My 2015 – just keep writing

Niel Bushnell Story Steps

Long time followers/sufferers of this blog (that’s me then!) will know that I’ve been doing an annual summary for the last two years. It’s a chance for me to look back at the passing months and make stuff up (in part) about what I’ve been up to. For completist with too much time on their hands you can read 2014’s post here and 2013’s here.

For the most part 2015 has been good to me. The only dark cloud is that I’ve not had a book out this year. In an ideal world the final book in the Timesmith Chronicles would have hit the shops by now, but this is not an ideal world and the last part of the story is still a way off. So 2015 has been dominated by the graft of being a writer without the glory of publication. I’ve filled my time with writing and editing, and I’m ending the year with two new books completed, albeit one of them just a first draft (currently it’s known as Project Artichoke). So I’m sat on the cliff of 2015 looking out with optimism over the green fields of 2016, keen to get down there and run through those enticing meadows and spoil it with my muddy boots. Sorry, I’ve been drinking a lot of Metaphor Mead over the holidays.

So without further embellishment here’s how 2015 worked out for me:

2015 JanJanuary

A new year, all fresh and full of promise! I greet it with a mouth full of chocolate and a heart full of dreams. Oh, and I dig out some old sketches. I don’t draw as much as I used to but I try to keep my hand in. I’m also planning on doing a picturebook when I’ve got the time.

2015 FebFebruary

I complete the third draft of my latest project, The Death of Goldilocks. I’ve been working on it for quite some time and it’s evolved a lot since the original idea. I email the third draft to my agent, Juliet Mushens, to see if she can find a home for it. I relax, thinking my work is done. I’m wrong.

2015 MarMarch

A partial eclipse over Britain leads to hysteria as all teenagers get up early and start washing dishes. The unnatural behaviour continues until every bedroom is hoovered and dusted. Parents throughout the land are paralysed with fear at the sight of this horde of polite cleaners. Fortunately I manage to find the reset switch hidden under a giant mountain shaped like a zit and normality returns in time for Pointless. Full story here.

2015 MarApril

I finally get to see the Amazing Story Steps on a return trip to the District CE Primary School in Newton-le-Willows where I’m Patron of Reading. I had a great time there, and tested out my picturebook project on them. I really must get round to finishing that one of these day.

2015 MayMay

I caught up with Cameron K McEwan, broadcaster, actor, and author of two books about Doctor Who, both of which are well worth buying. We talked at length about our favourite time-travelling TV show, which was just as well because I was there for the recording of his Doctor Who Podcast.

2015 JunJune

My short story, Scissors, is published on the National Literacy Trust’s website. Scissors is a creepy story about a boy who finds he’s not alone after a vivid dream. The story is told in ten chapters, each of which is meant to be read out loud to a class of children (9-12 years old) and leave them wanting more! Also this month, after feedback from my agent, I embark on an extensive edit of The Death of Goldilocks, and travel to London to research locations featured in the story.

2015 JulJuly

My second novel, Timesmith, is published in Brazil. It’s always great to see other editions of my books and I love how they’ve adapted the cover art for this edition. (As of December I’m still waiting for my copy to arrive. Ah, well.) My major edit of The Death of Goldilocks nears completion, and it prompts me to return to London again for one last reccy. I spend a lot a time looking suspicious in Hampstead Tube Station, leading to me being put under 24 hour surveillance. They’re watch me now…

2015 AugAugust

I come to the end of draft 4 of The Death of Goldilocks. But it’s not the end, it’s never the end! For starters the title’s going to change, and there’s more work to complete. Editing can be a chore but it always makes my work better, so I know it’ll be worth the effort.

2015 SepSeptember

I become a part-time spy. I’m kitted out with an invisible car, an exploding pen and a robotic eyebrow. Being shot at and hanging off planes while they take off is all well and good but the drinking cocktails and meeting exotic women is a bit of drag. After toppling a volatile extreme dictatorship and saving civilisation as we know it I decide to hang up my Licence to Kill and return to writing and drawing for a living. I also blog about the state of the VFX industry and how animation and visual effects are often maligned for all the wrong reasons.

2015 OctOctober

I start a regular(ish) video series called Writing and Stuff. It’s intended to be a forum for my exploits and adventures, covering my writing progress, any events I’ve been to and books I’m reading. By the end of the year I’ve only published two but I’m optimistic I’ll do more in the New Year because it’s been fun to do.

2015 NovNovember

Even thought it’s been published for almost two years it’s exciting to see Sorrowline feature in a Guardian Top 10 list this month. The article is Rhian Ivory’s top 10 books set in the past and the present, and features some excellent titles – go check them out!

2015 DecDecember

Being on the Guardian website is like waiting for a shark. You wait for ages and nothing bites, then suddenly two come along at once and rip your leg off… sort of. After last month’s Top 10 I’m agog to be featured on the Guardian’s website talking to Charlotte and Eva from the Millennium Riot reading group about being a writer, the power of reading, and casting Benedict Cumberbatch as a bad guy. Well, why not?

