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So I wrote a book - help required


Cambridgeskip

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So... after I was made redundant back in November I started writing a book. Now this book is a children's book set in a scout troop. I won't give too much away but the short version of the story is teenager gets (outrageously unfairly) into trouble at school for standing up to the school bully. Parents pull her out of scout summer camp as punishment. Her friends decide it is grossly unfair and help her stowaway anyway. Along the way they pull some outrageous stunts. Some of which are a touch dangerous, some of which are border line illegal...

Anyway having finished it I am now looking for an agent and a publisher.

Before that I thought it might be a good idea to bounce this off UK HQ and make sure I wasn't going to upset anybody or cause any problem with copyright.

They have come back and said.... given the story line please don't use any specifc scout terms. Given what the kids get up to I have some sympathy so this post is NOT a winge about our HQ. More a case of getting some ideas. I needs some replacement terms for the terms I've used. I plan on getting my scouts to help me as well. Basically any ideas for replacement terms for the terms below. I've put a similar post on the UK equivalent of this esteemed forum but thought that getting some ideas of folks with a bit more distance might be quite useful....

Beaver (6-8 year olds)
Cub (8-10 year olds)
Scout (10-14 year olds)
Explorer (14-18 year olds)
Service Crew (What we call campsite volunteer staff)
Patrol
Patrol Leader
Assistant Patrol Leader
Troop
Unit
Bronze Cross (one of our scout gallantry awards)

Probably goes without saying they shouldn't be terms used by other organisations either! eg Navigators, Pathfinders etc...

Thanks in advance, looking forward to some ideas smile.gif

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Try synonyms for scout. You could also go with a Western theme. Replace troop with tribe. Patrol with band. Pioneers. Adventurer for explorer. Vanguard for PLC. Trapper. Wolf. Bear. Buffalo. And something outlandish for the award, like the Distinguished Silver Pelt with Crossed Talons. Or just the name of a bird of prey. Silver Hawk? Something a kid could understand. 

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For one of the younger groups,  if you want to stay with Kipling and have a nice theme story:   Mongeese.  (from Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.)  Motto "Go and Find Out"    (Instead of Mowgli and the wolf cubs.)

Or switch from wolf cubs to foxes:    Cubs --> Foxes and Beavers --> Kits .   (Lots of clever fox stories out there, though the foxes are not always as helpful as Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.)

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4 hours ago, Cambridgeskip said:

So... after I was made redundant back in November I started writing a book. Now this book is a children's book set in a scout troop. I won't give too much away but the short version of the story is teenager gets (outrageously unfairly) into trouble at school for standing up to the school bully. Parents pull her out of scout summer camp as punishment. Her friends decide it is grossly unfair and help her stowaway anyway. Along the way they pull some outrageous stunts. Some of which are a touch dangerous, some of which are border line illegal...

Anyway having finished it I am now looking for an agent and a publisher.

Before that I thought it might be a good idea to bounce this off UK HQ and make sure I wasn't going to upset anybody or cause any problem with copyright.

They have come back and said.... given the story line please don't use any specifc scout terms. Given what the kids get up to I have some sympathy so this post is NOT a winge about our HQ. More a case of getting some ideas. I needs some replacement terms for the terms I've used. I plan on getting my scouts to help me as well. Basically any ideas for replacement terms for the terms below. I've put a similar post on the UK equivalent of this esteemed forum but thought that getting some ideas of folks with a bit more distance might be quite useful....
Thanks in advance, looking forward to some ideas smile.gif

So being British and all, maybe have them be sort of magical and then they are broken up into houses and have them hang out in a castle.

That may have been done before...you should check

  • Haha 1
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