THE CHILDREN'S BOOK ACADEMY
  • Home
  • WRITING
    • Mastering Great Graphic Novels >
      • 2023 Mastering Graphic Novels Registration
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
    • The Chapter Book Alchemist
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2022 Kidlit Palooza >
      • 2022 Palooza Program
      • 2022 Palooza Faculty
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
  • About Us
    • Why Us?
    • Meet the Faculty, Lives & GT Judges
    • Testimonials
    • Books by Students
    • Our Bookshop
    • As Seen In
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Blogfish
  • MN Course Access
  • Community
    • Our Bookshop
    • Come Play With Us!
    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship

Character Connections by Marsha Diane Arnold

1/10/2014

5 Comments

 
Picture
In Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s fascinating Ted talk “How a boy became an artist” he speaks of a challenging childhood and says, “...the characters that I read about I fell in love with and they became my best friends. So my best friends in life were the characters I read about in books.”

It’s preferable, I’m sure, for a human child to have another human child as a best friend. If that’s not possible, a dog, cat, or horse is a good substitute. But many of us have also had the experience of a book character being our good companion. After a long day at school or a difficult experience, we looked forward to sitting down with that companion to share an entertaining, comforting, fictional world.

PictureAt the beautiful Baxter County Library in Mt.Home, AR.
We  writers feel validated when children connect with our book characters. It's surprising how much humans enjoy relating to fictional characters. We’re a social species and enjoy being around others, in real life or in the pages of a book. Connecting with book characters is actually a form of social interaction that oils our hearts and our minds.



What kind of characters do readers want for best friends? How do we write characters that children yearn to connect with?  The answer to the first question varies with the child. But there are universal elements to keep in mind as we create our characters. Below are three.

1)    Unique characters are always in high demand. The uniqueness provides interest, curiosity, and fun.

2)    But we also want characters readers can identify with. The identifying is necessary if the reader is to understand and care about the character.

3) Compelling characters are also desired. The one thing we want our characters to have is the power to make readers want to know them better. If the reader becomes impatient with a character – skipping paragraphs or becoming restless or bored - then that character isn’t compelling enough.  

Remember when you fell in love? You hung on every word your loved one said and every thing she did. It’s similar when a reader falls in love with a character. The reader hangs on the character’s every word, every action.

There’s another reason a reader might grow impatient with a character. That character may not be moving quickly enough. He may not be making enough happen, either physically or mentally. So use those verbs! In picture books much of the action can be shown in illustrations, but when you have an opportunity or a choice, think verbs over adjectives.

Picture
Open Ashley Wolff’s delight-filled Baby Bear Sees Blue. The first page is filled with the character doing things. Lots of verbs. 

“Deep down in the den, Baby Bear wakes up. He yawns and blinks and stretches his stubby legs.”

His questions are filled with verbs too.

“Who is warming me, Mama?” “Who tickled me, Mama?”

The verbs guide us through the book as we follow curious Baby Bear’s exploration of the world.


PictureMighty Hunter,Calico Colors,Adventurer w Mom
While writing this blog, I looked up at a painting from my Heart of a Tiger and was reminded of the names the four kittens gave themselves at the end. They seem good reminders of what’s needed to help us write characters who will give strong connections to readers. 

In Hindi, the names are Bahadur Shikari, Rang Birange Kapare, Sailani, and Bangali Sher Ka Dil.

Mighty Hunter – Be brave! Hunt not only for the right words, but the right character for your story. 

Calico Colors – Feel pretty. That’s right. Feel good about yourself. Only when you feel good about yourself and trust yourself can you write your best work.

Adventurer – Be curious. Humans are naturally curious. Readers want characters who are curious; they want to live vicariously through the characters' adventures.

Heart of a Tiger – Have heart and give your characters heart, because if you’re giving your reader a character who might become a best friend, you certainly want that character to have heart.

