Tag: Writing inspiration

article, Blog, Blog series, on writing, Writing craft

Guest Blog Post: Author of YA Dystopian novel ‘The Undying Tower’ Melissa Welliver shares her thoughts on Writing Alternate Histories

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by Melissa Welliver

We are so pleased to share another wonderful article on writing, this time from Melissa Welliver whose books are already firm favourites with the PaperBound team. Here, join Melissa as she explores writing alternate histories when it comes to creating her own fiction.

What does studying the past tell us about the future?

A lot of people don’t know this but I did a joint-honours degree, and my final year was weighted one quarter towards English Literature, and the other three quarters towards History. That meant I ended up doing my dissertation on the Tudor period, which led me to the works of my favourite Tudor: Sir Thomas More. If you don’t know Thomas More and you love dystopia, well, listen up, because he invented it. Or at least, he coined the entire usage of Utopia in the first place, letting future writers subvert it for their own nefarious needs (read: writing a really cool story).

Thomas More’s Utopia – a falsified account of his journey to a seemingly perfect country named, you guessed it, Utopia – was arguably about an imagined, perhaps hoped for, future about how Tudor England and the world could run if we looked to a fairer, brighter future. The clue is in the title, but the people of Utopia were happy, balanced, had no need for money, and well cared for. So is it any wonder that when we as writers look into these topics, we end up imagining the worst possible scenario instead, to really show a mirror to the world we live in and discover what we truly see as Utopia?

So what does all this have to do with alternate histories? Well, just as Thomas More wrote about an alternate past, we do much the same when worldbuilding our dystopian futures. Most dystopias take route in a big change, something familiar to our own world but knocked off its axis with a cataclysmic event. This can be a change in our own pasts, such as in The Man in the High Castle, which imagines a world in which the Nazis won. The Fallout TV series and games are set in an alternate future where the timeline changes drastically after World War Two, to include vacuum tube electronics as opposed to circuit boards. Despite the diverges in these timelines happening in the past, Dystopias often seek to reflect what many decades of human endeavour past these points looks like in the future – and more importantly to the reader, whether we can stop them coming into being.

In The Undying Tower, I was most interested in exploring overpopulation and its effect on climate change. Because I knew how important these themes were up front, I was able to find SFF ways to incorporate them into the book during the early planning process. My lovely friend Caroline passed away from cancer (Glioblastoma Multiforme) during the writing process, and that made me really quite angry. All I could think about was what it would be like to live in a world where people don’t get sick, cancer was gone, and people lived forever. Caroline was a big believer in the planet we lived on, and I know she too was worried about the effects of overpopulation on climate change. And thus, the central idea of the book was formed. A small sect of society, known as the Undying, that could survive illness and never die from old age – and therefore inadvertently create an even bigger population boom.

… I even went on a trip to Chernobyl to fully understand the effects of nuclear power, especially on the environment when things go wrong (TLDR; the environment will eventually grow back, but the human outlook? Not great).

I knew I wanted to explore the accelerated effects of climate change after such a catalyst as the discovery of the Undying, so I knew I had to craft an alternate timeline where my book could take place. So despite being set in the future, I wanted it to take place decades into an overpopulation crisis, and see how that affected the world we live in now, to create my future one. I looked up flood maps for melted ice caps and food storage facilities in the UK. I even went on a trip to Chernobyl to fully understand the effects of nuclear power, especially on the environment when things go wrong (TLDR; the environment will eventually grow back, but the human outlook? Not great).

In essence, I truly believe that everything we learn about our history can help shape our futures. And writing alternate history can help writers explore broader themes in an evolved future, plus help readers to see the similarities in the world we live in. Writing alternate histories isn’t just for fiction – I hope it will help in reality, too.

Melissa Welliver

Melissa Welliver is a shortlisted author specialising in YA fiction. In the genre, she has produced two dystopian rom-coms, My Love Life and the Apocalypse and Soulmates and Other Ways toDie.

The Undying Tower is her first book in a trilogy.Melissa writes speculative fiction about how the end of the world is never really the end of the world. After studying Creative Writing at the University of Manchester, she went on to complete Curtis Brown’s Creative Writing for Children course. Her work has listed in Bath Novel Award, Mslexia, the Hachette Children’s Novel Award and the Wells Book for Children Competition.

The Undying Tower is published by UCLan and out now.

PaperBound Magazine is an online magazine for the young, and the young at heart. We are dedicated to showcasing authors and illustrators for children’s and young adult fiction and we strive to deliver inspiring content, uplifting stories, and top tips for young and aspiring writers yet to burst on to the literary scene.

