Jan is Jan Fields, moderator of this interview/workshop, and Web Editor of the ICL Web Site. While red signals our guest speaker's responses. Green shows names or usernames of people and the questions they asked of our speaker.

Jan: Welcome Simon. Our second brilliant Canadian guest in a row, Simon is the author of The Heretic's Tomb, The Emerald Curse, The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox and The Clone Conspiracy. All continue to gather great reviews and The Sorcerer’s Letterbox was nominated for the Silver Birch, Diamond Willow and Golden Eagle Book Awards in 2005. Simon is also an alum of the Institute of Children's Literature! To learn more about Simon and his work, visit him online.

Jan: Thank you for chatting with us -- since one of my favorite things is sneak peaks -- can you give us a peak into what you're working on these days? And tell us any nifty news about your books. Any cool events coming up?

Simon: You're very welcome, Jan. Right now, I'm working on The Doomsday Mask, due out in the spring. The novel was finished in early August and is now at the rethink/revision/editing stage. Here's the synopsis.

Simon: The legendary crystal ceremonial mask of Kulkaan, high priest of Atlantis, was believed to have been endowed with incredible powers. In the ancient civilization’s destruction, the mask was thought to have been shattered and irretrievably lost, eventually being forgotten. Long considered to be a mere myth, the mask’s crystal fragments have now been found and the mask of Kulkaan reassembled, with deadly consequences for all mankind. In a desperate race against time, Josh and Erica must prevent the mask from falling intact into the hands of the shadowy Crystalline Order, in order to save the world from catastrophe.’

Simon: I have another completed novel on a paranormal theme also doing the rounds of publishers and am working on a picture book with a local illustrator. I had a very busy summer at children's camps here, plus a number of manuscript evaluation and critique projects and am currently doing some editing and some commercial copywriting for a website. I have quite a few events coming up, including around twenty book signing events at local stores here between now and Christmas. I am presenting at the Off the Shelf Festival of Writing and Reading in Sheffield in the UK next month, details at Off The Shelf and on my blog. And of course, marketing, as usual to schools everywhere to secure those author visits, workshops and residencies.

Jan: Can you tell us some things about your rethink/revision/edit process? I know as an instructor here at the Institute, I'm constantly trying to get students to slow down and spend some time with a story before zipping it out in the mail. Writing it is really the first step...can you tell us about some of YOUR steps after the initial writing is done?

Simon: I can't overemphasize enough the importance of editing and revision and stress this to students during school vists all the time. Even if you only check your story once, it never gets worse and nearly always improves. I did not have a detailed plan for The Alchemist's Portrait, my first novel, hence why there are over twenty versions of the manuscript, with the earliest one bearing little resemblance to the finished novel. I take both these, the initial submission to the publisher, and the final one, containing the editor's comments and suggestions, along with my notes, to all my school vists to show teachers, students and indeed writers at conferences and my adult workshops, just how much work actually goes into getting the story into print. Is revision tedious and frustrating? Yes, at times, but without the editing and revision process, you are unlikely to attract the attention of a publishing house.

Simon: There are no right and wrong ways to revise your work. Some people do it as they go along, while others insist on finishing the entire piece before they start to look at any alterations. My first novel had over twenty versions, the rest between five and ten, I think. It isn't strictly a revision process for me, since I don't just sit down and write the novel from the beginning and work through to the end. Since the first one, I have spent a lot of time on the outline, getting the plot just right before I even start the actual novel. I spend maybe six months working on the outline to the story, which is usually at least one paragraph for each chapter and can be as much as 10000 words. Sometimes a piece of dialogue or action begs to be written because it is rattling around in my head and so I write that, since I can always move it around in the story later on the computer. Once I start the actual work, I usually edit at least a little as I go, sometimes checking over just one chapter, sometimes two or three, once they are done, if I feel the need to assess how it is all going before I go on to the next part. I am able to do this because I know what will happen next and am almost just expanding on the outline I created, filling in details, adding description, dialogue, action and so on. Does the outline change as I progress? Absolutely, although not dramatically, but there will be parts that may not work as well as you thought they would, new ideas you have or just a new take on a situation you have already created.

Simon: Once the actual novel is done, I always read through it as many times as I feel is necessary, making fewer and fewer changes as I go through the text. It is tough to edit your own work, because this is your baby and you are biased, even if you don't think you are. You have to have a thick skin to be able to handle the rejections which come to all of us and you have to be hard on yourself before you even send it out in the first place to publishers. I also found reading the novel aloud helps as well, since this is the closest you can actually get to experiencing another person's point of view. How do you know when to stop editing? There are no hard and fast rules on that, but at some point you will know. At that time, you have to take a deep breath and finally get someone else to read your masterpiece, whether this is a publisher or just someone you hire to evaluate your manuscript. Is it then ready to send out? Again, there are no set procedures, but eventually, you have to make a decision. The fear of rejection is a very strong emotion and holds many people back, but at some point it has to be submitted. Just make sure it is ready, doing whatever you need to do and taking as much time as you feel is necessary. Never rush things or take short cuts, because you will most likely regret it.

