Editor Arthur Levine (Arthur A. Levine Books, imprint of Scholastic, Inc.), gave his four main requirements for books at the 2008 Butler Children’s Literature Conference, with three main aspects of each. These comments apply to any fiction, not just children’s.
Plot
Plot, quite simply, is what happens in a story. The three requirements for a good plot are:
- Shape: a story needs a beginning, middle and end, but they need to be in proper balance.
- Pacing: a story needs to build and build to the climax, and then come down quickly.
- Surprise: Levine looks for some unpredictability in a story, in addition to good shape and pacing.
Good examples of plots with all three elements are the Harry Potter books, Sue Grafton’s mysteries, and for children’s picture books, Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems.
Levine said that “plot is the skeleton on which the substance of the book is hung,” the substance being character and theme.
Theme
Theme is the broader idea that the story explores. Theme is determined by what the author has to say (but don’t get preachy). To judge the strength of a story’s theme, consider:
- Coherence: do you know what the book is about? Can a reader tell what the theme is?
- Depth: is the idea strong enough to support a whole book? Some themes are good, but just not enough for a novel.
- Genuine to author: if the author cares deeply about the theme, the editor (and reader) will care, too.
Levine’s examples included Wilderness, by Roddy Doyle, which explores parent and child relying on each other; and Catching the Moon, a picture book by Myla Goldberg.
Characters
Characters convey the theme of the book. But if the characters are not three-dimensional, not real, the theme becomes a lesson and therefore unlikeable. When developing characters, consider:
- Complexity: characters, like real people, have mixed feelings about many things. Underlying those mixed feelings, though, needs to be an element of their personality that is consistent.
- Sympathy: give your protagonists flaws, and give even your antagonists at least one good trait to help readers connect with them better.
- Particularity: characters are individual. “One particular person in a particular place,” said Levine. Tied in with setting and how they feel about their life’s details, this lets readers really see them.
Levine said that Kevin Crossley-Holland had great, complex characters in his Arthur trilogy.
Voice
Voice is “the tool the author uses to reveal plot, character, and theme,” said Levine. Consider:
- What person: writers can use the voice of a combined character / narrator in a first person story, or the voice of the narrator in a third person tale.
- Tense: a present tense story has a different feel than one written in past tense.
- Diction: what is the tone of the storyteller? Witty? Full of slang? Elegant?
If done well, these four story elements combine to create a gripping story, pulling readers into the tale. Arthur Levine said, “I want to lose track of any sense that I’m reading fiction.”
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