Behind the Scenes of Never, Never

Behind the Scenes gives you a closer look at the process of writing a manuscript. This edition features Brianna Shrum and her story, Never, Never. Brianna (@briannashrum) is a YA and Adult writer, living in Colorado. She is represented by Bree Ogden of D4EO Literary Agency. You can check out Brianna’s blog to learn more about her and her writing.

Inspiration for Never, Never:

The lovely Captain Hook, the darkness and beauty of dark waltz, the innocence of a child, "The End of Innocence" by Don Henley, the deep and forbidden relationship between Damon and Elena in The Vampire Diaries, Quentin Tarantino's amazingly evil villains who you can't help but love, & the song "Brightly Wound" by Eisley.

About Never, Never:

"Never, Never is the story of Captain James Hook. On James’ thirteenth birthday, Peter Pan entices him away to Neverland. But Neverland turns out to be darker than he dreamed, and soon Peter reneges on his promise to take James back home. James can do nothing, then, but grow up.

As a man, James is obsessed with three things: Tiger Lily, the woman he is rapidly falling in love with, going home, and getting revenge on Peter Pan. Trapped against his will in a place where love is twisted, children are happily heartless, and dreams are killed, Captain James Hook struggles not to become consumed by hatred and revenge, and to survive as a man in a world that hates men.

From the time I was little, I loved the stories of the villains most. The troubled, complicated people we love to hate, but who are the heroes of their own stories. So when I saw an agent (not mine) ask for a story from the villain’s perspective, I knew I had to write one."

A piece of Brianna's writing process:

"There are two kinds of writers: plotters and pantsers. I am most definitely a plotter. Creating a solid outline from the beginning is something that brings the left brained thinker in me together without the totally creative process of writing. I LOVE story structure (first plot point, midpoint, third plot point, etc.) and follow that, literally, to the page.

I’ve just had to learn that sometimes, you CAN and should change your outline (which was so difficult for me to do), but generally, I sit down and plan out the entire story, chapter by chapter, with basic ideas of what goes on in each chapter and projected word count beside each. Then I write. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it makes writing for me so enjoyable and unstressful. I can’t live without one!"