have finally found it fits into a story and insert it then. At other times I may feel stuck with a story and then the 'other shoe drops' and I realise the idea I could use that would fit in the story is one I have had squirrelled away in my notebook.

The late filmmaker and screenwriter Nora Ephron (of You've Got Mail & When Harry Met Sally fame) used to refer to something her mother told her about writing in that, 'Everything is copy." Meaning everything you see or hear or everything that happens in your life can be used as an idea for a story. I often follow this, whether I consciously realise I have taken bits from my own experiences or not.

So, to quote this title of this post (and to parody the Mary Tyler Moore Show theme tune) "Ideas are all around ..."

My Writing and Me

I mainly write children's and teen fiction. I have a couple half-finished manuscripts that are for older teens or adults, but I enjoy writing for younger people more. Here is a little about me and my writing history. Some publications but not yet a book, but some great opportunities to have my work read nonetheless!

My name is Brenton Jay Cullen. I'm a writer from Queensland. I love all things book related. This blog is the story of my writing, book reviews, interviews, musings and what not.

Please feel free to leave me a comment, follow me on Twitter at @brentoncullen, or shoot me an email to brentoncullen71@gmail.com 

My favourite authors are J.K. Rowling and Alexandra Adornetto.

There are too many to list but some of my favourite Australian authors are Rebecca James, Wendy Orr, Libby Gleeson, Emily Rodda, Jackie French, Steph Bowe and Jack Heath.

The writing quotes I live by:

“When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done.”

—Stephen King

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." - Douglas Adams

"Writing is its own reward." – Henry Miller

MY WRITING

I've been lucky enough to have had several pieces of my writing published in various formats and some of them are here. I've also included some opportunities and awards I've been very fortunate to receive.

Articles & Columns

A column of an interview with children's author Wendy Orr,  in WQ (Writing Queensland) Magazine - 2011

An article on the writing process, in WQ (Writing Queensland) Magazine - 2007

'Books, Music & Movies with Brenton Cullen' - regular entertainment column in newspaper The South Burnett Times from 2011 - 2013.

Various book reviews and columns in various magazines & online e-zines.

Short Stories & Poems

'Daredevil Granny', short story, included in anthology A Collection of Stories & Poems by Young Writers, published by Young Writers' House Company, U.K., 2009.

'Playing with Friends,' poem, included in OzKids in Print magazine, February 2013 issue.

Play Scripts

'The Days Dwindle Down', a one-act play script, performed by Nanango Theatre Company, July 2013.

Opportunities & Awards

Scholarship recipient to Meanjin Young Writer's Camp, 2007 (workshops by authors such as Pat Flynn, Sue Gough, and Simon Higgins).

Recipient of USQ Scholarship to QLD Theatre Company's Drama Camp, September 2013.

Nominee for local Australia Day Award in category of 'Cultural Award' for community theatre and writing contributions, January 2014.

Reading, Rewriting and Red Frogs

This giant stack of books is being read in the name of research. Research, I tell you! I'm not trying to procrastinate from assignments ... no way!  *Stares aimlessly at half-complete assignment in open Word document*

The great thing about living on campus at university is the huge library within skipping distance (not that I skip, mind you. Usually, a calm stroll). Amongst the rows of lonely textbooks is the well-stocked Fiction. This is where I haunt.

As the greats advise, you need to read, read, read in order to write, write, write. So these books in the photo show how I spend any free time I have. Reading is a great way to soak up tips on what is successful in children's books. But you also have fun at the same time! A lot of these books in the photo I have read  before and loved, some are new to me but I have enjoyed them, and a couple are still waiting to be read and I can't wait to delve into them.

As for the writing side of things, or mostly rewriting as it has been of late, I have finished drafts of three picture book texts and am working on manuscripts for two novels. One picture book is on Draft #19 and has been banished to a bottom drawer until it behaves itself. The second picture book manuscript is on its third draft and has also been placed on 'bottom drawer duty'. It's not nearly as troublesome, but it still needs time in hibernation to figure out what it's trying to say and how it's going to say it, in order to be the best it can be.

I wrote the final picture book text last night. While culling old emails I found a manuscript I submitted to a publisher 2 years ago. Thanks to my jam-packed brain, I had forgotten this manuscript ever existed. Upon re-reading, the problem with it was apparent: there was no problem! No conflict in the story at all! (Having a fresh read after leaving it for 2 years will do that to a story). So I changed some existing sentences around then rewrote it completely. I was itching to make some corrections, tidy that word, add this sentence, but resisted. It went with its cousins into the bottom drawer so I may have a fresh perspective in a few weeks. (Two separate picture book manuscripts on the right. Both heavily revised, as you can see). 

As for this blog title's reference to red frogs ... I consumed exorbitant amounts while writing and reading yesterday. Confectionery, not amphibian.

And now I shall return to my pile of books. And my assignments...

Discovering New Books

I almost cried (well, almost got a little teary) today in the uni library.

I discovered two picture books and they were both so sad but also uplifting and so beautiful I felt very moved. Not just the exquisite text in both books, but also the remarkable illustrations.

I have always thought that there can be instances where no words are necessary; the story is told perfectly through pictures.

After all: "A picture tells a thousand words".

'Tanglewood' is about a tree on an island who feels so lonely he thinks about giving up on living. He is desperate for companionship, for a seal to lay under his branches, for a dolphin to jump out of the water and say hello ... then one day a lost seagull comes across the tree.

'Grandpa' is the story of a little boy whose grandfather has passed away. The little boy often felt annoyed by the old man when he was alive. The boy was sick of hearing his grandfather's boring stories and jokes over and over again. But after Grandpa's funeral, and now knowing he will never hear them again, the little boy realises just how much he'll miss those boring stories.

Two new favourites of mine. They're a couple years old now but definitely look out f

or a copy. 

Garages, Giraffes and Thirteen Drafts

I didn't expect to write a picture book yesterday.

As I scolled through Facebook, I saw a posting for a garage sale. And then the next posting was about giraffes in Africa.

The idea came instantly, all tied up in a bundle with a neat bow: "What if a giraffe lived in a garage?"

It wasn't just the alliteration I loved. The story seems very endearing to me.

I played with the idea for a few minutes and now, about 30 hours or so later, have written 13 drafts of the story. Number 13 can either be lucky or unlucky. It's feeling right to me. But away it shall go in the bottom drawer.

A manuscript emerging after a hibernation always brings out things you never notice the first time round.

I really love the idea for the story, even though it took me away from current W.I.P. A novel I started 2 years ago and wrote 20,000 words in one week and then stopped and didn't touch it again till this month. I now have 21,000 words and will go back to it no

A Fresh Start

I once had a blog documenting my writing 'W.I.P's' but it has since gone down the black hole that is the internet. In truth, I missed having a platform where I could ramble on about books and writing and literature and manuscript drafts and rejection letters. So I have decided to start anew and create this blog. Less rambling this time I hope.

I am a student soon to change degrees to study English Literature and Writing & Society ('Creative Writing' in layman's terms). I have published articles, columns, short stories in magazines and a short story in a traditionally-published anthology in the U.K.

I wrote my first story when I was 5. I began submitting stories for publication when I was 9. Writing has been the most important factor in my life.

I yearn to publish a book. However, my yearning to simply write is greater. I think of stories and spend hours writing and rewriting without even entertaining the idea of publication. And I know this constant writing is my education: to weed out my bad habits, to develop my own style, and to learn the true craft of writing.

I have received approximately 50 rejection letters in 10 years of submitting various stories. It was a let down each time I opened a rejection letter, naturally. But now I am a little more mature I realise I was not ready to be published then. As many great writers have said, and said to me personally, 'Perseverance is key'.

I will never give up trying to be a published novelist. And though the thought of traditional publication brings a certain point of 'validation' to one as a writer, I know that to keep on writing, if only ever for just myself, is the most important thing. Hopefully, I shall not die until I am old and decrepit. But when I do, I shall be holding a pen poised above paper.