The Nine Pound Hammer: An Interview with John Bemis and a Giveaway

Congratulations to Linda Andersen for winning a copy of Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling. 

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When I recently completed reading John Bemis' first book in the Clockwork Dark Trilogy, The Nine Pound Hammer, I considered reviewing it here. But then I found this excellent review and figured I couldn't do any better. Instead, John agreed to answer questions about how he created this award-winning middle grade steampunk fantasy. When I took a writing workshop with John last year at Table Rock I had seen some of his writing process. I asked him to share bits and pieces of that also.

CAROL: How did you get the ideas for The Nine Pound Hammer? How did your ideas evolve?

JOHN: The Nine Pound Hammer grew out of several other (now discarded) stories I had been writing. They were more traditional fantasies. But at a certain point, I began to reflect on “what was the story I really wanted to read,” not just the story I wanted to write. I’ve always been fascinated by Southern music and folklore. This interest led me to consider how I could create an epic fantasy based on our American mythology. So many other countries have their own national legends—King Arthur in England, the Trojan War in Greece, etc. How could I create something along these lines with American history and myth? This was my goal: to create an American fantasy epic.

Rather than focusing on character and plot, I often begin novels by listing words I find fascinating. Words that can ultimately become the set-pieces for the story. I call these my “magnetic nouns” because these are the things my imagination is drawn to. 

As you can see here, I brainstormed all sorts of words that seemed to have that connection to American myth. Not all of these initial ideas made their way into the story. But creating a list primes my imagination for the next step in figuring out who the characters are, what their journeys will be, what arc the story will take.

I filled 4 notebooks exploring what I wanted the story to be. This, in a way, is my first-draft. The process for every book is different, but for The Nine Pound Hammer, I did a lot of pre-planning. Months and months of planning! Some pages were filled with questions and ideas about the characters. 

Others were notes on settings or how the magic in the world worked or research on historical aspects. More notes were on what the larger story might be, which I often write as short summaries. 

All of this allows a story to take shape in my imagination. Once my head was brimming with ideas and painfully impatient to begin, I began to outline the story using index cards. 

I read through them, made changes, discarded, backtracked, tweaked, all with the goal of getting a complete draft of the story together in my head before I started the actual writing. Using the story outline on the index cards, I finally wrote a draft of the story. Even then there were many changes and revisions. I completed two drafts that I ultimately threw away only to start over before I finally had The Nine Pound Hammer the way I wanted it to be.

CAROL Have you always been interested in mythology?

JOHN Yes, I was fortunate to have an amazing 7^th grade teacher named Mrs. Peacock who taught a unit on Greek Mythology. This started me down the rabbit hole to Norse myth and American Indian legends and even to Southern folklore like Richard Chase’s The Jack Tales (which I particularly adore!). And later as an adult, I read Joseph Campbell’s The Hero of a Thousand Faces which—like for so many other writers—completely changed my understanding of the role of myth in human culture and storytelling. 

CAROL The Nine Pound Hammer was the book that snagged Josh Adams as your agent. What did he fall in love with in the story? Was Josh editorial or not? 

JOHN I think what drew Josh to the story was that it was something different. He was excited about the whole notion of a fantasy epic set in this late 19^th century American world of traveling carnivals and gunslingers, monstrous mechanical creatures and hoodoo magic. In general, he doesn’t suggest a lot of nitty-gritty editorial changes. Usually we discuss the idea for a book early into the writing process, and he gives guidance. He’s very good at looking at the “big picture” for a book. If there’s something not working, he’ll say so. He doesn’t sweat the details, since he knows my editor will help clean it up.

CAROL Can you talk more about the process of writing this story? I understand you had several rounds of revision. What part of that revision process stands out most in your mind.  Feel free to share any of the drafts/revision you care to. 

JOHN Before I began the agent hunt, I had my critique group give feedback on the story. They helped find the plot holes, the faulty logic, the boring sections, the confusing portions. Their feedback is invaluable. (This group includes Stephen Messer, J. J. Johnson, and Jennifer Harrod. Between us, we now have 10 books in print and more under contract, which I think says a lot about the power of a supportive critique group.)

Once The Nine Pound Hammer was acquired by Jim Thomas at Random House, we went through six months of intensive revisions, back and forth several times until we got the story polished up. While Jim had advice on so many aspects of the story, what stands out is how he helped to streamline the story. It’s easy to over-write a story, especially when you’ve done as much research as I had. Jim helped me get comfortable with that age-old advice to “kill your darlings.” If something wasn’t serving the larger story, it had to go. If a scene was interesting but didn’t move the story forward, it had to go. He often had suggestions such as: “Remove a trouble spot entirely to discover what, or how much, is truly necessary.”  

We writers are often quite loathe to take out parts of our story we worked so hard creating, even when we hear that pesky voice in the back of our heads saying it needs to go. As Jim put it in his first editorial letter: “Cut in service of diminishing the background noise so that the elegant notes can ring out clear and true.” Perfect advice!

CAROL Did you see this as part of a trilogy, or was that something you, Josh, or your editor conceived of after you wrote it?

JOHN I always imagined this would be a trilogy. I love the tradition of fantasy trilogies. Three books allow you to dig deep into the world and build a more riveting story arc. And I had so many more ideas for the characters and the world than I could fit in one book. Writing more than three, in my opinion, risks growing tiresome for the reader. 

CAROL What has your readers responses been? Do you think your audience is equally girls and boys? How about teachers? Are they using it in the classroom? (I’ll link to your classroom resource on your website.)

I’ve been thrilled by the Clockwork Dark trilogy’s reception! Teachers love it for the classroom connections, which is why I think The Nine Pound Hammer has been on the NC Battle of the Books list twice. But I’m particularly excited by all the letters, emails, and drawings I receive from kids, who each seem to have a different character they love most. The readership seems equally boys and girls. I was worried when I first saw the cover for The Nine Pound Hammer since a guy with a hammer on a train screams “boy book!” I have a daughter and I wanted this book to appeal to girls as much as boys. Fortunately, girl readers aren’t bothered by the cover. While boys might not pick up a book that looks like a “girl book,” girls have better judgment. Thank goodness!

If you would like to win my gently-read autographed copy of The Nine Pound Hammer, please leave me a comment by 6PM September 11th. If you are new to my blog, please leave me your email address. For every way you share this on social media, I'll enter your name for an extra chance.

Here is more information on John:

John Claude Bemis' first novel in his Clockwork Dark trilogy, The Nine Pound Hammer, was selected as a New York Public Library Best Children’s Book for Reading and Sharing. His trilogy continues with The Wolf Tree and The White City and has been described as “original and fresh” and “a unique way of creating fantasy.” His novel, The Prince Who Fell from the Sky, was an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best Book for Summer Reading.  John is also the author of the picture book Flora and the Runaway Rooster, which he wrote for Heifer International. His forthcoming novel, Out of Abaton: The Wooden Prince, is a fantasy reimagining of the Pinocchio story. 

John is the recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award from UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Education and served as the 2013 Piedmont Laureate for Children’s Literature. He lives with his wife and daughter in Hillsborough, NC. 

Gifts from John Bemis- Part III And a GIVEAWAY!

In the final post of this series, John Claude Bemis shares the last five points from his talk at the Table Rock Writers retreat on “What Creative People Can Learn from Observing Children. Directions for how to win an autographed copy of The Prince Who Fell From the Sky follow this post. If you missed the first five points, you can find them here.

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Sixth, from the moment a baby starts exploring his world, his job is to learn. Kids’ daily “work” is going to school. This implies a position of humility as they listen to their teachers impart knowledge, facts, and wisdom. 

"I know there's a way these scissors
are supposed to work!"
Libbie Kasten, 18 months

The same goes for writers. No matter how knowledgeable you think you are about the craft, there’s always more to learn. Be a humble, patient, attentive student as you continue to grow your craft.

Seventh, kids operate from a gut-level. Sometimes the information daily flooding our brains from the news, Internet, and media can impede our decision making process. Whereas it might take us awhile to gather our thoughts, children often sit down at a blank piece of paper and begin to draw or create immediately. They listen to their intuition. 

"A masterpiece!"
Ebby Clark when she was 4

Everyone has an opinion about art. Sometimes writers get stuck trying to figure out if their idea is worthwhile or not. John reminded us that, “if you trust your instincts, you can create more purely.”

There is a time to critically evaluate your work, to tweak and re-evaluate it. It’s called revision. But, when you’re creating a new work, “shoot from the hip. Operate from your gut. Don’t over think—create from your intuitive imaginative place!”