Simon: Science fiction or fantasy has something of an advantage over other genres in that virtually anything you can imagine is possible. Stories may feature time travel into the past or future, alternate realities, parallel universes, alien worlds, other dimensions and so much more.

Simon: When writing for younger readers, the phrase ‘writing what you know’ takes on a whole new meaning. In crafting your narrative, you need to be able to see through a child’s eyes whenever possible. You have to try and recall events and experiences your own formative years, in particular how did things actually feel to you when you were seven, ten or twelve years old. Who were your most constant friends when you were that age? Were there memorable incidents, family vacations, emotional dramas, books, TV shows or movies that shaped your childhood and early adolescence? Do some of your memories from that far off era truly linger in your mind and are they likely to stay with you for the rest of your life? You may even find yourself remembering events, people and places that you always assumed you’d irretrievably forgotten. One of the best things about writing for children is that it allows you to create stories about the kinds of things that both fascinated you and absorbed your imagination when you were young. Our childhood, for most of us, is normally a lost, magical time from before we grew up. Even if we have children of our own, it’s difficult to remember just how things truly felt to us and how our thought processes operated when we were young. For science fiction and fantasy authors, stories for young readers can be very imaginative, which makes writing them so much fun.

Jan: What's the coolest book you've read lately that wasn't yours?

Simon: The coolest book I've read lately that wasn't mine? That's a tough one, since I don't seem to be able to find the time to read anywhere near as much as I would like these days. However, I loved the Harry Potter series and thoroughly enjoyed The Golden Compass.

Simon: In novels for young readers, children generally prefer not follow the adventures of lead characters that are younger than them and in some cases even the same age. If your story is aimed at readers aged eight to twelve years old, for example, your main protagonists should usually be depicted as being around twelve or thirteen, but generally no older than that.

Simon: As a writer, you also have to be careful not to talk down to the reader and you shouldn’t consciously change your style or oversimplify your writing, merely because your story is designed for children. And definitely don’t preach to your readers, since many children dislike the point of a story being hammered home. While your novel may very well contain a moral or theme that you would really like to get across, don’t be tempted to include in such a way that it detracts from the narrative and possibly turns the reader off your story altogether. If you really believe that you have to convey an important message, try and ensure it is actually a good fit with the text and doesn’t look as if it was added later simply for effect. Include the message in such a way so it perhaps assists in solving the problem of the story or integrate it into the character’s dialogue in appropriate places. If the story is too preachy, most children usually dismiss it and put down the book for good, preferring to read an absorbing, well-written adventure instead.

Simon: The length, page count or the number of chapters or words in children’s literature is by no means carved in stone, but the story needs to be tight and very fast paced. Most stories aim to hook the reader right at the start with an exciting or thought provoking first chapter. This assumes an even greater importance with children’s novels, where the reader’s attention span is often considerably shorter than that of an adult. Your novels should feature excitement and fast paced action, with cliff- hanger endings to each chapter, encouraging the reader to turn the page and not be able to put the book down.

Simon: While a story written for children has to move quickly, it should also flow evenly. In a novel for adults, the pace may slow down at various points, but the reader will still be able to maintain their focus on what is going on in the plot. However, although a linear plot is preferred for younger readers, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be so simplistic that it detracts from the story that you are trying to tell. Even a very straightforward plotline can also feature any number of intriguing subplots. However, its advisable to avoid overly lengthy sections of dialogue, unless they are essential, such as important pieces of exposition, imparting vital facts that the reader expressly has to be aware of in order to be able to follow the story. Some children’s authors also spend a considerable amount of time describing the main characters, either through their physical appearance, personality or environment. Yet, in a sufficiently well written story, the reader should be able to picture the character in just a few sentences or at least within the chapter in which they initially make an appearance. You also shouldn’t overload the text with information that will either bore readers or tempt them to close the book. The more you can weave the necessary details into the narrative, the better the story will be.

Simon: In a children’s science fiction or fantasy novel, the adventure may take place in another dimension, on an alien planet or on a ship in deep space, in a parallel universe or alternate reality, in the distant past or far into the future. However, even though the setting may be very far removed from the typical life of your readers, children will have far more interest in the story if it somehow relates to their own experiences. At first glance, this seems like a difficult proposition with a science fiction or fantasy novel. After all, meeting someone from another dimension, being endowed with magical powers, hurtling to the far reaches of the universe, or traveling to the era of the dinosaurs, into the thick of a medieval battle or being flung a thousand years or more into the future, can hardly be classed as everyday occurrences. And yet, the obstacles the hero or heroine might encounter and the issues they are faced with in the course story can be universal and the reader will much more easily identify with his or her struggle. The lead character in a story can be a regular boy or girl who has incredible adventures, but they are also depicted as having a busy school life, overdue homework projects, overly protective or distant parents, irritating siblings, best friends, pets, and all the rest. As a result, the reader will have a much deeper interest in the story if the characters are people they can easily relate to.

