Bring Your Characters to Life

By Sharon Giltrow

As a reader, think about one of your favourite books... What do you remember the most? The plot or the characters? For me it is often the characters. The characters take me on a journey through the story. When I read a story, and connect with the characters, that is when the magic happens.

As a writer, you need to connect to your characters too. But how? Interview them. Here are some questions your can ask your characters. Get to know them better, and uncover their unusual and funny traits. Does your character...

• have any peculiar behaviours?
• have a unique self-image?
• have any unusual talents?
• have any competing personalities?
• follow the rules?

Bring your characters to life, then take them, and the reader on a journey.

Written by: Rory H. Mather
Illustrated by: Shane McG
Published by: Scholastic Australia July 1st 2021
There were pirates in the paperbacks, a bear in fantasy.
Then I saw a smiling cat, staring straight at me.
Why are all thee book characters on the loose? They need to get back in their books.

In the hilarious story, GET BACK IN YOUR BOOKS, author Rory H. Mather has literally brought his characters to life. He has taken well-know characters, and made them break a very important rule - stay in the book.

Here are two of Rory's favourite and funny pages. See if you can recognise any of the characters.

R- “The 'Puff!!!' spread is probably my favourite in the book because not only has Shane McG done an amazing job of the illustration, but it is also a flow on spread where the last line on the previous spread has ended with . . . and you need the page turn to finish the rhyme/line. I have always loved those and try to incorporate them whenever possible.

R- “My second favourite spread - to be honest I love EVERY spread in this book because Shane and the design team at Scholastic have made a masterpiece - is this one. It has the text that appears on the back cover of the book and I just love the layout and the characters.

Well, that’s it from me this month, see you in August, with another great Aussie book.

Share a laugh, and connect with someone today.

GIVEAWAY
For a chance to win a copy of GET BACK IN THE BOOKS
1.    Comment on this blog post
2.    Share this blog post on social media
3.    Follow Sharon on twitter
4.    The winner will be announced on twitter on Monday 2nd August

BIO:
Sharon Giltrow grew up in South Australia, the youngest of eight children, surrounded by pet sheep and fields of barley. She now lives in Perth, Western Australia with her husband, two children and a tiny dog. Sharon has taught for all of her career. Previously a teacher of children who are hearing impaired and Deaf-Blind, she now teaches young children with Developmental Language Disorder. Her humorous debut PB BEDTIME DADDY! released May 2020 through EK books. Sharon’s humorous follow up PB GET READY, MAMA! Is due to be released through EK books in 2022. She was awarded The Paper Bird Fellowship for Writers in 2019, during this time she wrote her early middle grade book SAMARA RUBIN AND THE UTILITY BELT, which will be released in 2021 through Clear Fork Publishing’s new imprint &MG. She was recently awarded a U-15 K Arts Grant to further develop her early middle grade series – THE UTILITY BELT.

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