Betsy Cornwell, author of MECHANICA, on finding the everyday grit to keep on working

by Jocelyn Rish

We’re excited to have Betsy Cornwell here to tell us more about her latest novel MECHANICA.

Betsy, what book or books would most resonate with readers who love your book–or visa versa?

I grew up loving Cinderella retellings like Gail Carson Levine’s ELLA ENCHANTED and Margaret Peterson Haddix’s JUST ELLA, and some of my favorite reviews of MECHANICA have compared it with those books. Since Mechanica is a character-driven story that’s told from the perspective of one lonely, intelligent girl, I’d like to think that its readers would also be drawn to my favorite novel, I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, and other open-ended character studies of brilliant teenage girls.

How long did you work on MECHANICA?

My first draft was part of that retellings collection I mentioned, which I wrote as an independent project at Smith College in 2009-10. I initially intended it to be only a ten or twenty-page short story, but it kept expanding and expanding as I thought more about this steampunk-magical world and fell in love with my characters. So my first draft, the skimmed-over bones of a short story, only took a few months, but I worked on the book pretty steadily from 2009 until just a few months ago, when we were still finishing up the last rounds of copy edits.

What do you hope readers will take away from MECHANICA?

First and foremost I hope they will love the characters, the ride of their story, and the world they inhabit. But after that, I hope they’ll come away with a broader understanding of what happily ever after, love, and family can mean–and how young women can create all those things for themselves, on their own terms.

Was there an AHA! moment along your road to publication where something suddenly sank in and you felt you had the key to writing a novel? What was it?

Oh, I wish! I’m afraid that I’ve never had that big key moment–just a very stubborn determination that I was going to see this through. Most of my writing days, especially during my first drafts, involve slogging and struggling more than inspiration or aha! moments. When they come they’re wonderful and great fun, but if anything, I think the key to writing and publishing novels is finding the everyday grit it takes to keep on working when inspiration seems so far away.

What are you working on now?

I recently finished a companion novel to my first book, TIDES, which continues to work with traditional selkie folklore in a contemporary, magical realist context. The companion, COMPASS, follows a young selkie from the US to Ireland, where he hopes to rediscover his lost family but instead finds love with a lonely human girl. That series is dark, moody, and lyrical, so I’m also having fun drafting a New Adult comedy-romance, currently called DARLINGEST ANNA, to keep things balanced!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Mechanica
by Betsy Cornwell
Hardcover
Clarion Books
Released 8/25/2015

Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home.

But on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last.

Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn’t want a fairy tale happy ending after all.

Purchase Mechanica at Amazon
Purchase Mechanica at IndieBound
View Mechanica on Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I wrote my first novel, TIDES, as a student at Smith College. After graduating from Smith and getting an MFA from Notre Dame, I moved to Ireland to live with the fairies.

My second novel, MECHANICA, a steampunk retelling of Cinderella, is coming in August 2015. A companion novel to TIDES, currently called COMPASS, is slated for early 2016.

I’m also the story editor for Parabola Magazine, a reader for Teen Ink Magazine, and a teacher at Johns Hopkins CTY. I keep dairy goats in Ireland and spend a lot of time hunting for wild hazelnuts.

Have you had a chance to read MECHANICA yet? Have you started writing a short story only to have it turn into a novel? What do you do when inspiration seems far away?

Happy reading,

Jocelyn, Shelly, Martina, Erin, Lisa, Susan, Jen, Sam, Lindsey, Sandra, Kristin, and Anisaa

Jocelyn Rish

Jocelyn Rish is a writer and filmmaker who loves researching weird and wonderful animals and sharing what she learns. Her debut was BATTLE OF THE BUTTS, about ten animals that do weird things with their butts. Her latest book is BATTLE OF THE BRAINS, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection about ten animals with mind-blowing brain abilities. When she’s not writing, she tutors kids to help them discover the magic of reading. Jocelyn has won numerous awards for her short stories, screenplays, films, and novels and lives in South Carolina with her adorable dog. Find out more at www.jocelynrish.com.

Post @ Jocelyn Rish and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Aug 30, 2015

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: YA Author Interviews

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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