Friday, October 21, 2011

Storyteller's Journey

As I mentioned last week, I will be sharing some of the great information I brought home after attending the recent SCBWI retreat in Sublimity, Oregon. Beginning today, on through the month of November, I will give you my impressions from the presentations I heard two weeks ago. (By the way, I will be participating in NaNoWriMo, so I'll fill you in on that experience on the first Friday of December!)

Tip # 1 - Get Personal!

What I mean by this is to go beyond the form and craft of writing to tap into your own heart, as well as the heart of your characters - especially your main character. In today's writing market the trend is toward character-driven stories, rather than plot-driven stories. This means we must introduce and expand our characters in such a way as to be interesting to the reader right away. This is even more important in children's literature where the "hook" must be set in the heart of the young reader, early in the first chapter, or you'll likely "let one get away!" This is something I heard from the person who critiqued my work. Make sure you give your main character a great first impression, and quickly, and you'll be well on your way to a character-driven story - Good Luck!