Eighth, kids laugh. In fact, they laugh more than 300 times a day whereas adults laugh less than 20 times. Laughter decreases stress hormones, improves blood glucose levels, improves blood pressure, circulation, and oxygen intake, and releases endorphins. Think about laughter as a way to increase your productivity.

Mason & Libbie
laughing it up!

For children, laughter is part of their play.  Adults should make more time to visit with friends and laugh, relax, and have fun. This gets your right brain working, rather than the logical left side. John suggested that, “If you’ve hit that creative wall and can’t get back to a productive place, call up a funny friend, and find a way to laugh.  It’ll relax you and you’ll be surprised how quickly a solution to your problem pops out ‘Eureka!’”

Ninth, kids operate in the moment. Think about a child who is intensely interested in a bug on a sidewalk. That child is being mindful. “The act of being mindful is a place where you are sharply in tuned to the present moment,” John said.  Toddlers don’t think about consequences when they scribble on the wall.  But they are enjoying the moment!

"Isn't this what you're supposed to do with ink pads?"
Mason, 3-years-old

As writers, thinking too much about the future stifles our actions in the present.  For example, if you’re constantly worrying about whether your current story will get picked up by a publisher or how reviewers will respond to it, you can get into a “very negative head space.” John suggested that writers be “present to the journey, not the destination,” focusing on each word, page, and scene.  

Tenth, kids embrace and enjoy the absurd. They are delighted by James flying away in a giant peach with a crew of insects and Alice’s wacky adventures in Wonderland. Their brains don’t say, “That could never happen,” instead they love being surprised by the unexpected.

“When we hear something that strikes our brain as ‘wrong’ or ‘off’ or ‘weird’, we start to reassess our assumptions,” John noted. “A cognitive shift occurs as we try to make sense of the absurdity.” He advised writers to embrace the absurd, the strange, AND the weird, in order to get your brain in a more creative place.

In conclusion John encouraged all writers to take a few tips from the most creative people on the planet – kids! In the process, “you’ll be productive and make new discoveries about yourself and your craft.”

I appreciate John allowing me to use the material from his talk on my blog. I hope you'll visit his website and check out all of his marvelous books!

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FINALLY--THE GIVEAWAY!

If you would like to receive an autographed copy of this book, please leave me a comment along with your contact information. (Sorry! United States only.) Drawing will be held after 8PM on Thursday, October 9. 

Gifts from John Bemis- Part II

If you missed last week's post, I shared ten things I learned In John Claude Bemis's writing class at Table Rock Writers retreat. John also spoke to the entire group on, “What Creative People Can Learn From Children.” After quoting Picasso: “Every child is an artist.  The problem is to remain an artist once we grow up,” John shared ten ways writers should emulate children. In this post you’ll read his first five points with pictures and videos illustrating his points, courtesy of my grandchildren. Next week this series concludes with John’s last five points and the giveaway of his book, The Prince Who Fell From the Sky. 

First of all, kids love to play—it’s basically their job! Children make up games on the playground and in their own backyards. Their dolls and trucks act out fascinating stories as children “disappear into their imaginations through play.”

Libbie & Caitlin Kasten as princesses.

In the same way, adults also need time to play. Companies like 3M and Google have found that giving their employees time to pursue individual interests, take a walk, or even play pinball leads to more innovative work. “Google claims that 50% of their new products come from ‘Innovative Time Off,” John noted.

Play also increases problem-solving ability. A study found that preschoolers were more apt to figure out an unfamiliar gadget than college students because they played with it.

What does this mean to us as writers? Make sure you do something fun each day. Don’t be afraid to play with your work. “Don’t stick to your first pass at the story….Have fun making your writing better.”

Secondly, everything is brand new to a child. These years are a “time of great wonder and stimulation.” When we’re running down an idea for the first time, the newness “sparks our curiosity and creativity.” John explained that from a neuroscience perspective, our brains are building synapses, which boosts creativity and makes our brains function better. John recommended playing a new game, learning a new instrument, or traveling to a foreign country. Citing his own recent trip to Rwanda, John said travel “gets you out of your normal rules and challenges you to be flexible.” He experienced a huge creative bump when he returned home—and wrote like a maniac!

Third, kids embrace ambiguity. To them a pen can be a wand, a sword, a dragon bone, or a bridge. We’ve all seen kids playing with a box rather than the toy that was inside. 

Ebby and Mason Clark having
fun in their  box-train.

