Catherine Egan, author of JULIA UNBOUND, on writing through distraction

by Jocelyn Rish

JULIA UNBOUND is the final book in the The Witch’s Child series, and we’re thrilled to have Catherine Egan here to tell us more about it.

Catherine, what scene was really hard for you to write and why, and is that the one of which you are most proud? Or is there another scene you particularly love?

The hardest scenes to write, for me, are the ones with lots of characters. I sometimes wonder if authors with film and theater backgrounds are better at this kind of thing, because they have some experience thinking about blocking. I have crucial, climactic scenes involving five or six characters at a time, I need everybody to be involved and have their moment, but bringing it all together just takes forever. Action scenes with a number of characters are particularly difficult because you also need to give the impression that it is all happening very quickly. I love my characters, but there are moments when I’m moving them around like chess pieces and grumblingly thinking, “I should have killed a few more of you off.”

I suppose that when I do finally get a scene like that right, I’m proud of it, but they are rarely the scenes I love the most. My favorite scenes are the Big Relationship Moments between two characters. In this book, my favorite scenes probably involve Julia and her brother Dek, and Julia with her sometimes-enemy-sometimes-sort-of-ally-or-is-she-really? Pia. A scene with a bath-tub, in particular. Also Julia piecing together a broken mud-woman with whom she has a fraught relationship. There are a bunch of scenes I really like and am proud of in this book, and they are all one-on-one scenes.

How long did you work on JULIA UNBOUND?

Technically, I worked on JULIA UNBOUND for about a year. But it’s hard to measure, because I never work on one thing straight through – I write a draft, and then I take a break from it to either revise the previous thing or start drafting the next thing. I always have at least two projects on the go and something else on the back-burner. Working on something completely different allows me to go back to my draft with fresh eyes. But if I add it all up I’d say it was somewhere between 8 and 12 months total.

What’s your writing ritual like? Do you listen to music? Work at home or at a coffee shop or the library, etc?

My ideal writing situation involves first taking a walk to get my mind back in the story, and then silence, dark chocolate, and coffee. I work happily at home or in cafés. Silence and solitude were luxuries when my children were small; my “ritual” back then was just to grab whatever time I could get, type fast, and hope it didn’t suck. Then I’d look at it the next time I had half an hour to spare. If it sucked, I’d delete it and try again. If it didn’t suck, I’d tinker with it ‘til I liked it, and then I’d move on. It worked, sort of, but getting to the end of anything obviously took a very long time.

My kids got a bit older and I got spoiled, perfecting a ritual that made me very happy. Then we got pet rats. (They are great pets! Really!). Now, I write in what has become “the rat room” while our fuzzy critters climb all over me and try to get at my coffee. It isn’t ideal, I guess, but it’s taught me to work through distraction all over again.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Julia Unbound
by Catherine Egan
Hardcover
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Released 8/14/2018

Julia has been ensnared in so many different webs, it’s hard to see how she’ll ever break free. She must do Casimir’s bidding in order to save the life of her brother. She must work against Casimir to save the lives of most everyone else she knows.

Casimir demands that Julia use her vanishing skills to act as a spy at court and ensure that a malleable prince is installed on the throne of Frayne. But Julia is secretly acting as a double agent, passing information to the revolutionaries and witches who want a rebel princess to rule.

Beyond these deadly entanglements, Julia is also desperately seeking the truth about herself: How is it she can vanish? Is she some form of monster? Is her life her own?

With every move she makes, Julia finds herself tangled ever tighter. Should she try to save her country? Her brother? A beloved child? Can she even save herself?

Purchase Julia Unbound at Amazon
Purchase Julia Unbound at IndieBound
View Julia Unbound on Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Catherine Egan grew up in Vancouver, Canada. Since then, she has lived on a volcanic island in Japan (which erupted while she was there and sent her hurtling straight into the arms of her now husband), in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Beijing, on an oil rig in the middle of Bohai Bay, then in New Jersey, and now in New Haven, Connecticut. She is currently occupied with writing books and fighting dragon armies with her warrior children. You can read more about her at catherineegan.com and follow her on Twitter at @ByCatherineEgan.

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Have you had a chance to read JULIA UNBOUND yet? How do you handle the blocking of multiple characters? Do you work on multiple projects at one time? Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!

Happy Reading,

Jocelyn, Halli, Martina, Erin, Susan, Shelly, Kelly, Laura, Emily, and Lori Ann

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 16, 2018

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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