Today I had the fun of holding a Story Club for young writers. I loved the venue- the Hive at Thrive cafe, Cambridge.
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We talked about strong characters. Knowing our characters strengthens our stories, as they become more real to the reader. We can dream about our character, draw them, create them out of clay, write about them - there are lots of ways to get to know them so they come alive in our stories. I presented the following questions to get to know our main character (and side characters too) better. You might want to test them out on your characters if you're working on a story yourself.

Luck was on my side this weekend. I preordered Emmy Levels Up from Waterstones ... and it was delivered yesterday. It's not even released yet, officially. How did that happen? (Emmy might say it was a magical anti-mulch time travel spell - you will understand if you read the book).

I read it late into the night, not able to put it down. I enjoyed the creative, fun and fast-paced game element, as I expected. I didn't expect to be so moved by it. Three plots are seamlessly woven together. The fun, inventive, adventurous game, the tensions at school as bullying and friendships come into play, and a changing dynamic in Emmy's family. The bullying especially took me back to when I was in school, and the dark relationships that can exist under the nose of teachers and parents. I think many children will take heart in Emmy's beautiful though sometimes painful journey. 

​I highly recommend discovering Emmy Levels Up by Helen Harvey and being inspired to seek community. This book is for the 8-12 yr old audience (and of course young-at-hearts like me!)

The book has the beautiful message that, sometimes to move forward, we need to do it with friends.