Catherine Milne
~ Suggestions for Writers ~
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What's Up
5th January 2008
I polished up the first forty pages of Tribes of the Pagani and sent of my submission along with a synopsis and cover letter. Now I get to wait. Since submissions don't close until June, I'm not anticipating a response any time soon. Although maybe I'll get my rejection next week! In the meantime the publisher I've worked with at Walter Foster is interested in giving me more commissions. I asked about the possibility since I'd like to get into some freelance work -- it's a nice way to bring in some extra money to finance my writing addiction. If I can build up a portfolio of publishing credits with her it will make it easier to branch out into the industry. I'd already be an established writer with a history. Hopefully future work would sell as well as the Girlfriend Crafts...which, by the way, has now appeared on the shelves at Borders. Not bad at all for a series that originally was only available online. Now it's available through both Barnes & Noble and Borders IRL.
15th December 2007
20th November 2007
Taking a month off from much of my life and all other writing is turning out to be quite liberating. Most days I manage to get quite a bit down on paper (technically I guess that should be hard drive) and I'm even finding the result isn't as shoddy as I'd expected. I edit as I write and restraining that aspect proved to be difficult. But for the most I've done so in the interests of churning out the material. It's reassuring to see how much better my virgin writing is than say five years ago. My NaNoWriMo novel excites me -- more so than some of my other manuscripts. I can see potential in it to be more commercial than its predecessors yet at the same time I'm not sacrificing anything to achieve that. The story happens to be a more generically appealing one. I think I might polish it up and start sending out queries.
31st October 2007
My plot is ready, I've even got a bunch of research under my belt, leaving me feeling quite accomplished at the moment. So, what am I working on? I guess it could be called a sort of urban-modern fantasy. The bones of it are grounded in the real history of Paganism (both ancient and modern), Christianity, and Judaism. The main difference is that, in my world, Paganism never died out. Rather it went underground about fifteen hundred years ago and their gods went to sleep. Now, in real history, the revival of Druidism occured in the 1800's with a sort of merger between a faux-Celticism and Christianity, Secular Humanism, Masonry, plus a mishmash of other things. In my book, this event marked the return of the actual Druids from hiding. So no faux-Celticism. Instead there was a serious attempt at creating a publically acceptable facade from which to gradually reintroduce Paganism to the world. By the 1930-50's most of the Pagan Paths had re-emerged (although a few remained hidden for some decades further). Then the Wiccans evolved (a blending of old traditions with modern perspectives). These were the first new Pagan Path and grew out of the desire for those outside Paganism to belong coupled with their desire for a Path that reflected their eclectic interests (occult included). They were followed in the 60's by the New Agers. The basic structure of the Pagan Tribes is taken from historical forms -- they have an unbroken link to the original but there are some natural evolving differences. Magic and the gods actively exist -- taken from the myths of the originals. Each Tribe has an area of speciality that it is strongest in, but this doesn't mean others don't also have that ability/talent. As the Pagans emerged so too did the Dominionists. Like Paganism, Dominionism without our real world is an actual faith. It looks to return to Mosaic Law for all but through subterfuge and legal alteration of the laws of the land. So rather than force change via a war, Dominionists are more likely to aim to infiltrate (legally) all branches of government and law in order to enact legal change upon society. In my book, they have decided that under reinterpretation of the Torah Mosaic Law for all can only occur after Armageddon and the destruction of all the unGodly. They consider the Pagans to be the Enemy and are working to inflitrate the various Paths in order to subvert them. They believe that Armageddon will unfoldin a large part through the corruption of Pagan Paths (of course they don't consider it to be corruption, per se. Rather it will be the hastening of the natural conclusion to such unnatural and unGodly beliefs). In my construction of the Dominionists I have changed things around somewhat. Today's Dominionists are Christians who want to live under the Old Testament in many ways. In my book they aren't Christians at all despite claiming to be a branch of Jewish-Christians. I have taken the Gnostic concept of there being the evil god (YHWH) and the good god (Jesus). I have also left the Jewish deity as distinct from either YHWH or Jesus. The Dominionists follow YHWH, an ancient Mesopotamian wind god. As the story unfolds the Pagans unite with each other and alliances are made with various branches of other faiths. At the same time certain other groups (including the Nembutsu Buddhist sect) decide to actively or otherwise aid the Dominionists. At the close of the story (assuming it unfolds as I hope) America will have closed its borders to the world, proclaimed itself a Dominionist State, and be plotting to takeover Europe. Paganism will have created enclaves within Europe and Australasia and formed official alliances with certain other faiths (The World Faith Alliance).
