Losing the Plot

20,000 words into the first draft of a YA thriller, it’s tough to admit that I’ve lost the plot! I’ve spent the last three weeks desperately editing, revising and rewriting, but I finally have to accept that the story just isn’t working. All that effort – for nothing.

OK, maybe not for nothing. This is a new genre and a new target age-group for me and I’ve learnt a lot, most of which I hope to be able to put to good use at a later date.

When it comes to plotting, I am definitely a planner rather than a ‘pantser’. I need to know the story from beginning to end before I actually start writing. I have tried – and failed – to write a fast, first draft and work out the plot as I went along, but it just doesn’t work for me. I need a plan – not that I necessarily stick to it. It’s like a map I can go back to if I get lost – or a lifeline, if I get stuck.

That said, it’s taken me a while to work out exactly what went wrong this time around. I’d done the research. I had a detailed scene-by-scene outline. I had a synopsis. I knew my characters inside out – their background, what they wanted, what made them tick... and I knew whodunit.

In two of my books for younger readers – Spike and Ali Enson and Spike in Space, due out in August – I blended realism (adoption, sibling rivalry) and fantasy (aliens, space travel).

This blend of fact and fiction was the starting point for this latest project, but the present-day real event – or series of events – is harrowing and by adding an element of fantasy, I was left feeling that I was not doing justice to either strand of the story. So, I've had to choose between the two (more on that later)... and start plotting all over again.


Of course, this whole process has made me feel like I've lost the plot in more ways than one. Anyone else know that feeling?

BOOKS FEATURING MIXED RACE CHARACTERS

This book list was updated in October 2012 and is a companion piece to this blog post.
UK publications are in bold and Letterbox Library is a great place to find them!

PICTURE BOOKS

Atinuke & Lauren Tobia - Lauren Hibiscus series

Adoff, Arnold – Hard to be Six

Alko, Selina – I’m Your Peanut Butter Big Brother

Benjamin, Floella & Chamberlain, Margaret – My Two Grandads; My Two Grannies

Binch, Caroline – Silver Shoes

Bradman, Tony & Browne, Eileen - Through My Window; In a Minute; Wait and See

Cottringer, Anne – When Titus Took the Train

Dale, Elizabeth – When Betsy Came to Babysit

Docherty, Thomas - Ruby Nettleship and the Ice Lolly Adventure 
Elliott, Odette & McIntyre, Georgina – Sammy Goes Flying      

Evans, Shane W – Olu’s Dream

Fuller, Rachel – Waiting for Baby

Garland, Sarah – Billy and Belle; Eddie’s Toolbox

Graham, Bob – Oscar’s Half Birthday

Hawkins, Elizabeth & Cemmick, Paul – Ben’s Birthdays

Hoffman, Mary & Northway, Jennifer – Nancy No-Size

Juster, Norton & Raschka, Chris – The Hello Goodbye Window

Nichols, Grace - No, Baby, No!
Northway, Jennifer – Lucy’s Day Trip
Quarmby, Katharine & Grobler, Piet - Fussy Freya

Stanley, Malaika Rose & Wilson-Max, Ken – Baby Ruby Bawled

Uff, Caroline – Lulu series

Umansky, Kaye & Sharratt, Nick – Yo Ho Ho! A-Pirating We’ll Go

Venus, Pamela – Let’s Feed the Ducks; Let’s Go to Playgroup

Willis Hudson, Cheryl, Ford, Bernette G & Ford, G – Bright Eyes, Brown Skin

Wilkins, Verna Allette & Venus, Pamela – Boots for a Bridesmaid

YOUNG FICTION

Aggs, John & Aggs, Patrice - The Boss
Baggott, Julianna - The Prince of Fenway Park
Caldecott, Elen – How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini        

Chang, Margaret – Celia’s Robot

Cassidy, Cathy - Cherry Crush; Lucky Star; Indigo Blue
Corder, Zizou – Lion Boy trilogy

Danziger, Paula – The Divorce Express; It’s an Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World
Cottrell Boyce, Frank & Berger, Joe - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again    

