Skylar Dorset, author of THE BOY WITH THE HIDDEN NAME, on how music inspires her writing

by Adventures in YA Publishing

What is your favorite thing about THE BOY WITH THE HIDDEN NAME: OTHERWORLD BOOK TWO?

It’s so hard to pick a favorite thing! Because I can’t say “everything,” can I? I think my favorite thing about it is getting to know all of the characters a little bit better. We get to learn a lot about the goblins, and I’m hoping you all love the Goblin King as much as I do! And we get to learn a lot more about Will, and about Ben’s mother, and about Selkie’s mother. I also love how much this book gets to delve into Selkie and Ben’s relationship. You thought there was drama in the first book? Just wait until you read this one! But I guess, if I had to pick just one favorite thing, it would be the ending.
And the Goblin King.
And the ending.

What book or books would most resonate with readers who love your book–or visa versa?

I actually find “Alice in Wonderland” to be a pretty good companion book.

There’s a lot more romance in my book, but if you like the kind of madcap, upside-down-logic of my fantasy world, you’ll probably love “Alice in Wonderland,” because that’s what inspired me!

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

I do listen to music when I write. I think it helps to get the mood of the story right. I don’t have a separate playlist for everything I write, necessarily, but I do have separate playlists for the different moods: somber, reflective, romantic, action-packed, angry, etc. I do a lot of my writing at home, in whatever snippets of time I can steal, but every once in a while I treat myself to the luxury of going to the coffee shop and setting everything up there. I love to write in coffee shops. I feed off the buzz of the people all around, the anonymous chatter. And for some reason I love coffee shop music to write to. It’s not the same when I play it in my house! It’s got to be in the coffee shop!

What advice would you most like to pass along to other writers?

Don’t get caught up in whether other people will like it. The question is if *you* like it. If you like it, then you’ve accomplished something good! Other people will catch on. 🙂

What are you working on now?

A million different things. It’s ridiculous. I’m poking around with a YA about weather mages, and another YA about a girl who walks into her house three hundred years after she walked out that morning. And I’m working on my first middle grade novel, too!

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Boy with the Hidden Name
by Skylar Dorset
Paperback
Sourcebooks Fire
Released 12/2/2014

This is not your average trip to Fairyland…

Selkie Stewart has just saved her quasi-boyfriend, Ben, from a fairy prison run by the Seelie Court. If they weren’t the two most-wanted individuals in the Otherworld before, they definitely are now. Along with Ben and the rest of their ragtag group of allies-Selkie’s ogre aunts; a wizard named Will; Ben’s cousin Safford; and Kelsey, Selkie’s best friend-Selkie is ready to embrace her destiny and bring the Court down. Until she hears the rest of her prophecy: Benedict le Fay will betray you, and then he will die.

Purchase The Boy with the Hidden Name at Amazon
Purchase The Boy with the Hidden Name at IndieBound
View The Boy with the Hidden Name on Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Skylar is a born-and-bred New Englander, which is why Boston was a natural setting for her debut novel, THE GIRL WHO NEVER WAS. Skylar shares her home with a cardboard cutout of the Tenth Doctor , lots of Mardi Gras beads from the time she spent living in New Orleans, and a harp she’s supposed to be teaching herself to play. She’d like to get a dog.

Adventures in YA Publishing

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Posted: Dec 6, 2014

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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