Crafting A Dynamic Character

I often moonlight as an editor for the SCBWI Metro NY Chapter Blog. For you writers with all those characters stuck in your head. Here is an article from of our events by Gae Polisner.

This article is reposted from SCBWI Metro NY Chapter Blog

Editorial Assistant Kelsey Murphy of Balzer & Bray led a wonderful workshop at the SCBWI LI on Saturday April 13, at the Huntington Public Library on Long Island. The workshop was on “Crafting a Dynamic Character.”

Ms. Murphy provided a four-pronged outline on how to craft dynamic characters, explaining that, to draw in readers – and prospective agents and editors! – realistic characters (1) must have a want, (2) must change, (3) must be emotional and reactive, and (4) must be specific (not stereotypical or clichéd).

Using examples from both participants’ own two-minute writing exercises prepared on the spot, as well as from well-loved picture books and works of young adult and middle grade fiction, Ms. Murphy walked the audience through each prong of character building, helping us to see how it is done, and why each prong matters.

“A character will change, while still being that character at the core.”

Always coming back to prong one, that a character must have wants in order for the reader to connect—and to build plot—at the outset of a story, Ms. Murphy explained that a writer should even know the wants of her secondary characters: “A character that wants for nothing is dull.” She explained physical wants versus emotional wants, active and overarching wants to build characters from the ground up—and to view their personal history through these statements of want.

Elaborating that showing, not telling, the history leading to those wants is key to a well-told story, Ms. Murphy stated: “A character with a want has power and will encounter conflict either in pursuit or in lack of pursuit of the desire itself . . . and the backgrounds to those wants give the book momentum and energize the story.”

Carrying these precepts over to picture book writing, Ms. Murphy shared that simplicity of focus in picture books matters. At the core of a picture book, there should be one central idea “blown out” via repetition or exploration or upending of classic tropes—bringing them to a funny or unusual setting, while the simple want of the story remains clear. “She wants a frog!” Ms. Murphy exclaimed, alluding to one of her favorite picture books her house has recently acquired.

Following the workshop, Ms. Murphy generously fielded an audience Q&A session and took writers’ individual questions.

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Gae Polisner is the award-winning author of THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO and THE PULL OF GRAVITY (fsg/Frances Foster Books). She lives on Long Island with her husband, two sons, and a suspiciously-fictional looking dog she swore she’d never own. When she’s not writing, she can be found in her wetsuit in the open waters off the Long Island Sound.

SCBWI Metro NY Chapter and New School Agent Panel 2014

I often moonlight as an editor for the SCBWI Metro NY Chapter Blog. For those interested in the world of literary agents. Here is an article from our annual agents panel by Adria Quiñones.

This article is reposted from SCBWI Metro NY Chapter Blog

The November Professional Series agents panel, always a sold-out event, was for the first time presented jointly with the New School’s Writing for Children MFA program and held at the New School. Each agent on the panel gave a specific piece of writing advice; afterwards, they fielded questions on submitting manuscripts (a book should be as good as you can make it), query letters (do your research, proofread your letter and don’t forget the hooks) and the life of an agent.

Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary Media: ”Two pieces of advice”

Show, don’t tell.

While this rule is often quoted as a narrative technique, Townsend applied it to the story’s emotional underpinning. “When I became an agent, I expected to see terrible manuscripts, but for the most part, I see a lot of manuscripts that are good–but they are only good. You want yours to be better.”
What makes the difference is the author’s ability to connect the reader to the character. “I often see great voice, great concept, great pacing, but I have trouble connecting to the character emotionally–the character is almost held at a distance, and then it’s hard to feel like you want to follow this person.” Emotion has to be appropriate to the age group, authentic to the character and integrated into the story. “Make sure you have a balance between what the character tells in their voice and what you show through the character’s actions.”

Keep those pages turning.

Townsend recounted how Stephen King gives his drafts to his wife to read and then marks every spot where she puts the book down. “You want to make the reader stay up until 4:00, to forget to eat.” Her suggestions:

• Get in late, get out early.
  “If you wrote this up, you wouldn’t start with when we walked through the door; you’d start with the start of the panel.” (Point taken.)
• Don’t repeat conversation or details that we already know.
• End every chapter with a cliffhanger.
  Leave the reader wanting to know what happens next.

Heather Alexander, Pippen Properties: “Avoid rhetorical questions”

“I see these all the time, even in query letters. I always want to say, ‘We already know that!’”
Alexander illustrated the worst pitfalls of rhetorical questions and gave a suggestion for what to do instead: “Trust your reader to follow your breadcrumbs. Let them find their way. Without the questions, your reader may not know what’s going on, but that’s perfect.” Remember, cliffhangers are good.  “Did I get my point across?”

Alexander Slater, Trident Media Group: “Be economical, be urgent, be unforgettable”

“A strong opening is the first, best way to capture your reader, whether it’s a kid, agent or editor,“ Slater said. “That doesn’t have to mean a ticking time bomb, whizzing bullets or a runaway train. Start with the most interesting moment of the action, to tease the reader and keep them wanting more.”
 “The opening is like a short story—it has to stand on its own. And it should hint at the ending.” It also has to contain the other elements that editors and agents are looking for: originality, sympathy and a hook.

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Adria Quiñones finished her middle-grade coming-of-age literary mystery, The Disappeared, last Friday night. She was a winner of the SCBWI 2013 Midwinter Conference’s prestigious joke contest. By day, Ms. Quiñones is a technical writer and author of the blog, Insidious Intent.