PictureBangali Sher Ka Dil - Heart of a Tiger
Called a “born storyteller” by the media, Marsha Diane Arnold wrote the award-winning “homegrown treasures” column prior to penning eleven award-winning picture books.  Last year, Marsha contracted with Neal Porter Books for two new picture books, Kate O'Sullivan of Houghton Mifflin for another, and Tamarind for a fourth. She grew up on a Kansas farm, but today creates imaginative worlds and wacky characters in northern California surrounded by her garden, deer, hummingbirds, turkeys, oaks, and redwoods. Marsha's course Writing Wonderful Character-Driven Picture Books has helped many published and aspiring writers to write stronger characters. You may read about her books, school visits, and life at www.marshadianearnold.com. 

5 Comments
Virginia Rinkel link
1/11/2014 02:57:15 am

Enjoyed reading your "Character Connections" here. Will look up more of your blogs. Thanks for this piece.

Reply
Mary Nida Smith link
1/12/2014 11:13:01 pm

Thanks Marsha, it was very helpful. I love the picture of you at Baxter County Library.

Reply
Wendy Greenley
1/13/2014 12:54:09 am

Timely post for ReviMo week, Marsha! Thanks for the reminders.

Reply
Charlotte Dixon
1/14/2014 09:49:14 am

Excellent post Marsha. Your words of wisdom are always welcome-thank you!

Reply
Marsha Diane Arnold link
1/26/2014 02:28:17 am

Thanks all. So glad you enjoyed the blog. As you know, I love characters. :) Hoping some of the stories I sold last year will become a series, so I can play with the characters in them more. I can dream. :) There's so much at Mira's academy! I love reading the other blogs too.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Meet the Friday Blogonauts

    First Fridays will feature Bryan Patrick Avery, published writer , man of mystery, and professional magician among other things.

    Second Fridays will feature  awesome multi-award winning author Marsha Diane Arnold who will be writing about character-driven and/or nature-based books and/or anything she likes :)

    Third Fridays
    will feature independent Aladdin/Simon & Shuster editor Emma Sector who has helped bring many books into the world.

    Fourth Fridays will feature the great Christine Taylor-Butler who has published over 70 award-winning fiction and non-fiction and nonfiction books including the acclaimed new middle grade series - The Lost Tribes.

    Fifth Fridays will feature the fabulous Carl Angel award-winning multi-published Illustrator and graphic designer.


    Join our Tribe

    and receive 7 Steps to Creative Happiness, access to free webinars, and lots more!

    Your email addresses are always safe and respected with us.
     
     

    Follow our Blog!

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Archives

    January 2019
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    Categories

    All
    Art Technique
    Authorartist
    Author Platform
    Author Visits
    Bitsy Kemper
    Book Marketing
    Books For Children
    COPPA
    Creative Flow
    Digital Books
    Diversity In Children's Books
    First Voice Multicultural Children's Books
    Illustrating Your Own Story
    Independent Publishing
    Magic In Books
    Marketing
    Maya Gonzalez
    Middle Grade Novels
    Picture Books
    Picture Books And Death
    Print-on-demand
    School Visits
    Self-publishing
    Understory
    Writer Platform
    Writing
    Writing Exercise
    Writing For Children

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Picture
Discover
Why Us?
Courses
Blogfish
Book Shoppe
About Us
Meet the Academy Faculty
Community
Contact Us

Privacy Policy
Join Us
Social Media
Join our Community and receive a fabulous free gift, yummy newsletters, scholarship info, contests, and more!

Like us on Facebook 
Join our interactive FB Group  
Find us on Twitter 
Follow us on ​Instagram  
Look for us on Pinterest
​
Watch us on YouTube
© 2012-2021  All content on this website is copyrighted. Sorry, all courses are non-refundable.
  • Home
  • WRITING
    • Mastering Great Graphic Novels >
      • 2023 Mastering Graphic Novels Registration
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
    • The Chapter Book Alchemist
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2022 Kidlit Palooza >
      • 2022 Palooza Program
      • 2022 Palooza Faculty
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
  • About Us
    • Why Us?
    • Meet the Faculty, Lives & GT Judges
    • Testimonials
    • Books by Students
    • Our Bookshop
    • As Seen In
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Blogfish
  • MN Course Access
  • Community
    • Our Bookshop
    • Come Play With Us!
    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship