Why are dogs your main characters?
20/07/10 17:06
I started to use dogs as the main characters in my books because the characters were inspired by my real life canine companions. However as I continued to write and refine my stories I soon realized that using dogs as the main characters served a bigger purpose. By using an animal to present issues, challenges, life lessons that most children experience, my stories became accessible to ALL children.
Let me explain.
The dogs have no race, creed, religion or political affiliation. Although they are referred to as "he", their gender has no significance in the story. They can be foolish, act silly, get themselves in situations that the reader themselves may have experienced without any threat of stereotyping. There is no fear that the reader may come away from the story thinking, "Well, that's just how a red-haried girl would act. I can't relate." or "Isn't that just like a black-haired boy.That's not me." Therefore the young reader is more able to accept the story and the underlying moral. The dogs are universal.
It is my experience from doing many programs in schools that children do readily empathize with the characters and are able to easily identify and accept the underlying lesson/moral.
And THAT means my goal in writing has been achieved - a happy result for any writer!
Keep Reading!
P.T. Custard
Let me explain.
The dogs have no race, creed, religion or political affiliation. Although they are referred to as "he", their gender has no significance in the story. They can be foolish, act silly, get themselves in situations that the reader themselves may have experienced without any threat of stereotyping. There is no fear that the reader may come away from the story thinking, "Well, that's just how a red-haried girl would act. I can't relate." or "Isn't that just like a black-haired boy.That's not me." Therefore the young reader is more able to accept the story and the underlying moral. The dogs are universal.
It is my experience from doing many programs in schools that children do readily empathize with the characters and are able to easily identify and accept the underlying lesson/moral.
And THAT means my goal in writing has been achieved - a happy result for any writer!
Keep Reading!
P.T. Custard
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How do you come up with your book ideas?
26/04/10 13:27
Whenever people learn that I am a writer, the first thing they ask me is:
"How do you come up with your book ideas?"
This is an easy question for me to answer because my ideas come from my life. Everyday things happen around me, or to me, that could be the start of a great story. When I say this to people they then think I must lead an outrageously interesting life, but that is far from the truth. My life is no more exciting than normal. In fact, it actual might be less eventful than most people's. The difference is, I see things from a writer's perspective.
For as long as I can remember I have had an active imagination. If a squirrel crosses my path when I am out on my morning run, my mind immediately goes to the idea that I am in a race with the squirrel. There's a story. Or perhaps the squirrel is on a mission to carry an important message to the squirrels across the road. Another story. OR the squirrel is on his morning commute to his job as acorn counter. That would make a GREAT story! OR.......well, you get the idea - my mind works in a whimsical way. As a children's book writer I am fortunate to be able to indulge my imagination and (attempt) to make a living from it!
The problem is never coming up with an idea for a book, but instead how to select the one idea that would make the best book. That's a subject for another post!
Keep Reading,
PT Custard
"How do you come up with your book ideas?"
This is an easy question for me to answer because my ideas come from my life. Everyday things happen around me, or to me, that could be the start of a great story. When I say this to people they then think I must lead an outrageously interesting life, but that is far from the truth. My life is no more exciting than normal. In fact, it actual might be less eventful than most people's. The difference is, I see things from a writer's perspective.
For as long as I can remember I have had an active imagination. If a squirrel crosses my path when I am out on my morning run, my mind immediately goes to the idea that I am in a race with the squirrel. There's a story. Or perhaps the squirrel is on a mission to carry an important message to the squirrels across the road. Another story. OR the squirrel is on his morning commute to his job as acorn counter. That would make a GREAT story! OR.......well, you get the idea - my mind works in a whimsical way. As a children's book writer I am fortunate to be able to indulge my imagination and (attempt) to make a living from it!
The problem is never coming up with an idea for a book, but instead how to select the one idea that would make the best book. That's a subject for another post!
Keep Reading,
PT Custard
