I want to give a big thank you to all of the students at Heath Elementary for being such a wonderful audience and kicking off the 2012 Book Tour! One of the most important things to me as an author is my AUDIENCE ... the readers! It's important that all of us as writers consider the audience and always put ourselves in their shoes. When we do this ... being creative offers a wonderful challenge to us all, and it helps our editing techniques reach a whole new level.
REMEMBER one of the best ways to edit is to have your friend read your work back to you. This will help you remove yourself and hear what it sounds like to be in the shoes of your reader!
Once of my favorite parts of the day was getting to hear from all of you and answer some really great questions! I hope that each of you continue to write stories after talking about the many ways to find inspiration for stories and develop characters. One of the easiest ways to exercise your creative brain is to find one picture and make up a story ... just like we all did with this little guy!
When developing a story ... start with the main character and get to know him/her as best as you can. It will help you later develop a conflict and resolution revolve around your characters' fears, desires and growth while he/she changes in your story. After developing your main character, do the same for your villain, tricksters, mentor and shapeshifter too! (Check out the writings of Christopher Vogler to learn even more about these character/archetype concepts.)
Never stop writing! You will find there is something to write about every day of your life if you start the habit today.
Good luck and happy writing! I can't wait to get some of your stories for the I Write Short Stories by Kids for Kids Contest!
Now here's the fun part! If you still have questions for me that didn't get answered, please leave your questions in the comment section below, and I will answer them for you.
Melissa
