Character Development

As I was walking on the treadmill (a miracle in and of itself), I found a notebook that I had left on it, which kept track of my pace/calories burned, etc.  I flipped through the notebook, and found several ideas for a picture book series.  I read through the ideas, and I was excited about them (which is always a good sign after a long period of time). One of those ideas I had tried getting published, but, of course, it didn't work out.  I couldn't understand why, because I thought it was my best work.  However, I realized that my character wasn't memorable...or even likeable.

You know those Little Critter books?  My book's voice had a similar quality...which, I stupidly thought, meant it was good enough to be published.  But as I walked, I remembered my time at the LDStorymaker's Conference and the class I took on character development.  A story isn't worth re-reading if you don't feel connected with the character in some sort of way.  "Olivia" is a character that parents can relate to since children are as erratic as she is.  Clifford the Big Red Dog is memorable, because, well, he's big and red.  Amelia Bedelia is hilarious, Winnie the Pooh is adorable, Dennis the Menace is the obnoxious neighbor that many are familiar with, and just about any other character you read about has something about them that makes them stand out.  My character had nothing.  In fact...I didn't even know who (or what) my character was.  I was so busy writing my book in the voice of Little Critter that I hadn't bothered figuring out his identity.  (Little Critter, by the way, was constantly getting into trouble, though the words of the book never actually said so).  I had some serious brainstorming to do.

In a way, I felt like I had an advantage since I had young children.  What attributes did my children have that I could use for my book?  Jacob talks.  All the time.  Gabriel freaks out if his sandwich drips mayo, and Jarod can't go ANYWHERE without his blanket, "Dee."  I thought, and I thought, and I thought, trying to figure out how any of these would work for my book.  It was getting pretty frustrating, because nothing seemed to be anything that would make a story character stand out from all the rest.  I tried to think of any and all personality traits.  Quirky?  Annoying?  Talkative?  Troublemaker?  Which ones haven't been used already?  And then suddenly, an idea struck.

I finally had my character's personality!  I guess it's more like a flaw, but if I can create it right, it should hopefully be humorous.  One of the things about picture books is that it is meant to be read out loud, and parents are the ones who will be reading them.  The book needs to appeal to both the child and the adult, which is actually kind of a challenge.  I never really realized how much adult appeal a picture book has to have until my dumb brain finally relayed that information back to me that it selfishly kept to itself all this time.

Anyway, once I figured out the personality, it was time for a character sketch.  I read somewhere that you truly have to know your character and love your character before others can know and love them as well.  Whether or not it's needed, a basic background is needed on them.  If you know and understand your character and their circumstances, then writing them will become natural, and the reader will recognize the dimensions of their personality as well.

Because I have four boys, it only seemed natural that all of my story characters be young boys, since that's basically all I know right now.  But with my hopefully brilliant personality trait I had assigned my character, I realized that a boy was just all wrong.  It needed to be a girl.  I named her and I even gave her a prop (because, obviously, my books are going to be big, and they're going to sell plush toys representing my characters, and I needed something irresistible).  I wrote a brief background on her, and now, I'm feeling confident in who my character is.  I'm actually really excited to be writing about her!

The challenge that I now face is incorporating my character into the book ideas I have already outlined.  Since I'm not a seasoned author, I guess I'm a little apprehensive about whether or not I'm forcing a character into a place where she may not fit.  Writing is definitely a lot of work.  It's a bit intimidating, but I'm hoping that I can start filling my nights with the creation process once again.

The Dreaded Query Letter

I have written my fair share of query letters, and let me tell you, they are NO FUN to write. There is something so horrifying about it that I'm almost tempted to hide under my bed until the rejection letter comes. Optimism isn't my style, if you couldn't tell. I researched some query letters online, and found some ideas, but I never felt quite comfortable. The problem I faced was my lack of publishing credits. When I finally got my story "Harvey's Joke" published in the Herald Journal, I felt I had something under my belt.

According to Sarah Megibow, Literary Agent for the Nelson Literary Agency, writing a query letter is super simple: Paragraph one: I have a completed [genre] manuscript, 4,000 words. (Also, this is where you write the hook of your book, a one-sentence summary that is eye-catching and that makes your book seem irresistible to read.)
Paragraph two: This is the pitch paragraph, essentially what you would envision to be the book's summary on the back cover, written in about four sentences. This paragraph should NOT be rushed. Are you sitting down for this? Once the agent receives your query and likes it enough to accept your manuscript, they then show it to their editor. If the editor approves, then it is submitted to the sales agent. If they feel like they can make a profit from it, your query letter is then shown to a book buyer. If the book buyer feels that this book will be successful, then will your manuscript be accepted. Kinda scary, huh? Yeah, query letters are super simple.
Paragraph three: This is the author's bio. Any writing awards you've won, anything that's gotten published, this is the place to put it. Just make sure it's relevant.
Closing paragraph: Thank them for their time. If you saw them at a writing conference, let them know.
Whew. Done. Sit back, relax, and make sure you've got plenty to eat and drink while you wait out a response from under your bed.

