To See is to Know

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Ever heard a future parent say that until they see their baby, they won't know a name? Or even that the baby will name itself, based on it's reaction to names said? That is basically how I name a character.

I'm a pantser, first and foremost (pantser = no/little planning for novel other than possibly knowing the end and a few tidbits ), so it may come as no surprise that I don't really create a character, except for the main ones. They just float in and out of the story, sometimes with more importance than other times (that's what editing is for right?) Sometimes, I won't know they're there until they start talking...and then the details come....and then their name. Other times, I start writing and fill in the details right before they jump in. (which is what happens below) (Keep in mind, that, like most things I do, this is a mental process that I don't write down and plan...normally)

Example: Let's say I'm writing something about a girl, named Lisa, who is skipping class...For all I know at this point, Lisa could continue walking down this sidewalk for the rest of her life, but something tells me she's going to run into someone who isn't in school either. As soon as the idea hits me to add another character, I start imagining it.

This is what I know, just from seeing him in my head:

• It's a boy, though not one Lisa knows well or by name
• He's a dweeb
• Slighly annoying--makes me think he's younger than her
• Brown hair that hasn't been combed
• He has glasses that are too big for his face
• Mismatched clothes, they're worn, as if they've come from a lower end thrift shop
• He's bored and curious as to why "Perfect Patty" has skipped. 

Here are the names that immediately come to mind, just from thinking about who I think he is:

1. Tom
2. Andrew
3. Matt
4. Harold

Two stick out the most for me (Which for you? or are you seeing another name?) Tom and Harold. He seems like an young kid under the influence of older people...like he lives with his grandparents or his parents are older.  I don't confirm a name in my mind until I actually start writing him.


"Hey!" 
Something flopped from the bushes not ten feet before Linda and landed on the sidewalk, blocking her path like an animated trash bag. It took a few minutes for her to see there was a head attached to the bag along with arms and legs. It waddled like a duck coming closer until she could see it wasn't a bag at all, but a boy in an oversized black jacket, floppy baseball hat, and shoes at least three sizes too big.
"Uh." She looked down at the mess and figured he was about ten. "Excuse me." She tried to edge past the blob of clothing.
"I said, 'hey.'" The boy complained in a whining tone, pushing the thick glasses up his nose, which like the rest of his attire were way too big. "I'm Harold."

Not my best, but you get my point...at least, I hope you do.
I can't name a character until they come alive on the page. Until they have an actual voice or flow about them, I find that I keep renaming them every ten seconds. Every image of a character conjures a name or two that seem to just "fit" the character. Of course, if I want to surprise the reader, I may pick a name like Harold, and turn him into the school jock, just because that seems less predictable.

So, what about you? Are you feeling a different name for this new character? How do you name your characters? Let me know in the comments!

What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet;

I am SO picky about names.

In fact I will change names if I find ones that I feel fit more.

I have babynames.com favorited on my computer. And sometimes bounce around there during the day at school to see if I can find any that catch my eye. I have had a couple teachers who have asked me if there is anything I need to tell my guidance counselor, or if I'd like a pass to the nurse. Funny in retrospect but not in the moment.

That is not the point though, my love for names is insane. In fact I want to name my first born daughter Caesura, as in a pause in a poem because I think it would be a pretty name. My sister thinks it will scar her for life and I'm sure it will but that is what therapy is for after all.

The search. I tend to develop the character before I pic their name. I decide about traits I like, and then go to the advanced search bar and plug in the requirements I want. Like origin, gender, number of sylabls what I want the name to end or start with etc. And the proceed to scour the lists of proposed names to find the one.

Sometimes a name just appears. One that I can't help but fall in love with, I then build a character around that name. Like Zane, it means beloved and I can't help but put it into the occasional short story or essay for school, just because it is pretty. Another name I love is Aurelia, it means golden and well I really want to incorporate it into a novel one day.

I am a picky when it comes to deciding on names. Sometimes I can be found in the baby section on the ground surrounded by a thousand baby names books and a notebook scribbling names down left and right. I can't really give you solid advice on how to find it, it just happens. BAM! And you have a name.

But you always have to keep in mind that a character I could name Alice, you could name Jeane and it would be the same character. It's not about how other people feel about the name, it's about how you feel about it. If you are iffy about it, it will show through your writing. If you are unsure about how it fits, the reader will think it doesn't match up.

