How to Reach Kid Lit Readers: Hone in on Power & Control by Angela Ackerman #ChaBooCha

Most kids know one thing: structure. There’s school to attend, homework to do, music lessons and sports practices, mealtimes, bedtimes and a host of other things. Parents place limits on their sugar intake, TV watching, social play and assign chores. Teachers shape their school hours and friends have their own set of expectations. With so many people laying down rules, it’s no wonder the desire to experience power or control is so strong in kids. So using these themes is a great way to draw readers into our books and keep them interested.

Above all else, we want young readers to identify with the hero of the story. This means creating a character who is both extraordinary yet just like them. These two things seem like they pull in different directions, but that isn’t the case at all. Delivering a protagonist who faces the same life challenges as the reader while gaining power or control is best done in one of two ways:

The Ordinary Kid Who Becomes Extraordinary

Ordinary kid heroes are mirrors for readers. They have rules to live by, friendship and school issues, goals, desires and dreams. They have quirks and talents and skills, but they also make mistakes, fail and need help from time to time. Kids relate to this type of protagonist, because the hero faces the same day-to-day struggles and challenges they themselves do.

This “everyday” hero becomes something more through a twist in the plot. Often something extraordinary happens (aliens crash land in his backyard, or zombie rats escape a nearby mad scientist’s lab) and the hero is the one to step up and save the day. Or an opportunity arises for the hero to shine (a school wide baking contest, or finally making the baseball team because another player is injured.) To make these scenarios feel realistic, the key to becoming extraordinary should be rooted in a talent or skill that seems ordinary, or a personality trait that the hero believes is more a hindrance, than a help.  Maybe the character loves baking cupcakes even though he’s a boy and gets teased for it, or the heroine wants to play baseball more than anything else, but believes her tendency to think everything through is what makes her a bad player.

When the author twists the character’s thinking about themselves so that they see they are special just by embracing their own ordinary skills, talents and passions, readers cheer because deep down, they want to believe they are just as capable of being extraordinary too.

The Extraordinary Kid Who Becomes Ordinary

There’s something exciting about a hero or heroine that is amazing right from page one. Maybe they are the town’s kid-sized superhero, saving the world each and every day. Or, they’re a child movie star or the most popular kid in school and a terror on the basketball court. These type of heroes are what kids want to be themselves, because they have power and control right off the bat.

But, being all-powerful and perfect will not sustain readers for the scope of the book. Eventually the rush of living their life will wear off and readers will start to view the character as unrealistic because while they admire this type of character, they can’t relate to them. So this is where introducing “ordinary” into the Extraordinary Hero must come in. As I mentioned before, a child’s real world is all about structure, and there are limits on what they can do and say. Showing a fantastic hero struggle with “real life” brings the protagonist into a young reader’s own experience.  Having the protagonist struggle with friends, need to obey rules, or simply making them bad at something (like being skilled at archery yet always tripping because he can’t tie his shoelaces properly, or saving the world by day yet having to wash supper dishes like any other kid at night, etc.) helps readers feel like they can identify with the hero, because in some ways, he’s just like them.

YOUR TURN: Does your character gain power and control in some way? Do they have a  skill that makes them special, or a personality trait that acts as a “hidden talent”? Let me know in the comments how you’re making sure your readers will identify with your character by making him ordinary and extraordinary and fulfilling the desire for power and control.

TIP:  Need to brainstorm a special talent or skill? Try our new Talents & Skill Thesaurus entries. Or if you need to find the perfect personality trait, there’s the Character Trait Thesaurus sample entries.

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Angela Ackerman is the author of the bestselling writing guide, The Emotion Thesaurus, and most recently, The Positive Trait and Negative Trait Thesaurus books. Centering on the light and dark side of a character's personality, these new resource books help writers create layered, compelling characters that readers relate to and care for. Visit Angela's website, Writers Helping Writers for friendly support, description help, free writing tools and more!

Comment on this post by March 7th, to be entered into the drawing for a paperback copy of "The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Attributes" by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. Winner will be chosen by a random number generator on March 20th at noon GMT. You must be signed up for the challenge to qualify. 

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Time to announce the winner of George Ivanoff's "Gamer's Quest."  The winner is:

Robyn Campbell 

Congratulations, Robyn! E-mail me your mailing address so I can get your copy mailed to you.

