Let your imagination run riot.

I think I must have got lost in my garden as it has been an age since I have blogged. However, I have been working very hard on getting my front garden done. It is almost complete, but will take a little while longer. I have discovered that I really enjoy the physical side of gardening, shifting loads of soil, digging, de-weeding and potting up and planting. I have been recycling old rabbit hutches to make large planters and staining them forest green. I want to complete it all before the autumn sets in.

After submitting two of my children’s books I'm about to do a follow up email as I've not yet heard anything. I'm now wondering if it has been received! The six to eight week submission feedback time will be up by Friday next week so I’ll make an enquired then. When I hear I’ll let you know.
I have been rewriting the opening to another children’s novel which is the prequel to one of the novels I have submitted. I think this will make it stronger. I'm realising how much I have missed the fun I get from weaving these children’s plots. I just need to find an agent who loves them as much as I do, and that is the hard bit.

The writing challenge for the next two weeks is to develop a children’s character. You need to know exactly how your character is going behave in every situation. You have to decide what traits your character will have. How will they affect them as their story is told? You have to ensure they have a development arc going from points of balance and conflict, back and forth until they have completed their journey through the story. Once you have your main character, think about the other people or creatures etc. that will cause conflict. Who will there arch-rival be? Who will come to their aid or support them? You may decide to have a female character and then decide that the character would be better placed to be a boy. Test which each and see which works best, you might be surprised. When you are happy with the main character and those who are to support or test them, use one of the prompts below to create either a 5+, 7+, 9+ short story or opening of a novel.

• As she/he looked down the hole the hole got bigger, something was at the bottom.
• Over and over and over it went until it was so dizzy it didn't know which was up and which was down. 
• He/she looked up the stairs, it seemed such a long way up, but that didn't matter he/she had to get to the top. 
• The sky was purple with the blackened wings of death as it fell on the heads of the innocent.

Let you imagination run riot, so go on, get writing.