Simon: In your children’s science fiction or fantasy novel, even if the setting is in a different time period, in outer space or in a world completely unlike our own, it is imperative that the young characters in the story overcome their adversaries through their own efforts and find solutions to the problems and obstacles that they encounter. Adult characters can certainly appear in the book, and even assume very large roles in the story, but the main character or characters have to succeed by using their own abilities, even if they are young children. In The Alchemist’s Portrait, Tess works in the restoration department at the museum where the infamous portrait of Nicolaas van der Leyden is being expertly restored and Matthew does indeed receive a great deal of important information from her at various points in the story. However, in the end it is always Matthew, rather than Tess, who is responsible for finding all the answers and ultimately winning the day. In The Clone Conspiracy, another adult character, Lisa Mackenzie, is employed at LennoxGen, where secret human cloning procedures have been carried out and she is able to point Luke and Emma in the right direction to expose a shocking international scheme. However, it is once again the young protagonists who formulate strategies as a result of their own efforts. Similarly, Charles Kelly, Sam’s grandfather, has a prominent role in The Emerald Curse, but it is Sam who solves the riddle, makes most of the decisions and finds a resolution to the conflict.

Simon: In children’s science fiction and fantasy literature, your lead characters have to be someone the reader can readily identify with, even if they have fabulous adventures. Similarly, your cast of supporting characters has to seem realistic too. They may be grotesque monsters, mythological beasts, aliens with two heads and seven arms, robots or androids, but even if they aren’t human beings, they still have to have depth as characters if they play more than a fleeting role in the story. Well-crafted characters, in whatever setting they may appear, are rarely forgotten and always remain popular with readers.

Simon: Of course, some basic characters types are very familiar to us, such as the evil witch or magician, the reluctant hero, the exiled prince or princess, the wise advisor, the noble king, the loyal lieutenant, the evil counselor, the forgetful scientist with his wonderful inventions, and many more. However, the inhabitants of your imaginary world shouldn’t be mere carbon copies of those frequently appearing in the past. Neither should you simply try and duplicate characters and personalities that have recently been successful, such as those from Harry Potter, for example. A major challenge for the children’s science fiction and fantasy author, just as it is for those writing for teenagers and adults, is to ensure that their characters are so much more than empty and hollow cardboard cutouts, making them truly come alive for the reader. This can certainly appear very problematic if the character in question isn’t even human. However, they still have to appear just as real as any other person that has ever been created for a work of fiction, whether for children or adults. They need a personality, featuring aspects with which we can identify with and sympathize, likes and dislikes, mannerisms, quirks and so on, all of which serve to make them unique as individuals, even if they aren’t even human.

Simon: Any novelist, whether for they are writing for children or adults, must invent a complete imagined world and the creation of realistic settings is a key element in any story. Even the often highly fantastic universe created by fantasy or science fiction writers must always rest on extremely solid foundations. This remains the case even though the realm in which the characters live and interact may differ greatly to the real world. The time travel methods employed in The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox and The Heretic’s Tomb have to appear to believable and for the reader to think they could actually work in the way they are depicted in the text. And the scientific facilities in the LennoxGen research facility featured in much of The Clone Conspiracy, along with and the company’s vast maze-like underground complex, has to be described vividly enough to consistently capture the imagination of the reader, even if they may be very familiar with descriptions of laboratories, hospitals and similar settings from other books, movies and TV shows. Similarly, if a sophisticated space ship or a strange alien planet is the setting for your story, the reader has have a clear picture of that environment in their mind. If the action takes place on board a vessel or in a particular building or structure, which may or may resemble something on earth, the story has to include detailed descriptions of any working technology and how the characters interact, not only with each other, but also with their surroundings.

Simon: Writing for children, in whatever genre you are passionate about, can be very rewarding. But science fiction and fantasy can be so much fun simply because your story can be about virtually anything you can imagine. Science fiction books for younger readers can certainly be simpler than those for adults, yet still need to adhere to the same principles, rules and guidelines associated with good writing. The story needs a credible setting, well researched science and technology, convincing characters the reader can identify with and be fast paced enough to keep the reader engrossed in the story until the very end. Like books for any other genre or age group, if a science fiction tale aimed at younger readers is any good, people will enjoy it and tell others. A well told story will always stand the test of time.