I guess what I'm trying to say is a name makes us who we are, or who our characters are. It shapes them, and as long as the name fits for you than nothing else matters.

Everything's in a Name

I don’t know if it’s a Northern thing or a Southern thing or just a family thing, but I was raised with the impression that names are everything. It’s something you’re proud of, but at the same time it’s a burden that you have to live up to. Being told you haven’t lived up to your name is the worst insult anyone in my family can give.

On top of all the family stuff, I have this weird thing about refusing to change a character’s name once I’ve started writing the story. I’ll fuss around with names while I’m brainstorming and getting a feel for the character. In fact while I’m outlining and planning the names change almost every day, but as soon as I write their name in the context of the story it’s locked. They’re officially a person, and in my mind at that point I don’t have the right to change their name.

So yeah, what name I give a character is something I put a lot of thought into, and since I want it to be just right I tend to use a lot of outside resources when choosing a name for one of my characters.

In the end which resources I use depends on how much I know about character.

• Like Bethany, if I base a character off a real person I normally don’t give that person’s name to the character. In my mind they are separate people both deserve their own names. However, I decided to base a character off that person for a reason, so I usually try to give them a related name. For something like this I usually use Baby Name Guide because they have a feature where you can locate similar names. I also use this if I’ve already decided on the names of the parents and want the child’s name to be in keeping with theirs.

• However, if I’m writing a period piece or a piece with older or younger characters I make a point to use a site like Baby Names World at Parents Connect. They have a list of the most popular baby names in any given year all the way back to 1880. All you have to do to get time appropriate names is to select the sex of the character and the year they were born, and the site will give you a list of the 100 most popular baby names from that year. If I want the character to stand out then I simply go out of my way to pick a name not on that list.
  

• For last names Mongabay is my favorite, since last names are important too. It provides a list of thousands of surnames ranked by popularity. Ranked names doesn’t sound like a big plus, but it comes in really handy. Since people don’t typically choose their own last names having the names ranked makes it easy for me to randomly pick last names. I just pull up a site search, randomly type in string of numbers, and it takes me to the corresponding name. It gives a nice random twist to the process.

• Then again if I’m dealing with a character from a different country Familypedia is really nice because they have the top last names from hundreds of countries. I tend to worry a lot about giving a character from a different country the wrong last name, and this makes the process a lot less stressful for me. All I have to do is find the country of origin and presto a realistic last name from Russia, South Korea, Italy, ect.

If it weren’t for these sites (or the stacks of books about names I failed to mention previously) all of my characters would probably be stuck with names like Mary Smith and Jack Hopkins.

-Aaron

Name Sleuth

I don't really have a system when it comes to choosing the the perfect name for each of the characters in my stories. The name I spend the most time deciding upon is my main character's name. Since I'm going to be spending a lot of time with them I really want to love their name and not despise it whenever it comes up, or else I might start hating the character all together. For other characters I pretty much just pick whatever name I can think of really, I'm not very picky when it comes to them, plus I know I can change names later on in future drafts if I want to.

For me, finding the perfect names for my characters is one of my favorite parts of the writing process (and a also a great way to procrastinate, lol)! Two of the websites I like to use when I'm on the hunt for the perfect name are Baby Names and Nymbler. They're simple and easy to use and have a ton of great name suggestions along with name meanings and other interesting information!

Some of my favorite character names from books are names that reveal a lot about the character themselves. Some great examples of this are: Scarlett and Rosie March from Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce, Ethan Wate from Beautiful Creatures by Kamie Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and, of course, all the character names from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling! All of her character names are as unique and awesome as the characters behind them (I'm looking at you, Dumbledor, aka bumblebee! :))

Happy name hunting!
~Ella

Fictional Females

I love my female characters to stand out and surprise the reader. I also want them to be challenged to do something that may not follow their traditional gender role. I require my girls to be fearless and confront danger head on. (None of this damsel business). I don't want my readers to see my female characters and say, "Ugh, she's pathetic." (I'm talking to you Bella Swan and Sleeping Beauty. Seriously? The first time you see a spinning wheel you reach out to it...duh.)