Dhami, Narinder – Bindi Babes; Bhangra Babes; Bollywood Babes

Dougherty, John – Bansi O’Hara series

Hiranandani, Veera – The Whole Story of Half a Girl

Hartley, A J – Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact

Howard, Ken – The Young Chieftain 

Edwards, Nicholas – Dog Whisperer: The Rescue; Storm Warning

Frazier, Sundee T – Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It; The Other Half of My Heart

French, S Terrell – Operation Redwood

Gourlay, Candy – Tall Story
Johnson, Catherine – Hero; The Nightmare Card; Brave New Girl; Sawbones

Lovegrove, James – The 5 Lords of Pain series
Matthews, L S - Lexi

Meddour, Wendy – A Hen in the Wardrobe; The Black Cat Detectives               

Miller, David – Leopard’s Claw; Sea Wolf; Shark Island

Osborne, Mary Pope – Falling Star
Osman, Sam - Quicksilver; Serpent's Gold

Ould-Okojie, Jackie (ed) - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: The Music Man
Pielichaty, Helena – We’re the Dream Team, Right?

Rainger, Amanda - Me and My Family series
Rhys, David – Where’s Gran?

Riordan, Rick – The Kane Chronicles: Red Pyramid, Throne of Fire

Scotto, Michael – Latasha and the Little Red Tornado

Stanley, Malaika Rose – Spike and Ali Enson; Spike in Space; Skin Deep

YOUNG ADULT

Adoff, Jaime – Jimi and Me                                                       

Anderson, R J - Arrow

Beam, Chris – I am J

Blackman, Malorie – Noughts and Crosses trilogy                     

Brahmachari, Sita – Artichoke Hearts, Jasmine Skies

Burchill, Julie – Sugar Rush; Sweet

Cann, Kate – Possessing Rayne; Fire and Rayne

Chadda, Sarwat – Devil’s Kiss; Dark Goddess

Kate Costelloe – The Breakfast Club

Crutcher, Christ – Whale Talk

Dalton, Annie – The Rules of Magic

Durrow, Heidi W – The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

Elliott, Zetta – A Wish After Midnight; Ship of Souls

Evans, Diana – 26a

Freer, Echo – Magenta Orange series                                       

García, Cristina – I Wanna Be Your Shoebox

Green, Caroline - Cracks

Gurtler, Janet – If I Tell

Hautman, Pete – Blank Confession

Herne, Lily – Deadlands

Hijuelos, Oscar – Dark Dude

Hoffman, Mary – Stravaganza series

Hucklesby, Jill – If I Could Fly

Johnson, Catherine – Stella; Other Colours; Face Value

Jones, Carrie and Wedel, Steve – After Obsession

Kearns, Zannah - No Use Crying
Kent, Rose - Kimchi and Calamari

Larbalestier, Justine – Liar

Lee, Y S - The Agency trilogy

Lester, Joan Steinau – Black White Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong
Leitich Smith, Cynthia – Tantalize series

Magoon, Kekla – Camo Girl

Marriott, Zoë – Daughter of the Flames

Marshall, Clare C - Within
Newbery, Linda – The Sandfather

Ostow, Micol – Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa                             

Perkins, Mitali – Monsoon Summer

Phillips, Ellie - Dads, Geeks and Blue-Haired Freaks
Pullman, Philip – The Broken Bridge
Rai, Bali - The Crew; The Whisper

Rees, Celia – Pirates!

Rees Brennan, Sarah – The Demon’s Surrender

Reeves, Dia – Bleeding Violet

Resau, Laura – The Indigo Notebook 

Sarkar, Donna – How to Salsa in a Sari

Senna, Danzy – Caucasia; From Caucasia, With Love

Smith, Cynthia Leitich – Rain Is Not My Indian Name

Shusterman, Neal – Dread Locks 

Stevenson, Sarah Jamila – The Latte Rebellion

Sturman, Jennifer – And Then Everything Unraveled; And Then I Found Out The Truth

Thompson, Holly – Orchards

Waterhouse, Lynda – Cut Off

Wenberg, Michael – Stringz

Elizabeth E Wein – The Sunbird; The Lion Hunter; The Empty Kingdom
Wolff, Virginia Euwer – The Mozart Season

ADULT

Wheatle, Alex - Brixton Rock; Brenton Brown