Miss Snark’s First Victim’s entrant number 14…
Posted: January 17, 2013 Filed under: On the Isla's Inheritance trilogy | Tags: agents, contests, Isla's Inheritance, writing 3 CommentsI realise that blog title is cryptic if you don’t know what I’m talking about, but I love it. The multiple possessive apostrophes! The abstract poetry! It’s like a line of random gibberish being used as a secret password in a dusty basement somewhere.
Ok, maybe that’s just me…
Anyway, as previously mentioned I got chosen by the random number generator gods as an entrant in the Miss Snark’s First Victim Secret Agent contest for January. The main goal is to get feedback on the first 250 words of my manuscript. The other is for the Secret Agent (whoever he or she is) to come past, fall in love, and ask to see MOAR WORDZ! But, you know, feedback is good too. :p
The entries went up today; you can find mine here. Feel free to check it out.
My next project
Posted: January 5, 2013 Filed under: On the Isla's Inheritance trilogy, On writing | Tags: fantasy novel, Isla's Inheritance, Lucid Dreaming, urban fantasy, writing 7 CommentsNow I’ve finished Book Two (the as-yet-unnamed sequel to “Isla’s Inheritance”) I’ve decided to write something different. I do intend to also write Book Three—the series was always envisaged as a trilogy—but, for several reasons I won’t bore you with, I thought a break might be a good idea.
My dilemma is I have two different story ideas.
One is a fantasy novel. I have the main characters, most of a plot, and the beginnings of a setting. I also have the resources available to research the rest of the setting. I think it could be awesome.
The other is an urban fantasy. I only have the main character. It’s a cool concept, and one that isn’t too overdone (I think! Or hope!). The plot would make or break the idea.
Common sense is telling me to write the fantasy novel, purely because it’s more developed. But urban fantasy is my favourite genre. And I am terrified of complex world-building. I’ve never done it before, and you can’t write a fantasy novel without it.
Terrified, I say!
I’m leaning toward the fantasy novel because it scares me more, and maybe that’s a good thing. I should challenge myself and not chicken out and write something similar to the two books I’ve done so far.
If you have any thoughts I’d be grateful, but this post is really a whinge because I hear that’s what blogs are for. 😉
Emo Doctor Who is emo. Like me. Wah!
The Next Big Thing blog hop (aka tag, I’m it)
Posted: January 2, 2013 Filed under: On the Isla's Inheritance trilogy | Tags: blog hop, Isla's Inheritance, urban fantasy, young adult 4 CommentsThe lovely Katie tagged me about three weeks ago to participate in a blog hop (I’ve since also been tagged by Ruth). If you’ve never seen a blog hop before, the premise seems to be that one theme unites a bunch of posts by different bloggers, with the aim of drawing people to new blogs they otherwise might not see. Like a giant pyramid scheme: you’re tagged by one person and tag five more. But without the requirement that you send me cash! (Unless you want to. Oh, go on! Please send me cash!)
The thing is, Katie tagged me before I even had a blog. So here I am. Better (fashionably) late than never, right?
I always was a little slow.
So here are my ten questions:
What is the working title of your book?
Isla’s Inheritance.
The sequel is currently going under the sexy title of “Book Two”. What can I say—I suck at naming things.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Psychic vampires. You know the ones: they feed on your BRAINWAVES! Like zombies, but with less mess. There aren’t actually any vampires in my book, psychic or otherwise … but that’s where the idea came from. Then I added in faeries to the pot, and stirred.
What genre does your book fall under?
Young adult urban fantasy. I’ve had at least one person describe it as paranormal—I have a scene with a ouija board. But there are more faeries.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
This is far and away the hardest question of the ten. Especially since I rarely watch movies, so I have no idea who the current crop of young actors are. So here are some older actors. Imagine them younger. :p
Isla – Emma Watson
Sarah – Molly C Quinn
Dominic – David Tennant
Jack – Jamie Campbell Bower
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
When Isla discovers her mother is an aosidhe—one of the fae ruling class—she must come to terms with her father’s deception and her own, sinister new abilities in order to save him.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Represented by an agency. If the stars align and I can find that agent that loves me and hugs me and calls me George. Or Cassandra. Or even just offers to represent me. I’m not that fussy. And the hugging might be a bit weird.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I had the first ~10k words sitting there for years. Once I actually sat down and picked it up again, it took me about twelve months (give or take) to finish. Another six to edit, including getting feedback from beta readers.
Book Two took me about eight months to draft from scratch. I’m getting faster!
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
It’s a supernatural coming of age tale. I didn’t write it with a particular book in mind or anything, but I’m sure there are others out there.
I gather that Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey books have a half-human teenage girl as the main character. But I haven’t read them. I will eventually—I really should—but I heard of them when I was partway through drafting Isla’s Inheritance and I thought if I read them I’d only see whatever similarities there were and lose hope. And maintaining the momentum can be tricky enough as it is, especially for the first book, when you’re full of self-doubt and haven’t yet proven to yourself that you can do it.
That being said, I’ve read the basic premise and, other than the main characters’ genetics, I think my books have very little in common with Kagawa’s. Maybe I’ll add reading the first one to my list of resolutions for next year.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I’ve always loved urban fantasy; it’s my favourite genre. Of course, I didn’t used to know that was what the genre was called. I used to call them “novels that are set in the real world, but with a supernatural element”. I told you I suck at naming things!
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It’s set in Australia. Isla’s father moved here from England in order to avoid the consequences of the actions that led to Isla’s birth … which I won’t elaborate on here. (Spoilers!)
And I tag…
I’m meant to tag five other blogger writers for this, but I’ve been nosing around and it seems the ones I thought might be interested have already done it. I really am late to the party… Anyway, if you’re interested, let me know in the comments (with a link to your blog) and I’ll edit you in! 🙂
What to do after you finish your manuscript.
Posted: December 29, 2012 Filed under: On the Isla's Inheritance trilogy, On writing | Tags: agents, editing, Isla's Inheritance, writing 6 CommentsI finished my second manuscript last night. I’ve still got to incorporate a couple of things: nuances I missed in the mad rush for the finish. But once that’s done, the drafting stage of the unnamed book I’ve been calling Book Two (yes, I’m a creative genius) will be complete.
You may be thinking—especially seeing I’m an editor by trade—that I’d be jumping straight into editing it. And I’m keen, believe me. I have all the crazy momentum of the last few weeks of writing, the urge to be doing, boiling away in my brain. But that would be a really, really bad idea. So if you’re in the same boat as me, this is my advice to you (imagine me shouting this through a megaphone in a hostage situation):
Put the manuscript down. Back AWAY from the manuscript!
When you first finish writing anything—novel, short story, article, shopping list—you are too close to see it objectively. There are a few tricks to let you review it more impartially. Some people suggest changing the font so you’re looking at it differently to how you saw it during drafting—this works for me when I preview the final version of a blog post, so it ought to work for a novel too. (It probably won’t work for a shopping list, unless you draft those electronically.)
I personally like to print my manuscript and edit in hard copy. Transcribing edits back into the soft copy is a bitch, but it’s worth it.
However, the best thing you can give yourself is time.
When I finished Book One (now called ISLA’S INHERITANCE), I made myself wait a full month before I opened it again. The only thing I let myself do was a spellcheck and some formatting. That’s it. But I didn’t waste that intervening period.
I read an agent’s blog. There are quite a few out there, but the one I chose was Miss Snark. The blog has been dark since 2007, but the archives are available and they are pure gold, my friend. They stopped me from making rookie mistakes when I eventually started querying agents. No, my mistakes (and I have made them) have been unique and individual ones!
This time, I’m thinking about pulling out Stephen King’s On Writing, which is one of the best books on the subject out there. I’ll reread it, see what lazy habits I developed in the drafting stage so I’m ready to go when I start editing. Also, while Book Two was a sequel to ISLA’S INHERITANCE—and I do have the beginnings of Book Three bubbling away in my subconscious (I’d always planned a trilogy)—I’ve also got an idea for a completely different book, which requires world-building and research. So I’ll work on that too.
As you can see, I won’t be wasting all that energy and forward momentum. I’ll just be using it in different ways.
First post! First post! …oh, shut up.
Posted: December 20, 2012 Filed under: On me | Tags: Canberra, editing, Isla's Inheritance, motherhood, writing 13 CommentsMy name is Cassandra Page, and this is my blog. I was contemplating giving it a truly awful pun name, like “Cassandra, Page Turner”, just because it makes me groan. But I’m not sure whether a blog name that reads like a joke out of a Christmas cracker is such a good idea, even if it is that time of year.
Anyway. I’m generally not very good at small talk (you noticed, huh?), so I’ll just launch straight in with the introductions, shall I? For any souls, lost on the internet, who happen to wander by.
I am a writer of young adult urban fantasy. I have one completed novel, called ISLA’S INHERITANCE. The main character, Isla, has the misfortune to live in the same, very beautiful city as I do: Canberra, the capital of Australia. I say misfortune, because when you’re seventeen, beauty isn’t generally your number one criterion for things you’d like in a city. As someone in their mid-thirties, I’m actually rather fond of the place, but I grew up here so I know how she feels.
Fortunately for Isla (it’s pronounced eye-la—blame the Scottish), she was lucky enough to have a writer who was looking out for her. I did my very best to make her life “interesting”, as per that old Chinese curse. I’m so generous. But don’t worry; I did give her a bestie and a boyfriend. I’m not totally mean.
Canberra: a very pretty city. We have lakes!
ISLA’S INHERITANCE is currently doing the agent submission world tour. I’m also working on a sequel, which is as yet unnamed. It’s about seven-eighths done, though, which is very exciting.
When I’m not torturing my hapless imaginary friends, I am of course a public servant (I do live in Canberra, after all). I actually edit in my day job, which is great because I get to torture real people with words instead. But I have to be nice while I do it, because they are public servants too.
I’m also a single mum to the most charming, adorable and bright three-year-old boy in the world. Not that I’m biased or anything. He likes to swing on my computer chair while I’m trying to write—so, you know, he’s part of my creative process. Which is nice.
What do I envisage for this blog? I could give you some professional-sounding spiel, I suppose: writing about the process and the mechanics of writing, and my search for the Holy Grail of agented publication. All of which is kind of true. But the real truth is that I plan to make it up as I go along.
Don’t tell anybody.
Cassandra Page 