So, that was my year: me writing and editing. And I really enjoyed it! Where next? Come back next week and I’ll tell you my plans for 2016. Thanks for your support during 2015, and thanks for reading.

July Edit – part 3 – The End

Mission accomplished! Draft 4 is complete! It’s taken a month longer than I had originally planned but I’m there now, so who cares how long it took!

Structurally the second half of the book is quite different than it was in draft 3, shifting the focus onto the characters rather than the situation. As Steve Chambers told me recently: simplify the story, complicate the characters. It was very good advice and I’m happy with where the story is at now. My wife is reading it first, then it’ll be taken by a pincushion* of winged unicorns to my agent. Wish me (and the unicorns) luck!

*Collective noun for winged unicorns.

July Edit – part 2 – Hampstead reccy

I’ve made some actual progress this week. It feels like I’ve hit the brow of the hill and can see what’s left to do. I’ve just started on Chapter 24, so only 9 more to go! (Unless I decide to write some more new ones!)

The good thing about getting lots done on the edit is that your subconscious joins in and works on it when you’re not. I had a strange dream last night where I made lots of really good decisions about the end of the book, but I can’t remember any of it now! But I’ve had a phrase nagging at me from the back of my head for the last few days: lagrange point. This has proven to be very useful! Thanks, sub concious!

I think it was also vey useful to go and reccy another London location. You might have read my previous update on London locations here. Both trips have been invaluable, adding in some much needed first-hand knowledge, and even sparking story-point ideas! The main target for this trip was Hampstead station, the deepest tube station on the network.

Hamstead entranceHampstead station sits at the top of a steep hill – part of the reason for its platforms being so deep is because the station is so high! I walked the hour-long route my characters would take, finding some really useful visuals along the way. The station has two entrances, but one is shuttered up. If you ever read The Death of Goldilocks you might spot that it’s this second ‘entrance’ that my characters use. (That’s presuming the book gets published and this bit remains intact. Who knows?)

The side entrance

IMG_8852The ticket hall is small, which suits my needs. When it came to writing this scene it was so much easier once I’d been there, had taken these photos and looked about the space. It might seem a bit self indulgent to visit a place like this but it’s amazing how many extra things you can use once you’ve stood there! I’d highly recommend this as part of your writing process, if you’re a writer. If you’re a plumber that’s cool too, I’ve a leaky bath that needs looking at.

IMG_8853The station has lifts down to the platform but I took the stairs, as my characters would. There’s more than 320 of them!IMG_8862a

IMG_8854I really enjoyed being alone down here on the stairwell. It was so unused and dirty, just loads of grimy pipes and cables. Heaven for a writer. Hell for an obsessive compulsive with hygiene issues. IMG_8855

Hampstead station stairwell 01

IMG_8856Little details really help to conjure up a narrative picture: security cameras covered in dust, those amazing metal riveted walls! But these numbered plastic wallets was unexpected. They seemed to indicate the number of flights of stairs. This one was the last one; number 16. But there was one or two more flights after that before I was on platform level.
IMG_8874aDid I mention it was dirty? This was my hand after using the handrail for just a few flights of stairs! Yum!
IMG_8873And look at the encrusted detail on the pipes and concrete! Everything was painted in charcoal!
IMG_8875Even the wall! Look at the water streaks, spots of soot and ash. Grime everywhere!IMG_8876

hampstead stairwell01Finally, the end was in sight! 300+ steps later and a layer of dirt over my entire body and I had made it!IMG_8877The platforms beckoned. Here’s a few panorama picture I took with my iphone. These really helped me recall the geography when I came home to write it all down. (I also use an app called Photosynth which can be helpful if you need to build up a larger picture or a 360 view.)IMG_8882a

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IMG_8893There are just two platforms at Hampstead. It’s a quiet station, which was great for me to explore. I found lots of little details, like a bunch of old alarm bells that probably haven’t rung in years! IMG_8885

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IMG_8904Here’s the platform in all its glory. So many details that a writer can use: the posters, the bins, the patterns on the floor, the shiny wall tiles, the electric signs. Or course I won’t use it all, the trick is to drop in some of those little details which make the place feel real without overloading or boring the reader. But it really makes writing easier if you root it in something you know. If you’re struggling with writing a scene, go visit it, or some place like it. It’ll be worth the trip.IMG_8886a

Hampstead platform 01

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July Edit – part 1

Almost the middle of the month already? How did that happen? Well I’m at the beginning of chapter 18, so it’s been super slow going over the last two weeks, but I’m hopeful for a quickening of the pace now I’ve got some of the biggest changes in place.

And I’m off to London later this week to reccy some tube station locations that feature heavily in the next few chapters.

June Edit – part 5

“Here’s the challenge, Niel: you’ve got a month to do the next draft of The Death of Goldilocks. Thirty three chapters in thirty days. Are you in?”

