Building The Personality Of Your Characters

Writing a children's book does not mean writing a simple book.  To create a real page turner you need to  fuel your readers imagination.

Previously, I have given some tips on how to develop interesting, believable characters.  This is key to writing a good story.  If you haven't seen my earlier post, "Building Characters The Easy Way" have a quick look at it now.  Today I am going to expand on this theme a little.

Once your reader has a clear image of the character in their minds eye, you need to get the personality of the character across to your reader.  If you choose your verbs with care, you will be able to achieve this without labouring the point.  Let me explain:

You should avoid verbs like 'walk' or 'looked'.   For example, "Colin walked into the room," is a waste of a sentence because it conveys little more than the (boring) transportation of a person from one place to another. "Colin strutted into the room," says far more (if appropriate to the story-line, of course!).

Similarly, 'Michelle looked at her teacher,' is a waste, because it conveys little. 'Michelle glared fiercely at Mr Jeffries,' says far more.

This applies not just when you introduce each character, but at regular intervals throughout your story. It reinforces the reader's first impression of the character, and serves to keep his interest engaged.

You can find more information on this in the course Writing For Children.  The website address is shown on my previous post.