Shannon Schuren On Inspiration & Rewriting

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.

Today’s guest is Shannon Schuren, author of The Virtue of Sin, releasing June 25th. Her short stories have been published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Toasted Cheese Literary Journal, Big Pulp, The Flash Fiction Offensive, and The Binnacle Ultra-Short Edition, among others

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

Two, actually. The first was a vacation to Koreshan State Park in Florida, which is the site of an abandoned Utopian community. Many of the buildings are still standing, and I wandered around the grounds and took a lot of pictures and made notes for a story idea which I filed away and promptly forgot. Then a couple of months later, I had a very vivid dream that ended up becoming one of the first scenes in the book. It wasn’t until I was almost through the first draft that I found those old story notes. Of course, the plot of the novel bears almost no resemblance to that original idea, but the roots—closed community, cult leader, toxic patriarchy—are all there.

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

Lots and lots of brainstorming and writing. And rewriting. And rewriting again. Honestly, I had a very hard time nailing down this plot. In fact, I originally thought the story might be dystopian. I abandoned that idea early on, mostly because the thought of building an entire society was too overwhelming. Little did I know that creating my own cult was going to be almost as hard! 

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

The story changed from draft to draft. But I didn’t a firm plot in mind when I started writing. I began with the spark of an idea and a couple of characters, and just wrote. Had I plotted first, it might not have taken me so many drafts, but then I wouldn’t have had the fun of unraveling those plot twists! Lucky for me, I also have a fantastic editor who has a gift for zeroing in on the important plot points.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

Ideas come to me frequently, but whether or not they are novel-worthy is another question.

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

I do struggle with this. I’ve even started the wrong story a few times, only to abandon it a few weeks in. I’m learning to listen to my gut and go with the idea that I am most curious about. That’s usually the one that is going to keep me entertained and yield the richest story.

I have 5 cats (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

Up until this week, the answer was no. But we just adopted a kitten for my daughter’s birthday, and he is serious and adorable and quite curious about everything, so I foresee a writing buddy in my future!

G.S. Prendergast On Dreams As Inspiration

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.

Today’s guest is Gabrielle Prendergast who writes picture books and middle grade and YA contemporary and historical as Gabrielle Prendergast. Her science fiction and fantasy is published as G.S. Prendergast. She has won the Monte Miller Award, the Westchester Fiction Award and The BC Book Prize as well as being nominated or short listed for numerous other honors.

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

The series I’m just finishing up now with COLD FALLING WHITE (November 2019 from Simon & Schuster BFYR) started with a dream. But even though the book is about an alien invasion, there were no aliens in the dream. It was mainly a feeling. In the dream an injured girl was being carried up stairs over several levels. She didn’t know the man who was carrying her—he was kind of just a shadowy figure—but she was terrified of him, as though he represented something dangerous and violent.

And yet she wasn’t sure if she was being kidnapped or rescued, if she was threatened or protected. For a long time I didn’t know what to do with this very amorphous idea. I thought for a while that the man might be in a crime gang or something. But then one day I thought about writing about an alien invasion and I thought “That’s it! The man is an alien!” I know there are quite a few books and movies about alien invasions but I thought I could do something different with it. That’s where ZERO REPEAT FOREVER was born.  

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

One thing I struggled with through multiple drafts was when to start the story. In my first draft the story started over a hundred years after the aliens, the Nahx, invaded. The next draft started fifteen years after the invasion. Then I tried five years after the invasion. Finally I realized that I could start the story the day of the invasion! My key issue was that I needed my human protagonist, Raven, to have a deep fear, hatred and mistrust for the Nahx. I had thought this was something that might be ingrained into her community but I realized that in situations of war, the fear and hatred would grow very quickly. 

The other breakthrough I had was to tell half the story from the point of view of the one of the Nahx, Eighth. Once those two things were in place I “pantsed” the rest of the story because the plot came from these two characters learning to trust each other and fighting their way out of danger. 

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

Yes! For a long time I envisioned a kind of push and pull relationship between Raven and her dead boyfriend’s twin, Topher. But as I wrote I discovered that was NOT what was happening. No spoilers but much is revealed in the sequel! Also major plot and even premise issues are often first revealed to me just as I finish the first draft.

When I wrote ZERO REPEAT FOREVER I didn’t figure out what the Nahx were actually doing on Earth until I wrote the last few scenes of book 2! And characters reveal things as I write. When I was writing AUDACIOUS, the love interest. Sam, revealed on the page as I wrote that his name was actually Samir and that he was Muslim! Suddenly I had all this research to do. But it fit the story so well, given the main character’s, Ella, is losing her faith.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by? 

