Kirby Larson: Creating Characters through Figurative Language

Kirby Larson is the Newbery-honor-winning author of HATTIE BIG SKY, along with many other beloved books.  She's multi-talented, writing everything from nonfiction picture books to historical middle grade novels.

She talked to a beyond-capacity room about taking one-dimensional words and turning them into three-dimensional actors in our books.

She talked about the manipulations we make as writers to buy our readers' time--along with the risks we have of creating characters who feel nothing more than pawns.

Memorable characters are ornery, lively, funny, disobedient,  persistent, she said. They return from the store with a dog instead of the macaroni they were supposed to buy, for example.

Kirby quoted Mary Oliver's Poetry Handbook: "In figurative language, a familiar thing is linked to an unknown thing as a key to unlock the mystery or part of the mystery that is unknown."

Your character is one of the unknowns and you can use figurative language to unlock that mystery, Kirby says. When Kirby was writing Hattie Big Sky, she read everything from 1918 she could get her hands on: letters, newspaper stories, memoirs. This was so she could her understand her character's voice, which is essential to the story.

No matter what, research is going to be part of your process, even if you're not writing historical. This is because our characters have interests that we don't.

"I spend so much time researching, you can't even believe it," Kirby said. "But it really pays off. I'm able to ground myself in the world and the character."

Vocabulary is the key building block to creating figurative language. Kirby wrote letters as Hattie to almost all of the characters in the book. She also wrote a form of poetry called a cinquain. These things didn't end up in the book, but they helped her understand her characters.

She also talked to us about illusions and analogies, giving examples from a variety of books, including BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE by Kate DiCamillo and ZELDA AND IVY by Laura McGee Kvasnosky.

Her breakout session was every bit as charming as her books (even if we had to sit on the floor). 

Kirby Larson's website

Kirby Larson: Where's Papa Going with that Ax? Whispers of the Past in Contemporary Middle Grade Novels

Lin welcomes our first keynote speaker of the morning as one of our local heroes. Kirby is a loyal member who also wrote the Newbery Honor book HATTIE BIG SKY. She now has a sequel HATTIE EVER AFTER, and many other beloved books for kids.

Last year Kirby was honored with the Crystal Kite by the West Division of the SCBWI for the FRIENDSHIP DOLL. This story was inspired by an old photo of a young girl from Montana with an Asian doll. Kirby explored how such a doll would come to be loved by this little girl. In 1927, beautiful artisan dolls were created and sent from Japan as Ambassadors of Friendship. There was genius there: "bypassing the screw-up adults to try and build peace one kid at a time."

As a child, Kirby adored her grandma, although her grandma wasn't a hugger and didn't even like reading. Kirby wondered what it was that created their bond. Then Kirby learned that as a child, when her mom was ill and only able to feed her, her grandma did the rest, keeping her safe.

Someone kept us safe during our newborn writer stage. They've kept us safe, and warm, and dry: our book grandmother.

"I admire anybody who has the guts to write anything at all." ~E.B. White

As writers we all need a community to support us, and possibly a grandmother for our books.

When Kirby's daughter was home with strep throat, Kirby read and reread books by Patricia Reilly Giff to her. Then Kirby studied those same books as a writer. "Patricia lit candle for me, so I could find a way in the dark. Someone has done that for you."

There are whispers of past works in the contemporary. You've possibly had someone dismiss your manuscript, told it is something that has been done, but Kirby shares the many echoes that have come from the greats of the past that now appear in new and wonderful novels for kids.

The writers before us leave breadcrumbs for others (like us) to follow.

"Leap and the net will appear." ~John Burroughs

Each time we write, we step on a thin cable over a wide crevasse with no net to catch us. Plus there are those many rules that people throw our way to try and knock us off the line. It's amazing we even pick up the pen or paintbrush. If you lose balance, just grab the wire and hold on. Someone will be there to rescue you.

Listen to Mister Rogers, you are not alone. All those writers that have come before, they have your back. Someday, someone will see the work you've done, and that's all they will need to be led into their own story.

Author Kirby Larson - The Pre-#LA13SCBWI Conference Interview

Team Blogger Jaime Temairik did this wonderful interview with Kirby Larson about blogging (and how Kirby re-invented her own blog), how Kirby's dog helps her write (!), and how a SCBWI conference both inspired her and gave her that first big break into the industry.

To hear Kirby's Saturday morning keynote, "Where's Papa Going with that Ax?  Whispers of the Past in Contemporary Middle Grade Novels" and attend her Sunday workshop, "Get a Life: Using Figurative Language To Create Character," you'll have to join us at the 2013 SCBWI Summer Conference, August 2-5, 2013.

There are still a few spaces left.  You can find details and registration information here.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee