When we were young

As far I’m concerned, character is the cornerstone of any story. And, as anyone who has been, I put a lot of work into my characters. I spend countless hours on drawing them, inventing their names, and developing a “history” for them. Of course, many of these aspects of character development don’t make it into the final books . . . but they help me immensely.

Here’s a perfect example: a sketch of Uncle Griffinskitch in his younger days. He wasn’t always hunched and crooked, you know!

You can see in this sketch that his staff is shorter, more wand-like, and he even has a scattering of hair on the top of his head. His beard of course, was not half so long, and was dark brown. I’m not sure, but I think he might have worn a Gandalf-type wizard’s hat. Oh, but one thing has always been the same with Uncle Griffinskitch. Ask him a question—then and now—and he will “humph!”