Why? The toy has a specific purpose—but the box can be anything. John said this was the type of creative thinking that allowed Picasso to pick up bicycle handles and see a bull’s horn.

John recommended that writers should embrace ambiguity as a source of discovery. Perhaps a typo on a page can lead you to a new idea. Flipping through magazines or pictures in the Apples to Apples game may stimulate a new path for your writing. “The ambiguity loving part of our brain can make wildly original connections if we just let it.” 

Mason as a Ninja
with his two swords.

Fourth, kids have unlimited interests.  Mason created a story in which he starred as a super-hero. His cousin Caitlin (pictured below) described herself as a scientist with a telescope but also imagines herself as a ballerina, likes to cook in her kitchen, and fix things with her own set of tools.

Young kids think they’re good at everything, leading them to explore a wide variety of interests.

Unfortunately, when kids hit middle school, they begin to form a sense of identity based on what they think they are and aren’t good at.  They say things like, “I’m not an athlete. I’m no good at math.” As we age, our interests tend to narrow, constricting our choices. As writers, we need to keep expanding our horizons.

Fifth, kids are less self-critical. They think they’re great artists, writers, athletes, musicians and we wouldn’t dare contradict them! 

Caitlin describing her artwork

 This type of blind confidence makes a person keep doing something over and over again. Some writers dream of becoming NY Times Bestsellers. This confidence helps them work hard and push through discouragements during their early years.

When you hear that self-critical voice whisper in your ear, “You’ll never get published,” remember the self-confidence and stamina you had as a child. “To be successful, you have to be persistent.  And to be persistent, you have to manage the negative thoughts that want to keep us from continuing to try.”

Gifts from John Bemis-- Part I

Congratulations to Linda Andersen who won a copy of Steering Toward Normal by Rebecca Petruck.

Two weeks ago I attended the Table Rock Writers Retreat in Wildacres, NC and participated in John Claude Bemis' class on Writing for Children and Young Adults. It was an inspriational week that left me excited and raring to dig into draft #4 of Half-Truths. In this post I share some of what I learned in John's class.  Next week I'll share highlights from a talk he gave to the whole group, "What Creative People Can Learn from Children" as well as a chance to win an autographed copy of The Prince Who Fell from the Sky.

 John surrounded by his appreciative students. 

#1. It takes a lot of drafts and revision before a book is published. Of course I knew this already, but when I looked at John's brainstorming notes for The Nine Pound Hammer and the editorial letter he received outlining the work he needed to do on the manuscript PLUS the marked up manuscript--I was encouraged. Here was a man who has successfully published four books and his first novel needed a lot of work. A light clicked on. If he could do it, so could I.

#2. Lillie's opening chapter needed to start by showing her doing an important action that grips the reader.

#3. Make sure that there will be consequences for both Lillie and Kate that will make my readers worry about them and care for them. 

#4. Give action and bold choices to dramatize the girls' journeys. 

#5. Think about how the universal desires and anxieties that all children/young adults experience will speak to my readers.

#6. Always think: "Why will readers care about my story?"

#7. Identify what I love in a story. These are elements I will want to include in my own book.

#8. List qualities about my two protagonists which my readers will find appealing. Incorporating these qualities into my story will create sympathetic characters. 

#9. Insert tension by creating stakes for the characters throughout the book.

#10. Play Apples to Apples when you get stuck and need to find out more about your character. (NOTE: It really works!)

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There are TONS more that I learned but you'll have to excuse me. Draft #4's outline is tapping her foot and waiting for me to return to work.

Learning Character Internalization

Congratulations to Lindsay Fouts, my new blog follower, who won James Scott Bell's book, Plot and Structure.

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As I begin the fourth major draft of Half-Truths, I need to attack some of my writing weaknesses. According to my writing coach Rebecca Petruck, I have to work on my "internal-life writing muscles." To do this, she assigned me this task:

Type several dialogue-free passages from books you would like to emulate. Type at least three pages to get the rhythm. Then, type at least five dialogue-free pages from Kate’s POV and then again from Lillie’s POV.... Think about the difference between rote description, and description that reveals something about the character. When you describe the external world around them, it has to be in order to reflect how they interpret it, what it means to them and how it feels.

