How Cornelia Funke helped me write a blurb

 One of the YA writers I greatly admire is Cornelia Funke. Writing in her native German, she then has her work translated into English.The result is a uniquely phrased and beautiful way of writing. For my current novel, I wanted some help with getting that all-important premise sorted, before I actually start writing. My usual method is 'discovery'. As I write the book, I find out the character's passion and motivation. Although it unearths many unexpected pleasures, this is a complicated, frustrating way to write, which results in far too many drafts and a lot of confusion. So I vowed I'd do it differently this time. I asked myself, "which of my favourite authors writes a brilliant, concise blurb and has a proven track record?" One book immediately sprang to mind: Cornelia Funke's Reckless.


             
         Here's the blurb:

Through a mirror...

is a dangerous world.

For years, Jacob Reckless has enjoyed its secrets and treasures.

Not any more.

His younger brother has followed him.

Now dark magic will turn the boy into beast, 

break the heart of the girl he loves, and cause chaos to rule forever...

Unless Jacob can find a way to save them.

You thought you knew about fairy tales? Think again.

a sketch from the book

Intriguing, isn't it? You know straight away -

• the main characters
• the setting
• the conflict
• the stakes
• the main character's purpose

Cornelia Funke

And it's all in 65 words. A blurb is not a summary of your plot. It is a taster, a teaser. It's purpose is to get the reader hooked and wanting to find out what happens. Already, I care about Jacob and his brother, just from reading this blurb. I also know something of his character - he likes excitement and he feels responsibility for his younger brother. His name also helps - 'Reckless.' Many questions spring to mind. Why did he go into the mirror world in the first place? Why is it dangerous? What did his brother follow him? What was his girlfriend doing in there too? What are the treasures Jacob found?
In studying the features of this blurb I was able to nail down my own premise. I also used pages one and two of the book to help me with my first chapter, but that's for another day.

cheers, Dawn

Why the Heck to Writers Persist?

photo (c) Dawn Meredith

If you're married to a writer, living with a writer or related to one you may well have asked this question at regular intervals, especially when the writer in question is in a hole, that black night of indeterminate length we call a crisis of confidence. I believe true writers write because they can't not do it. It's a compulsion. A weird one, I know, seeing as it can lead to misery and angst, but I tell you non-writers this, when your work is accepted, it sounds pathetic to say it, but you feel like you are accepted, that what you burned to say to the world is not only being heard, but being valued by someone. Let's take a peek inside the writer's head for a moment.
Writers are observers. We process every tiny little thing that goes on around us. We're worried we'll miss something important. (That's why there's so little room for other more mundane things. Or am I the only person who forgets to buy milk?) We constantly compare what we see and feel with other things we have experienced and new ideas pop up, wonderful new ideas which we yearn to develop. It's a bit like waiting for a flower to open. You know there is beauty and wonder inside and you can't wait to see it. In a sense we're gardeners too. We watch the ideas flower inside our head and our notebooks and on our computers and we seek to nurture them, water them until they emerge as fully formed things. There is pride in that process. There is also fear and wonder and delight. All the while we are battling against the inner critic, the overzealous editor in our head who likes to tell us what we have to say is rubbish and that no one will listen, that we have SUCH a  long way to go yet. This is why we falter. We know that publishers will send rejection letters and we know that we have to have a thick skin, but it still hurts. We can comfort ourselves with the thought that its all part of the apprenticeship, the journey to greatness, and that constructive feedback helps us grow, forces us to change and adapt. But it still hurts.
The industry is finicky, subjective and prone to the whimsy of Lady Luck, but just because someone criticises our well-crafted masterpiece doesn't mean it's worthless. It just means it hasn't found a home. And let us not forget the elation and joy that comes from the process of writing, of dipping into that delicious river of inspiration.
I leave you with these thoughts, emerging from the maelstrom that is my consciousness in the wee hours one morning:

Writing is an addiction 

to pain and glorious triumph, 

shattering defeat,

self-loathing and bliss.

It revels in my suffering.

It pierces me with joy.

cheers, Dawn