Behind the Scenes of Signed and Industry Darling

Behind the Scenes gives you a closer look at the process of writing a manuscript. This edition features Caitlin Rantala and her stories, Signed and Industry Darling. Caitlin (@CaitlinRantala), a writer in Nashville, is represented by Carly Watters of P.S. Literary Agency. You can visit Caitlin’s website to learn more about her and her writing.

Inspiration for Signed:

zodiac symbols, daily horoscopes, tattoos, a lyric from "Better Dig Two" by The Band Perry," & a Taylor Swift Performance

“The idea for my main character Piper Lot literally came from Taylor Swift's COSTUME CHANGE during her performance of "I Knew You Were Trouble" at the American Music Awards. I don't know how to explain why, but it did. When she tore the white gown away to reveal a black dress, Piper just came into my head and stared at me with her arm all marked up.”

About Signed:

"Signed is all things mythology, though I may have taken some creative license in interpreting those stories. The book centers around Piper Lot who is born into a mythical world where people are ruled by their zodiacs and born under a curse. The curse signs each person on their eighteenth birthday with their zodiac symbol, Zeus' cruel reminder that they are signed for death after mankind kidnapped his son Apollo and tortured him. But when it's Piper's day to be signed, she's not marked with her traditional sign, because she isn't signed for death at all; she's signed to stop it. 

After I wrote Signed, I realized one of the major reasons I wrote it was because I wouldn't have been allowed to read the book growing up. When I was younger, my household was very religious and very conservative. It affected the creative material that was allowed in the house. I wasn't allowed to read about myths or other gods, I don't think I was even allowed to utter their names. My mom once threw away my Hercules VHS while I was in the middle of watching it. I didn't get to read Harry Potter until I was in college. Even though my family is lax on things like that now, mythology and astrology still feel forbidden to me in some ways... so naturally, I HAD to write about it."

Inspiration for Industry Darling:

The Divergent audiobook, Nashville's music industry, & song lyrics

“In the beginning of story development, a lot of my inspiration comes from songs.”

About Industry Darling:

"Industry Darling is harder to pin down. Unlike Signed, it's not based in myth (not yet anyway). Right now the idea of it stems from an over-exaggerated entertainment industry set several decades in the future. I don't know how much I can say about it, because it's prone to evolve on a daily basis, but I've got a character named Ryman in it (as in the famous Nashville Ryman Auditorium). Currently, the rough outline has bad boys, murder, and I'm considering a fantasy element (though I'm not set on it yet)."

A piece of Caitlin’s writing process:

"A story tells me it wants to be written the same way every time. It took me a while to figure this out, but if I'm really interested in turning an idea into a book, a scene from the plot will pop into my head. It might be a scene from the beginning, the climax, or even the end. It doesn't matter. But this scene will play over and over in my head for weeks, until I ache for it. It's like watching my favorite show every night. 

And as this scene comes back to me time and time again, I start thinking about the characters. What are their names? Why is this scene happening? What are their secrets? Who is part of their families? How did these characters meet each other? And from this one incessant scene, I start to develop characters and then eventually start outlining."