Author Jessica Brody on Transformative Stories, Structure, & Character Voice in Retellings

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character voice, Jessica Brody, plotting, story structure, transformative stories, voice

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, as you may have heard, SCBWI L.A.’s 2020 Writers Day has been postponed due to the Coronavirus. Please check your emails for the announcement which provides more details. Despite this news, the below interview (edited lightly following the news of the event’s postponement) provides fantastic information – so, please, read on! 

Jessica Brody, author of the plotting guide Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, is slated to be a keynote speaker at this year’s Los Angeles SCBWI Writers Day! Along with several popular titles, including 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, A Week of Mondays, The Chaos of Standing Still, Better You Than Me, and the Unremembered trilogy, Jessica has also written Sky Without Stars (and the sequel Between Burning Worlds) a sci-fi reimagining of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, and books based on Disney franchises like Disney Princess Lego and the Descendants.

While Writers Day has been postponed (previously scheduled for March 28), here are some great tips and tricks from Jessica!

FARRHA KHAN: We’re excited to have you join us at Writers Day this year! Your keynote on The Transformative Power of Story sounds inspiring. Could you share a bit about what you will be exploring? – Without giving away too much, of course! 

#KTWriteOn With Illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi: Sequential Art

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character exercise, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, exercise, voice, voice exercise, writing exercise, writing prompt

Welcome to the Kite Tales Writing Prompt: #KTWriteOn. Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas and creative energy. This prompt was created by author and illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi.

By Debbie Ridpath Ohi

I’ve always been a fan of sequential art – art forms that use images for the purpose of graphic storytelling. Back in childhood, the first comic I created was about a baby named Boppy, and I shared it with my family. Sadly, I didn’t keep any samples. I kept working on different comics over the years, just for the fun of it. I loved the challenge of trying to distill the essence of a story or story scene in just a few panels. My focus was on the story, not the art, and connecting with readers. You can see samples of my early webcomics at Waiting For Frodo, Will Write For Chocolate, and My Life In A Nutshell.

When I read sequential art nowadays, I read more graphic novels than regular comics – I like the longer form. I may work on my own someday. Who knows? But meanwhile, I have found sequential art is also a wonderful way to brainstorm ideas for character, plot, and dialog.

Here is a writing prompt for you all. Take a look at the following:

#KTWriteOn with Author Marilyn Cram Donahue: Character, Voice

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character exercise, Marilyn Cram Donahue, voice, writing exercise, writing prompt, writing tips

Welcome to the second installment of the Kite Tales Writing Prompt: #KTWriteOn. Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas and creative energy. This prompt was created by author and SCBWI volunteer Marilyn Cram Donahue whose latest middle grade novel, When Crickets Stopped Singing (Boyds Mills/Calkins Creek), will be published on March 20.

By Marilyn Cram Donahue

Are you looking for a boost of creativity? All you need is a pile of old magazines, some tape, and a sheet of 11”x17” paper. This is the ideal size, but you can also tape two sheets of regular typing paper together.

Step 1: Open the magazines and choose pictures that speak to you. Don’t analyze. Just think “AHA! I like that.”

Step 2: Rip out the pages you like and use your fingers to tear around the edges of whatever part of the picture speaks to you. Why are you tearing?

HarperCollins Editor Karen Chaplin on Defining Voice, Trends, & Time Management

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Guardian Herd, Karen Chaplin, middle grade, picture books, trends, voice, writing tips, YA

Karen Chaplin began her publishing career at Scholastic. She was an editor at Puffin Books/Penguin Young Readers Group for six years before she moved to HarperCollins Children’s Books, where she is currently a senior editor of picture book, middle grade, and young adult fiction and nonfiction. Karen received her undergraduate degree in English from the University of Delaware, and her MA in English from Simmons College. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, finding DIY projects to do, and dabbling in photography. She also has graciously offered to do a Q&A with us!

Sarah Parker-Lee: As an editor, it’s your job to take a writer’s labor of love and not just fine-tune it but take it to the next level. What are you looking for when you first begin this process?

Karen Chaplin: One of the first things I look for in a manuscript is voice. The voice of the story, of the main character, of all the characters, really needs to draw me in from the first few pages, and if that happens, then the author has got me hooked. Plot points, character issues, the ending—all of that can be modified. But the voice is difficult to accomplish, and if an author nails that, it’s a fantastic start.

SPL: Any advice for writers working with an editor, whether they are first-timers or old pros?