Case Study: Part 3, PLOT DEVELOPMENT

This is the third post about the children's book I am creating titled 'Catch that Fly.' I will be writing about every step of the process and all the resources I use along the way so you too can create your own book.

In my previous post I created a draft and sent it to a manuscript assessor. I have taken the constructive feedback on board and had another attempt at developing the story.

The first problem was that there was no real reason for mum wanting the dinner to be perfect. So I decided a good reason would be if someone is coming to dinner. I introduced another character 'Grandma.' There are plenty of reasons a mum gets stressed about a grandmother coming to dinner and she’s a great character that every child can relate to.

Next was figuring out a way to make the scenes more interesting and animated throughout the story. I have now created more descriptive text about each family member trying to catch the fly. I have also written more about the fly’s direction and objective.

The story was still feeling a little dull so I have tried a few more things to bring it to life. I have added rhyme which is not recommended for beginner writers however I had some help from a talented song writer. Here is a sample of one of the spreads.

The fly keeps buzzing against everyone’s wishes

Under the table and over the dishes

Into the lounge past the television

Avoiding everyone with great precision

After figuring out the problems with the narration I started to think of interesting visual ways of telling the story. One of the things I through would work well is if when the fly finally buzzes out the window we can see grandmas car pulling into the drive way.

I will continue working on the story development and post about my progress very soon. Feel free to give feedback and comments.

Manuskript Assessment

When you are happy with your story and feel you have a sound plot and characters it’s time to get it assessed. It pays to do this before worrying about the illustrations or layout. In my experience manuskript assessor’s feedback usually changes your story a lot. So it is best to do this before you have invested valuable time and money developing the book further.

 

A manuskript assessor's job is to assess your plot and story. They give you feedback on how you can improve it and make it a more interesting and professional story. They will usually send you a word document of some sort a few pages long or more with problems they have encounter and suggestions on how you can deal with them. This is especially useful if you have not written a book before as they can help you with beginner mistakes and problems.

There are many reasons you should get your story assessed. When writing a book it is very easy to get attached to specific features and ideas. Having a professional fresh eye go over it can give you some great new ideas and directions you would have never thought of on your own.

If you are hoping to get your book published by a publishing company you will heighten your chances greatly by getting an assessment. Some of the publishers I have approached won't even look at your manuscript until it is assessed.

If planning to self publish I feel it is still important to get an assessor to look over your story. By going it alone and creating a book by yourself you are already limiting the amount of feedback and support you get. This is a great way to get a professional eye to look over your work and bring it to a professional level.

Things to look out for when hiring a manuskript assessor.

• Make sure you are hiring someone specialising in children's literature.
• Get a clear outline of what you will receive as far as feedback goes.
• Some countries have organisations which only represent legit qualified assessors.
• Checkout the assessors own work, make sure they are published themselves and that their work is of the same quality and style as you own.

I paid $100NZD for an assessment of my children's book. I would not pay much more than this as it is not worth much more.