Another manuscript I’m just finishing up came from a dream. I also wrote an award winning screenplay based on a dream. I usually have at least one really usable story dream every six months or so. Some of them become books or stories. Some don’t. But they are entertaining. Many of them are very epic and visually stunning, and complete with character names and minute details. Sometimes they even come with a title!

I also get ideas from misreading things sometimes. Or things my daughter says. She was the inspiration for PANDAS ON THE EAST SIDE because she babbled something along those lines when she was about five.

I have a database (actually just a Word document) 23 pages long with ideas waiting to be brought to life. I’ll never get to them all!

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating? 

I dabble with a few of them. One of the first things I do is try to write what amounts to the query letter. If that’s easy, then it’s a good idea to work on. Queries are easy to write if a story has a clear premise and genre and a strong and obvious protagonist. After that I might pitch a couple of them to my agent. I take her advice about what she thinks sounds interesting and sellable.

 I usually have a few things percolating at once, to a maximum of seven. In the past my hit rate has been pretty good with getting the majority of those seven to publication one way or another.

I have 5 cats (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting? 

I don’t have pets in the house because I’m allergic, but I do have two pet chickens that live in the yard. Sometimes if I’m feeling uninspired I’ll go out and dig up worms with them. Mostly though, I like complete silence and solitude to write. I’m driven mad by my husband and daughter coming in and out, my husband taking business calls, the radio on, music. I could never write in a coffee shop. I have been known to write in my car outside my daughter’s music lessons though.

Finding Inspiration In Your Passions: Malayna Evans

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.

Today's guest for the WHAT is Malayna Evans, author of Jagger Jones and the Mummy’s Ankh has long enjoyed crafting stories that feature and promote ancient Egyptian settings, characters and artifacts. Jagger Jones gave her the opportunity to share her passion for ancient history with today’s middle graders and pursue her dream of becoming a published author.

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

Absolutely. The moment is crystal clear in my memory.

First, two things-to-know about my biography. One, I’m an Egyptologist by training. And two, my kids are biracial. Now that you know those tidbits…

I was having lunch with my son—he was nine or ten at the time—talking about ancient Egypt, one of my favorite topics. He’d asked what ancient Egyptians looked like and when I said he’d fit in well, he told me someone should write a book about a kid like him who went back in time. He spontaneously whipped up a title and set up: the book should be called The Eye of the Mummy and the kid should fall into a mummy’s eye to time travel.

He and I went home and wrote a chapter that afternoon. Not much about that initial chapter is still in the manuscript, but the inspiration is solid.

(And my son, now a teenager, loves pointing out that the book was his idea.)

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

When my son suggested time travel via mummy, I immediately thought of a tomb from the Amarna period--my favorite historical period--that features images of princess Meketaten’s death. Her death, and mummy, still shape the plot.

I was also influenced by an ancient Egyptian blessing: Ankh, wedja, seneb, which means (may you have) life, prosperity, and health. I wanted to examine modern vs. ancient notions of life, prosperity, and health in a format that would entertain young readers. So book one has the modern kids fighting for their own lives while the ancient characters fret about the afterlife. Book two, Wedja, will similarly explore modern vs. ancient ideas surrounding prosperity. And book three, Seneb, health.

It’s mostly mummies, magic and giant scorpions, but these elements were my scaffolding.

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

Oh, yeah. My first version had a murkier (dare I admit, more academic) plot that kids probably wouldn’t have found all that fun to read. I didn’t realize it was all wrong until I had the entire idea down on paper. Once I let it percolate, and got some advice from some more experience writing pros, I realized I needed to start over with a crisper plot. I sketched out a general idea—the idea influenced the manuscript but I adapted as I went. As the characters became clearer in my mind, it was easier to figure out what they’d do in given situations. So I’d say I tailored twists and turns to my characters’ strengths, weaknesses, resources and quirks more than anything else.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

I have a million ideas in my head, but most of them don’t stick long. Almost anything can spark an idea: something I read, a tweet, an image. I have one idea twirling around my brain now that was trigger by a phrase I heard in passing that I thought would make a nice book title.

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

I have about five manuscripts in some stage of development on my laptop. If an idea loiters in my head long enough—for a few months—I’ll write a few chapters down then ignore it. If I’m still thinking about it a few months later, and it moves me when I review my first stab, I push it forward. I find it really useful to have different projects percolating at once. I can’t edit when I’m too close to a manuscript, so immersing myself in a different WIP helps me see the manuscript I should be editing with fresh eyes.

I have a lot of cats (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

My rescue dog, Caesar, has been by my side through a huge chunk of my writing. My ten-year-old daughter is my review partner: I read what I’ve written and she gives it a thumbs up…or down. (She is brutally honest.) And I spend an embarrassing amount of time writing in coffee shops. The energy and buzz helps me focus. Plus…. caffeine!