Simon: It isn't really a rule that is carved in stone, but if your character is nine or almost ten, the story is unlikely to appeal to anyone older than that. What age are your potential readers?

Simon: My novels are usually 20000 to 30000 words. Some have some chapters that are around 2000 words and some around 1000, so the average is 1500 words. However, it depends where you choose to put the chapter breaks to keep the action moving at all times.

Simon: It will be difficult to convey this opposite emotion idea, but not impossible. I'm not sure how this character gets from one universe to the other, but perhaps you could indicate right at the start that things are different in the place she is going to and she knows she has to be careful to try and blend in. If she does laugh at pain instead of cry, for example, the people she is interacting with will be confused, but the reader will know what is going on.

Simon: If this was a science fiction story, there could be a scene where scientists are going over their research about the other world they have recently discovered, noting how odd it is that people cry instead of laugh and so on. To them that would seem just as bizarre as the opposite is to us. Then you could have the girl activate a portal by accident or something, unaware of how she has to behave in the other world, although the reader knows what the premise is.

Jan: I know many writers have a lot of trouble understanding some of the different "catagories" of fantasy. Can you help sort that out? For example, what do people mean by "classic fantasy" and is there anything coming out today that you could consider "classic?" Also, what are some fantasy catagories we're seeing now -- I know paranormal and urban fantasy, how would you say those two differ? We hear so many terms and it's a little confusing for the newcomer to the real scope of the genre.

Simon: I find it somewhat confusing myself, especially when we are told that we can't mix genres. What about romance and historical fiction? Or romance and horror? Or horror and fantasy? Or of course science fiction and fantasy? Its often tough to tell where the line is drawn or determine if the line needs to be drawn at all.

Simon: The Sorcerer's Letterbox involves time travel by means of a magical box, but also features travel to 1483, so is it fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, pure adventure or all of these? The Heretic's Tomb falls into the same category. Classic fantasy I have always seen as involving an imaginary kingdom or landscape, akin to the worlds of Tolkien or Narnia, with mythological creatures, fairies, elves, dwarves, swords, sorcery, quests, wizards and so on, in a medieval type setting. Science fiction generally, and this is very general, is often about science and technology, alien planets, spaceships etc rather than the supernatural or magic, so the Clone Conspiracy is certainly sf. Yet, time travel can be both sf and fantasy, as far as I can see. I have never received a satisfactory answer whenever I have asked 'experts', but I have come to consider time travel as fantasy if it involves magic, but science fiction if it involves a device, which could be mechanical, such as a vehicle, a bracelet or other piece of jewelry, or a method, which could even be something that is ingested, although this is is just my humble opinion.

Simon: I am not a fan of strict pigeon holes. The Emerald Curse is classed as fantasy, and there is travel into another dimension, but the novel also features a bizarre comic book universe, so there are elements of another genre there too, plus the machinery employed by Baron Midnight and the experiments he engages in are most definitely scientific in nature.

Simon: Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of contemporary fantasy, with magical stories and traditional fantasy characters and races set in modern day, real world settings. Paranormal I would normally consider to be about the spirit world, psychic powers, telepathy and so on, but stories classed as paranormal today often include themes from what has up to now been seen as traditional fantasy, science fiction, or horror, including vampires, demons, werewolves, witches, shape-shifters, ghosts, characters with psychic abilities, like telekinesis or telepathy, or even time travel. Paranormal romance is apparently one of the fastest growing trends in the romance genre.

Simon: It may all sound very confusing, but bear in mind this is how bookstores, the publishing industry and anyone other than the writers creating the stories from the depths of their wonderful imaginations, attempt to categorize things. Write what you want to write and what you are passionate about and don't worry which pigeon hole it fits into or what might be popular at the moment.

Simon: I'm not sure if they would make a new category in the bookstores or not. Paranormal romance may be filed under romance, but it could just as easily be found in the science fiction or fantasy section. Plus urban fantasy could be under horror if it involved vampires, for example, unless it was for teens. I have a story that has a paranormal theme, plus time travel and science fiction elements in terms of the technology it depicts and borrows from the crime thriller and comic book genres in places as well. I'm sure it will be classed as sf/fantasy if it ever makes it into print, although it will also be on the shelf with my other books which go into the 'readers nine to twelve section' in bookstores here. It has yet to find a home and has been turned down by several publishers and agents already over the last two years, despite my earlier ones being popular. I think its a good story, but it may just be too different.

Simon: In the meantime, The Doomsday Mask will be published in the spring. It is for eight to twelves and will most likely be designated as science fiction/fantasy on the back cover. Here's the blurb, but let's see how many different genres you think this one might fit into.