I'm beginning this assignment by sharing a dialogue-free passage from the latest book I listened to, Dodger, by Terry Pratchett. An historical fantasy spin-off of Charles Dickens' character, the Artful Dodger, it is an entertaining and funny book--albeit at times irreverent. Here is a brief blurb from Pratchett's website for context: 

A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse drawn carriage in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he's….Dodger….Dodger's encounter with the mad barber Sweeney Todd to his meetings with the great writer Charles Dickens and the calculating politician Benjamin Disreali, history and fantasy intertwine in a breathtaking account of adventure and mystery.

The following excerpt occurs after Dodger rescues the girl and "Charlie" Dickens and Henry Mayhew take them both to the Mayhew household. 

Twenty minutes later Dodger was sitting close to the fire in the kitchen of a house, not a grand house as such, but nevertheless much grander than most buildings he went into legally; there were much grander buildings that he had been into illegally, but he never spent very much time in them, often leaving with a  considerable amount of haste. Honestly, the number of dogs people had these days was a damn scandal, so it was, and they would set them on a body without warning, so he had always been speedy. But here, oh yes, there was meat and potatoes, carrots too, but not, alas, any beer. In the kitchen he had been given a glass of warm milk that was nearly fresh. Mrs. Quickly the cook was watching him like a hawk and half already locked away the cutlery, but apart from that it seemed to be a pretty decent crib, although there had been a certain amount of what you might call words from the missus of Mister Henry to her husband on the subject of bringing home waifs and strays at this time of night. It seemed to Dodger, who paid a great deal of forensic attention to all he could see and hear, that this was by no means the first time that she had cause for complaint; she sounded like someone trying to hard to conceal that they were really fed up and trying to put a brave face on it. But nevertheless, Dodger had certainly had his meal (and that was the important thing), the wife and a maid had bustled off with the girl, and now…someone was coming down the stairs to the kitchen. 

It was Charlie, and Charlie bothered Dodger. Henry seemed like one of them do-gooders who felt guilty about having money and food when other people did not; Dodger knew the type. He, personally was not bothered about having money when other people didn't, but when you lived a life like his, Dodger found that being generous when in funds, and being a cheerful giver, was a definite insurance. You needed friends--friends were the kind of people who would say: "Dodger? Never heard of 'I'm, ever clapped eyes on 'im, guv'nor! You must be thinking of some other cove"--because you had to live as best you could in the city and you had to be sharp and wary and on your toes every moment of the day if you wanted to stay alive. 

He stayed alive because he was the Dodger, smart and fast. He knew everybody and everybody knew him. He had never, ever, been before the beak, he could outrun the fastest Bow Street runner, and now that they had all been found out and replaced, he could outrun every peeler as well. They couldn't arrest you unless they put a hand on you, and nobody ever managed to touch Dodger.  

No, Henry was no problem, but Charlie--now, oh yes Charlie--he looked the type who would look at a body and see right inside of you, Charlie, Dodger considered, might well be a dangerous cove, a gentleman who knew the ins and outs of the world and could see through flannel and soft words to what you were thinking, which was dangerous indeed. Here he was now, the man himself, coming downstairs escorted by the jingling of coins. (pp. 6-7)

Rebecca encouraged me to figure out where my characters are coming from. In this excerpt, narrated by the omniscient narrator, but in Dodgers' close POV, I learn that Dodger is coming from a place where:

1. He doesn't always get a whole meal.
2. He's prone to illegal activity that is Dodger's normal; a fact of his life. 
3. He is street smart and has friends on the street who cover for him (and the reader assumes, he does the same for them).
4. He looks suspicious to the cook who has to "hide the cutlery".
5. He is very observant. Notices the cook's mistrust, perfectly assesses Mr. Mayhew's character, communicates his own distrust of Charlie Dickens and why. 
6. He's "bothered" by people who can read him, as well he can read others.
7. He's proud of his abilities to outsmart the police. 

In other words, Dodger sees the world of London through a lens of "I have less money than the rich, but that doesn't bother me, because by my wits and speed, I get what I need." The reader meets a character who feels confidant about himself and moves with ease--unless he is up against another person who is equally good at reading people and their motivations as he is.

Pratchett has portrayed a character who I want to find out more about and who I want to root for-- as he goes from being a tosher (one who scavenges London's sewers) to a…wait, I don't want to spoil this book for you!

This week I'll be attending the Table Rock Writer's retreat where I'll be studying with John Bemis and Dawn Shamp. I'm hoping to strengthen my "internal-life muscles." 

So, watch out Kate and Lillie! You're about to grow deeper, inner lives.