Getting Published - part 1

So, I promised I'd do some blog posts about how I got published. Well, ok, but this could take a while.

I've always wanted to write a novel. I think everyone does. Its one of those things that, if we just had the time, if we could just focus, we could get that brilliant idea down and get it done. That's how it was for me.

I'd tried a few times before, only ever getting as far as 30 pages before self-doubt caught up with me. I couldn't write a novel and it was silly of me to think I could. I had a grade B 'O' Level in English, and a CSE grade 1 in English Literature. I'd never been to University, I didn't know any authors and there was no way I could ever hope to be one.

But the dream persisted.

For years I did nothing about it, but gradually I started to write more and more. At first it was TV and radio scripts: the length was less daunting, only 30 pages for a half hour script. I could manage that, just about. Doing a few of those gave me confidence, and I hammered out a couple of 60 minute scripts for TV pilots that no one has yet to pick up. But the lack of success didn't seem to matter, I was enjoying learning, trying to get better.

But I still thought I'd never manage to focus on writing a book. I decided I needed help, and I turned to Stephen King. At this stage I'd never even read one of his books, (I know!). When I grew up I was into comics and heavy sci-fi. Horror didn't really appear on my radar. But for whatever reason I picked up a copy of his book, 'On Writing'. I took it on holiday with me to Scotland and devoured its contents.

Suddenly I saw what I was doing wrong, I understood why every attempt to write a book had stalled and died. It came down to one fundamental secret that King understood: fear and self-doubt dog us all, writers even more so. Once you've started a book you cannot look back for a moment or the Devil of Doubt will catch up with you and whisper thoughts of despair into your ears.

King taught me this: write every day, read every day. Like the best scientific formula its elegantly simple.

I came back from the Highlands fired up, determined to try again. I committed to writing every day, and reading every day, and I swore I would not look over my shoulder at my work-in-progress. I would keep ahead of the devil.

The next day I began to write up an idea I'd started about 6 months before. As usual I'd done a few brief chapters and lost my way. I took this germ of the idea and started again.

To be continued...

Announcing Sorrowline

Finally, after a busy, brief few months that have felt like an eternity I can finally shout about my brilliant two book deal with Andersen Press. Here is the press release:

Andersen Press Have Bought Rights In Two Children's Novels, Sorrowline And Timesmith, By Debut Writer Niel Bushnell

Andersen Press have bought rights in two children's novels, SORROWLINE and TIMESMITH, by debut writer Niel Bushnell. Both are about Jack Morrow, a boy who discovers that he can time travel through the 'sorrowlines' - lines that connect every grave to the day of that person's death.Editorial director Charlie Sheppard bought UK & Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Juliet Mushens at Peters Fraser & Dunlop.
Charlie Sheppard said, 'I'm thrilled to be publishing these books. I haven't read anything so original in quite some time and Niel is a great addition to the growing Andersen Fiction list.'
Juliet Mushens said, 'The books are incredibly atmospheric and exciting - Niel Bushnell is a brilliant new writer and SORROWLINE is just the start of a great career.'
German language rights have already sold to Heyne in a two-book pre-empt.
Andersen Press plan to publish SORROWLINE in 2013.

And here is a little bit of blurb:

The past is not a frozen place. Graveyards are not dead ends. And if the Sorrowline lets you in there is a hidden world of adventure waiting behind every gravestone.  

Just when 12-year-old Jack Morrow’s life is falling apart he discovers his natural ability to travel through Sorrowlines: channels that connect every gravestone with the date of the person’s death.  Confused and alone Jack finds himself in 1940. He embarks on an adventure through London during the Blitz with Davy, his teenage grandfather, to find a mystical Rose that might just save his mother’s life, a mother who he has already seen die. But the terrible power of the Rose of Annwn, is sought by many, and the forces of a secret world are determined to find it first. With a league of Undead Knights of his trail, commanded by the immortal Rouland, can Jack decipher the dark secret hidden at the heart of his family? Can he change his own destiny and save his mother?  

Prophecy and history collide in this epic new children’s fantasy adventure series.

Its great to finally see this out there. Sorrowline is no longer something that exists just inside my shinny head. Soon it will be on someones bookshelf, (at least that's the hope. I have visions of an Alan Partridge style visit to the pulpers.)

I'll be back shortly with more updates - and a bit more on the process that got me from the slush pile to publication.

Life on the Farm

A long time ago I created a comic strip with Gordon Fraser about talking animals and the Farm that time forgot.