6th September 2007
At the end of this month, my editor is off to New York on business. She's taking along the full manuscript. Also, since Harper-Collins are so interested, she wants to take along the manuscript for Book 2: Dragons, Wyverns, & Wyrms. Show them where the series is going and that I'm able to continue producing blah blah blah. Apparently, the counterpart made some mutterings about increasing the word count. That I would love to do. Something closer to a full-length middle grade novel would rock. Fingers crossed that, after seeing the manuscripts, s/he says "Yes! We want to sign on. And get the author to add X more pages." I'm 'calmly' excited. It would be so nice to get this sold. After the delay when the Children's Department closed, I'm so ready for this to be closed! Meanwhile, I keep working away. The edit on Book 2 is one chapter from completion. I want to send it off to my editor by the end of this weekend. Then I can start Book 3: Unicorns, Pegasi, and Sea-Horses. NaNoWriMo is coming up (that's National Novel Writing Month in the US of A). I've decided it'll be the Tribes of the Pagani. Life is good right now.
13th August 2007
As anyone knows -- except my husband and editor apparently -- having a physical copy of a book one wrote on the actual shelf of a physical bookshop rocks. It's big in milestones. But somehow they both forgot to tell me. Well, the husband claims he thought I knew. The editor admits she kept forgetting. Either way, they neglected to mention it! So, I dumped the kidlets and husband back home and headed to the bookstore with a writing friend to see if it was true. Yes, all three of the books in the Girlfriend Crafts series were on the shelves. Took some pictures and jumped about a bit with my friend before settling down enough to grab a coffee and relax. While this series isn't my baby, the books are still ones I created and I'm proud of them. To see them doing so well is wonderful. I spoke with my editor. Apparently after doing so well back at the beginning of the year that they went into a second print run, the series continued to sell. Meanwile, Walter Foster have been trying to get onto the shelves at B&N (they are in the discount bins with their stuff. They specifically produce work for that). But B&N didn't view them as a shelving publisher. So, their sales rep, who's been trying for ages to change that, managed to get an apointment with the B&N buyer at last and took in a number of titles. My editor said that my series was the selling point. Next thing the series is on the shelves rather than just online. Nice way to end my birthday weekend.
16th July 2007
How does anyone? Sometimes it seems so easy to rattle off a name or two. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis, for example, are common responses for fantasy writers in the belief that it all started with those two. But it didn't. Try George MacDonald instead. This (now) obscure Scotsman inspired the likes of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. And many writers since owe the existence of the genre to the work he and those following him did. Should we consider the impact of authors we may not even have read? I think so. And even more, we should hunt out those works and take a look at them. If the work of Tolkien and Lewis was influenced by MacDonald then he's worth the time. And when the author deals with a topic relevant to one's own work, even more so. As an author crafting a book that features a Lilith character, I give credit where due. There's the usual Mesopotamian fragments, the Jewish mythology, the C15th stories...and then there's MacDonald. His Lilith, while vastly different to anything I might write, is the original fantasy featuring Lilith. And the idea that Lilith is not all evil, that she can offer a form of salvation or healing, is contained in his work. I don't just look back to the recent influences either. I took the opportunity at university to study mythology -- often in the original languages -- ranging from the Epic of Gilgamesh and the scraps of Mesopotamian literature remaining; Beowulf and the rest of the Anglo-Saxon texts; The Sagas and other assorted Scandinavian material; The Book of the Dead and various Egyptian papyruses; The Odyssey and the Iliad along with the panorama of Greek stories; the Roman a Clef and Medieval material in general; the Arthurian cycles; One Thousand and One Nights and the days as well; Renaissance plays and portrayals; Folk Tales and fantasies, Faery Tales...all the way up to modern writing...and some side trips through Japan and China as well as reading some of the mythic stories of the Australian Aboriginals and various African tribes. It's interesting how modern stories repeat age-old mythic cycles, reworking them yet somehow staying the same. We all do it, of course. But being aware of the origin of such things adds depth and detail to the concepts. Taking Tolkien again, knowing the myths he utilised in the creation of his stories and the accuracy with which he presented archaic beings to a world that had mostly forgotten them, made the stories richer. And the changes he made, the ideas he developed, became so much more wondrous in the way they seamlessly merged into existing myth. Of course, his being a professor and academic who studied those myths didn't hurt! And this is where Tolkien's real influence is found -- for me anyway. In the attention to the past. The studying of a story prior to the creation of a new one that is in some ways a retelling of the old. And in others completely fresh and new. Influences change, too. While I tend to look to the past I'm also interested in what's out now. What new ways have old stories been reworked? How have authors reconstructed the way we write? How have the demands of readers shifted? At one point keeping up was simple. My library at home featured all the current sci-fi and fantasy books and waiting for a sequel was hell because there just weren't enough books. This was a good thing in some ways. I reread the first Shannara books a lot while awaiting the next ones. And the selection on the shelves...well, it didn't take up a lot of space. Now days? It's a booming market. Not as big as romance, let alone the self-help selection, but still large enough that keeping current is hard for anyone who's not unemployed, financially solvent, and single. Oh and has no life to speak of. While you're waiting for the next installment of one series, there's five others landed on the shelves. Fantasy and sci-fi even get divided up into their own areas! Which is a pity as it reduces the exposure. There's a growing division between the two genres as a result. So ultimately I have a hard time answering when asked about influences. Instead I'm tempted to reel off the multitude of people whose work has inspired me through the years -- authors such as: ~ Douglas Adams, Richard Adams, Franklin Robert Adams, Joan Aiken, Brian Aldiss, Lloyd Alexander, Hans Christian Andersen, Poul Anderson, Piers Anthony, Isaac Asimov, Robert Lynn Asprin, A.A. Attanasio, Jean M. Auel
And many others whose names elude me right now. Thank you for the worlds you created, the people and stories you crafted.
14th July 2007
Reading it now is not so painful. Indeed it's been progressing so well that I gave in and began work on the new plot-line I mentioned in an earlier post. I am still slogging away at Har Megiddo, but that is a much more pleasant task. The manuscript is quite polished (as far as my writing goes) and so it's more considering word choice here or sentence necessity there. Leaving me with time to look at Tribes of the Pagani -- an apocalyptic struggle for survival amongst the Pagans as the Dominionists work to bring about Judgement Day. So far so good. I've limited myself to one day a week. I also fell behind on my critiquing responsibilities these last few weeks and have decided to devote this weekend to catching up on those. The three manuscripts I'm working on are quite diverse. A YA coming of age novel about the destruction of innocence; an Urban Fantasy set against the backdrop of modern (normal) America; and a love story that strives to reveal the layered depths of character within the two people. The nuances of each writer's style are not only interesting, but also very educational. I am looking at my own work with newly peeled eyes once again. And I'm enjoying the three novels, which is always a bonus. It's been an interesting process, critiquing these manuscripts. Where I would normally sit and pull apart each sentence, paragraph, section, and chapter, I haven't as much. I tend to line edit and then line critique. But this time I am finding my inclination to do so is less than usual. I'm not certain why. Before, in a class of twenty the demands were much higher, yet I managed it. 4-8 manuscripts a week for 13 weeks. A few weeks off and then back to the fray. It's not the new baby either. I did it with newborn twins, followed by their toddlerhood, and still had the time and resources. I have been worrying away at it for a few weeks now, trying to pin down what it is. And I'm beginning to think it's the dynamics of the group. It's a small collection of people and the other writers each have their own preferred writer to critique with in a to-and-fro. Some of those formed during a few months when I was awol (computer and pregnancy issues mainly). Others more recently. Close relationships evolved and they devote a lot of time to each other's work, leaving not so much for the others in the overall group. After all they have lives outside their manuscripts! It's not that I'm interested in a tit-for-tat process. I'm not. And some of my work does indeed get worked over (strong critiques as well as some decent editing). I think it's more that I feel somewhat disassociated from the group as a result of the pairings. In class it felt much more like a group effort with a 'hive' quality. Funny what six years in class can do to you! Before that I critiqued/edited as an independent 'contractor' and had no issue with motivation. But throw me into a group setting for a while and I get comfortable.
