it's time for...the weekly club meeting!

This week me and the Don Duck are taking a look again at some of the "hot topics" of children's writing. We will be checking out some interesting blog articles. Now I don't know if Don is happy to be here since it seems he'd rather be doing his favorite hobby (swimming in money while dressed like Scrooge). But I'll win him over..I think.

Checking out the "Blue Rose Girls" I stumbled over an article only a few weeks old that covered an interview with Diana Wynne Jones where she gave out a variety of writing tips. She also spoke about her own writing strategies, such as the fact she usually doesn't plan out the middle of the story before writing. Though she plans it far in advance, she only etches out the beginning and end and a general idea of the middle for continuing. I think this is interesting because it still incorporates careful planning and a vision in mind but also allows for growth and free thinking since ideas can freely build on the other, while still keeping that total "vision" of the story in mind. Planning out every detail can limit growth or that feeling of instantaneous creativity while writing a story.

She also spoke about the importance of knowing every detail of every character in the story, for that will help any writer not get 'stuck' with trying to figure out what happens next: for it will create natural connections and the objectives will intertwine almost automatically. Diana also clarifies that you don't have to tell the reader a majority of these details, but some things, such as the appearance or quirks of a character will shine through naturally through your writing if you are keeping the specific details in mind. I agree that careful planning will help and knowing all the details about the character and their 'quests' will naturally aid any author in coming up with plot ideas.

Diana also dispensed some quick 'tid-bits' such as how she usually just "pours out" what comes to mind and gets the story down, then in later drafts becomes critical and 'weeds out' what doesn't belong. This is helpful to at least discard some notions that the first draft must be free of errors completely.

She also recommends modeling villains after someone we know. I think this is very interesting and unique advice, since our anger/outrage at this real life villain will shine through our story and make it thus a very natural/heartfelt villain. I think this is a very interesting idea especially if a writer swings a wide lasso and incorporates villains throughout history or even contemporary celebrities or public figures that they consider villains (perhaps unusual villain choices), but of course personal life villains could also make for a heartfelt or at least comedic (perhaps picking on tired McDonald's people that get the order wrong, or something trivial) mood. Speaking of villains....

Over on the Cynsations blog, there's a brand new entry interviewing Amy Christine Parker about her new hit work: "Gated." She talks about the difficulties that arise when developing a character with a totally different personality than the writer has. This is especially tough because you have to hone in on how that character would react to different situations compared to how you (the writer) would react to those trials or problems. Not to mention there's the fact that her main character has been an outcast from society, effectively exiled, thus she doesn't know all the modern slang that most of our society would recognize. But she found her main character Layla's voice by talking about her origins, her back story, how she got to the current time where the story begins.

She also describes a growing process (which can last months or even years) of how a character grows and develops organically in the writer's mind. It only makes sense, since many writers meditate on their main character for hours and hours trying to 'nail down' their quirks, expressions, fears, strengths, objectives. Like the blog on Blue Rose Girls I talked about earlier, Parker recommends creating a character profile to know even the small details of a character: their musical tastes, clothing preferences, food favorites, etc. Recording these details can help refresh and ultimately hand ideas to the writer when they need them.

Indeed, knowing the backstory of characters is important and certainly a productive exercise that can be integral to forming more of the 'ground' for the foundation of the story to rest upon. It can ensure that each character is unique and vibrant and distinctively different from one another. These tips of course can apply to children's writing but also the art of writing in general, adding some wise advice for writers to wield.

Ok, you're free to go Donald.

Oops, wrong Donald. Here we go. Looks like you're trying out a new hobby allright.

Welcome to Donald Duck's Clubhouse: A magical place talking about the art of writing....for kids...and kid ducks!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I am Brandon Vestweber. Yes, that's my real last name. I am here alongside the mascot of this website: Donald Duck. Wow, Donald, did I wake you up from a nap? Please don't yell and spit at me...

Whoops....

You see, I'm from Memphis. And being a Memphis native, I always walk into the Peabody Hotel to pretend I'm fancy for a few fleeting seconds. While I'm there, I always check out the ducks. That's when I ran into Donald Duck who was cheering on his children as they marched around the Peabody. AI told him about all my classes and of course the mountain of life that is creating a blog. That's when Donald's eyes lit up (one eye had a dollar sign and the other sparkled). Don told me he could aid me in the art of writing for children and setting up the blog in exchange for some publicity. Don told me he's wary of these despicable yellow tic-tac characters that are taking over the big screen instead of him. Anyways, he's my partner and figurehead of this blog. As a father, he should know a lot about kids and what appeals to them, right?

