AHH THIS IS BRILLIANT!!!! *darts off to try this*

Thanks for writing this! It will be useful. A couple months ago I was asked about my book, and I could only manage to talk about its symbolic nature 😂. Now I shall be prepared…

Wonderfully said, Sarah! When we can articulate our stories to ourselves, we can articulate them to others. You’ve provided a fantastic formula.

Thanks! Hope it helps!

Who woulda thunk, indeed. It’s too bad they can’t just do things for no reason. That would save so much time.

Nice work! This might be the best summary of what a log line is, and how to make it, that I’ve seen in – well, long enough that I can’t remember a better one. XD

Also, your writing style is so robust. It’s a pleasure to read. Compliments to the chef!

I was wondering that myself, Emma 😂

ARGH YES!!! WHY IN THE WORLD CAN WE NOT HAVE PARENTS IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE!?! Like, the Wingfeather Saga wouldn’t be the Wingfeather Saga without Nia and Artham and Podo and others I can’t say because of spoilers. Janner wouldn’t have seemed 12/13 without his adults, and it all would have been incredibly unrealistic. I think including the parent/guardians in the story gave it a large chunk of the unique bling AP is known for.

So.

Yes. I highly agree.

But is adding parents easy? *snorts* I wish.

Anywho, great article!! Looking forward to more from you. 😉

Such a good topic, Sarah! I particularly like the solution to corrupt good intentions. It’s relatable and there’s so much to work with. And it allows for the possibility to have healthy parental relationships still be a part of the story. Like you said, death and abuse are not the only options! Thanks for sharing your insights.

I think to some extent drastic differences make sense, as people do change depending on the stage of life they’re in, but I get what you’re saying. Even if a person grows out of their childhood traits, they still have the same base personality. (Just a more mature version.) It makes no sense to expunge all personality in favor of a flat stereotype.

Three cheers for Puddleglum. 😊

Thank you so much! And I agree; bad/absent parents are definitely a thing and have a necessary place in children’s literature, when done correctly. (Kate DiCamillo comes to mind… I think everything she’s ever written focuses in some way on children coping with broken families, and her books are absolutely gut-wrenching.) But more often than not unhealthy families are portrayed as the healthy normal and/or as a cop out so the author doesn’t have to deal with the parents, and that’s a p r o b l e m.

“I wonder if part of the solution is not to keep writing nasty parents, but to show examples in literature of what good families look like.” Exactly this. 100% agree.

This is super helpful for me as I’m trying to incorporate more parents into my stories. It inspired me to really dig deep and start fleshing out the parents of my characters and bringing them into the story.
Great article!

YES, Sarah! I loved this article of yours SO. MUCH. You warned that it would be much more serious than your normal blog posts, but it was exactly the sort of article I’d expect from you. Witty, engaging, down-to-earth, and brilliant. I am so excited to read more of your articles here at Story Embers!!