Simon: 'The legendary crystal ceremonial mask of Kulkaan, high priest of Atlantis, was believed to have been endowed with incredible powers. In the ancient civilization’s destruction, the mask was thought to have been shattered and irretrievably lost, eventually being forgotten. Long considered to be a mere myth, the mask’s crystal fragments have now been found and the mask of Kulkaan reassembled, with deadly consequences for all mankind. In a desperate race against time, Josh and Erica must prevent the mask from falling intact into the hands of the shadowy Crystalline Order, in order to save the world from catastrophe.’

Jan: How much research do you do into historical periods when you set your fantasy in a time period? And in what ways do you do the research?

Simon: I have a degree in history and have always been interested in any historical period from the Roman Empire to the present day. Consequently, I am very familiar with history, so it isn't the same as researching from scratch, such as a story about life on a farm, an unfamiliar sport, the world of horses, life on board ship on a long ocean voyage and so on.

Simon: Editors, teachers, librarians and critics may scrutinize the imaginary science in your science fiction story and the same applies to historical facts in time travel stories. Just as the scientific equipment has to be in working order, the historical details have to be well researched for the story to remain credible. In The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, Jack discovers a letter in a drawer and finds himself corresponding with Edward V, one of the princes imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1483. After penning a reply, Jack finds himself trapped in late medieval England.

Simon: While it was not overly important to explore the political complexities of England in the aftermath of the Wars of the Roses, facts had to be checked and rechecked. Some of this naturally involved research into the clothing of the era, everyday life, maps of medieval London and so on, but some aspects of the novel required more attention. The language of the scroll Jack finds had to be appropriate for the time period and be written in both the style and the alphabet of Middle English, as it was spoken in 1483. Real characters are also used in the book, such as Richard III, so that their exact location at the time described in the story had to be accurate. Most of all, research focused on the Tower of London, such as which buildings existed within the complex in 1483 and the layout of the grounds. Some of the information I needed was readily available online, but books also played a large in the research process.

Simon: My website has a page devoted to the historical background of The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, who was who in late medieval England, Richard III, Edward V, the Wars of the Roses, the mystery of the Princes in the Tower, pretenders and imposters, the Tower of London, medieval maps, the history of the English language and links to various websites about the time period depicted in the story.

Simon: When writing The Heretic’s Tomb, I studied the subject of the Black Death, which is estimated to have killed over twenty five million people in Europe in the mid fourteenth century. I knew a lot about this period already, but still had to conduct considerable research into the world of fourteenth century England, especially the era of the Black Death and its impact on England and Europe. Some of the dialogue is spoken in Middle English, which had to be authentic. The story also features a spell book written in Latin, so it was very important to get all the words and phrases correct. I delved deeply into the world of the medieval church, monasteries, abbeys, the long reign of King Edward III, the Hundred Years War between England and France, the history of scrolls, manuscripts and printed books, medieval cities, villages, houses and castles, as well as archaeological excavation sites for the portions of the novel set in the present day.

Simon: I also read extensively on the harsh realities of medical treatments in the Middle Ages. Again, online sources played a part, but I also read books on topics such as the medieval way of life, diet and nutrition, living conditions, doctors and their treatments, the large role played by superstition and the position of the church to get a feel for how Lady Isabella might have gone about her work as a healer and medical pioneer during the devastating epidemic of the Black Death. The causes of the disease are now well known, but in the mid fourteenth century, not only were people largely ignorant of the source of the dreadful sickness, they also had limited means to either treat or cure its victims. The medieval period is often considered to be a rather primitive time in terms of medical knowledge, dominated by superstition, yet much of the medicine of the classical world survived into the Middle Ages. The Islamic cultures of Spain, the Middle East and North Africa were also a source of medical knowledge and European doctors were usually familiar with the some of the medicinal properties of plants. However, treatments and cures were often as much to do with magic and folklore as they were to do with real medicine. It was fascinating read of some of the more bizarre remedies and medical concoctions in use in the medieval period, and the fact that treatment was very much linked to astrology in some cases. Sacred relics, charms and incantations were as much a part of some doctors’ repertoire as their medicines, but I was also fascinated to learn about how medieval doctors could perform surgery, do skin grafts, set broken bones and much more.

Simon: My website has a page devoted to historical background of The Heretic’s Tomb.

Jan: Wow, how very cool. I'm glad I asked.

Simon: Before I started visiting schools as an author, I did some research into the types of questions I might be asked, other than ones about the books, where the idea came from and so on. Whether I had always wanted to be a writer was one question I knew would come up. At first I didn't I think I had, but then when I began to think back to my teenage years or even earlier. I realized I had been writing stories down, or at least thinking about them, back then and still have an epic science fiction tale that I hope one day to see in print, or at least use parts of it in other stories. However, life intervened, as it often does and I did nothing with these ideas, except hang onto them, along with any notes, maps and character sketches I had made at one time or another. I tinkered with writing when I started a family, once I came into contact with kids picture books again for the first time in many years and learned about ICL not long after my daughter was born.