Ok, so I can't even compliment him. He's still mad I woke him up from his beauty sleep. But is it really necessary to shoot fireballs?

In my Writing for Children class, there is an interesting book called simply Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul. It covers a variety of subjects about what it takes to essentially make a children's masterpiece (something that can compare with the majesty of Captain Underpants or Catzilla). In Chapter Sixteen, the book covers something that has daunted essay-writers and creative writers alike (the terror worse than a Sharknado): the title! There are various techniques employed by children's writers to create catchy/memorable titles, such as using alliteration, unusual/standout titles, loud exclamations, inventing new words, adding spins onto familiar story titles. 

The title is integral because often times someone will scan through many titles at once on a shelf, disregarding everything except the spine of a book. Indeed, children's book titles should be catchy, unique, but also respectful to the content and atmosphere/mood of the book, and hints about the contents. At the same time, someone can create mystery with a vague, generalized word or question within the title. 

Another important thing to remember is that a child should be able to easily read or pronounce the title: making it a riddle or a tongue twister will confuse the child but something short and attention-getting will get the kid's attention. Speaking of short and attention getting....

Or another method would be to use the main character's name within the title, and it helps if that character is both strong and distinctive. That's why I chose Donald as my mascot/part of my title, he's loud and weird (not to mention likes to dress up strangely). 

"What are you talking about, simpleton? Is this how *MY* clubhouse is going to go?" - Donald Duck to me. 

But it really is true, a title that's unique and catchy (such as the Captain Underpants or Catzilla mentioned) will imprint itself onto the minds of anyone who sees it. I know for me in writing for any type of fiction the title is important and one of the first things I come up with (after the characters and a general plot). It can be a way to hook the reader by making it flashy or unique compared to all the titles that play it safe or generic. 

When reading the Cynsations blog by Cynthia Leitich Smith I couldn't help but relate to this interview she had with K.A. Parson. She discusses the central question of creating a character: what is it they want: acceptance, love, friendship, money? This reminds me of the scriptwriting classes I took from Bob May and how he always emphasized the main objective of the main character: it had to be something that character wanted for themselves, something selfish, and it had to be a desperate quest to attain or accomplish the main objective. This emphasizes that because it shows that each character, even in children's stories, must be trying to accomplish or grasp something that is elusive. 

But there's the flip side to that that I hadn't really thought about as much as K.A. Parson: what if the character doesn't achieve this objective? She makes a great point that the stakes involved don't have to be life threatening, but they should be important. Indeed, this makes the story more suspenseful if there's consequences if that main character should fail. What if Scrooge McDuck has to make the next flight to L.A. to meet with a McDonald's worker to pen out a business deal but his airplane is late? This would up the stakes, but it would up it even more if I said that Scrooge would have to sell his relaxing hat and beloved  hot tub if he failed? Wouldn't that be suspenseful (and for me, enjoyable)? Of course, I could even go so far as to say if this business deal didn't happen he could lose the house, but that could be too serious (at least for children's work). 

She goes onto say that motivation propels and drives the plot forward and the story: if a character's objective is in-line with the main character they can be an ally, if it clashes with the main character's goal than chances are they are an antagonist. This I think is important to remember in stories because common objectives can enhance the relationships between characters, while on the other hand clashing objectives can separate characters from experiencing a close-knit relationship. 

In the last chunk of the interview, K.A. Parson talks about the role of humor in her stories: she uses it carefully and purposely to add comic relief in between serious scenes in her stories so that the story isn't all 'heavy material.' Indeed, I think pacing is important and unloading too much serious information can make the story too depressing or melodramatic. I think especially in children's writing, humor and wit are pivotal and should be intertwined in even the most serious story to show that there's always underlying hope and possible joy even in the worst circumstances. Overall, I really enjoyed this interview because it talks about how even the "lesser" ingredients of writing like using humor can enhance the story and improve the pacing, while at the same time talking about the foundation of the story (objectives) and how that foundation can be strengthened. 

Check back next time for some more analysis and more Donald Duck's expressions....