All our issues are completely free and run by volunteers, however if you would like to support PaperBound and the work we do, you can help us out by buying us a virtual book. We appreciate any support you can give us!

Don’t forget you can read with the latest issues of PaperBound Magazine – completely free – here.

Blog, Blog series, Competition, on writing, Writing craft

Guest Blog Post: Branford Boase Award Judge, Christine Pillainayagam, on the 2024 shortlist

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by Christine Pillainayagam

We are excited to bring you another fascinating article on writing, this time from the unique perspective of Branford Boase Award judge Christine Pillainayagam, who shares her thoughts on the judging process, and her thoughts on why writing for children is so important.

Brandford Boase Award 2024

Founded in 2000, the Branford Boase Award was set up in memory of award-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase of Walker Books, who both died in 1999, and is unique in honouring author as well as editor.

When I wrote my debut novel Ellie Pillai Is Brown, I wrote it for me. Or more accurately, for 15 year old me. A girl who’d never seen herself – a brown, second generation, Catholic, Tamil immigrant – reflected in the world around her. Not in books or magazines or films or music. The places she looked to for comfort and guidance, never showed her a version of who she could be. Growing up, that feeling of invisibility, of not belonging, sticks. Like glue on the inside of a book spine, it forms a fundamental part of your structure.

Decades later, I sat down at my computer and a book began to pour out of me. I remember vividly the feeling of typing the first words onto a blank page – My name is Ellie. Ellie Pillai – and so my hero was born. Both me, and so much more than me, Ellie is a 15 year old brown girl caught between two cultures – a traditional Tamil upbringing with her family at home, and the life of a classic British teenager at school.

This story, loosely based on some of my own experiences as a music obsessed teenager growing up in a predominantly white area, is what the book industry describes as ‘own voice’ – meaning exactly that. A book written by an author with intimate knowledge and understanding of the material, because it is lived first hand.

As a debut author, taking an ‘own voice’ story into the world can be frightening. It can feel as if not simply your writing is being judged, but yourself and the validity and relevance of your experiences. I was told time and time again, by agents and publishers alike, that my story wasn’t really a story. That there wasn’t a ‘hook’ or a sense of jeopardy, yet to me, I felt the transformation of this shy 15 year old from someone determined to be invisible out of fear of racism, to someone with the courage to stand up and stand out, was a story needed by so many children today. Luckily, my brilliant agent and publisher agreed – and so did the judges of the Branford Boase Award who made me the winner of the prize in 2023.

Winning the BBA has had a profound impact on how I now view children’s stories and their importance in the world. The foundation they build in young people’s lives. The glue we create in their book spines. This year as a judge for the prize, I was delighted to see more ‘own voice’ stories being promoted by publishers. Books that speak to the reality of children’s lives and represent every version of who they are and who they could be.

With a longlist of 25 incredible books, my fellow judges and I had some spirited discussions about who would make the shortlist, but in the end, the word that comes to mind for all 6 shortlisted novels is ‘powerful’. Each one, through a mix of humour, joy, love, pain, fear, compassion, representation, felt powerful. Stories that stick with you long after you turn the final page.

… that feeling of invisibility, of not belonging, sticks. Like glue on the inside of a book spine, it forms a fundamental part of your structure.

Like the amazing You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud, which gripped the judges with its use of pace and tension as a terrible incident unfolds, and deals sensitively and beautifully with themes of racism, Islamophobia and microaggressions. Or the hilarious The Swifts by Beth Lincoln, a classic whodunnit full of twists and turns that has such a distinctive voice and is so cleverly layered with themes of identity and family that it becomes a celebration of individuality. The Jhalak Prize winning Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan, a compassionate story full of heart, which taught us something we didn’t know, then made us want to learn more about it. The brilliant The First Move by Jenny Ireland, a YA love story with depth, that speaks openly and authentically about disability and covers themes from LGBTQIA+, to mental health and housing security. The outstanding The Final Move by Matt Goodfellow, a verse novel that draws you into a world so often unrepresented in children’s books – a hopeful, playful masterpiece.

And of course, our wonderful 2024 Branford Boase Award winner Steady For This by Nathanael Lessore, a book of joy, emotion, light and shade. A story that confronts heavy subject matter in a life affirming and generous way. We wanted to push this brilliantly funny book into the hands of as many children as we could.

Each of these powerful novels represents the future of children’s books. One that is filled with hope and safety, whoever you are.