Simon: We are all new to this at some point. Some people write very long and complex stories when very young and continue for many years, keeping journals, making notes, collecting ideas and so on, while some come to it later in life, without having written creatively much before then. Most people who write are probably somewhere in the middle. If you were accepted by ICL, you obviously have some talent and it is certainly worth pursuing. I was very happy with my instructor at ICL, learned a lot from the course and hope one day to be an instructor myself.

Simon: There's nothing wrong with thinking about what it might be like to write professionally,whether for magazines, non fiction, newspapers and magazines, as well as publishing books, but don't get too hung up on it. Do the course, take as long as you need to complete the assignments and you will notice your writing improve, as you learn more about the craft. I was recently looking at my own old assignments for the first time in many years, as I was researching some writing workshops I am conducting for adults. I thought I had done something similar to what I had in mind when I was on the course and was fascinated to read the old assignments. My instructor was always pleased with what I had submitted and I'm glad that it was all very worthwhile. Becoming a published author is sometimes out of your hands, but it is always something you should work towards. There are lots of wonderful novels out there by great writers that have never been published and there are also some that get published that often make us shake our heads in disbelief. You may have a great idea, undeniable talent and a wonderful writing style, but it still has to attract the attention of a publisher. That aspect is invariably down to luck or at least circumstances and its tough to plan for that, but you need self belief at all times. after all if you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect someone else to? Good luck with your writing, don't ever let go of your dream, but enjoy the course too.

Jan: Are there any constructs or plot devices that you feel are probably a little "overdone" right now -- things an editor might not want to see unless the author knows that she/he knows that hers/his is a fresh take on it? I heard an agent say he was getting twitchy about "portals" and really didn't want to see any more portal stories. Can you think of other things that have become a bit "stock?"

Simon: Anything involving a school for wizards or any story where a character and his or her friends are learning to do magic, whether this is set in the real world or the fantasy realm. Yes, you may have had this idea well before J K Rowling was published and been writing it since you were fourteen, but the fact remains that this will inevitably bear comparison with Harry Potter. At book stores during signing events, I still see a lot of these types of books, but most were published during Harry Potter's lifetime and I would imagine that editors and publishers are no longer looking for more of the same now that the series is over. I seem to see a lot of vampire stories at the moment and urban fantasy about fairies and other such creatures, but this may be what is selling at the moment and so is getting published, but that may change in the next year or so. Picture books are a different matter, where I see so many of the same type of story lines. Beautiful illustrations for sure, but there seems to be very little that is really new and fresh.

Simon: Portals are a good example, since there are so many ways to enter another universe other than a doorway. If you have an original idea to journey to another world, you should be fine. I conduct workshops on time travel with children at schools and in summer camps on a regular basis and their ideas are always very original and imaginative, so there is really no excuse for a writer not to come up with something that is at least a different take on the standard portal/doorway idea.

Jan: What part of a novel do you feel like you have most settled in your mind before you begin writing? Do you feel like you know your characters well in your head before you start? Do you have an idea of where you're going and how much does that tend to change as you write?

Simon: Yes, I know the characters in my head before I start and have some of their dialogue too, which needs to be put down since it won't go away and begs to be written. I spend a lot of time on the outline before I start the actual story and although I know where the story is going, it does change as I write, because it realize something doesn't work after all, I have a better idea, can move a piece of action to another part of the story and so on.

Simon: The initial ideas usually pop into my head to be honest, but the superhero comics I read as a child inspired The Emerald Curse. I have always enjoyed history, and The Sorcerer's Letterbox and The Heretic's Tomb are both set in the Middle Ages. Time travel adventures, sf and ghost stories were a major part of The Alchemist's Portrait.

Simon: In developing the idea, I spend around six months working on the outline to the story, sorting out the plot before I even start the actual novel. This constitutes at least one paragraph for each chapter and can be as long as 10000 words. Sometimes a piece of dialogue or action begs to be written because it is rattling around in my head and so I write that, since I can always move it around later on the computer. Only then would I start the actual novel.

Simon: Most of the initial story ideas or general premises have indeed just popped into my head, but the plots of the subsequent novels originated from a variety of things, such as the superhero comic books I read as a child which inspired The Emerald Curse. My love of history helped with The Sorcerer's Letterbox and The Heretic's Tomb and my fondest for time travel adventures and science fiction in general were behind The Alchemist's Portrait, although I think the idea of the painting was from ghost stories and haunted houses. The Sorcerer's Letterbox is of course based on a true story, the mystery of the Princes in the Tower, presumably murdered by their uncle Richard III in 1483. You can learn more about the history behind the first two books on my website at http://www.simon-rose.com/history_sorcerer.htm and at http://www.simon-rose.com/history_alchemist.htm.

