Writing Tip Tuesday

Most children's writers know that it is important that the main character solve the problem or answer the central question....


...not another character....


...and especially, heaven forbid, not an ADULT.


And the problem should not be solved by happenstance.


The main character must actively DO something to solve the problem.


BUT....


....it's easy to forget something else that is just as important:

Motivation

The main character should have motivation to solve the problem.


Why is the character doing what he is doing?


AND - that motivation must be clear.


Lack of character motivation = a problem.


Personal experience:

TAKING CARE OF MOSES is about a boy who knows who left a baby on the steps of a church - but he keeps it a secret.


In the first draft, there was no motivation for Randall to keep the secret. He just wanted to keep it a secret. But the whole story revolves around that - so with no motivation, the story had no tension and just fell flat.


My writer's group (God bless 'em) kept asking me why Randall was keeping his secret.


Why, why, why?


And I kept stubbornly telling them, "Just because he wants to, okay?"


But, of course, I knew in my heart that it wasn't working.


Randall needed motivation.


In the revised (and final) draft, a new story element is introduced that provides motivation for Randall's secret. I won't bore you with the details (hey - you could read the book) - but it has to do with Queenie Avery having Alzheimer's and wandering at night and folks wanting to put her in a home, blah blah blah - but out of that came Randall's MOTIVATION.


After that, everything made sense and the story fell into place.


So - ask yourself, WHY does my main character want what she wants and/or do what she does?

(Recycled from 1/22/08)

Writing Tip Tuesday

I love recurring story devices - something that is used repeatedly throughout the story.

These can serve some or all of the following purposes:

• Help tie the story together
• Help develop character
• Show the inner thoughts of the character
• Add to the overall style or theme
• Give cohesiveness to the story
• Help move the story along
• Give the reader something to anticipate

I've written eight books and I've used a recurring story device in five of them!

Moonpie and Ivy:
The main character writes postcards to her mother (who has abandoned her). I ended every other chapter with the postcard. I've had teachers tell me that when they read that book to their students, the kids loved the postcards. They looked forward to them.

The postcards helped the main character express her feelings, which changed and evolved as the story unfolded. Some examples:
Dear Mama: I hate you. Love, Pearl Dear Mama: Ivy asked me to stay here and be her daughter and I said yes. Goodbye. Love, Pearl

Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia
The characters were studying for a spelling bee by using the dictionary. I used letters of the alphabet throughout the book. For example, "By the time we got to 'L'..."

This was a great device to help move the story along and helped the reader keep track of where we are in the story as they studied for the spelling bee.

Taking Care of Moses
The main character draws pictures at the end of every other chapter.

These helped show the character's feelings.

How to Steal a Dog
The main character keeps a journal that starts out as a "how-to" manual but turns into an expression of her feelings about what she has done. This served to show the evolution of her guilt over her actions and her need to do the right thing.

The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis [WIP]
The main character's grandmother teaches him a new word each week. He recalls the vocabulary words throughout the story and uses them as they apply to a particular scene. This serves as a thread throughout and helps develop the character.

Writing Tip Tuesday

Setting.

You need it.

Duh.

But I have two things to comment on with regard to setting.

1. Don't get so caught up in the story that you forget setting. That's easy to do. I know. I've done it.

But the reader will appreciate a little reminder once in a while.

Key words here: once in a while.

You don't need to shove setting down the reader's throat - but a little sprinkled here and there serves to keep the image of the setting in the reader's mind while other stuff is going on.

Remember the weather.

Remember the smells.

Remember what time of year it is (so...what are people doing, seeing, hearing, etc.)

2. If you don't have a VERY clear image of the setting in your mind as you write, the reader won't either. AND - that image must stay consistent throughout the story (unless the weather changes, or whatever.)

Here's what I do to help with that - I DRAW the setting.

Now, bear in mind that I am the WORST artist ever. I'm talkin' stick figures here, folks. So my drawings are embarrassingly pitiful. But they are for my eyes only (although I did send one to a copyeditor once and could practically hear the snickers....).







Personal experience:

In Me and Rupert Goody, I drew a sketch of the inside of Uncle Beau's store. I needed to see where the old couch was, where the cash register was, where the door to his room was, etc.

In Taking Care of Moses, I drew a sketch of Randall's neighborhood - where his house was, where the church was, etc.

In How to Steal a Dog, I sketched the town - where the school was, where Carmella's house was, where the abandoned house was, etc.

In my upcoming novel, Greetings from Nowhere, I sketched the motel, numbering the rooms and marking which characters were in which rooms, where the swimming pool was, where the flagpole was, etc.

Those little sketches were a valuable tool to keeping the setting consistent and for helping me to remember to drop in some references to setting from time to time.

They helped me see if the movements of the characters were logical and if all the action "works."

They are also much appreciated by copyeditors (even if they snicker).

Writing Tip Tuesday

Most children's writers know that it is important that the main character solve the problem or answer the central question....

...not another character....

...and especially, heaven forbid, not an ADULT.

And the problem should not be solved by happenstance.

The main character must actively DO something to solve the problem.

BUT....

....it's easy to forget something else that is just as important:

Motivation

The main character should have motivation to solve the problem.

Why is the character doing what he is doing?

AND - that motivation must be clear.

Lack of character motivation = a problem.

Personal experience:

TAKING CARE OF MOSES is about a boy who knows who left a baby on the steps of a church - but he keeps it a secret.

In the first draft, there was no motivation for Randall to keep the secret. He just wanted to keep it a secret. But the whole story revolves around that - so with no motivation, the story had no tension and just fell flat.

My writer's group (God bless 'em) kept asking me why Randall was keeping his secret.

Why, why, why?

And I kept stubbornly telling them, "Just because he wants to, okay?"

But, of course, I knew in my heart that it wasn't working.

Randall needed motivation.

In the revised (and final) draft, a new story element is introduced that provides motivation for Randall's secret. I won't bore you with the details (hey - you could read the book) - but it has to do with Queenie Avery having Alzheimer's and wandering at night and folks wanting to put her in a home, blah blah blah - but out of that came Randall's MOTIVATION.

After that, everything made sense and the story fell into place.

So - ask yourself, WHY does my main character want what she wants and/or do what she does?

A wealth of information

Hey you authors out there:

This website is a great way to find out if your books have been nominated for state children's choice awards.

They sell sets of each state's books. I've found out about quite a few nominations before my publisher did.

As a matter of fact, I just found out that Taking Care of Moses is on the 2008-2009 Iowa Children's Choice Award list and How to Steal a Dog is on the 2008-2009 South Carolina Book Award list.