Neil plays guitar with his family’s band, the Family McClintock, even though he can’t stand the Celtic music they play, he doesn’t dance, he hates the outfits, and every single performance reminds him that he isn’t as talented as the rest of the family.
When his buddy Bert convinces him to form a rock band and enter a local talent show, Neil’s playing improves and everyone notices, including a girl who shares his musical interests. He starts to think that all those years of practice might come in handy after all. But it all comes to a head when Neil has to choose between an important gig with the family band and the talent show. He’s only sure of one thing: whatever he decides to do, he’s going to be letting someone down.
Have you drawn on your own experience at all in writing this book?
I grew up in a small town on Cape Breton Island, where music is a way of life and many talented families perform at community events and outdoor concerts all summer long. I thought it would be fun to write about one of these musical families from the perspective of one of its younger members. I also did a lot of performing when I was younger, as a singer in small three-piece bands like the one Neil and his friends form for the talent show, so I had a lot of fun revisiting those days.
How did you come up with your title? What other titles did you consider?
I don’t want to give too much away, but the title fits perfectly with the story! I will say that Neil’s relationship with his well-known family and his desire to break away and do his own thing are the central themes of the book, and by the time things wrap up, the title makes perfect sense!
Did you find it challenging to describe the thought process behind the creative process?
Yes! I spend a lot of time listening to music, but when I started writing the book I quickly learned that it is incredibly difficult to describe music and dance in words. By its very nature, music is meant to be listened to, not described, so turning the musical scenes that fill the book into part of a compelling narrative was a real challenge. Eventually I got into a groove and began to enjoy the process, but as hard as I tried, a written description of a musical performance will never match the real thing!
Tom Ryan is the author of three novels for teens, including Way to Go and Tag Along.
Have you done any performing arts as a teen or adult?
I’ve done loads of performing. As a teen I sang in a few bands, and I was also into theatre, both acting and building and painting sets. Later on, after university, I worked in the film industry for several years and had the opportunity to meet and work with lots of really interesting and talented people. I still play guitar a little bit and I’ve always enjoyed singing, but it’s been quite a while since I performed in front of an audience.
If you could be proficient at any one “performance skill” what would it be?
I would love to be able to play piano. I took lessons for a couple of years in junior high, but I didn’t stick with it and I’ve always regretted that. I haven’t ruled out picking it up again, someday when I have a bit more time!
Thanks for the insights, Tom. Totally Unrelated sounds like a book that performance-loving teens won’t want to miss!
For an interview with Limelights author Robin Stevenson, visit Tom’s blog. For an interview with me, visit Robin’s blog. You can also read sample first chapters and enjoy the Limelights video trailer (made by Tom) at the Orca Limelights site. Enjoy!
After a year of solidly writing every day, I need to take a writing break this summer. The problem is that I’m terrible at sitting still. For me, resting is torture. My mind continues to spin out scenes that beg to be written down.
But as Julia Cameron says in The Artist’s Way, we all need to fill our creative well every so often. She writes, “In order to create, we draw from our inner well. This inner well, an artistic reservoir, is ideally like a well-stocked trout pond. We’ve got big fish, little fish, fat fish, skinny fish – an abundance of artistic fish to fry. As artists, we must realize that we have to maintain this artistic ecosystem….Any extended period of piece of work draws heavily on our artistic well.”
Ideally, Cameron recommends that we fill the well with sensory experiences, fun pursuits, intriguing explorations.
So how does this writer take a creative break, other than getting away from my writing desk? By finding a different creative project. One that uses a new set of creative muscles. And I had the perfect idea.
First, I enlisted my daughter, Paige, to help. She’s a fabulous visual artist – a skill she didn’t inherit from me. I shared my plan to revive our boring kitchen chairs, re-making them into painted, themed works-of-art. I would act as creative consultant and base coat painter; Paige would supply the art.
Here’s the set of chairs we started with. Dull, I know.
We brainstormed ideas for how to paint each of the six chairs, which was a lot of fun. We settled on these ideas: cosmos, Aztec, steampunk, Doctor Who (yes, we’re geeks), floral/nature, and collage. Now I’m doing the grunt work: stripping and sanding each chair, painting the undercoat and colour coats, and painting the polyurethane after the artwork is complete. Paige does the glory work, and her art is anything but boring!
What I’m finding is that painting gives my mind time to process what I’ve written and what I plan to write next. It gives me a way to relax my mind without sitting still. Like a long walk, painting is a terrific way to unwind and contemplate.
The best part is that, in the end, I’m left with gorgeous and unique chairs. Don’t hang your art on walls – sit on it!
Here’s our cosmos chair:
And our Aztec chair (front and back):
And finally our steampunk chair (front and back):
The last three chairs – Doctor Who, floral/nature, and collage – are in progress. I’ll post later with pictures of them. In the meantime, I’m off to paint a Tardis-blue chair, contemplate life and fill the well!