18th June 2007
They want her to send them a packet for Book 1: Faeries, Elves, & Pixies. So I'm pretty excited while trying not to get my hopes up too much.
14th June 2007
Right now my manuscript for Book 1: Faeries, Elves, & Pixies is out in the ether under consideration again. It was sent to Candlewick and also Harper-Collins. Harper-Collins responded with interest and requested to see the full product (complete manuscript and mock-up of the book along with artwork). That's been sent and now we wait. I completed the initial edit of the second manuscript, Book 2: Dragons, Wyverns, & Wyrms. At the moment I'm working on a secondary edit based upon feedback from a writing group and some independent readers. I was lucky enough to have a couple of children in the target age range read both book one and two and I received good feedback from them and their mother. The critiquing is also going well. I have realised that writing when pregnant leads me to include a lot of food references. A lot. Bacon turned up about seven times within the first few pages for example! Editing out the excess food references alone is time consuming. Turns out I also tended to repeat myself a fair amount (must have been the pregnancy brain of forgetfulness). I believe the edited version will be a lot tighter. Aside from that I am plugging away on the final edit of The Huluppu Tree, an excerpt of which can be found in Adult's Titles. Then I get to start the wonderfully frustrating process of attempting to sell that! I've also been busy working on my Suggestions for Writers - a Practical Guide to the Craft section of my webpage. All the things I've learnt over the years from books, classes, and conferences - and being in writing groups - about the creative application of pen and paper. Or keyboard and screen as the case may be.
23rd April 2007
Picking it up again to edit can be quite difficult at times. Especially if I've already got new plots ranging about my mind. I want to be working on a brand new story -- an original one too from what I can tell in checking out the competition on the shelves. I have lead characters, a few secondary supports, some red herrings and minor story arcs all on the way. I'm burning to start it. And there's the adult story lines just begging to be followed up from the Drawing Quest series. But... That little word -- hated by many writers I bet. So much of what we want to do ends up circumscribed by what we need to do. I have more editing and two more stories in the series to complete. I have editing to complete on The Huluppu Tree and a final few chapters of The Earthern Ward to actually write. Both were affected by the birth and raising of my first daughters and just as I'd got back to working on them I began working with Walter Foster on the Girlfriend Crafts series. I owe those characters some attention before birthing a new set to demand my focus. For now though I am relaxing with chocolate and a mocha.
20th April 2007
The problem is that so many people don't trust themselves as critiquers. They say they don't have any expert opinion to offer and downplay what they do comment on. Or even worse, they say nothing except how great the story was. Now, like any writer, I crave approval and appreciation of my work. But when all you hear is 'wow' you know that something's missing. It's not that my work is so awe-inspiring. It's much more mundane -- the reader doesn't feel qualified to dissent. Yet every reader brings something essential to each new book -- all those past books read, devoured, savoured or despised...if you read, even semi-regularly, then you're an expert in exactly what I need. And that is what you like/dislike as a reader. What works for you? Or doesn't? And why? This is all I want to know. Well, to be honest, I want more than that. I'd love you to get into the guts of my work, rip it out, reconstruct it, and hand me back the bleeding pieces with a though-provoking and concise commentary that goes into not only what did and didn't work and why, but also what it made you think. Places you paused -- and whether it was a good or bad pause. Characters that grabbed you. Others that you forgot even before they left the page. I want the mundane -- repeated words, excess verbage, dragging extra-long sentences, grammar and punctuation errors... I want it all when you read my work. Unfortunately, convincing the reader that s/he is capable of doing so and that it won't crush my tender sensibilities is often harder than pounding out the story in the first place.