Simon: They have all been enjoyable and entertaining and I am often asked which is my favourite. I like them all to be honest, but will probably always have a liking for the first one, since The Alchemist's Portrait is where it all began. Its hard to say which one was the easiest. The Clone Conspiracy didn't involve historical or other forms of research like the others have done, since it is a pure sf thriller. However, it took just as long to write since the plot still had to be developed.

Simon: I had been tinkering with writing for a few years after starting a family, but never too it that seriously. When I learned about the ICL course and delved deeper into the world of the professional writer, I began to think it could actually be a career one day, but never thought it might happen. When I still completing the ICL course, I was submitting articles to magazines in Canada and the US all the time, but never had any luck, just a pile of form letters. The first piece of work that was accepted by a publisher was The Alchemist's Portrait, which I wrote in late 2000 and early 2001. It was finally published two years later, by which time I had written the second one as well. That was the start of my writing career, although I didn't take the plunge into full time writing, school visits and all the rest until the fall of 2003.

Simon: In most stories they come home and my time travel novels have ended that way, but I disagree that this is essential. Yes, time travelers can stay in the past and there have been stories like this. They can be trapped in the past, where they either struggle, live well or die very quickly. Or it can be a conscious choice, if they are simply going to build a new life and don't have any crazy ideas about inventing modern technology in ancient Rome or something like that. It is perhaps easier if they choose to live in a relatively recent time period, say after 1700 or so, where it would be easier to adapt to daily life than it would be in an earlier era. However, I have read stories where characters chose to remain in the Middle Ages, so this is not carved in stone.

Simon: I have no problem with children or adults having to adapt to a time that is alien to them and staying there. For example, your main character, who could be an older adopted child or someone who has been in a lot of foster homes, could have an unpleasant life in the present and feel more welcome in another time, thus making a conscious choice to stay. I don't believe that characters in a story absolutely have to learn a lesson and come home to a greater understanding. This seems very outdated to me. It is also preaching to the reader and hammering home a message, usually at the expense of the story, which most readers, whether they are children or adults, dislike in equal measure. Young readers still have a great taste or adventure and a good story never goes out of style, so don't get too hung up on morals and messages and concentrate on creating a good, page turning tale that your readers will enjoy.

Simon: I don't think readers will consider yours to be 'wrong', just because they aren't thinly disguised copies of someone else's work. There are writers out the there who have used Harry Potter as the basis for their own youthful wizards, but probably just as many who haven't, especially if their story is set in the present day, rather than in a traditional fantasy realm.

Simon: The issue for you might be with potential publishers rather than readers. Publishing houses usually lean towards something that will sell and this is only natural, since they have to make money to stay in business. Hence, they are looking for a winner, so tend to stick with what has been popular before. This reminds me of the current trend of vampire based stories in urban fiction, which 'everyone' seems to be doing, when it is in fact just a lot of publishers favouring those themes at the moment.

Simon: My thoughts? Stick with what you know and want to write is probably what you hear all the time, but I'd also keep in mind what the market is looking for. This doesn't mean you have to copy other authors, just be aware of the type of novel that is getting accepted by the publishing houses. I hope this helps.

Simon: This is a huge topic and tough to do justice to here, but here are a few thoughts. There doesn't have to be a link between the character and the events or people in the past. Often making the characters in an earlier era the ancestors of the main character can seem very forced. However, the best time travel stories usually have some kind of connection, such as the character from the present appears in an old photograph or a painting or a mysterious stranger is mentioned in a diary entry, but these types of stories have to be really well written for it to seem credible.

Simon: In terms of an object as the means of travel, the rules are relatively simple, although I hate to call it a rule, since there are usually ways around these things. If you find an old coin or other object that you have to physically be in contact with to travel in time, it either has to go with you or an earlier version of it has to exist in the time period you are going to, otherwise you cannot return home safely. Admittedly, your story may involve someone staying in the past, but usually the return home is the preferred ending to a time travel story. There are also stories where the person is sent back in time and has no object with them. They then have to find something in the past to send them home again, but even if this involves magic in some way, these type of stories are often too full of fortunate coincidences to be plausible.

Simon: I pay particular attention to the method, machine or device used for time travel in my three books where this is an element. In The Alchemist's Portrait, Matthew steps through a picture frame and travels initially to 1666. Because the painting existed then as well, he steps out as if it were a doorway and as long as he doesn't wander too far from where the portrait is located in the past, he can get home again. He is unable to travel to a year earlier than 1666, because the painting did not yet exist. In The Sorcerer's Letterbox, the wooden box Jack discovers transports him back in time and goes there with him. When he arrives in 1483, it is implied that there are now two versions of the box, one from each time period, although they never appear in the same scene. In The Heretic's Tomb, Annie discovers an ancient looking amulet which sends her back to 1349. When she reappears there, the object in her hand becomes the fourteenth century version, all shiny and new, and not the worn object she came across in the present day.

