LETTERS TO LEONARDO – BLOG TOUR – Tips on how to Turn Fact into Fiction

A lot of what I write is based on something that actually happened. My YA verse novel Street Racer was written after I read an article in the paper about someone involved in a street racing accident. A book I wrote for younger readers, Elephant Trouble, is based on a story in the newspaper about a man who came home from work to find an elephant stuck in his driveway.

 My new YA novel Letters to Leonardo – just released on the 1^st July, is based on a story that was told to me by a friend and one of the book’s characters is a person that I actually know.

SO, WHY CHANGE FACT INTO FICTION?

If you’re writing a biography or an autobiography there is no need to turn fact into fiction – in this instance, it’s best to stick to the facts.

But if you’re writing a novel and making things up about your characters, you need to change the facts because:

• What you make up could offend or hurt someone if you name a real person.
• Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction and people wont’ believe it. In high school I had to write a love story so I wrote about how my parents first met. The teacher’s comment was that the story was well written but ‘not credible’. (Even though it was all true).

HOW TO CHANGE FACT INTO FICTION

The easiest ways to change fact into fiction are:

• Change names of characters and places
• Add or remove people from the event
• Change the setting
• Change the time/era in which the story took place
• Combine real events from different sources
• Change the details of the actual event – eg a cat stuck up a tree could become a dog stuck in a drain pipe.

In Letters to Leonardo, some real facts stayed in the story and some were changed. When you read the book, see if you can pick which ones.

Matt and I are sad to say that our blog tour finishes tomorrow. The exciting part is that the last stop is in the USA where we’ll be visiting Jennifer Brown, author of The Hate List which is being released in America in September. Catch us at Jen’s blog  www.JenniferBrownYA.com

Hope to see you there.

And just in case you’ve missed any other parts of the tour, here’s where we’ve been already.

Feel free go back and visit these great sites and find out more about Letters to Leonardo and the writing process.

24^th June 2009             http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com        

Dee and Matt talk about promoting Letters to Leonardo online.

 

25^th June 2009             http://spinningpearls.blogspot.com     

Author interview

 

26^th June 2009             http://thebookchook.blogspot.com    

How art has been used in Letters to Leonardo

 

27^th June 2009             http://belka37.blogspot.com

The research process involved in writing Letters to Leonardo           

 

28^th June 2009             http://weloveya.wordpress.com

Guest blogger – talking with Vanessa Barneveld – interactive discussion with bloggers

 

29^th June 2009             http://www.livejournal.com/users/orangedale            

An author interview covering things like inspiration and perspective

 

30^th June                      http://www.letshavewords.blogspot.com

Mentors in YA fiction, and Leonardo da Vinci’s involvement in the book

 

1^st July                         Cyber launch http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com including cross to Robyn Opie’s blog http://robynopie.blogspot.com – hurdles overcome on the way to publication.

 

2^nd July                        http://persnicketysnark.blogspot.com

How the author’s life paralleled Matt’s – her growing obsession with Leonardo da Vinci

 

3^rd July                         http://bjcullen.blogspot.com

Working with a publisher and the editing process

 

4^th July                         http://sandyfussell.blogspot.com

Interview with the elusive Matt Hudson

 

5^th July                         http://teacherswritinghelper.wordpress.com

Class writing activities based on Letters to Leonardo

 

6^th July                         https://tips4youngwriters.wordpress.com

Tips 4 young writers on how Letters to Leonardo was written

 

7^th July                         http://www.JenniferBrownYA.com

An overseas stop before heading home

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LETTERS TO LEONARDO CYBER LAUNCH – STORY BEGINNINGS

HOW DO YOU GET YOUR READER’S ATTENTION – AND KEEP IT?

No matter what the length of your story, the beginning or opening is what hooks your reader and involves them in the characters and what is happening to them.

There are many things that a story beginning has to achieve:

• Attract reader attention
• Keep reader attention
• Establish time and place in which the action is happening
• Introduce the main character
• Give some clues as to what the stories is about. Letters to Leonardo opens with a letter from the main character, Matt, to Leonardo da Vinci. This is an indication to the reader that letters, art and Leonardo da Vinci are probably important to the story.
• Give reader an idea of what kind of story it is. For example, if you are writing a psychological thriller, a funny slapstick beginning will attract the wrong type of reader. The reader will soon realise this is NOT a funny story, and they will lose interest.

Early on in Letters to Leonardo, I wanted to establish the fact that Matt does not come from an ‘average’ family background. I thought this would help build up suspense and curiosity for the reader – the feeling that something unexpected might happen.

In his second letter to Leonardo da Vinci, Matt says, “I don’t do furry pets and family holidays – probably comes from growing up without a mum. Tomorrow’s my birthday. I guess I could tell you about that.”

As well as giving hints about Matt’s family background, this piece foreshadows to the reader that something unexpected could be about to happen.

The beginning must arouse the reader’s interest – give them something to keep reading. In Letters to Leonardo, it’s Matt’s first letter. But your beginning can be in any format. It can be scary, funny, shocking, bizarre, too ordinary – or whatever sort of beginning you choose – just as long as it hooks the reader and is in keeping with the rest of the story.

If you introduce your main character immediately and get straight into the action, you can’t go far wrong.

Hope this helps you get off to a great start with your next story.

Dee and Matt:-)

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FREE SNEAK PEEK AT “Letters to Leonardo”

Walker Books Australia has been fantastically supportive with our blog tour and Cyber Launch and as a special treat, they’ve allowed us to upload Chapter 1 of Letters to Leonardo, so that you can read it.

Here’s the Sneak Peek first chapter: 

 

 

 

 

Extract from Letters to Leonardo

by Dee White

Available in bookshops July, 2009

ISBN: 9781921150883

Publisher: Walker Books Australia

 

Copyright © Dee White, 2009

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Matt and I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1. If you’d like to keep reading, you can buy the book at any good bookstore or online at:

http://booktopia.com.au

http://boomerangbooks.com.au

http://collinsbooks.com.au

http://thebookabyss.com.au

Happy reading!

Dee and Matt:-)

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LETTERS TO LEONARDO BLOG TOUR STARTS TOMORROW

Tomorrow, Matt Hudson and I strap ourselves into our Cyber Plane and head out west to start our blog tour.

First stop tomorrow is http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com where we’ll be talking with Sally M about online book promotion.

For the next two weeks there will be all sorts of interviews and writing activities.

We’ll be visiting this blog on Cyber Launch day (1st July) to talk about how to start your story plus all sorts of really interesting stuff. Then we’ll be back at https://tips4youngwriters.wordpress.com on 6th July to give you some tips on turning fact into fiction.

Hope you’ll join the tour. See you in Cyber Space.

Dee and Matt:-)

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