Distinguishing Characteristic

Week of February 3, 2013—Thinking About Characters

February 4—Distinguishing Characteristic

This week, choose a main character from one of your in-progress picture book manuscripts. Take time to develop that character further.

Fancy Nancy has her love of fancy words, Pink has her obsession with colors, and Pete the Cat has his cool vibe. Each of those characters has a memorable, recognizable, distinguishable characteristic. Your character needs one, too. Perhaps it’s a personality quirk, a hobby, a love, or an interest.

Think about the main character in your manuscript—what is the one thing that distinguishes that character from every other picture book character that has ever been created? If you can nail that down, then you’re on your way to creating a successful character. 

My Character’s Distinguishing Characteristic . . .