In Too Deep
Page 12
AI have two pieces of advice.
First, don’t listen to anyone who tells you to only write what you know. My advice is to write about what you’re interested in. If that subject happens to be something you’re already familiar with, then that’s a bonus. But if you really want to write a story about ancient Egypt—because you saw The Mummy and you find the pyramids cool—go for it. That’s exactly what I did in History in the Faking, by the way. I didn’t know anything about hieroglyphics or long-dead pharaohs before I wrote the book, but the subject was so interesting to me, I researched the heck out of it, until I felt I could comfortably include the material in my story. The same is true for my other books. I don’t know anything about jungles, the Second World War, or the Panama Canal, but I had fun writing about those things because the subject matter held my interest throughout the process. If I only wrote about things I know, I would either quickly get bored, or I would never get anything written, because I know very little.
And second, in order to get a story published, you have to finish the story. I know that sounds obvious, but a lot of great stories are never published, simply because the writers never finished them. So don’t give up when your story is half done. Take your time, write a page a day, and keep plugging away. Even if you’re not completely satisfied with the first draft—no writer is, trust me—you’ll at least have something to edit. And after you revise that first draft, you’ll suddenly have a second draft—one that’ll make you eager to polish it a third time.
QHow exactly do you go about writing a book? What’s your process?
AI usually let the spark of an idea (the premise) smoulder in my mind for a long time before I ever sit down to type a word. I won’t even outline the plot, for fear that seeing those ideas on paper might somehow discourage me from further fleshing out the tale. Then, after I have a thorough understanding of the story in my head (strong beginning, exciting climax, satisfying conclusion), I’ll start writing.
When I’m writing the first draft, I like to get the whole story finished before I start editing and rewriting. I don’t stress about grammar, typos, or sentence structure, because I worry that if I spend too much time making every page perfect, I might get bogged down and discouraged from finishing the manuscript. After my rough first draft (usually very rough) is complete, I’ll settle down and go over the work again and again—revising, editing, and fine-tuning.
QWhat is your role as a writer once a book is finished?
AThat’s when the hard work really begins. For a book to be successful—especially in Canada—a writer has to be an active participant in marketing and promoting their work. I often visit schools and do readings and presentations. I maintain my website and Facebook pages. And I email as many bookstores and libraries as I can, trying to spread the word when a new title is available.
QIn this book, we see the typical sites of a small town: golf course, pathways, restaurants, back yards, community halls. Do you make the story fit a specific community, or do you create sites that fit the story?
AThe town of Sultana is fictional, but it is typical of many small towns in eastern Manitoba. I suppose I could have used any one of those real communities for the setting, but I’m always nervous about messing up the details and offending someone from an actual town. “Hey, dummy, Pine Street isn’t next to Birch Street.” That kind of thing. But by inventing my own community—Sultana in this case—I can put the river exactly where I need it, I can place the streets where I want them, and I can locate businesses where they make the most sense.
QWhat kind of resources did you use to research and write this book?
AMy office is next to the Lac du Bonnet Regional Library, so that’s always a great place to hang out and look things up in books. But I’m also a big fan of computer search engines. It’s incredibly convenient to open Google, enter a question—HOW MUCH DOES A GOLF BALL WEIGH?—and instantly get an answer (forty-six grams, in case you’re curious).
QDo you have any stories about the challenges you faced in writing this book?
AThe biggest challenge I faced in writing In Too Deep was deciding if Cody and Eric should use snorkelling gear or scuba diving equipment when they went into the lake looking for golf balls. In my first draft, I had the boys using scuba equipment, but the more I thought about it, the less realistic and plausible that seemed. I mean, it’s not unheard of for teens to scuba dive, but I felt I wasn’t playing fair with readers, suddenly having the boys qualified to use regulators and air tanks. Anyway, I rewrote the scenes at Smoke Lake, replacing scuba diving with snorkelling.
QHow do you grow and develop the characters of the three friends in each book?
AIn History in the Faking (the first book of the Shenanigans series), I wanted to quickly demonstrate that Cody, Eric, and Rachel had unique personalities. But one of the great things about a series is that I could also take my time (in subsequent books) and really explore a character’s development. For example, when we first met Cody he was a nervous kid, worrying about the silliest things (gravity disappearing, the sun burning out, etc.). He’s still appropriately cautious in this story, but he’s no longer anxious about every challenge he and his friends face. Rachel has also grown as a character. She’s still consistently intelligent, but she’s also gotten bolder and braver with each book. But then there’s Eric. Readers often tell me that he’s a favourite character, so I have fun keeping Eric lazy, silly, hungry, and a real smarty pants.
QWill there be a sixth book in the Shenanigans series?
AI still have plenty of ideas for mischief for Cody and his friends, so I’ll keep documenting their shenanigans as long as readers continue to enjoy the books.
THE SHENANIGANS SERIES
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978-1-77203-067-9, $9.95
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Available where all fine books are sold.
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ABOUT
the
AUTHOR
ANDREAS OERTEL was born in Germany and has lived most of his life in eastern Manitoba. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Shenanigans series, which has been nominated for several awards, including the Silver Birch Award, the Manitoba Young Readers Choice Award, and the New York State Reading Association Charlotte Award. He has a lifelong passion for archaeology, history, and writing for young people. Learn more at andreasoertel.com.
Copyright © 2018 Andreas Oertel
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, audio recording, or otherwise—without the written permission of the publisher or a licence from Access Copyright, Toronto, Canada.
Wandering Fox Books
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CATALOGUING INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA
978-1-77203-239-0 (pbk)
978-1-77203-240-6 (epub)
Edited by Hayley Evans
Proofread by Kari Magnuson
Cover photographs: Thomas Eder/shutterstock.com (statue)
Jorgen McLeman/shutterstock.com (two boys)
Nowik Sylwia/shutterstock.com (girl)
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
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