Gordon and I had met at school and soon became firm friends. During College we went everywhere together and when the real world beckoned we stepped into it together. We both harboured dreams of a life as comic artists and we collaborated on several projects. The one that has endured over the intervening years is a comic strip, originally called The Funny Farm, now known as Farmageddon.


Farmageddon ran for two years in our home town newspaper, appearing six times a week. When a new Editor came on board and didn't find the strip to his taste Farmageddon came to an abrupt end. But, over the years, we've never been able to completely stay away from the old Farm. I've dabbled in animated versions of the characters and now the original strips are getting a regular dusting down and a digital reprint courtesy of the Birmingham Mail's website.

It’s great to see the old strips again, after so long. I've redone the lettering and, with the help of Editor Paul Birch, corrected the spelling and grammar mistakes, (there were many).

Paul is overseeing the strips weekly return, and the hope is that once it has completed its run we'll collect the cleaned up strips into book form. But that’s something for another day - there are still a lot of strips waiting to be seen.

You can follow the weekly exploits of Tom, Rufus, Bernie, Dalton and Cool Bob on the Birmingham Mail's website here: http://blogs.birminghammail.net/speechballoon/

And Farmageddon has its own website and blog here: http://www.farmageddon.tv/

How the Multiplex is killing Cinema

I love the cinema. Don't we all?

I remember the excitement of going there as a child, sitting in the darkness, watching the swirling cigarette smoke create shafts of dancing light in the projector beam, the red dots of fire as a match was lit, the boiled sweets being thrown from the balcony, the torn and broken seats, the snogging couple, the usherette, the interval!

Oh yeah, and the film.

Going to the cinema was always an event. Something to look forward to. Something special. In some ways the film itself was irrelevant, it was more about the anticipation, the wonder at seeing something new. But of course I saw some amazing films there. Star Wars came to town when I was seven and expanded my tiny world like a celluloid fueled big bang.

I remember queuing to see Grease, buying a program for Moonraker, (still my favourite Bond film because of the heady nostalgia it provokes), and taking my friends to see Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack on my birthday.

Then the 1980's came along and the last cinema in my home town closed its doors forever. I grew up with two cinemas to choose from, the Odeon or the Fairworld. I am reliably told that thirty years earlier the town sustained over a dozen cinemas. Hard to imagine.

When the cinema closed I missed out on a whole slew of 80's classics, only discovering them years later on VHS. Raiders of the Lost Arc, Back to the Future, ET, all missed.

So when, in the late 1990's a multiplex opened its shinny plastic doors right on my doorstep it was a day of giddy rejoicing.

But its not what we were promised, is it? We have less choice than ever, and I'm tired of recounting my too-numerous anecdotes about incorrect aspect ratios, missing sound, or spools in the wrong order. I've bored myself with how many times I've had to walk back to the popcorn drenched foyer and tell someone to fix their film!

So this summer I gave up and started driving miles away to go to a slightly less bad cinema chain. They at least project their film in the correct ratio, and the pictures have sound. My pre-film anxiety is beginning to wane.

But I worry for the future. If the cinema experience stops being that  - an experience - and becomes an endurance instead then cinema will die. We'll be stuck at home with our huge plasma screens and surround sound speakers wishing someone would light up a cigarette and throw boiled sweets on our heads.

The Children's Media Conference 2011

A busy week meant that I could only make one day of this year's Children's Media Conference in sunny Sheffield, (what is it about that place? Its been glorious every time I've been there!)

With only one day to take it all in, and meet up with some people, I knew it was going to be a whirlwind. And so it was. I arrived just after 9, registered, realised I was too hot, decided there was nothing I could do to fix that (unless I wanted to get arrested) and set off for the first session.

This was a lighthearted look at some interesting market research, neatly wrapped up in a 'Family Fortunes' style gameshow, hosted by CBBC's Ed Petrie. I'll admit I was not familiar with Ed before, but he turned out to be a more than capable host, and a very funny ad-libber.

Next up was a masterclass by Jamie Rix, someone who has a really interesting and varied pedigree. He was a comedy producer for radio and TV, including Radio Active, Smith and Jones and Not Going Out. He also writes children’s books, and set up his own production company (initially Elephant Productions and now Little Brother Productions) so that he could produce adaptations of his own books for television. His successes include Grizzly Tales and The Revenge Files of Alistair Fury. Jamie proved to be an engaging speaker, honest and entertaining.