15th April 2007
Tangerine Press's ability to purchase new titles has been frozen by the parent company (Scholastic). Not the greatest of news. It means of course that the manuscript is once again homeless, so to speak. My publisher/editor is now seeking a new partner in the publishing process and has decided to approach Harper-Collins and Candlewick. Hopefully one of them will see the incredible potential in my work and decide to sign me up immediately. Or at least very soon. A new mock-up is under way to sell my work. Meantime I am forging along with the editing of Book 2: Dragons, Wyverns, & Wyrms. With both Book 1: Faeries, Elves, & Pixies and Book 2: Dragons, Wyverns, & Wyrms I intend to draft up a pitch letter and make it available on the website at some point in the Children's Titles section. On other fronts, my daughter made her appearance at 40.5 weeks. Healthy and delightfully easy, she joins my older two daughters in an ongoing effort to derail my writing. Mind you, the older two have no reached an age where they are interested in listening to the stories I write, providing me with a certain degree of bribing material. Silence for stories.
1st March 2007
Until this week that is. Last month a mock-up of the book and a copy of the manuscript made its way to New York for a sales pitch with Scholastic. Turns out that their imprint, Tangerine Press, is interested in the series and has asked to see more - which may include a look at the second manuscript! So the slow and fragmented pace of writing now kicks it up a few notches to get the manuscript completed and at least edited once before I pass it over. Ideally I'd like to self-edit it more than that, but I'm not sure how much time I have. And since the baby is due next Monday... Of course this means a change in the publishing date - but that was always going to be the case once Quarto closed its children's publishing section. However the first book may actually be out by the end of the year - early next at the latest.
26th February 2007
There's now a possibility that there may be further books in the series - penned of course by yours truly.
1st November 2006
This was a fun project - I had to write a 1,000 word book that showed a snapshot from the lives of two best friends while also featuring a craft. Three books later and I was done. The books, BFF: Bracelets for Friends, LOL: Love of Lettering, and SWAK: Stationary with a Kick, look great and I'm happy with the quality of the stories. Writing such short pieces was a great exercise as well - I normally deal with adult books in the 300+ page range - which came in useful with my next children's project, the Drawing Quest series. Take a look in my Children's Titles to learn more.
24th October 2006
This has been an exciting project - the chance to create a mythological-based series for pre-teens and teens has been a lifelong dream. Last year I sent a proposal to a publisher for a quest-type series that introduced three different mythical beings per book. Ideally involving a Bestiary as well. And this year it became a possibility when the publisher got back to me with a 'definitely interested'. The challenge was that they wanted a 50 page novel per book. For the age range that's really short. The average early teen book is 200 pages. 100 pages is considered a short story. Unfortunately before we got much further than the first draft the (international) publishing house decided to shut down children's operations worldwide. Goodbye series. However the publisher I was working with is currently looking around to see if another house is interested in picking up the series. Right now it's listed on Amazon.com and a few other online bookstores as Book 1: Faeries, Elves, & Pixies being available in May 2007 and Book 2: Dragons, Wyverns, & Wyrms in August. Fingers crossed that still happens - or at the least it's only a few months delayed. Oddly enough the books are listed as suitable for the 4-8 year age group. Hopefully that gets corrected since the target group is 8-12! Take a look in my Children's Titles to learn more.
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2001-2008
Catherine Milne - All Rights Reserved