Here's what I look for in a Fictional Female:

-Fearless (or if they have fear, they work through it)
-Don't let others fight for them (Take on their own battles, though in their own way)
-Challenge themselves to something better (They're not satisfied with being mediocre, *cough* Bella Swan *cough*)
-Don't let the boys have all the fun while they drink tea in the parlor (Self explained)
-Never use gender as an excuse (I can't! I'm a girl!!! <--Characters you're warned. I will kill you and it will be excruciating)
-DON'T WHINE. (this is pretty much any character for me, unless I mean for them to be annoying)

And the most important:

Have faith in themselves.

Eventually the young adults reading my books are going to have to go out on their own in the world. For some it won't be so bad (Harry practically ran from the Dursley's) but for others leaving home is not going to be easy. Home is comfortable and safe, and you don't have to worry about making really stupid mistakes.The world is freaking scary. I like to see my characters take the jump and not look at where they're landing, only have the faith that they will land on their feet. It goes back to the saying, "If they can do it, why not us?" Thank you J.K. Rowling for that brilliance.

Chloe Moretz: Rumored by imbd.com to play Katniss

.

Take Katniss from The Hunger Games.

- volunteers in her sister's place.
- fights her own fight, she doesn't even make really good alliances.
- risks her life to hunt food for her family.
- tries to save Peeta, even though he won't let her.
- takes on the role of mother when her own is out of it.

I know what you're saying...she was soooo stupid about Peeta though. Why did she have to be so dumb? He loved her.

Easy. Look at her stats. Female characters who are this self reliant (and awesome) usually have a common flaw: they won't let a guy close. They are often scared that by depending upon a guy, they will turn into those fainting Disney princesses (I love Disney, don't get me wrong, but sleeping while the prince comes to kiss me sounds a bit...pitiful.). This also adds tension to the story...will she fall? Won't she fall?

This means your guy characters have to be hunters (not literally). They almost have to be those guys you see in romantic comedies shaking the girl and screaming, "My God, when will you understand I love you and I'm not going anywhere?"

Basically, my fictional females must rock the world of my readers by being awesome and working through their flaws. What makes your fictional females awesome? 

Sidenote: You're right if you were wondering if I choose that pic of Chloe just because she was with Rupert Grint.

Girls with Character

Yeah, I’ve never really thought about what makes a good leading lady or even what goes into making a leading lady, good or bad. They just exist like anyone else, but that isn’t really true.

Lets see, I guess to me a good leading lady should…

Be independent: I’m not saying every leading lady should be anti social and have no ties to anybody, but at the same time it makes me sad to see a leading lady who is being led around by her family, friends, or a guy. I mean come on they’re called leading ladies for a reason. They should be leading something, even if it’s just their own lives.

Feel like she existed before the first page: I’m learning the hard way that it’s important not to just dump the reader into the middle of a story, but at the same time if it feels like the leading lady didn’t exist before I opened the book she’s already lost major points in my book (yes Bella Swan I am talking about you). In other words, to me a good leading lady feel real, and real women have lives of their own. In my book a leading lady should too.

Be original: There’s nothing wrong with standing out in a crowd, but not every leading lady has to have spiked hair and wear a dog collar. However, in keeping with my desire to read about girls who feel real I have no desire to read about someone who is like everyone else because that’s just not the way it is.

Changes in some way: I take issue with characters who are stagnant. There could be an alien invasion, true love, and time travel all in one book, but if the female lead is exactly the same on the last page as she is on the first then I’m going to be bored out of my mind. Servant to queen, human to vampire, prey to hunter it’s all good. But the best part is watching how their state of mind and personality chances over time.

In other words, if I’m going to read a book I want it to be a story with a leading lady that has a character all her own.

- Aaron

My Top 5 Favorite Leading Ladies!

1. Veronica Mars from Veronica Mars

Let me count the ways I love this girl! First off, she's a detective, she's witty, she kicks butt and takes names, has a really close relationship with her Dad and always manages to snag the really hot guys! What I really like about her though is that underneath that tough girl exterior, she really cares about her family and friends and I love when she let's her guard down and is vulnerable.

2. Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls


I love Rory because her and I are a lot alike: we're both painfully shy around the opposite sex, we dress comfortable and modest, we have close relationships with our friends and family, we both want to be writers (!) and we would rather sit in our room and read then attend a raging party! See, soul mates? :P I love Rory because she's real, she experiences real teenage problems and is someone who I really admire, plus, I really want to live in Stars Hollow! (And marry Luke Danes, heehee!)

3. Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series

I love Hermione, because, like Rory, she's my soul mate! She's super smart, loves to read, is fiercely loyal to her friends and, hello, she's a witch and goes to Hogwarts, what's better then that?! Plus, I love the fact that she's can be strong and tough, but also heartbreakingly vulnerable (especially when it comes to Ron, *swoon*!)

4. Stacey Brown from the Blue is for Nightmares series by Laurie Faria Stolarz

OMG, I love this girl! Stacy rules because she's a witch (do you see a pattern forming here? :)), lives in an awesome boarding school, has a hilarious group of best friends and spends her time trying to save one best friend from falling into the hands of a psycho stalker, while trying to hide her feelings for her BFF's boyfriend...Stacey's awesome because, again, she's real, she's not glamours with model-like looks, she gets zits, has bad hair days, is sometimes late to class, has fights with her friends, experiences the ups and downs of romance, I just love her! And I could read this series again and again!

5. Violet Ambrose from The Body Finder series by Kimberly Derting

Violet is awesome, plus I feel a little sorry for her since she has the ability to find the bodies of people that have been murdered...Not only that, but Violet is daring and brave and not afraid to search for the truth, no matter what it takes! She also has a really close relationship with her parents and extended family, which I love, she has an awesome group of friends and a raging crush on her BFF, Jay! This girl has it all...Kind of. Plus, Kimberly is a total sweetheart! :)

Now that you know some of my faves, it's your turn: who's your favorite leading lady and why?

~Ella

Love and Destructive Habits

It's actually perfect that I'm participating in the That's YAmore Blogfest (Go here for participants) during the same week as Destructive Habits.

Why?
Because my greatest destructive habit is spazzing (is that even a word?) myself out when writing intense scenes. Sometimes, I even put them off until the very last moment because I just know it's going to be excruciating.

I'm a detail writer. I love details. LOVE them. I love that I can mention a vase in book1 and bring it back in book5 and it will have a monumental role in the entire series. I think this is my problem. The details overwhelm me.

In non-action scenes, I used to write in too many details and it bogged my writing down. I like to think now, I can kind of figure out what's needed and what's not, but action scenes are a completely different thing. I guess maybe I can't figure out the right algorithm for them. (I've never been good at math) It takes me ages before I feel somewhat satisfied with an intense scene.

How do I work through it?
Simple. Critique partners. (Thanks gals!) And instant feedback from my writing buddy (Thanks Marin!)

Today, you're going to get a chance to play along. I'm posting my 250ish word excerpt from my WiP and you can help me out. Give me feedback. Don't worry about hurting my feelings, 'cause you're not.

Here goes nothing.
Things you should know: The two characters are in the loft of a barn sitting with their feet dangling over the edge of the hole in the middle that hay is tossed down. Oh, and the boy can do magic. So when it says golden sparks, think magic.

*Names have been changed, because Jack and Jill are seriously cool people. Am I right?

“There was something I didn’t tell you earlier Jill.” Jack slid closer again.

Jill tightened her hold on the boards making up the floor. “What?” Her voice came out wrong, all froggy. She swallowed.

“I followed you up here with one thing on my mind.”

Jill couldn’t talk. Her brain was getting fuzzy again.

“I wanted to thank you.” The hay crunched as he moved against it, closer. “Ever since I came here, people have been avoiding me, calling me the Smith, wishing I had never come.”

His eyes were like the ocean, or at least what Jill had read about the ocean, she’d never seen anything so deep before, so full. She was lost in them.

“Everyone, that is, except you.” His eyes dropped from hers and she remembered to breathe. “And there’s one more thing, I’m going to kiss you.”

Jill knew she heard him wrong. He was going to sass her or catch her or kick her, surely it wasn’t…it couldn’t have been—nope, it was definitely kiss. Jill held her breath as his hand cupped her cheek and his eyes got wider and brighter and closer.

Her brain wasn’t fuzzy anymore. It was non-existent. His head tilted as her lips touched his. Her eyes closed of their own accord as a thousand fireworks blasted inside her skull. Her hands gripped the boards beneath her as the kiss deepened and his hands tangled in her hair.

She was falling.

The kiss broke. Her eyes flew open as air whipped her hair. The floor of the barn rose coming up faster towards her face, but he was there, grabbing for her, tucking her body around his arms. Golden sparks filled the air as they crashed into the hay. She was in one piece. Laughter bubbled up from her chest. Jack joined her. His deeper laugh filled the barn.

