Writing a Gothic with my Granddaughter, by Diane Scott Lewis

 

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I had a crazy idea, since the young adult market is so hot, and my granddaughter loves spooky stories, why don't we create a Gothic novel together? She was thrilled. 

At age twelve Jorja reads at a higher level, and enjoys Anima, and other wild Japanese-inspired cartoons.

She also warned that she tends toward the very macabre. So watch out, Grammie!

I might have to tone her down for the general young adult market, lol

So far we have a title, The Unfortunate Events at Lakelustre House. 

We have the names of the three children who will unveil, or attempt to, the mystery and murders. One child has a connection to the neglected house through a relative.

Jorja picked the state where the creepy mansion is located, Massachusetts. Near Salem, perhaps?

And the basic premise for the beginning of the story.

What will they discover, and what lessons will be learned? If it's for twelve years and up, there should be a lesson.

Now, what is required in a YA Gothic?

And can I rein in my modern granddaughter's macabre imagination?

According to an article by Amanda Pagan, Children's Librarian at the New York Public Library: "the overarching genre is generally defined by a focus on bleak, creepy, and unsettling settings and characters." and "Rooted in the traditions set forth by Edgar Allan Poe, Ann Radcliff and Bram Stoker, young adult gothic fiction features tales of terror and romance aimed at a teen audience."

I doubt my granddaughter will agree to the 'romance' part. (wink); and the main characters will only be twelve and thirteen.

The important thing, other than a riveting novel, is spending quality time with my oldest grandgirl. 

The only other Gothic-like novel I've written is A Savage Exile, vampires with Napoleon on St. Helena. And I enjoyed delving into the macabre.

Now to drag that girl away from her phone and get writing!

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty dachshund.

To find out more about her and her books:  DianeScottLewis

An AWOL Character Returns

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My first novel, one where the main character moved into my head and literally would not be let me alone, not to sleep, not for work, or even to quietly clean my house. Nanina talked and talked and talked for six months straight and I had to stay up half of every night typing like crazy just to get it all down. Miss Gottlieb's story of love, of magic, of music and of madness set me on the full time writer's path some forty (!!) years ago.  

Sometimes, after starting out with a rush and talking away like crazy, a character can decide to take a holiday--sometimes permanently. Actually, this is more like "going AWOL" for the hapless author, who may have a book contract to complete. This is one of the hazard's of being the kind of writer who is working their way through a planned series of linked stories. I once was far more "prolific" --the favorite description of all all agents who are shopping a writer to an editor--but my own little well of inspiration dried up about a year ago.

I believed I was done--written out. Instead of mourning or getting bent out of shape, I've been trying to Zen my way through the absence. After all so many years of story telling, there was certainly a sense of loss, but I was determined not to brood or feel sorry for myself, but simply to take a "wait and see" attitude. 

Recently, however, I've received cage rattling, from not one, but from two characters, the leads in two quite different unfinished novels. One is pure, unadulterated romance (Aphrodite help me!). The other is Zauberkraft Green, which was supposed to be the third story in my "Magic" series. As the name suggests, these are historical novels with a fantasy flare, stories which cross a lot of genres, from Gothic to Adventure to Horror and Romance. 

                           

Zauberkraft Green's main character is Charlize, who is the grandchild of Caterina, who is the heroine of the strongly romance-inflected Zauberkraft Red. Charlize is also the niece of Goran, Caterina's first born son and the shape-shifting hero of Zauberkraft Black. 

Typically--at least, what I'd come to expect from Charlize after we became acquainted--was a lot of ADHD precocious chatter, even a certain bitchiness. Then, just as suddenly as she had begun, her voice vanished from my head. 

I'm beginning to think she didn't want  to talk too much about the things that frightened and threatened her, because, hell, what I do know about those elements of the story frighten me too. However, all of a sudden, right about the dark of the moon a few days ago, Charlize began to speak  again. This blog is a kind of celebration that she's taken it upon herself to reappear and (maybe) finish the darn story.

Or at least, I hope so! I don't want to go on too long about her reappearance or gloat. As everyone who writes, or aspires to, knows, these gifts from the Spring of the Muses must not be taken for granted.  A lot of work and even more concentration will be necessary to turn whatever odds and ends she shares into the spooky journey I hope that Zauberkraft Green will eventually be. 

BTW, all three of these novels are Regencies, even if the first two have a European setting instead of the traditional Lyme Regis or Bath. Young teen Charlize, however, has been adopted by an Englishman, a kindly gentleman who has made an honest woman of her beautiful mother and moved them all to London, so here they are at least, proper Regency people, living where they are supposed to: in the UK. 

Wish me luck! I'm sure I'll need it.


~~Juliet Waldron
(Happily hearing voices in her head again!)

See all my historical novels @

http://julietwaldron.com/books.htm

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