Character Development
Character Questionnaire: Getting to the Guts of Character
The other week I wrote a guest post about a film that gets away with not developing its protagonist. However, that tends to be the exception to the rule. Normally, it’s a good idea to spend some time developing your characters. You want to know as much as you can about your main and supporting…
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99 Problems But the Witch Ain’t One
By Mary Pleiss When I was a little girl, the witches I knew came from fairy tales. They were old, ugly, and mean–life ruiners who cast evil spells with no provocation. My young friends and I ran into the problem of the witch in our play. We didn’t want to meet a witch in a…
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Are You Writing Propaganda?
I was recently reading a book and halfway through it I realized I was reading propaganda! By propaganda, I mean that the author clearly had an idea that he/she wanted to promote with the book and was using the fictional device as a vehicle for that idea. I was simultaneously intrigued and appalled. I was…
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School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters
School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters was the title of author Rachel Vail’s keynote speech at the SCBWI LA 2010 Conference. In it she shared her process, writing for middle grade readers, and how to get inside your characters head. Notes from her speech are as follows: Why Do We Read? A book is more…
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Seeing Your Characters: Creating Adolescent Charaters From the Inside Out
Author of over 30 books, Rachel Vail, has created her own fair share of characters. As an author of young adult, middle grade, and picture books, Vail gave insight on how to create believable adolescent characters for all age groups. The following notes were taken from her breakout session at the 2010 SCBWI LA Conference. You Are Your…
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How Acting Can Help You To Develop Character
Before becoming a writer, author Rachel Vail, studied acting and theater. Today she may not grace the stages of Broadway but her numerous books showcase her ability to “get into character”, or more accurately create them. During her breakout session at the 2010 SCBWI LA Conference she explained how it might be worth your wild to check…
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Seven Ways to Develop Compelling Characters
Gail Carson Levine, author of Ella Enchanted, spoke at the 2010 SCBWI LA Conference. In her keynote speech she shared the following tips on how to develop your characters. Seven Ways to Create Compelling Characters: 1) What role will my character play? I always start with plot when writing a book, then I think about…
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Stories That Cross Borders and Boundaries
Multicultural literature is the new buzzword in town and authors Jennifer Cervantes, Christina Gonzalez, and Guadalupe Garcia McCall have some great tips on how to do it right! The following tips on authenticity with a multicultural voice was shared at the 2010 SCBWI LA conference. A Little About Each Author: Christina Gonzales – “I am…