The Importance of (Consistently) Being Earnest and Other Thoughts on Characters in Children's Books

Recently, I was asked to respond to some interview questions for the publication Children's Writer. 

Characterization is something that we are constantly concerned with here at the editorial desk. Who is this character? What would they do in this situation? Are they likable? Do I care what his/her/their experience is? Why did they react that way?  There is no real end to the questions we could ask about the characters we meet in our submissions and acquired titles.  

So, for today, I thought I would share my responses to said questions with the world-wide-web. Maybe you have some ideas to share as well? We'd love to hear you sound off below or on Facebook. Maybe you have a quick question? Ask away on Twitter! However you choose to respond, we're excited to hear your feedback.

-Josh

Inside Pamela Cory's Head

Hassie Calhoun author Pamela Cory recently completed an interview on WhoHub as a way to reach out to fans interested in getting to know the author behind the book.

She opens up about her first reading experiences and how she began writing: "As a very young reader, I loved the Nancy Drew series. I also wrote my own stories to add to the series - of course, no one else saw these stories but this was my earliest writing."

She also talks about what is necessary to make a character believable: "Verisimilitude is the key to all believability. My characters actually live in my psyche and have their own identity, character flaws and personality quirks. I was once advised to assign a living being (i.e. actor/actress) to each character to enable him/her to be "real." I love it when I can not identify anyone who actually fits my mind's description. That also helps me work harder to bring that character alive for the reader."

To learn more about this great author, you can check out the rest of the interview here.