Could you be any meaner?

So I finally read Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, which it’s taken me far too long to get around to, and I really enjoyed it. 

As an introduction to fanfiction, Fangirl is excellent. The main character is shy bookworm Cath who, along with dealing with love, family and going off to college with a twin who wants them to start living separate lives, also writes a fan fiction series based on the bestselling Simon Snow books (which is basically Harry Potter with different names).

The mad thing is, fans of Fangirl got so hooked on the extracts of Cath’s ‘fan fiction’ Rowell ended up turning them into a trilogy of novels, which I’m also now enjoying. 

I’ve always been aware of fanfiction, and the teens in my writing group LOVE it, but I hadn’t really read much so, intrigued, I went online to Archive Of Our Own to have a look.

It was a revelation.

I thought fanfic was all written by teens but apparently not. There are writers of all ages on there. And, OK, there’s some very adult content (you can filter it out), but there’s also absolutely everything else you can think of, and the thing that amazed me is the number of ‘hits’ and ‘likes’ some of the stories have. Some of the Harry Potter fanfics have tens of thousands of hits. And they’re not short stories, some of them are twice the length of the average novel and more. I found one Harry Potter that had 350 chapters and over a million words. Another had over 2 million hits and 45,000 ‘Likes’ (or ‘Kudos’ as they’re called on Archive).The numbers are actually staggering. And we thought kids didn't read.

Imagine having tens of thousands of readers! Most kidslit authors (or adult authors) would be ecstatic to think ten thousand people had read their work. I don’t think sales figures often approach that unless you’re quite well known. If you want to reach readers maybe fanfic is the way to go! As long as you don’t mind not making any money obvs. 

The other thing I noticed is that, obviously there’s a huge range in quality in fanfic. I read some that was very good and I enjoyed it so I wouldn’t be sniffy about it. But there’s also a lot that isn’t great and one common problem I noticed (beyond basic writing craft problems) was this:

I think people write fan fiction because they read or watch something and fall in love with the characters. Like deeply, obsessively in love. And they don’t want to let them go. So they write their own spin off stories and alternative versions. But the trouble with being that in love with your characters is that you can’t bear to let anything bad happen to them. 

Too many fanfics are just cosy wish-fulfilment scenes where everyone gets a happy ending and nothing too traumatic happens. It’s understandable; the writers just want to hang out with those characters again, they don’t want to make them suffer. But it doesn’t make for good fiction. 

 

So what I took away from that is: Be mean! Be horrible! Be downright cruel to your characters. And when you think you’re being cruel, be a bit worse. Whatever you’re writing right now, ask yourself this. Could you be a bit meaner?

So what do you reckon? Would you/have you ever written/read Fanfic? How would you feel if someone wrote Fanfic of your book? (I’d be freaking thrilled.)

Also, go read some Rainbow Rowell if you’re looking for a good page-turner!

Kelly McCaughrain is the author of the Children's Books Ireland Book of the Year,

Flying Tips for Flightless Birds. 

She is the Children's Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland #CWFNI

She also blogs at The Blank Page

@KMcCaughrain

Do I have to start hugging people again? - Kelly McCaughrain

Well, I got my vaccine on Friday night, which was brilliant! I'll be able to lick people by Monday! (Not really.) Unforts I also spent most of yesterday feeling a bit rubbish so I haven't done a blog post. 

So as a total (but also quite useful) cop out, instead I will point you in the direction of a brilliant website, Writing.ie where you can spend hours reading very interesting stuff. 

They've got interviews with writers, guides on publication/contracts/agents/self-publishing etc, articles on writing craft, news, lists of writing competitions, blogs, and loads more. If you're looking for advice on anything, it's probably there.

Check it out on your next tea break and I hope you all get your vaccines soon too! I'm going back to bed with a hot water bottle. 

 

 

 

 

Kelly McCaughrain is the author of the Children's Books Ireland Book of the Year,

Flying Tips for Flightless Birds. 

She is the Children's Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland #CWFNI

She also blogs at The Blank Page

@KMcCaughrain

Expectations, Rejections, and Money, oh my - Kelly McCaughrain

Someone on the Facebook group recently mentioned Sophie Hannah’s Life Coaching program. I’m exactly the sort of person who is instantly turned off by the term ‘life coaching’ but so many people were raving about it that I googled her. You have to pay for the program itself but there are some sample podcasts and webinars you can listen to and actually they are brilliant. I started listening because I was bored and within ten minutes I was taking notes. I considered doing a post about all the interesting things I’d learned but it would have been massive and frankly, Sophie Hannah explains it all much better than I could so I’ll just direct you to the podcasts and you can listen yourself if you’re interested.

https://dreamauthorcoaching.com/dream-author-programme/

This page has a sample podcast (scroll down for it) on deciding what kind of writer you’d like to be and includes the mind-blowing wisdom that just because someone expects you to do something, doesn’t mean you have to do it. 

 

This page also has a sample webinar (scroll further down) where she answers questions members have sent in and includes the life changing revelation that the unpleasant feeling of disappointment that comes with rejection is the worst thing that can happen to you as a writer. 

I know, but think about that.

It’s not nice at all, but it’s just a feeling and feelings always pass and nothing worse is going to happen. (I know that sounds obvious but I really do think it helps to be consciously aware of it.) The moment you realise this and decide you are willing to go through that feeling, suddenly it becomes much less painful.

Moreover, feelings are nothing to do with the results we’ve got, they come from our interpretation of those results. We tend to believe rejection = I’m a terrible writer. But instead you could believe rejection = one person didn’t like it/it’s not the right market for this piece/the competition was stiff/I can improve this and try again/this is a necessary step on my journey to inevitable success.

There is no more evidence for ‘I’m a terrible writer’ than there is for ‘the competition was stiff’ (probably less in fact) and yet that’s the one we invariably decide to believe. If we believed instead ‘my writing is good and it just didn’t suit this agent/publisher/journal but someday I’m going to win the Booker’ we might be wrong but if we really believe it, we’re going to enjoy our work a lot more and I firmly believe that a happy writer produces better work than a miserable one. So worst case scenario, you don’t win the Booker but you produce a better book than you would have if you’d dragged yourself to your desk everyday chanting the mantra ‘I’m rubbish at this’.

https://dreamauthorcoaching.com/

This page has two podcast episodes, one about building resilience and one about writers and money. The writers and money one was very interesting because she explains why writers hate being asked how much money they make. Personally, I don’t mind this question but the question I hate is ‘how many copies have you sold’ for exactly the same reasons.

Check them out for yourself, there are many nuggets of wisdom, plus things we probably knew but need reminding of, and things our husbands/mothers have been telling us for years but which we’ll never believe until we hear a real writer say them.  

 

Kelly McCaughrain is the author of the Children's Books Ireland Book of the Year,

Flying Tips for Flightless Birds. 

She is the Children's Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland #CWFNI

She also blogs at The Blank Page

@KMcCaughrain

 

 

 

 

Some Very Short Reviews of Some Very Brilliant Books - Kelly McCaughrain

I'm not saying I buy my nephews books for Christmas and then sneakily read them before I give them to them, but... if you're looking for book recommendations, here are some great ones I discovered over the festive season:

The Midnight Guardians by Ross Montgomery

This is completely charming, as you'd expect a book about imaginary friends in WWII to be. A lovely Christmas read but I'd recommend it at any time of year. 

Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker

I don't think I've met a character in KidsLit I related to as much as the boy in this one. Ware is quiet, introverted and completely happy in his own company, he just wishes his parents would get that and stop trying to 'fix' him. I wish I'd had this book when I was 11.

Brand New Boy by David Almond

This is such a clever book about artificial intelligence and what makes us human. A group of friends befriend the new boy in their class, but soon discover he's not quite like them. Can they teach him how to be human? 

The Pumpkin War by Cathleen Young

This is a brilliant premise based on a real event in Wisconsin where kids grow the biggest pumpkin they can, carve it out, and then paddle it across a lake in a race. Tomboy Billie is determined to take the title from her ex-friend Sam this year. I love that this has all kinds of outdoorsy stuff like gardening and bee keeping!

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D Schmidt 

This one's been out for a while but I hadn't read it till now. The story and style are both masterclasses in 'Wait, can you do that?!' Apparently you can. Joseph is thirteen, he's just been released from a juvenile facility and he and has a daughter he's never met. The ending broke me. 

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

This might be my favourite discovery ever. Why didn't I know about Frog and Toad?! I assume because they're American. They were a series of picture books from the 1970s about two friends and they're the most beautiful, charming, funny, sweet, heartwarming books I've read in a long time and I will be buying them for all babies in my life from now on. I even knitted the characters, I am so besotted. My husband and I have spent most of this year going, 'No, you're Toad!' (I think I might be Toad.)

You can keep your willpower, Frog. I am going home to bake a cake.

Kelly McCaughrain is the author of the Children's Books Ireland Book of the Year,

Flying Tips for Flightless Birds. 

She is the Children's Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland #CWFNI

She also blogs at The Blank Page

@KMcCaughrain