Deanie Humphrys-Dunne's Page

Imagine you’ve worked for months to hone your perfect children’s story. You’ve paid attention to important details. You’ve made sure that your main character has learned important lessons during her journey. The opening of your story has action to hold the interest of your readers. But what can you do about the ending? You don’t want to tell your readers everything, but you want them to have a hopeful feeling when they finish your book. You might prefer to end your story “organically.” What…

We’ve talked about some important ingredients for your children’s story. Today we’re going to discuss dialogue and how important it is to your successful story.

First, it’s important to remember that you don’t want to write lots of chatter that doesn’t advance the story. It needs to have a purpose that advances your story plot. Why does this matter? Well, for one thing, many young readers check out the dialogue before they choose to purchase the book. They want to know if it looks…

One of the most common problems writers have is coming up with a good idea for a children’s story. Where do these ideas come from? Don’t you wish there was a little idea elf who stopped by whenever you need him? Let’s discuss some ways to find good ideas.

I think a good place to start is your own experiences. Did something happen to change the course of your life? That was the case for my book, Tails of Sweetbrier.  The decision my dad made to teach me…

Today we’re going to discuss characterization. What is that? It’s the art of creating a person for your story. You’ll need to describe your character’s personality traits and physical attributes so that your reader will relate well with him. The more completely you develop your characters, the more interesting your story will become.  You’ll want to be as creative as you can so that your characters aren’t too ordinary, or boring.

            What kind of main character should you…