The complete list of titles on the 2024 shortlist are:

The Final Year Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton, edited by Charlotte Hacking (Otter-Barry Books)

The First Move by Jenny Ireland, edited by Ruth Knowles with Sara Jafari (Penguin)

Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan, edited by Eloise Wilson (Andersen Press)

Steady for This by Nathanael Lessore, edited by Ella Whiddett and Ruth Bennett (Hot Key Books)

The Swifts by Beth Lincoln, illustrated by Claire Powell, edited by Ben Horslen and Julie Strauss-Gabel (Puffin)

You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud, edited by Sarah Stewart (Usborne)

The Branford Boase Award is delivered in partnership with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and supported by Walker Books. For more information about the award, including a full list of past winners, visit the Branford Boase Award website.

Brandford Boase Award 2024

Christine Pillainayagam

Christine Pillainayagam was born in Norwich, grew up in Sheringham and attended school in Holt and Norwich. She now lives in Faversham in Kent.  She is a writer and retail strategist. A mild obsession with The Beatles and the desire to write a story that reflected her own experiences growing up as a first-generation immigrant led her to put that love of music and words into a book. Ellie Pillai is Brown features songs written by the protagonist, Ellie, and they are available to listen to via QR codes in the book. Ellie Pillai is Brown was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Award and the Jhalak Children’s and YA Prize and won the 2023 Branford Boase Award.

Ellie Pillai is Brown, Ellie Pillai is (almost) in Love and Ellie Pillai is Not Done Yet are out now.

PaperBound Magazine is an online magazine for the young, and the young at heart. We are dedicated to showcasing authors and illustrators for children’s and young adult fiction and we strive to deliver inspiring content, uplifting stories, and top tips for young and aspiring writers yet to burst on to the literary scene.

All our issues are completely free and run by volunteers, however if you would like to support PaperBound and the work we do, you can help us out by buying us a virtual book. We appreciate any support you can give us!

Don’t forget you can read with the latest issues of PaperBound Magazine – completely free – here.

Blog, Blog series, Writing craft

Guest Blog Post: Emily-Jane Clark on Writing Comedy, author of The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom series

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by Emily-Jane Clark

We are excited to bring you another fascinating article on writing, this time from author Emily-Jane Clark, who shares her thoughts and tips on writing comedy in fiction, and her process on writing for children.

“Can you write a joke about this building that looks like Donald Trump?” This was just one of random things I worked on when I was a TV comedy writer!

Before I was a children’s author, I wrote for television shows such as The Mash Report, Mock the Week and The Jonathan Ross Show, where I learnt a lot about joke-writing and how to use comedy to engage an audience, both of which were really useful when I started working on my funny series for children – The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom!

Writing jokes about feminism, politics, pop culture and parenting, may be very different to the humour in my The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom books but actually the process I use to come up with funny ideas is the same!

One of my favourite ways to come up with a comical situation is by using my ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if?’ technique. I will take an ordinary everyday occurrence or current issue and think of a way to make it silly, fun, or sometimes absurd! For instance, what if … toilets came alive and were really cross that people were weeing on them! Or, what if the King accidentally did a massive burp during his Christmas Day speech or even, as I put in my first book, wouldn’t it be funny if sheep turned into mean gangster vampires?

Writing jokes about feminism, politics, pop culture and parenting, may be very different to the humour in my The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom books but actually the process I use to come up with funny ideas is the same!

While it was a lot of fun creating comedy for grown ups, I find you can be even more bonkers when writing for children, which is one of the reasons I wanted to write a kid’s novel. That, and the fact I love a good bum joke, which tend to go down much better with under elevens…

Another form of humour I love to write is observational comedy – I did a lot of this for The Mash Report and the Daily Mash, so I really wanted to incorporate it into my books! As a mum of two young daughters, I realised that some of our discussions (OK, arguments!) are pretty funny. Children often try to find a loophole in their parents’ rules, think very literally or just be plain cheeky, and this can be hilarious. Therefore, I tried to include this in the relationship between my Knobbly Bottom mum character, Lucy, and her two daughters, Maggie, and Lily. It was important to me that their interactions were realistic and relatable and make parents laugh along with their children.

I love writing comedy for adults, but as a mother on a permanent quest to make her children laugh, and a massive kid at heart, creating Knobbly Bottom and all its weird and wonderful characters really has been a dream come true.

Emily-Jane Clark

Emily-Jane Clark is a TV comedy writer, author and part-time drama teacher whose passion for stories and making children laugh inspired her to turn her hand to funny children’s fiction. She has written two books for children aged 8 – 11  THE BEASTS OF KNOBBLY BOTTOM: ATTACK OF THE VAMPIRE SHEEP and THE BEASTS OF KNOBBLY BOTTOM: RISE OF THE ZOMBIE PIGS (out on the 4th January).

The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom: Rise of the Zombie Pigs by Emily-Jane Clark will be published in January by Scholastic.

PaperBound Magazine is an online magazine for the young, and the young at heart. We are dedicated to showcasing authors and illustrators for children’s and young adult fiction and we strive to deliver inspiring content, uplifting stories, and top tips for young and aspiring writers yet to burst on to the literary scene.

All our issues are completely free and run by volunteers, however if you would like to support PaperBound and the work we do, you can help us out by buying us a virtual book. We appreciate any support you can give us!

Don’t forget you can read with the latest issues of PaperBound Magazine – completely free – here.

Blog, Blog series, Interview, Interviews, Writing craft

Interview: Rebecca Barrow on YA Thriller ‘And Don’t Look Back’

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We love sharing author interviews with our readers and today we’re excited to chat to Rebecca Barrow on the PaperBound blog – all about her brand new YA thriller, And Don’t Look Back. Read on to discover more about the book, Rebecca’s writing routine, and why she loves writing YA fiction.

Your book, And Don’t Look Back, has just been released and it’s already received glowing reviews. Can you tell us a little more about it?

Thanks for having me! And Don’t Look Back is a twisty thriller that centres on Harlow, a girl who has spent her entire life on the run. When her mother is killed in a car accident, Harlow is left to unravel the secrets of her life and her family all alone.. 

The main character of this book, Harlow, is a strong teen who must make a number of difficult decisions after the loss of her mother. What inspired you to write Harlow’s story?

I really love writing about mothers and daughters, and I thought it would be interesting to explore generational trauma—how a girl like Harlow is shaped by her mother’s experiences, and how she deals with that while at the same time struggling to figure out who she is in the same way all teenagers do. I really enjoy writing older YA because that time in life is so interesting—you’re on the precipice on adulthood but still a kid, at the same time. And like Harlow, a lot of teenagers are dealing with really heavy things like the loss of a parent or mental health struggles or a million other things, and I think it’s important to acknowledge those things.

This book is full of twists and shrouded in secrets. Did you find any aspects of it difficult to plot, or did it come easily once you started planning and/or writing? 

It took a while to come together but once the planning was done, the writing came quite easily. I usually don’t like to plan too much because I like discovering things through the writing, but often writing a mystery means you need to plan, so it’s about finding the right balance for me. Some of the plot aspects had been in my head for years just waiting for the right story so it really was a mix of long term planning and figuring some things out as I went!

You have written a number of successful books for young adults. Do you ever worry about running out of ideas for new stories? 

Yes, I actually really do! I don’t think I will ever run out of ideas, but I do find they sometimes take a while to come to me. I’m definitely not one of those authors who have so many ideas that the main struggle is choosing which one to work on, but I think needing to let things develop in the back of my mind can also be really beneficial. I don’t see myself ever not writing. 

… I really love writing about mothers and daughters, and I thought it would be interesting to explore generational trauma.

Do you have a writing routine and, if so, can you share it with us? 

I write in twenty-minute blocks and use a program called Freedom to block the internet while I write, otherwise I would never get anything done. I usually have a word count goal so I just keep writing in those twenty minute slices with breaks in between until I have the words! I like to use different playlists for different books, to help me get in the right headspace, and that’s about it! 

Did you always want to be a writer? If not, what else did you want to be? 

I have mostly always wanted to be a writer but I did entertain the idea of several other careers—nurse, fashion designer, and choreographer were the big three! But it was mostly always writer for me.

Can you tell us about anything else you are working on right now, or if any new books are on the way?

Right now I’m working on my next book, hopefully due out in the US in 2025, which involves three girls in a complicated triangle, a boarding school, and a cutthroat competition. 

Rebecca Barrow

Rebecca Barrow is the critically acclaimed author of And Don’t Look Back, Bad Things Happen Here, and several others.
She is a lover of sunshine, Old Hollywood icons, and all things high femme. She lives and writes in England.

And Don’t Look Back is out now from McElderry Books

Simon and Schuster in the US

Hot Key Books/Bonnier in the UK.

PaperBound Magazine is an online magazine for the young, and the young at heart. We are dedicated to showcasing authors and illustrators for children’s and young adult fiction and we strive to deliver inspiring content, uplifting stories, and top tips for young and aspiring writers yet to burst on to the literary scene.

All our issues are completely free and run by volunteers, however if you would like to support PaperBound and the work we do, you can help us out by buying us a virtual book. We appreciate any support you can give us!

Don’t forget you can read with the latest issues of PaperBound Magazine – completely free – here.