“Look, you’ve already fallen for me.” 

Whew, there it is. What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Tick, Tick, BOOM!

My biggest destructive habit when writing is my need to get it right. I really don’t mind if a scene is “right” or not because “right” in writing is relative. What gets me is the details. My stories tend to involve a lot of research, and I’m a stickler when it comes to getting those little things write.

I could be in the middle of a fast paced pivotal scene that I’d been planning and waiting to write all week, but if I come across a question that I don’t know the answer to I’ll stop dead in my tracks and go into research mode. For each book I work on I have a tub books on the subject and if I can’t find my answer there I’ll continue my search online. However, even once I find an answer I don’t feel comfortable using until I’ve gotten the same answer from at least two other sources.

For example, last year I was wrapped up in writing a scene in Entwined where the MC, who was a white Bengal Tiger at the time, was purring. The scene was going great, but then I started to wonder if tigers actually purred or not because heaven forbid she come off with the characteristics of a house cat instead of a tiger. Of course then I had to stop and go find out if tigers purred, which it turns out they don’t.

In many ways it’s a helpful destructive habit, but it’s still a destructive habit.

-Aaron

Will Self-Destruct in 3...2...1...!

I wasn't sure at first what my answer to this week's topic on self-destructive writing habits was going to be because I share a lot of the same habits as my fellow Ink Slingers, but I didn't want to repeat them here for fear of losing your interest in reading my post, so instead I've come up with a few other bad habits I know I have.

I am prone to boredom

You've heard this one from me before, several times as a matter of fact, but it's true: I have a horrible, horrible habit of starting a story and falling in love with it for a few days or weeks and then, slowly but surly, a Shiny New Idea will slither its way into my brain and I start to doubt the story I'm currently working on and decide instead to pursue that "better" idea until...you guessed it, that idea gets old as well and so I go in search of a new, "better" one and the ugly cycle repeats itself again and again! As a result, I'd say I have hundreds of unfinished stories hidden away inside various notebooks and computers from over the years, all left undone, my enthusiasm for each fizzling out. Shame on me, I know. :(

I lack confidence in my ability

This bad habit is also a biggie because it has stopped me (and is still stopping me) from pursuing certain story ideas because I think they're too much to take on, such as I don't know enough about my subject matter to continue, so I might as well move on to something I know I can tackle or I love an idea and it sounds fabulous in my head, but when I put pen to paper to try and write it down, the right words won't come to help me say what I'm trying say and my attempt at getting what I see in my head to transfer itself onto the page is total and utter poo and I give up.

So, as you can see, I have quite the dilemma, but unlike my fellow critique group members, I have no good solutions for how to dash these bad habits, so if you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to let me know in the comments! I could use all the help I can get! :)

~Ella

Must Love Dogs!

So, without a doubt, I would have to say that the best book I read in January would have to be A Dog Named Slugger by Leigh Brill. Here's the product description from Amazon.com:

The true life story of a dog who changed everything for one woman. For the first time in my life, I didn't need to pretend, I didn't need to be tough: I only needed to be honest. "I have cerebral palsy. I walk funny and my balance is bad. I fall a lot. My hands shake, too. That means I'm not so good at carrying things. And if I drop stuff, sometimes it's hard to just bend down and get it." I waited anxiously for the interviewer's response. She smiled. "It sounds like a service dog could be great for you." So began Leigh Brill's journey toward independence and confidence, all thanks to a trained companion dog named Slugger. The struggling college student and the Labrador with a "a coat like sunshine" and a tail that never stopped wagging became an instant team. Together, they transformed a challenge into a triumph. Together, they inspired and educated everyone they met. Now, Leigh honors her friend with the story of their life, together.

Amazing, right? Not only did the product description and the picture of the adorable lab gracing the front cover compel me to pick up this book, but as soon as I started reading I knew I had found something special. Because it was with this this book, with it's author and it's four-legged sidekick that I felt an instant connection.

