Hello and welcome to Behind the Adventure where you get a behind-the-scenes look at adventures on Aue Island.
My name is Christy.
I'm part of the writing team here on Aue Island and I'm here with Susie, the creator and head writer for Adventures on Aue Island.
Hi, everyone.
Hi, Christy.
Today, we're going to talk about Chapter 2, The Destination Revealed.
This is a really exciting chapter.
We learned a lot.
I had fun writing it.
I have the plot in mind, but I also have a few discoveries that I make on my own that just kind of pop out.
And some of those things happened in this chapter.
It was super fun to create.
Wow.
It's so interesting you said that because actually I'm going to skip ahead to my last question.
I was going to ask you how far ahead you have plans and do you know how many chapters will be in a full season, or are you leaving space for surprises along the way?
Both.
I actually have least three full books planned out already um the story and the plot, so that i know where i'm going, and that's really helpful to me to have that.
So as i write these early chapters, i'm setting up later events to happen and easter eggs and things like that.
So That's where it's helpful to me to have the big picture stories in mind for each of the books and to be a little bit quite far ahead.
But I also am leaving room for discoveries along the way.
And that's what makes it fun and magical for me to write, I guess is the best way I can say it.
Because sometimes as I'm writing, the story just takes me in a direction that I didn't expect.
And I'm like, This is feeling good.
I think this is where they need to go.
So I feel like I'm on my own writing adventure as this story unfolds.
Speaking of intriguing, I want to ask you about the character of Sophos.
He is a very intriguing character to me, and he seems to know more than he lets on.
Can you share anything about what inspired this character or what role you think he'll play in the rest of the season?
Yes, I will share a few things and I won't share some things too.
Sophos is a very special character.
I'll use that word.
I'm choosing my words carefully here.
Sophos is a very special character who is a conduit into the mystery right now.
He is the person that the kids know least, and yet he is the one helping them most with their next steps on this journey.
And he's showing up in different places to their surprise.
And so he's going to play a role in future stories, future chapters.
But I don't want to give away what the role is or roles.
But he is an important character.
And what inspired me to create him?
I think every great story needs an entry point.
And he felt like the entry point to me, the start of something big.
Certainly it was the finding of the folded piece of paper in the book that really started things.
But beyond that, without some kind of help.
Marie, JJ and Christian had nowhere to go with it, would not have known where to go.
And so that's when Sophos arrived and magically started helping them a little bit.
So I needed a real human conduit, too.
And he is it.
I like how he's sort of slowly helping them decode these clues that you've given them.
Speaking of clues, this chapter introduced some new riddles in the form of a poem.
How do you approach writing these riddles and what makes for a good one?
That's a good question.
So how I've approached writing these early riddles is quite simple.
Marie and JJ and Christian are 10 years old.
The riddle that they needed had to be something that they could at least start to understand or figure out or pick apart in some way.
And this is their first adventure together.
So it's not like they solve these things all the time.
So the first riddles had to be in my mind.
Interesting enough but helpful enough that they could actually get to the next stage or step in the story, if that makes sense.
I felt like the people who I won't speak to who they are, but whoever left the clues for the kids were kids themselves.
So that also gave me information about how to write these riddles.
It wasn't an adult.
This is kids writing for other kids to find this.
And in my mind the kids that wrote this felt like by the time the finder, the kid finders found, found the riddles, if that makes sense.
They've already gotten figured out part of of where to go.
They found the buried treasure.
For the second riddle they've figured out how to find the first riddle on the map and so the riddle at that point is just more information in riddle, but not so hard that they can't, if that makes sense.
And it's bonus points because it rhymes.
Yes.
So the riddles are in a poetic form with rhyming at the end to make them easier for the kids to remember.
Because story-wise it's not very interesting if they have to keep checking it back on the phone and looking at it again and again.
If they can kind of keep it in mind, meaning the listener can also kind of keep it in mind it helps draw the listener in to the story and feel like they're part of solving the riddle, because maybe they remember parts of the rhyme too.
I have a question as a listener that I found really interesting.
Episode six ends with JJ and Christian walking out of Marie's room feeling frustrated and disappointing, leaving us wondering if they'll stay around to help Marie solve the mystery.
Up until now, they've been completely on board.
What made you decide to introduce that moment of conflict between these three friends?
A couple of things.
Number one, friends do have conflict and things aren't always perfect.
And that makes it real and relatable, I think.
But also it's the first time where the audience is seeing the different personalities, a little bit the difference.
Um, And that's helpful because, as the story gets deeper and as more is revealed, everyone's going to learn more about JJ and Christian, and they're their own people and they have their own value to the story.
Sure Marie is the protagonist, but they are a trio and The critical thing to this adventure is they need each other.
But that doesn't mean they're not going to have conflict along the way.
And this is the first big one.
So I will say the spoiler alert is they will be together on the adventure, at least for the foreseeable future.
So they're not going to not help ever again.
But.
At this point Marie is going to have to fight to keep them along and keep them a little interested too.
I'm glad to hear that we'll be hearing more about JJ and Christian.
Well, since I asked my final question to you at the beginning, I'm going to throw a surprise one your way.
Is there anything that we listeners should be paying attention to in Chapter 3?
Everything.
Clues are going to come where you least expect them.
That's why I have the story figured out so far in advance.
So little Easter eggs are being dropped everywhere.
And something that may seem like, why is this being said here?
Why is this being mentioned here?
Well, it just might matter in the future.
I see.
Or it might not.
So no, no zoning out.
Listen to every single word.
It's important.
And that comes from my love of books and the books that I've read that have been kind of epic adventure stories with mystery and intrigue, and when the book calls back to something mentioned earlier or a character or a thing that you thought wasn't important, you suddenly realize was very important.
It's delightful.
And it feels like to me as a reader or as a listener, that I'm part of the adventure and I'm helping figure it out too.
And I like that.
So that's what I'm trying to do for our audience as well.
That's amazing.
Well, thank you so much for talking to me about chapter two.
And I'm really looking forward to what happens next.
Will Marie solve this next riddle?
We'll find out.
We'll find out.
Thank you, Christy.
Thank you.