Oh, wait, before you start hoarding chocolate and cheese for your little hide-away, I have a little piece of advice you might find as valuable as I did. If you are about as famous as I am, you might want to consider getting a name for yourself out in the electronic world. Start a blog for yourself, get on twitter or facebook. They are excellent places for you to eventually market your works. Sarah Megibow claims that before accepting any manuscripts, she cyber-stalks potential clients to make sure that they have networking capabilities on such sites.

My picture books

Writing is something I have done since I was a young child. My very first book was entitled "Puppy Love" about a young girl who desperately wanted a kitten, but discovered joy when receiving a puppy, instead. My book was professionally bound by cardboard and staples. It was my most prized possession. I also carried around a pocket-sized notebook that contained my stories, usually inspired by a summer storm. I remember sitting in the darkened living room with my pen and pad, listening to the thunder and writing some story of impending doom. Those stories usually began with, "It was a dark and stormy night" and ended with a cemetery scene. To this day, I still crave stories with cemeteries.

Publishing a book never even occurred to me until I submitted "Duck Feet," a picture book I created for my eighth grade English class.


After it had been graded, my student teacher boldly left a note encouraging me to submit it for publication. Out of the question. I was holding onto gold! There was no way I was going to part with my millionaire-dollar story! Too bad I didn't know that you don't actually mail in the book itself. That teacher, however, did instill a desire to keep creating picture books, and years later, a desire to submit my work for publication.

The first story I ever submitted was in 2004 entitled "The Shepherd and the King." It tells the story of how a young shepherd boy gives bread to a homeless man, only to discover that he has just fed the king. As a token to remind the boy to always do what's right, a silver ring is placed in his care. Years later, when the boy as a man meets the king once again, he cries that he has failed to do his job. The king embraces him, and explains that those who have known the shepherd have also known the king. "You have proven worthy by living by your ring. You're not just a shepherd; you've grown into a king."

I later submitted "Harvey's Joke" about a squirrel who hates April Fool's Day.

Harvey was notorious for playing pranks, but this year, Maurice was going to put a stop to them once and for all, only to get the prank of his life.

After several rejections, this story was finally printed in the Herald Journal in 2007. Unfortunately, since this story was not accompanied by any pictures, I'm sure that the readers were left to wonder why this "Harvey" character ate Bark Crunch for breakfast!





"Pirate ABC's" is a rhyming picture book that was also rejected, although it is lovingly read by my children (bound, of course, by cardboard and twine). In this book, a pirate's adventurous life is revealed from treasure hunting to sending men to the plank. "W is walking the plank bound and blind; X marks the spot that we sailed here to find."

The next story I submitted was "Waiting for Halloween."

Anxious for Halloween, Baby Bear asks his mother when his favorite holiday will come. She responds with, "First, it has to get cold. Then, the leaves will turn yellow, orange and red, and they will fall from the trees. After that, we’ll put pumpkins on the front porch. Once we carve them into jack-o-lanterns, then Halloween will be here.” Can you guess what happened with this manuscript? Yup. Rejected. But at least my son actually ASKS specifically for that book to be read to him.

"My Day With Dad" is my latest submission. I actually sent it in for the Cheerios New Author's contest to be printed as a book to be given away with each box of cereal. It's about a young child who spends a windy day with his father exploring the adventures that blow with the wind.

Lastly, the current story I am getting ready for submission is a humorous account of my past dating experiences. I am still working on the title and changing things around a bit to get the feel I'm looking for. The titles I have used so far are "Laughing at Love," "Glass Slippers Don't Go With My Shirts," "Cupid For Hire" and "The Incredible Misfortunes of Love." I'm thinking of using something with "Mr. Wrong," but I'm not quite sure exactly. Who knew that the title would be so difficult to come up with?! Do any of those titles sound appealing to anyone out there?

What's important here is that trying to get published is not an easy task. Each year, I check out the Writer's Market book and search for literary agents and publishers who are looking specifically for the type of writing I do, and I send in about twenty different queries (not easy on the wallet, in case you were wondering). Do not send in a query letter for a genre they are NOT looking for, because it is the fastest way to get rejected. There's nothing wrong with sending in several manuscripts in a row to the same literary agent (after each rejection, that is). Literary agent Sarah Megibow advised us to "just pretend that you are new, because I'm not going to remember you." I always felt awkward sending in my same query letter (with the pitch paragraph different, of course)because I thought they would think I was a loser for trying with them again. Fear not! We won't be remembered! (That IS good, right?) If you love something enough, keep trying. Success won't come if you wait for it to find you. Good luck!