Overview: Strong characters are the heart of any great picture book. When self-editing your manuscript, it’s important to ensure that your characters—especially your main character—are relatable to your audience. They should have clear goals, motivations, and exhibit emotional growth throughout the story. In this article, we’ll focus on how to self-edit your characters to make sure they resonate with young readers.
Why Character Relatability Matters
Children need to connect with the characters in a story in order to stay engaged. A relatable character gives them someone to root for and empathize with. If your main character has goals that are easy to understand and motivations that feel real, young readers are more likely to feel invested in their journey.
Key Considerations When Self-Editing Your Characters
1. Relatability of the Main Character
Your main character should be someone that children can relate to or see themselves in. This doesn’t mean they need to be exactly like the reader, but their challenges, emotions, and decisions should feel familiar and understandable to your audience.
- Make the character’s goals clear so that young readers know what the character is trying to achieve.
- Create relatable struggles that children might experience in their own lives, whether it’s friendship issues, family dynamics, or self-discovery.
Questions to Ask:
- Is the main character’s goal clear from the beginning?
- Can children relate to the character’s struggles or emotions?
- Does the character feel like someone readers can root for or identify with?
2. Character Growth or Change
One of the most important aspects of a well-developed character is growth. Even in short picture books, your characters should undergo some type of change, whether it’s learning a lesson, overcoming a fear, or developing new skills.
- Ensure the character grows in response to the challenges they face.
- Show how the character’s emotions and thoughts change throughout the story as they encounter obstacles or successes.
Questions to Ask:
- Does the character grow or change by the end of the story?
- Is it clear what the character has learned or how they’ve evolved?
- Are the changes in the character believable and gradual?
3. Personality Reflected in Text and Illustrations
Your character’s personality should shine through in both the text and the illustrations. Consider how their actions, dialogue, and body language reveal their traits, and ensure that the illustrations match and enhance this portrayal.
- Use dialogue and actions to reflect the character’s unique traits.
- Collaborate with your illustrator to ensure the character’s personality is visible in their expressions, gestures, and poses.
Questions to Ask:
- Does the character’s dialogue reflect their personality?
- Are their emotions and personality traits clear in the illustrations?
- Do the text and illustrations work together to create a consistent character?
4. Emotions that are Easy to Understand
Children should be able to easily understand what your character is feeling at any given moment. Use clear, simple language to describe emotions, and make sure the illustrations reinforce those feelings.
- Use age-appropriate language to describe emotions.
- Avoid subtle or overly complex emotional cues that young readers might miss.
Questions to Ask:
- Are the character’s emotions clear in both the text and the illustrations?
- Is it easy for young readers to identify how the character is feeling?
- Do the emotions match the events and actions of the story?
How to Self-Edit for Strong Characters
Step 1: Review Your Main Character’s Goals and Motivations
Read through your manuscript and ask yourself if the main character’s goals are clear from the start. Are their motivations realistic and relatable for children? If not, consider rewriting sections to focus more on what drives your character.
Step 2: Examine Character Growth
Look at how your character evolves throughout the story. Do they change in response to the challenges they face? Ensure that there’s a clear progression from the start of the story to the end, with emotional or personal growth.
Step 3: Check for Personality Consistency
Revisit the dialogue and actions of your character to make sure their personality shines through. Consider whether their traits are consistent throughout the story and if the illustrations reflect those traits accurately.
Step 4: Simplify Emotions for Clarity
Go through your manuscript and simplify any overly complex emotional cues. If the emotions aren’t clear in the text, try rewording them using simpler, more direct language. Ensure that the illustrations complement and enhance the emotional clarity.
Self-editing your characters is an essential step in making sure your manuscript resonates with young readers. By focusing on relatable goals, emotional growth, and consistent personality traits, you’ll create characters that children can connect with. Before sending your manuscript to an editor, take the time to review how your characters come across in both the text and illustrations.
