YA Series and Chill: Creating Becca Hanson's World

Unlike her brother Charlie's mathematical world, Becca Hanson's world is one I am familiar with. She's lived most of her life in the pages of books, not experiencing much herself, but journeying all over the globe during many time periods and meeting some very interesting (if fictional) people. She spends all her free time (and she has a lot of that since she's never been active in extra curriculars) reading. It's safe. Thrilling. But safe.

At the beginning of Life after Juliet, Becca's favorite place on Earth is in her room, surrounded by her books, curled up on a nest of blankets on her floor. If only her mother would let her put a dorm fridge and microwave up here, she'd never need to leave! Her shelves are crammed with her favorite books. They overflow into stacks on the floor, her desk, and even on her bed. They are the only friends she has ever needed.

At least until Charlotte Finch showed up.

Charlotte opened Becca's eyes to the possibility of life outside the safety of her books. But Charlotte isn't around anymore. And Becca's finding it very difficult to remember what it was about the real world that had intrigued her.

I love Becca. She's the perfect bookworm character. I can completely relate to her. But here's the thing...

She makes a terrible main character.

When writing a story, you need your main character to have goals, to interact with other characters, to solve problems (or at least attempt to and fail and then attempt again), and grow—for me the main character has to grow.

You can't grow by sitting in your room alone and reading. And no matter what I did, Becca refused to get up and go meet people. She just kept sitting there, looking forlorn, and turning pages.

So I shoved Becca out of her comfort zone. I knew it'd be hard for her, so I gave her a few gifts to make this transition from secondary character to leading role a little easier.

I gave Becca the theater. I spent my high school years hiding out in our theater department. I knew it would be a safe and yet challenging place for her to grow. Creating the Sandstone High theater was a joy for me. It was based off my own high school space, but with certain modern upgrades. From the moment Becca took the stage, she could feel the magic the theater holds.

But the best part of any theater program isn't the space itself. It's the people, the drammies and techies that make bring the magic to life. Max, Victor, Darby, Miles, Greg, Kelli, and Thomas make up a rag-tag crew of misfits, and they were the second gift I placed into Becca's world for her to discover. I'm a sucker for an amazing cast of secondary characters, so I take care to flesh out mine. They have rich and diverse stories to tell themselves, and each one brings something special to the story.

I felt bad about forcing Becca out of her comfort zone at first. But once her world started to take shape, I was excited for her to explore it. Mostly, I was excited to see not only how her new world would change her, but what changes she would affect in this world I'd made for her.