Blog – Page 82 – Lyndsey Hall

Caring for plot bunnies

Caring for your plot bunnies Lyndsey's Book Blog

In today’s post, I thought I’d talk about something we have all done battle with at some point in our writing lives – plot bunnies.

We’re well into week three of Camp Nano, and I’m just under halfway to my goal of 35k words of draft two for The Fair Queen. So, naturally, I’m being besieged by plot bunnies.

Now, the most important thing when you’re in the middle of a big project is to not let the plot bunnies distract you from your work. You might be losing momentum, struggling to stay motivated and finding your current work-in-progress boring – we’ve all been there! But, writing isn’t all about the shiny and new sparks of inspiration, sometimes it’s about hard work.

That said, what do you do when a brilliant idea pops into your head whilst you’re busy working on something else, or not in a position to sit down and start writing?

Make a note

If you’re a smart and sensible writer and human being, you will have one of two things within reach at all times – a notepad or a mobile device. If not, grab any stationary surface and inscribing implement (your sleeping cat’s back and an electric razor are not recommended).

Write it down.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a 300 word synopsis or a single phrase, write that idea down right now. You will not remember it when you come to sit down and write later, I can almost guarantee it. How many times have you been to the supermarket and thought “I won’t make a list, I know what we need”, and come home with everything but the one thing you went for? It’s not just me. Write that line of dialogue/character name/plot twist/cover design idea down.

Make it legible

Hands up if your handwriting is terrible? Some of you are probably thinking “I’m a writer, my handwriting is carefully crafted calligraphy, how very dare you”. Well, I’m not one of you, and I’m sure I’m not alone. There have been many times when I’ve come to read my own handwritten notes, usually quickly scribbled, and had no clue whatsoever what they said. Don’t let this be you, do not waste your beautiful plot bunnies by scrawling your notes in chicken scratch that not even an FBI handwriting expert could decipher.

Write in all caps if that helps you to read it later, draw a picture if it’s easier than describing your mental image. Just make sure you will know what the hell you were talking about later.

Proper care and feeding of plot bunnies

It goes without saying that you should keep track of all your notes, use a separate page or document for each project or for ideas that have no specific purpose as of yet. This will help when it comes to raising your plot bunnies into fully grown WIP rabbits (I just made that up, can you tell?).

If you’re between projects, or need a break after completing a first draft or round of edits, then now’s the time to whip out your notes and get turning those plot bunnies into fully-formed ideas. Lay out all your notebooks and open your phone or laptop to your document of notes (I use OneNote on my phone, it syncs to my laptop so I never lose any ideas). Now start trying to connect words and phrases together to make a story concept.

Maybe you’ve scribbled down a couple of great character names, pop them into Google and see where they originate from, which era they suit best, and what characteristics they are associated with.

If you’re a visual person and have a collection of photos saved in your phone why not mine these for potential locations, architectural details and scene prompts? Then, see which of these might fit together with your other ideas. Maybe you’ve got a photo of a gorgeous sunset over a plaza in southern Spain from that holiday three years ago, an elaborate fountain from a Turkish bath, and a dress you’ve always dreamed of buying – could you combine these ideas to create a scene, or even an entire story?

If you take care of your plot bunnies, they’ll take care of you by providing endless inspiration for new writing projects.

Hunting those wiley wabbits

Not sure how to get started collecting plot bunnies? It’s really simple, you just need to make it a habit to write down any little sparks of inspiration you get throughout the day. Carry a notepad and pen, even if you always have your phone on you – for some just the action of handwriting a note can set the muse free.

When you’re out and about, take notice of the little details around you and take a quick photo or jot down a word or two. Listen in on other people’s conversations (subtly, don’t be that guy) and write down any turns of phrase you like or find interesting, record accents you want to use or even steal plot points from real people’s lives. You’ll be amazed at the places inspiration can spring from if you just open your eyes and ears and pay attention.

And there you have it, you’ll be farming an entire herd of plot bunnies in no time, and you’ll never struggle for something to write about. What are your tips for finding inspiration and keeping track of all your ideas? Give me your advice in the comments, I’d love to hear how other people do it!

Lyndsey

Ruler of books tag

I was tagged by the lovely Tanya and Shanya of Twin Bookmarks to do the Ruler of Books tag, which was created by Ariel Bisset (check out her booktube channel!). This is my first ever tag and I’m so excited! I’ll tag a few bloggers at the end, but if you fancy doing this tag yourself just copy the questions and leave a link to your post in the comments, I’d love to see your answers.

Without further ado…

What book would you make everyone read?

There are so many books I would love for everyone to read just so I could chat to them about them! But, I honestly think that everyone should read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It’s such a beautiful and heartbreaking book, with a very honest depiction of loss and grief. The concept of the young victim telling her story from heaven is really clever and makes the story even more painful, but Sebold manages to make it such a touching book. The film with Saoirse Ronan is quite good too, but not a patch on the book.

What would you abolish in book construction?

Everyone seems to be going for mid series cover changes (so annoying!), and non-standard heights making our bookshelves look wonky and uneven, so I’m going to go a different way. I would abolish the new trend of printing on super thin, Bible style pages. I know they are used to make really long books more manageable in size, but I am a closet page dog-earer, and the last thing I need is to think I’m going to tear the page by folding it! Or turning it. Or generally touching it. Only robust paper for me, please!

What author would you commission to write you any book?

As a major HP fan I can’t not say J.K. Rowling to this. She’s proven that she can write in several different genres – if you haven’t checked out her crime thriller series Cormoran Strike (written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith) then you definitely should, the first three are being turned into a BBC mini series this Autumn.

I’d love to see what she could do with the YA genre, I know Harry Potter became less Middle Grade and more Young Adult as the series progressed, but I’d really like to read a YA fantasy, or even contemporary, as I know she’d do a brilliant job.

What book would you demote to the library basement to make room for new books?

I’m sorry to say that I am not a fan of the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. It’s just not my taste, but I know lots of people love it. It’s too similar to so many other series in my opinion, it’s like a combination of The Hunger Games, The Grisha Trilogy and X Men, and with nothing new to add. It just isn’t for me, unfortunately.

What cover artist would you commission to make a mural?

I honestly absolutely adore the covers from the Red Queen series! It’s such a shame I don’t enjoy the books, because these covers are glorious.

What characters face would you put on a coin?

It has to be Aelin Ashryver-Galathynius from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. She is the ultimate queen, and every queen needs her face on a coin. Maybe Rowan Whitethorn’s face could be on the tails side?

What book would you award the “Ruler of Books” 2016 Prize to?

The book that gave me the biggest book hangover of my entire life came out in 2016, and that was A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. I am desperate to get my hands on A Court of Wings and Ruin when it comes out next month! Maas is a genius in my opinion, her characters are so real and flawed, her dialogue is witty and hilarious, and she is the master of the fictional book boyfriend. I think we’re all agreed on Rhysand, right?

I think I’d be a pretty magnanimous ruler of books! If you’ve done this tag before, or don’t fancy it, don’t worry! But if you do, I tag…

Kristi @ YA and Wine

Kelly @ Kelly’s Rambles

Jenn, Caitlyn & Eden @ Thrice Read

Blaise @ The Book Boulevard

Until next time!

Lyndsey

Camp NaNoWriMo word count: 11,854

Author event: Samantha Shannon

I recently attended my first ever bookish event! (If you don’t count World Book Day at school, like, a hundred years ago).

It was at the Sheffield Waterstones in Orchard Square, I was actually pleasantly surprised to see so many people there when I arrived. I wasn’t sure how many to expect, but apparently the Sheffield bookish community is strong.

First off, Samantha read an excerpt from the book – nothing too spoilery, just enough to whet our appetites! Then, one of the booksellers ran a Q&A session, starting with a few questions of her own before opening it up to the floor.

If you’ve read The Bone Season and The Mime Order you’ll know they’re mainly set in London, but The Song Rising ventures into Manchester and Edinburgh, revealing how Scion has impacted on other regions. We even see and hear more about how the movement has affected Ireland, Sweden and Bulgaria, and of course we know that Paris is already lined up to become Sheol II if the Sargas have their way, and will be the main setting for book four of the seven book series.

Samantha explained that in most of the dystopian book series she had read, such as The Hunger Games and Divergent, the focus was solely on one place, whether that be the whole of America or just one city (Chicago in Divergent). She was reading The Handmaid’s Tale and in one scene Japanese tourists appeared, taking photos of the dystopian society in the story, like it was a curiosity to the outside world, a tourist attraction, and she realised that this was rare. She decided that she wanted to show how the rest of the world reacted to the events in Scion London and the regime’s expansion across Europe, so we will see more of the world in the remaining four books.

She also spoke about the film of The Bone Season, as the rights have been optioned and a script is already in the works. Samantha has seen concept artwork for the film and she sounded so excited by it, saying it was exactly how she pictured her characters, so I think we’re in for a very faithful movie! Samantha has consulting rights, meaning she has some involvement in the production of the film, but ultimately the director can ignore all of her suggestions.

After the Q&A, we were able to buy the book, as well as the new cover versions of the two previous books in the series (I was tempted as I own the old covers, but my budget wouldn’t stretch sadly!). Then, it was time to get them signed!

Samantha was so friendly, but with so many people to speak to and books to sign we had to keep it short. She has a really cool stamp of the Anchor that says ‘Scion, No Safer Place’. I noticed she was writing different things in people’s books, quotes from The Song Rising. Mine – “Rise from the ashes. Believe you always will...” is from page 261.

I have just finished reading the book and really enjoyed it, so I’ll post a review very soon. It’s a heist novel – one of the things Samantha said was that the benefit of having a seven book series to play with is the opportunity to try so many different styles within her main genre of YA dystopian fantasy. She described The Bone Season as a prison break, The Mime Order as a murder mystery, and apparently book four will be more political.
Have you read The Song Rising? What are your thoughts, do you love Samantha Shannon as much as I do? Which authors have you met at events? Tell me all about it in the comments!
Lyndsey