Yeah, I was in all right, right up to my neck! It was a good idea but hopelessly optimistic! (I might get that put on my tombstone.) I’m about halfway through the edit – page 126, somewhere in chapter 15. Lots still to do! So bring it on, July!

June Edit – part 4 – Euston reccy

Eversholt Street Research

Eversholt Street shops and cafés

Chapter 14 is my home now. Almost halfway. Ah well, I’ll finish when I finish, but it’s not going to be by the end of the month, that’s for sure!

Still, I’ve made some good progress this week, and even did a reccy of some of the book’s London locations. I took a walk up and down Eversholt Street which is home to my two main characters. A lot of the early action takes place around their home, including a shop and cafe. I took pictures of most of the shops on the street to help me get the feel of the location right. I’m not using any existing shops in my story (although I’m so tempted to use the Skylight Café, given my story’s subject matter, but no one would ever believe it wasn’t a made-up cheesy pun!) but these pictures give a flavour of the places I’m describing.

Eversholt flats

Flats on Eversholt Street

It’s always really useful to walk through the locations. Google maps gets you so far but there’s so much more to learn by walking in your character’s footsteps. I’d imagined the character’s flat to be a bit more modern but the reality of the current houses on Eversholt Street are more run-down than I’d expected. They’ve got an earthy quality which I like but I’d never have known that without taking a stroll!

 

 

Next I walked to St Pancras Church which is just over the road from Euston Station. It’s a beautiful old church where my characters find sanctuary. I spent several minutes sat inside, imagining the events of my book taking place around me. As well as being really useful it was also a very relaxing and quiet moment. The reccy really helped to cement the story in my mind and it’s a process I’d recommend to other writers.

St Pancras Church 02

Outside St Pancras Church

St Pancras Church 03

Inside St Pancras Church

St Pancras Church 01

June Edit – part 3

This is like wading through treacle! The last few chapters are almost completely new so I’m waaay behind where I wanted to be. That said there’s been some interesting stuff gone into this draft. I’ll need to re-read it all to make sure I’m happy with it at the end but I think it’s OK so far. I’m just starting Chapter 10 so finishing by the end of the month is looking wildly optimistic!

June Edit – part 2

One week in to my June editing challenge and I’m doing OK. I’m up to  chapter 7, so I’m a bit behind schedule, but one of those chapters is almost completely new. I’m hoping I can pick up some pace this week but I’m entering a part of the book that needs some serious thought. One of the characters is going to be edited out and another will have to change quite drastically. Who knows where I’ll be at next Monday!

June Edit – part 1

“Here’s the challenge, Niel: you’ve got a month to do the next draft of The Death of Goldilocks. Thirty three chapters in thirty days. Are you in?”

This is the voice in my head, always challenging me, always taunting me, except when it’s singing songs I hate, or deleting important memories and replacing them with detailed plot breakdowns of ancient TV shows. On the face of it this seems an achievable challenge; one-ish chapter a day over the next month, then I’ve got draft 4 sorted! But it’s never that easy. Some chapters will whiz by, others are going to take days! Lots of days! And it’s not like I don’t do other stuff to do. I’ve got an animation project for a CBBC show to finish, mentoring for various digital companies, author events, not to mention real life! This could be a tricky challenge.

“Go on! You can do it! Probably… Hey, why not blog about it then, if you fail, everyone will know!”

Or it might just push me to get the job done. So here goes – thirty three chapters in thirty days. What could possibly go wrong?

Screaming at the sky

Tomorrow there’s a partial solar eclipse happening over Great Britain! It’s been about sixteen years since I witnessed the last one, but I remember it clearly. (You can see one of the grainy photos I took of it, above.) The oddest thing was the birds falling silent as the sky darkened, as if they were waiting for the world to end. Even in our modern, supposedly civilised age the disappearance of our sun can have a profound and terrifying affect on us as well as animals.

It seems that no matter how many times we’re told the logical explanation for such events there’s still some primal part of us that wants to scream at the sky and beg for mercy. A quick browse round the internet shows how ingrained this fear is.

Solar eclipse will be the beginning of the end of the world, say Christian pastors

The 5 best reasons to fear this week’s solar eclipse

Blood Moons & Solar Eclipse 2015 Signs of the Coming Apocalypse, Church Warns

But apart from the danger to our eyesight (and maybe some issues with power supply due to our increasing reliance on solar power generation) there is little to fear from this natural, if rare, occurrence. (Solar eclipse 2015: what you need to know)

But as a storyteller I find our reactions fascinating. We collectively hold our breath, waiting for the sun to return again. Crowds even cheer as the skies brighten! But what would we do if the eclipse didn’t end? How would we react if the darkness stayed with us? How quickly would we all scream at the sky? That primal fear, hidden just beneath the veneer of our education and culture, is what I’ve explored in my new book, The Death of Goldilocks. I think we’re all a lot more primitive than we might like to think. So tomorrow I’ll be watching the sky – and our human reactions – with keen interest.

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