The Orca Limelights website is now live, featuring a video book trailer by Limelights author Tom Ryan. Please share the trailer with bookseller and booklovers everywhere!
The Limelights series is creating a buzz among booksellers, too. I’m happy to report that the series will be featured in the 2013 Books For Everybody holiday catalogue coming out this fall. Yippee!
Most people in the publishing world will admit there’s no magic formula for creating a great story. The art of storytelling is difficult to pin down, hard to teach, and challenging to perfect.
Perfecting story is a continual task for most writers – a never-ending quest for excellence. That’s why being able to analyze one’s story – to determine what it’s doing well and where it needs revision – is essential.
For years now, I’ve been exploring the teachings of screenwriting experts to help me better understand story. A long-time favourite is Hollywood story consultant Christopher Volger. In June, I had the pleasure of learning from him in person at his weekend seminar on the Essence of Storytelling. The seminar covered essential story structure, the hero’s journey, major character archetypes, and strategies for deepening the audience’s involvement in the story. It was great fun to attend with fellow writers Anne Laurel Carter, Lena Coakley, Jennifer Gordon, Gwynn Scheltema, Rebecca Upjohn Snyder, and Erin Thomas.
At the seminar, Volger proved himself to be an expert at analyzing story. Here are two particular aspects of story analysis that I found useful.
Organic Storytelling
Vogler suggests that story connects with the body, that it can have a physical effect on the organs of the body. For example, we talk about how a story chokes us up or warms our hearts. Somehow, stories are hardwired into the human body.
That’s why Vogler has this rule: If a story is not making two or more organs of your body squirt fluid, the story is no good.
By observing our bodies as we experience story, we can better determine what makes an effective story.
Story Structure
Throughout his career, Vogler has sought to understand the hidden rules of storytelling through analysis of story structure:
What is the expected story structure that a reader will intuitively anticipate?
How can we use unorthodox story structure to give readers fresh, original stories?
How does structure punctuate a story, heighten key moments, and invite the audience to breath at the pace set by the writer?
Volger explains his twelve-stage template for story structure in his book The Writer’s Journey (based on the writings of Joseph Campbell and his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces). Basically, Vogler has developed principles to analyze stories, building a writer’s toolbox from which to select tools to use in a particular story.
Of course, Vogler’s story structure is a guideline of a classic story structure, and many variations on it exist, from the tightly formed mystery genre to avant-garde and non-linear storytelling. Any story structure serves as a model only, and writers need to trust their stories to tell them when and how to vary a model.
Using Intuition and Logic
It interests me that Vogler marries both intuition and logic to analyze story, although it’s no surprise that both are needed. It explains why there are no hard-and-fast rules to storytelling and why no publishing expert can regularly identify which books will be the next bestsellers.
So if you’re looking to expand your writer’s toolbox, Vogler may be of help. You can check out either The Writer’s Journey or his newest book, Memo from the Story Department: Secrets of Structure and Character.
Maybe Vogler’s thinking will shake up your view of storytelling. Maybe it will validate it.
I often get emails from teens and parents asking about upcoming writing workshops. This summer, Toronto teen writers can find inspiration and hone their craft with some cool local writers.
Open to teen writers ages 12 to 19. Submission to the Toronto Public Library’s 2014 Young Voices Magazine of teen writing and art is encouraged!
Who: Karen Krossing (me) When: Thursday, July 11, 2:00 to 4:00 pm Where: Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street
Network with a published author and with other teen writers; discover teen-friendly publishing opps. Do some writing, some reading, and have a bunch of fun. An informative and friendly workshop for teen creators.
Who: Karen Krossing (me) When: Monday, July 22, 4:00 to 6:00 pm Where: Agincourt Branch, Toronto Public Library, 155 Bonis Avenue
How can real life inspire story ideas? Explore how moments such as an early memory as a child, a conversation overheard on the bus or your family history can spark fictional or memoir writing. With fresh and inspiring story-starters, you’ll create captivating scenes, learn creative writing techniques and get constructive feedback on your writing.
Use Your Words: Summer Workshops for Emerging Writers
For young writers aged 16 to 30.
Who: Dalton Higgins (Vibe, The Source) When: Saturday, July 13, 2:00 to 4:30 pm Where: Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street
Dalton inhabits the worlds of digital culture, hip hop and popular culture – and combines them in a potent mix. One of Canada’s foremost experts on hip hop.
Who: Emily Pohl-Weary (Kiss Machine, Girls Who Bite Back) When: Saturday July 20, 2:00 to 4:30 pm Where: Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street
Executive Director of the innovative “open source” learning centre the Academy of the (Im)possible, Emily’s novel Not Your Ordinary Wolf Girl will be published this fall by Penguin.
Who: Sheila Heti (How Should a Person Be?, The Chairs are Where the People Go) When: Saturday, July 27, 2:00 to 4:30 pm Where: Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street
Sheila’s book How Should a Person Be? was chosen by The New York Times as one of the 100 Notable Books of 2012. Contemporary culture is her beat.
