Dear Teachers,

Happy Monday and Happy Independence Day!

I realize many of you might be taking the day off to spend time with loved ones but for those of you looking for a warm-up today, here we go!

Today I want to talk a little bit about character. There are a lot of exercise and sets of questions people put together to help with building character, and I use these myself. They are wonderful tools. One of my favorites comes from Kate Messner, who asks you to fill in the blanks:

This is a story about a boy/girl who wants ________________________ , but underneath that, it's a story about a boy/girl who wants __________________________ .

It's that underneath part that is at the heart of your story, yes? But often when I ask students to fill this out, I feel that underneath answer they first give is the easy one. And so, I challenge them to go deeper. I prod them and ask, "Yes, but underneath that what to do they want?" And we get a little closer, So I ask them to go underneath that. And then underneath that.

It's hard, even painful. But I think the deeper we can drill down, the closer we get to the real heart of the story, and it's often a big surprise. Often, it opens up the whole book and gives the story deeper meaning and greater importance to the writer. It's also what makes your character real.

But while a crucial step to developing character, it is only the first one. What's next?

Next, you need to understand what it actually feels like to be your character. To be that kid living with that want, and all the obstacles keeping you from getting it. Whether you are writing a picture book, chapter book, or upper YA novel, whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, the most important piece of character development is for you, the writer, to fully embrace what it must be like to live as this character lives. To sleep in this character's bed. To breathe the air in this character's home. To hear the conversations that take place, or fail to. To wear the clothes your character wears. To speak as your character speaks. And of course to want as your character wants, and to fully understand why.

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Monday Morning Warm Up:

Have your main character wake up on a Sunday morning. Be that person right now as you open your eyes. What do you see? Smell? Hear? Feel? Think? Worry about? Look forward to?

Write a paragraph or two in first person, present tense, fully exploring what it would feel like to wake up in your character's skin.

Share if you dare!

And as always, have fun, be brave, and let yourself be free to go wherever your instinct directs you.

Love always,

Jo