Would you rather fight a horse-sized duck or a hundred duck-sized horses?

This was a critical question posed to me and my fellow panelists by the inimitable teen services librarian April Witteveen last weekend at the Deschutes Public Library Youth Lit Festival.

Can you guess how I answered? (Hint: I’m not a great multitasker. LOL.)

I love festivals like this where I get to interact with readers during panels and workshops. I taught a session on building three-dimensional characters and also played Pictionary with my writer friends in front of an audience. (Thankfully, April didn’t pit us against the illustrators!)

If you were in my session, here are the links to the handouts. (Sorry I didn’t get them up right away). Ping me with questions via the contact link.

Building Voice and Character Iteratively
Character Interview from Lee White
Character Interview from Gotham Writers

It was delightful to hang out with my fellow presenters. Fonda Lee writes badass sci-fi / fantasy. Matthew Cordell is an incredibly generous picture book master. Dan Gemeinhart writes deeply thoughtful MG novels. Katherine Roy hangs out with elephants!!! Catherine Alene blew me away with her honesty. Librarian Jaime Wong was a delight to chat with. Jason Reynolds Skyped in and gave a great talk. All in all it was a fantastic day, well-managed by all the brilliant people at the library.

If you were there, what was your favorite part?

Jamie, Katherine, Me, Dan, Fonda, Matt, & Catherine

I love that Matt Cordell captured this moment.