Weather In Writing: 3 How-to Tips by Angela Ackerman #ChaBooCha

Weather In Writing: 3 How-to Tips
by Angela Ackerman

Are you afraid of using the weather in your writing? If so, you aren’t alone. After all, if we aren’t careful, weather description can be a minefield of clichés. The sunny, hot afternoon at the beach. The gloomy rainstorm at a funeral. There is also the danger that comes with using weather to mirror a character’s inner emotional landscape. Mishandling this technique can quickly create melodrama. Agents and editors also say that starting with the weather may kill your chances of having your story read past the first page. Why? Because done poorly, it can sound like a weather report. It may also delay the introduction of your hero, and readers are not always patient. They like to meet your characters and see what they are up against as soon as possible.

Wow, weather sounds like a recipe for disaster! It’s no wonder that some writers are so nervous about using anything weather-esque, they avoid it entirely.

But here’s the thing…avoiding weather entirely can be a fatal mistake!

Weather is rich. Powerful. It is infused with symbolism and meaning. And most of all, weather is important to us as people, affecting us in little ways. To illustrate this, I’m going to put you in the character’s shoes.

Think about walking down a street. It’s late afternoon, crystal bright, and a hot breeze blows against you. School’s out and kids run willy-nilly down the sidewalk, laughter ringing the air as they race to the corner store for a grape slush. Your sandals click against the pavement as you turn down between two brick buildings. The side door to an Italian restaurant is just past a rusty dumpster, and your fiancée’s shift is about to end. You smile, feeling light. You can’t wait to see him.

Now, let’s change the scene.

It’s sunset, and the weather has soured. Dark clouds pack the sky, creating a churning knot of cement above you. The sidewalk is deserted, and the wind is edged in cold, slapping your dress against your legs as you walk. You wish you’d worn pants, wish you’d brought a sweater. In the alley, garbage swirls against the greasy pavement and the restaurant’s dumpster has been swallowed by thick shadow. The side door is only a few steps away. You can’t quite see it, but all you have to do is cross the distance and knock. You hesitate, eyeing the darkness.

The same setting, the same event. Yet, the mood and tone shifted, all because of the weather I put in the backdrop. What was safe and bright and clean became dark and alien.

Were you able to imagine yourself in the moment? Did your emotions change depending on how I described this scenario? I hope so, because this is the power of weather--changing how people feel about their surroundings.  

Weather is a tool to evoke mood, guiding the character toward the emotions we want them to feel (and by extension, the reader as well). By tuning into specific weather conditions, a character may feel safe, or off balance. Weather can work for or against the character and be used to foreshadow, hinting that something is about to change (often for the worse).

Because we have all experienced different types of weather ourselves, when we read about it within a scene, it reminds us of our own past, and the emotions we felt at the time. So, not only does weather add a large element of mood to the setting, it also encourages readers to identify with the character’s experience on a personal level.

So how do we write weather into our story in a clear way, and stay away from the pitfalls? Here are three ways.

Use Fresh, Sensory Images. In each passage, I utilized several senses to describe the effects of the weather. Here’s just a few: A hot breeze. Laughter ringing the air. Garbage swirling over the greasy pavement. A wind edged in cold, slapping against the legs. By describing weather by sound, touch and sight, I was able to make the scene feel more real.

Avoid Direct Emotion-to-Weather Clichés. There are some pairings we should avoid, like showing a crying character in a rainstorm or quaking with anger as thunder and lightning rages. There are many different types of weather elements, so think past the usual ones. (Need brainstorming help? Try the Weather Thesaurus HERE.) Avoid mirroring and instead show the character’s reaction to the weather as I did above. This is a stronger way to indicate one’s emotions without being too direct.

Choose Each Setting With Care. Setting and Weather should work together, either through contrast or comparison. In the first scene, we have beautiful weather and an alley as a final destination. These two are contrasts—one desirable, one not, but I chose to show enthusiasm and anticipation for the meeting to win out. In the second, the weather becomes a storm. Now we have two undesirable elements, and as such, they work together to build unease.

Weather can have a positive or negative effect on setting and change the character’s reaction to it, so don’t be afraid to use it! Just remember that with something this powerful, a light touch is all that is needed.

Your Turn: Do you use weather in your stories? How do you go about it? 

Angela Ackerman is one half of The Bookshelf Muse blogging duo, and co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression. Listing the body language, visceral reactions and thoughts associated with seventy-five different emotions, this brainstorming guide is a valuable tool for showing, not telling, emotion. Angela also writes on the darker side of Middle Grade and Young Adult, and is represented by Jill Corcoran of The Herman Agency. 

Now for the fun part of today's post. If you are officially signed up for the Chapter Book Challenge and you leave a comment on this blog post, you will be entered to win a copy of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression, written by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

The winner will be chosen by a random number generator on March 9th at noon (GMT), so you have to comment before that time. A blog post will be going up that evening announcing the winner and an e-mail will be sent to the winner. If no response is received within 7 days, an alternate winner will be selected using the random number generator again.