Spec. Books for Kids

I want to talk about stories written for kids that I absolutely love. I’m talking about those books and movies that just make you smile, that have you rooting for the hero.

When I was a special education teacher a few years ago, I worked with a boy who I read books to regularly. I decided to move up to something a little bit bigger to see if he was able to follow. I picked up the book The Troll King by John Vornholt. It is the story of a teenage troll who leads his enslaved race against an evil sorcerer. I hadn’t read much fantasy since I was a kid and obsessed with the Xanth books. This book re-invigorated my love of that fantastic element. There is a trilogy for the Troll king books as well, which I prefer over the long ongoing series. I would love for someone to make a movie of this book, as I think it has a lot of great imagery that would lend itself well to the big screen.



I’m sure most people have heard of the City of Ember and either read the book or watched the movie. What a great concept! The creation of an underground city to escape the apocalypse. The people in the book have been living pleasantly, unaware of the surface world, then supplies start to run out. The author, Jeanne DuPrau, writes in a deceptively simplistic style and I read this book in one sitting. I also thought the movie really matched the story well.



Both of these books were meant for a younger audience, yet I really enjoyed them. I can see why some kids are just eating up books. I think what appealed to me most about these books is the what if? factor.

What if there was a city of trolls who were tired of being slaves? What if they had been without a troll king for many years? What if the most unlikely of trolls decided to change things?

What if our dying society decided that they need to preserve life? What would happen if they decided to start a new society underground with just some babies and a few caregivers? What happens when those caregivers die?

Are their any kids books or YA books that have just taken your breath away or that you read over and over?

Everybody's Got To Eat

What do you mean you haven't fed them? Beasties and story people need to eat. Beasties eat story people and they usually like them raw without any dressing. Story people on the other hand prefer their food, as a rule, cooked. It doesn't matter where home is to your characters. Whether it's on this planet, or two stars over, or in a completely different time-period they're going to get hungry. So, before those beasties munch away at your starving hero you need to feed him or her.

Where shall we start? Fast food? Why not? Fast food has been around long before the Golden Arches took over our eating habits. In the future, you can be sure after we have colonized other planets there will be little space ships pulling up to a fast food chain along the Milky Way.

For now, let me take you to London in 1890 where my work in progress, "The Doll Maker" takes place. In this cold, grey world fast food and street vendors were an essential part of the day-to-day living. One particular young character in my story has told me he thinks about food all the time. Don't you Sebastian?

Sebastian: Aye. Though, since I've been working at the theatre, not the Penny Gaffs mind you, I eat more regular. I work the ghost-making machine for the plays that needs'em. Ghosts. It's a good living, better than I had before.

EWG: What's your favorite food to eat?

Sebastian: Hard to say, Miss. When you haven't eaten in a day, what you like is different than when you've had a morsel a few hours before. Ain't it? When the gnawing in my stomach is so bad and that's all I notice. It's a cup of hot soup, I wants. I could see a piece of beef or mutton in the cook shop and it does nothing for me. For a penny, I can have two cups of pea soup. Soup makes me feel safe and toasty like a warm bed.

But, if I hear the Tatoes man calling, "Tatoes. Hot! Hot! Hot! my mouth waters something bad. As soon as I catch sight of the steam coming out the the guv'nor's red tin can, I've got to have one. Hot tatoe with butter and pepper. Makes you feel right good.

EWG: Potatoes with butter, yumm. What about something sweet?

Sebastian: Ah, sweets are for them that have had their stomach filled. Besides, it's gone before you've even had time to enjoy it. When you only have a penny to spend, a sweet dream is not going to fill your stomach. Listen Miss, I need to get back to me job. Best not to stand here too long, if you get my meaning. I can walk you to where you need to go.

EWG: Thank you. I'll be all right.

So, what do your characters want to eat? Yes, I know feeding your story people seems so small when you have a whole world to build. But remember, whether or not you choose to use the information gathered for your worldbuilding will depend on if it enhances or contributes something to move your story forward. Certainly if you don't use the research it will still enrich the image in your mind of the world and characters you are creating. Ultimately, it will be a world your readers will want to call home or at least stay for awhile. By the way, what's for dinner? I'm hungry.

PS: Here's a great site for Victorian England research: www.victorianlondon.org

A New World Awaits

Creating a new world for your high fantasy novel series is exciting and a major undertaking. To start, here are some questions you may have asked yourself and the answers to them.

Where do you begin?

The easiest way to answer this question is to start at the beginning of the storyline. What happens around your characters will give you a place to start building. Describe the place they live in, customs, and the relationship between everyone. You can fill the other parts of your world later on. First worry about the immediate surrounding and the rest will fall into place.

How much information should I write in?

There is no need to write down every detail you can think of during the first draft. You are leaving yourself the room to make changes later on in the draft. I avoided a major rewrite for my current WIP because of this. Make sure you note down the changes you need to make. When you make the changes, mark them off.

How am I going to remember all my ideas?

Write down any ideas either in a notebook or on the computer. Be sure you can find the information with ease at a later time. When you spread out the information, it becomes harder to find later on. Create a filing system to avoid the confusion and always keep it up to date.

Any pitfalls when it comes to world building?

World building will trap you. When it does happen, you will not focus on writing the novel. I trapped myself on many WIPs before I realize the key is to balance writing the first draft and creating the world. It may be hard at first especially when the inspiration to research your ideas takes over. Divide your time between the two equally. One hour of writing for every one hour you research.

Remember, your mind will change as you write the first book of your series. You'll learn what will or will not work for your new world by writing down the book. No matter how much world building is done, the novel must be written down for readers to live in the world you created.