Are your characters taking over...?

You shouldn't let characters in a book take charge and do their own thing... well why not? was my first thought when I read that advice... and the doodle series was born.

Have you ever sat down to write one story, but ended up writing another? Well that's what happened to me with Doodle Mayhem.

I can't even remember what I thought I was going to write about, but once I'd set the scene with Eric in class doodling, with no idea what he was writing about either, the cogs started turning; and once Eric's doodle started to speak he took on a life of his own and there was no going back.

If anyone else starts hearing voices in their heads it is probably cause for concern, but for a writer I believe it's essential to be able to hear the voices of your characters, and allow them to become real... 

Meet Iver No-Idea and his dog HB 

But to hear the conversation you'll need to read the book... 

Doodle Mayhem is set out in chapters with black and white drawings and is ideal for new or reluctant readers, or just someone who enjoys a fun read... 

Random thoughts about characters and where they come from

Characters - where do they come from?

Sheep - what is it about sheep that makes them so appealing in story books?

When I started writing But I'm Not Sleepy I can't remember having sheep in mind at all, I simply wanted to write a bedtime story. Then the idea of not being able to get to sleep started to take over my thoughts, and most of the plot of the story unraveled itself in a swimming pool, as I swam up and down doing some lunchtime lane swimming...  I never count lengths, I simply swim up and down and let my mind drift where it will...

The sheep soon became very real, and it was the obvious progression for a sheepdog to turn up in Lucy's bedroom. Then the sheep became quite rebellious and decided that they were tired of being rounded up...

This is a clear case of characters popping up in a story and making it their own. Next came the cardboard pop-up sheep on my table at book signings, which attracted people's attention - it seems sheep are very popular. Before long I found myself knitting sheep, and I used to say I'd never make characters to merchandise my books - never say never! The knitted sheep went down very well at Christmas fairs, and earned their place at the fairs: form the little tot who said "Baa", persuading her parents that they must buy a sheep, and then ended up buying the book too, to the lady who bought one for herself for her crib scene.  

I even have a spin off book planned which is sheep based - is it any wonder my nearest and dearest are now thinking of me when they see anything sheep related, and sending me all sorts of links to funny sheep stuff...

World Book Day and the incident of the missing chicken...

It's World Book Day today - sounds like an excuse to curl up and read a book to me...

If I could just stop the characters of my new book trying to give me enough content for the next one, all in the same week...

Captain has finally settled on the chair next to me after bringing a mouse in twice through the cat flap. I usually take mice off them if they bring them in, but he wasn't in any mood to give it up, so he had to take it back outside. Then he finally came and knocked on the kitchen door to be let in - he often knocks, when he can't be bothered to open the cat flap.

At the weekend we had the disappearing frozen chicken incident - when I came home to find an empty bowl in the kitchen sink where a frozen chicken used to be... it didn't take long to find it, it seemed to have been making its own way to the table, as it was on the floor next to the dining table, but I think this was more likely to be Tabby related than a chicken doing its own thing.

My chief suspect is Bumble, who may well have just been annoyed that the chicken was occupying his sink, where he likes to sit. Or it could have been Kryten getting his own back on me for taking his dead bird off him earlier in the week... Whoever it was, it was quite impressive that a cat could lift a frozen chicken out of a sink, and I expect it landed with quite a bang, which probably explains why Steve was a bit spooked...

All in all, I think I would have been more annoyed if they had made off with a cooked chicken, and I would also have been looking for something else for dinner, as it was there were no teeth marks, just a slightly ripped bag.

Cat flaps... never a dull moment.

Free gift

Everyone loves a free gift, and since my knitted sheep have been such a hit at Christmas fairs, I've let some of them lose in my website bookshop, where they're running a amok and getting into mischief.

So if you'd like to give a good home to one of these woolly characters, they're £3 each, or free with a copy of But I'm Not Sleepy

One hand knitted sheep

approx size:

nose to tail 12cm

width 7cm (some are fatter than others)

height 7cm (when on tip toes)

Each sheep is hand made and therefore slightly different. They were inspired by the characters in the book But I'm Not Sleepy, and can be purchased individually or free as a gift from me when you buy a copy of the book.