Why? Well, not a lot of people online know this about me but I too have Cerebral Palsy and a service dog. So, as you can imagine, I felt an instant kinship with Leigh and Slugger as soon as I began reading their story that only intensified the more I read. Almost from page 1 I started to cry and have cried multiple times during the reading of this book (which, I'll admit, I haven't actually finished reading yet, only because I have a feeling that I'm going to be crying buckets by the end, so I'm avoiding it for as long as possible). Leigh talks of her C.P. and the daily struggles she faces with such honesty and humor that I instantly felt more understood and less alone then I have before, because as much as my friends and family know of my own daily struggles with C.P., it takes a person like Leigh to fully understand what I go through on a daily basis. As Leigh says, "C.P. sucks". :)

But, as much as C.P. sucks, I know that it has been a blessing in disguise for both Leigh and myself in the form of a furry best friend. One of the other reasons why I connected so deeply with Leigh and her story was because of her unwavering bond with her service dog, Slugger. I know exactly what it feels like to love a dog as much as Leigh loves hers, because when I was a freshman in high school I received my first service dog, Ingram. We were together for 9 years and in that time I've never realized until later how deeply I could love and be loved in return. Like Slugger did for Leigh, Ingram was there for me unconditionally, even when I was mad at him or going through the ups and downs of my teenage years and didn't want to talk to anyone, he was there, steadfast and true.

Now, years later, I have a new service dog, Ginger, who, like Ingram, is never afraid to give love, even to those who seem undeserving, and for that, I am grateful. And I'm also immensely grateful to Leigh for having the courage to share her and Slugger's story with the world. For it's stories like yours Leigh that make me hopeful for the future, that make me feel confident that I will not let my condition get the best of me, that I am deserving of love (from both humans and animals) and that I can do anything if I set my mind to it, C.P. be damned! And to that I say, to both you and Slugger...thank you, so much.

~Ella

Best Book in January Goes to....

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

I read this quick middle grade just a couple days ago and was astounded by two things:
The vocabulary
The story

The vocabulary in this quick read was really complicated for the grade level in my opinion. There were some words that even I had to think about twice, and I like to think I have a pretty good vocabulary. I think for a middle grade or even young adult reader it would be very challenging.

The story was freaky and scary (Ella, totally a book made for you) in a good way. Coraline basically lets curiosity get the best of her and travels into another world. In this world, there are a lot of creepy things including rats (ewww) and a woman who looks like her mother, but isn't, and wants to replace her eyes with black buttons. TOTALLY CREEPY!!!!!

Now, I'm dying to see the movie now :) As an adult, I like it. As a kid, I think it'd really give me bad dreams. (Kinda like the Nightmare before Christmas did) If you're a fan of that though, you're guaranteed to love this book.

Have you read it? Plan on reading it? Seen the movie? Let me know in the comments!

The BFG Brain Suck

I’m not sure if the BFG the best book I read in January, but it definitely made an impression. At the beginning of the year my host teacher started reading it to her class, and as soon as she opened that book it began to slowly take over my life. All of the kids love it, so of course we have to have a BFG themed party. Trust me Snozzcumbers, Frobscottle, and Whizzpoppers aren’t as much fun to make as they are to read about.

On top of that one of my first grade struggling readers has latched onto this book. She will spend every available moment wading through it one sentence at a time. Now that she’s started reading along with audio books on my i-Pod every morning she greats me at the door with “did you get The B.F.G. on That Thing?!” Not even my i-Pod was safe from The BFG this January.

But I digress. The BFG is an amazing book that I would recommend to any one. However, from a writing point of view there are a number of things that make it amazing.

Word choice: The best part of this book is that the author makes up a lot of his own words, a lot of which are combos of preexisting words. A half dozen different descriptors can be expressed with just one word.

Characters: Even if a character is only mentioned once they still manage to make an impression that lasts the whole book. Every character feels so well rounded and realistic in a completely implausible way, and I think the main way Dahl does this is through the names he gives the characters. Names like Childchewing Giant, the Meatdripping Giant, and the Big Friendly Giant give the reader an instant association with the character.

Visual imagery: There are so many new things and characters being introduced throughout the whole book that is the imagery wasn’t stellar it would be indecipherable. The big thing that helps with this is that this readers are getting the benefit of having the scene described to them from the perspective of both The BFG and Sophie, which really outlines the oddities of the book.

Setting: Roald Dahl creates a whole new society in The BFG, but it’s so realistic that it feels real. Yet Roald doesn’t waist a lot of time describing the setting. He gives it short and sweet making every word count.

The moral of this post is that The BFG is a wonderful, vivid book that I truly do love. I just wish I could get away from it!

- Aaron