Simon: You also have to think about how the events in the past could be dramatically altered by a person traveling there from the present. If you have someone interacting with real historical characters, even the slightest alteration to the course of history could have effects on the present, for both good and bad. In The Alchemist's Portrait, for example, Matthew's sister Sally is trapped in the past and may even be dead, which means she no longer exists in the present. No one remembers her when Matthew insists that she is in danger, her image is suddenly missing from all the family photographs and Matthew even begins to forget her himself. Their activities in the past also have a ripple effect and change history, which always has its own set of tricky issues to surmount.

Simon: In The Sorcerer's Letterbox, Jack does end up being the descendent of someone from the past. In fact, he was destined to travel into the past to save his ancestor, so that he could one day be born, so that he could go back in time, in order to save his ancestor, so that Jack could later be born and so on. Complicated? Yes, indeed, but not impossible to write. You just need to give the scenario a lot of thought, since it is so easy to tie yourself in knots. In The Heretic's Tomb, Annie's adventure in the past has an effect on the present, but she is not related to anyone from 1349.

Simon: There are time travel stories that avoid many of these potential problems and simply involve going to another era, having an adventure, maybe meeting famous personalities, then coming back home in time for dinner, but these should perhaps be better classified as historical fiction, rather than time travel stories. Personally, I enjoy the impossibilities of the time travel genre and working out all the complex details in the stores I create.

Simon: It seems that the Harry Potter series changed things in this regard and novels for both teens and middle grade readers got longer as a result. However, many people agree that one or two of the later novels in the series could perhaps have been considerably shorter, with no detriment to the plots. Don't consider these longer fantasy novels as a benchmark of how long a book should be. Making a story a certain length just for the sake of it is a mistake. You still have to have a good story, which must flow properly, move along at the right pace and keep the reader engaged.

Simon: However, having said that, it is far easier to write too much and then cut it down, than have to add in entire sections in the middle, or introduce entirely new characters and subplots. Yes, many fantasy novels may be very long, but not all of them are. I'm not sure of the exact statistics, but most most may be around 250 or 300 pages when in printed form, rather than possessing the mammoth word counts of the later Harry Potter novels. I should ask you if you are sure your story is for teens or is it middle grade, which are usually shorter, say around 150 pages at the most? Your novel may also well need to tightened up during the editing process, which obviously reduces the size of the finished product.

Simon: It's hard to say on a forum like this, without actually reading the story or at least some of the battle scenes in question. I have some degree of violence, real or implied, in my novels, along with many scary episodes, but they are at about the right level for the eight to twelve age group that my books are aimed at. My first novel was a little too gory at first in places and I toned it down in the revision process, but that was because I wasn't yet practiced in the art, I guess. I feel a certain amount of danger and excitement, even if it involves blood, is important in any kind of adventure, in order to hold the reader's interest and keep them turning the pages. The characters have to be in some degree of danger at various points in the story, even if the middle grade reader suspects that the protagonists will survive at the end.

Simon: However, if your critique group think that it sounds middle grade, and it appears as if you do as well, the story it probably is for that age range. A publisher is unlikely to read the story and think, 'this is a good middle grade story' and then get to a battle scene and say to themselves, 'wait a minute, maybe its YA,' if the entire tone and feel of the preceding chapters is obviously for eight to twelves. They may ask you to tone down the violence, but might also simply keep things just as they are, if the scene is in keeping with the genre and justified, in that it fits in with the storyline. After all, a battle is always a dangerous place to be and making it seem anything less than that will affect your story's credibility. Two of my novels are set in the medieval period when life is known to have been undeniably harsh and often violent, despite efforts to sugar coat this era in many books and movies - where the armour was gleaming, the ladies were elegant and of course, the cities and castles were spotless and appear to have had modern plumbing, even if the bathrooms are never seen.

Simon: Personally, I avoid any references to, or implications of, romantic relationships between the young characters in my novels for readers aged eight to twelve and usually depict the main characters as around twelve or thirteen. Children prefer to read about a character their own age or slightly older, so if your character is twelve or thirteen the story is middle grade. If they are older, it is most likely going to be classed ay YA. I hope this helps.

Jan: Thank you, Simon, for spending three days with us here on the writer's retreat. I know I'm going to reading and rereading these answers for a long time -- you gave us so much meaty specific help. Thanks for the generous sharing of your time. I love it when I learn stuff from these workshops.

Simon: You're very welcome. I look forward to doing this again one day and invite everyone to connect with me directly on here or by e mail, through my website, blog or on Facebook.