A Child's World Of Wonderment

While working on a writing side project, it struck me how the plot required a 5-year old to show rather substantial problem solving skills for a child even older than this age. Was the story expecting more of the character than was realistic? After a good discussion with the proud parent of a precocious 3-year old, I soon had my answer.

2-minute sketch done after interviewing a proud parent.

It turns out this parent's child, which soon will be a 4-year old, can already do some amazing things similar to the character in the book. In the interview, the parent gave examples of how his child's attention could move from the intricacies of music and on to the planets, horses, road construction equipment, bugs, science, a favorite book, and more in just a short span. A little kid can uncover, and become intrigued over, things which an adult might walk right past.

Hmm, maybe squeals of delight from discovering something new is a simple joy in life which adults should allow themselves to rekindle?

The sketch (see above) was made right after the interview. The line drawing part was done with a Flair ink pen in just two minutes on a scrap of cardboard — without any pencil lines or other planning. The idea was to capture a picture which popped into my mind's eye before it faded. Some embellishments were quickly added with a few iPhone apps to "brighten up" the sketch and add some text to capture more of the essence of the illustration. The result seems to sum up well the ever-changing wonderment a young child can experience. This will help me "visualize" more effectively the personality of the character in the book.

So, now I can proceed without reservation to write about how the 5-year old character tackles some interesting challenges in the story world.