Yes, yes, I know, it’s another tag post. What can I say, I’m going through a bit of a creative rut! I found this very interesting writing tag on the blog Rachel Writes , originally posted back in 2016, so if you’d like to see how the original blogger answered these very interesting questions, then do head over to their blog.
I’ve seen a lot of tags like this floating around the writing web, and they often involve getting to know the characters in a novel better. Now, I’ve never written a novel, but I thought I’d try my hand at answering these questions using the characters in my three picture books – the wild little girl in Wild One, the brother and sister duo in A Good Day for Ducks, and of course my adorable quail Queenie from Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up. Let’s dive right in and see how this goes!
1. A crazy hacker’s gone into your computer, and has deleted all of your music, except for one song off of your writing playlist. Which song is it?
It would probably something by Ikimono Gakari, since I have about a million of their songs in my writing playlist. Though why a hacker would want to delete all of my music is a bit beyond me.
2. Your protagonist and antagonist have been paired up by friends to go out to lunch together. Where do they go?
Hmmm…this is a bit of a tricky one. I suppose the only two antagonists I have in my books would be the furry orange creature from Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up (no spoilers here!) and the storm that puts an end to the children’s day out in A Good Day for Ducks. You can’t very well take a storm out for lunch, and I don’t think Queenie would want to go out with the furry orange creature lest she become lunch.
3. You’re crossing a bridge when the troll living under it stops you. He demands to read a chapter from your novel, and won’t let you cross otherwise. Which chapter do you give him?
Oh bother, I suppose I won’t be going across the bridge any time soon, as I’ve never written a full chapter in a novel! I’d just have to copy my friend the billy goat and try and convince the troll to let me pass so he can eat my plumper and more scrumptious relatives.
4. Your friends have invited you out to a party. Surprise! All of your characters are there. Who do you choose to hang out with?
Now this would actually be pretty sweet, since all my characters are utterly adorable, and each reflect different elements of my own personality. Seeing as I write picture books about and for children, I’m guessing this would be some sort of kids birthday party, holiday event, or maybe a backyard family gathering, which would be a lot of fun! The little girl from Wild One would definitely be leading the other characters in some fun imaginative games around the yard, getting everyone to act like different animals, while the siblings from A Good Day for Ducks would want everyone to join them in making a messy art project afterwards. And good-natured Queenie would just want everyone to have fun, and would probably wander off somewhere by herself to admire some flowers. Sounds like a family day for the family!
5. Crap. You left your car keys in your house, and you’ve (somehow) locked yourself out. Which of your characters picks the lock for you?
The little girl from Wild One. She’s pretty spunky, I have a feeling she’d figure something out.
6. The zombie apocalypse is happening right now. (It sucks.) Everyone is fleeing the planet, and moving to Mars. ONE of your characters can go with you. Who do you choose?
Oh no! I can’t leave the others behind! That’s literally asking me to choose between my own (book) children! I’d have to put everyone’s names into a hat and randomly choose one, otherwise I couldn’t do it.
7. You’ve been given the opportunity to travel to one place (town, building, landmark, country) in your book. Where do you go?
All of my books have pretty generic settings – the park, the pool, someone’s house, a forest. I guess I’d like to visit Queenie’s forest home, since I love spending time in nature, especially wandering through woodland trails.
8. You meet your main character and start a conversation with them. Problem is, you’ve only got six words or less to do so. What do you say?
Well, it would be pretty easy to start a conversation with Queenie, I’d just ask her what interesting things she’s found so far today!
9. Crazy acid rain is falling from the sky. Which of your characters would you use as an umbrella?
Bwahahaha, OK, I guess I’d have to say the furry orange creature from Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up,, which pretty much goes against all my normal sensibilities, but if you’ve seen the book, you know that this is a pretty unpleasant creature with dastardly designs for Queenie and her family.
10. You’re out at a restaurant with your main character, and the time has come to order dessert. What do you order for them?
Thick pieces of gooey nut-free chocolate cake and ice cream for the children, and a nice dish of worms, grubs and seeds for Queenie!
Well, that was definitely a different series of questions, and pretty fun to answer! Thanks for stopping by and reading today!
One comment