Where the Writer Ends and the Character Begins 

Authors are the world’s best liars. It is our job to make up a hero, and a world, and a situation so utterly convincing — so utterly compelling — that the reader will believe every word! What a fabrication! Such fibs. When a  fictional character is three-dimensional, and consistent the reader will follow that character over land, sea, time and universes. All because we have created a cast iron, whopper set of lies.

Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf is the story of Gina, a girl who opts out of a stressful classroom and jumps into the story of Little Red Riding Hood where she fixes the story’s big mistakes in her own very particular way. I set out to write Gina Kaminski with a clear set of goals in mind. I wanted the readers — adult and child — to experience a child’s epic adventure. I wanted to present a child who is struggling, and for that child to overcome her obstacle. I wanted to create a fictional environment that allowed the reader to experience (as much as possible) a sensory overload through another child’s eyes, Gina’s story, in her own voice.  ears, and nose. I wanted to show good practice in action. Gina’s one-to-one helper, Anya, is dynamic and sensitive. She sees a situation and navigates it with calm skill.

I wanted to write an exciting story, in which a child saves the day in a fantastical manner. Gina is also Autistic, and in this respect her experience reflects my own. I wanted to create a book that sits on bookshelves next to my heroes – not special interest or some such. I wanted to write a funny remixed fairy-tale and not a book about Autism. I wanted to weave visual communication aids into the storytelling as organically and as seamlessly as possible. In short: I wanted a lot of things. Whether I achieved all or indeed any of the above is up to the reader, but those were my intentions.

So how do I write?

Phillip Pullman said, ‘read like a butterfly and write like a bee’ and it has always stuck with me. Luckily I am super, hyper, mega sensory. I crave constant input. This is where inspiration lies.

I am very tall and walk in lolloping strides. I imagine myself as the BFG with my net, catching the dreams (and nightmares) in stories and storing them in bottles in a special part of my mind.  I read whatever tickles me. I lecture in Children’s Literature, so naturally that makes up the bulk of my diet. How can one not be inspired to write when there are new books to read by Jacqueline Wilson or Malorie Blackman or Jon Klassen?  My reading habits are wide. My wife is an absurdly talented novelist so I live with one foot in the thrilling (sometimes frightening) worlds of her imagination. It’s one of life’s greatest gifts. I read endlessly about music because I like reading about making things and how things get made. Music is an enormous part of my life. I crave books/podcasts/films/games that scare me, or make me laugh, or gasp. I love a romantic comedy. I like to see how a writer creates unbearable tension and resolves it. Like Gina, I sometimes experience sensory overload, and like Gina I can deal with it by jumping into a book.

My job is to make a piece of art that’s the best version of itself. With a world and inhabitants that feel organic and three-dimensional. Fictional characters live in their own parallel universe and when we read we simply intersect with their ongoing lives. A plot is the funny/scary/romantic/epic stuff that happens while a character fulfills their goals in a narratively pleasing manner. Plot isn’t story. Where does a character begin, and where do they end? What has changed? That’s the story, for me.

As I write picture books and theatre for children, my words come to life through the prism and imagination of other creatives. I hand over the work, and they continue the story. I love this process. It requires faith in the collaboration and trust in the process. Francis Martin’s illustrations were a joyous gift. He totally got Gina from the outset. He tells stories with his paintbrush and his pencils. It’s the same story but on a different plane. When actors read my words, inhabiting my characters, there is magic on the stage. They breathe new life and find nuances I hadn’t imagined. Thrilling stuff!

I said at the outset that authors are the world’s best liars. Well, that’s true, but also not true (see – lies!). Authors, when they get it right, write with breathtaking honesty.

Gina is made up. So is her school. And so is her adventure in the woods. But every element is taken from a lifetime of real experience and influence and practice, mixed up and reshaped as a story. At its core is truth (or many truths). There is so much of me on the page, hiding in the micro details.

Writing is a miraculous, beautiful, exasperating process. Our finished works are like intricate nests, painstakingly built from the twigs and twine of our accumulated ideas.

That’s why I couldn’t do anything else.

Craig Barr-Green writes picture books, non-fiction and theatre for children. He lectures in Children’s Literature at Falmouth University and is a passionate advocate for children’s literacy. He lives and works in Cornwall in the UK, and loves music and darts (but plays both badly).

Giveaway Information:

You can win a 20-minute virtual author visit with Craig Barr-Green, and a copy of Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf, donated by Kane Miller Books. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment about this post by Saturday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m. EDT. The winner will be randomly selected by Stacey Shubitz and announced at the bottom of the post by Thursday, May 2. You must have a U.S. mailing address and provide a valid e-mail address when you post your comment. If you win, Stacey will email you for your mailing address. We will choose a new winner if you do not respond with your mailing address within five days.

4/27 @ 8:55 p.m.: The giveaway is now closed.

Many thanks to everyone who left a comment. Kathleen Sokolowski’s commenter number was drawn, so she’ll win a copy of Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf + a virtual author visit with Craig Barr-Green.