Lunch was an uninspiring sandwich (with very grey looking salmon) in a building that was the love-child of a greenhouse and a school gym. If it was hot outside it was nothing compared to the heat inside. I was supposed to be meeting someone there, but spent ten minutes looking for him only to discover he'd had to go into another session. Another few meetings and a chocolate cookie later it was time for the next session: a chance to meet the decision makers from the cultural sector and find out what sort of thing they buy in, and what they are looking for.

After a few more hasty meetings it was time for 'Sell Out': Can television brands be effectively exported to the the live space? Are the resulting shows shallow, cynical, money making exercises or might the worlds of commercial and artistic theatre ever collaborate? Sound a bit dull? Not a bit of it. This was perhaps the most engaging and stimulating session of the day, with the panel of speakers, ably guided by Will Brenton, telling it like it is.

The day ended with the obligatory gathering in the bar, where a gaggle of friends, old and new, raised glasses to the day. The mood was full of optimism, something that has been in short supply in the animation business in the last few years. The numbers were up considerably this year, and it was encouraging to see some meaty delegations from overseas, broadening what can sometimes be a bit of a British-centric event into something far more global.

I was sorry to leave, and really wished I was there for three days instead of one. Next year, next year!

A stab at Ricky

Something else from the sketchbook - my attempt at Ricky Gervais, drawn last September while watching him being interviewed.

Forgotten sketch

Just discovered this sketch I did for a project in 2009. It never happened in the end, so I thought I'd share it here.

Draft 6 finished!

So is the draft 5 or 6? Or maybe 4 or 7? I've lost track, whatever number it is its been quite the overhaul. The first 80 pages have been beaten mercilessly into shape, and the rest has had some weighty re-tuning. The word count has dropped from 71k to just under 62k, but I don't think I've lost anything essential. I hope it all still hangs together.

This is the Readability Stats from Word. It puts the readership level at grade 4, which is 8-10 year olds. This is pretty much spot on for where I wanted to be. I think its a book for 9 and over, with plenty of overspill into the teen and YA market.

Half a Matt

Doctor Who returned on Saturday night - and a belter it was too! Here is a half-hearted sketch of Matt Smith I did before I got completely distracted.

Northern Writers Awards - application posted

I've sent in an application to the Northern Writers' Awards 2011. I've put Sorrowline in for the Northern Promise Awards.

NORTHERN PROMISE AWARDS
These awards aim to provide support for new writers whose work shows particular promise. Writers awarded support under this category may also be offered mentoring to develop their work, detailed manuscript appraisal and feedback alongside a financial award.

Birmingham Talk

I had a really good night in Birmingham last
Tuesday giving a talk on the my experiences setting up an animation studio in the North East.

The event, held in The Studio, Birmingham, was organised by the lovely people from Animation Forum West Midlands and BSeen.

It was free to attend, and open to animators and designers of all levels. I was thrilled to see over 70 people turn up. There was a vigorous Q & A at the end that lasted about 45 minutes, followed by the same again when people came to speak to me individually at the end.

Batman!

A quick sketch of a rather robust Batman. I enjoyed the old 60's Batman, which was repeated eternally when I was growing up. It didn't take itself seriously, and neither does this sketch.

Animex Festival

Last week I had a great time - as ever - at the Animex Festival. From humble beginnings 11 years ago the event has grown to cover two locations in the North East of England, (Middlesbrough and Newcastle), and includes talks on film, TV, game animation, workshops, screenings and parties.

Its a chance to catch up with some old friends, and make a few new ones too. This year I gave a talk at the Animex Pro event on the subject of setting up a studio in the North. It was a chance to pull out some really old cine films from when I was a naive boy who believed he could be the first man on Mars.

The event was well organised, and well attended with delegates from across the UK.

Next week sees me in Birmingham for another talk - http://www.animationforumwm.co.uk/news-display.aspx?id=212

The event is free to attend, and open to animators and designers of all levels, or indeed anyone interested in establishing a studio-based business, and includes free drinks.

There'll be opportunity to ask questions at the end of the talk, plus the chance to chat with fellow animators in the fantastic surroundings of the The Studio's city centre bar and restaurant. Directions to the venue can be found here.

The event, assembled by AFWM and BSeen – an entrepreneurship programme for Birmingham-based final year students and graduates – is the second of two joint events in early 2011 looking to help young animators on their way into their career.

Hope to see you there.