Character Bucket List: Delaney and Ariella from Who Needs Magic? by Kathy McCullough

by Jan Lewis

We’re so pleased to have Kathy McCullough on the blog today. She is the author of Don’t Expect Magic and Who Needs Magic? about teenage fairy godmothers. Bucket lists of fairy godmothers? How fun!

Who Needs Magic? Character Bucket List
by Kathy McCullough

Delaney Collins, the protagonist of Don’t Expect Magic and Who Needs Magic?, being a boot designer in addition to a (reluctant) fairy godmother, would of course have the following on her bucket list:

1. Visit Italy (especially Florence and Milan).

2. Visit Paris, another fashion Mecca and also the birthplace of Charles Perrault, the first writer to publish the Cinderella story.

3. Attend the Fashion Institute in New York City.

Delaney knows very little about her fairy godmother ancestry, so she would also want to:

4. Do a genealogical study of her father Hank’s side of the family.

Inspired by the scrapbook Hank gave her dedicated to her childhood outings with him, Delaney would also want to:

5. Create a scrapbook of her life in New Jersey with her mom.

Ariella Patterson, Delaney’s pink-loving, perky rival in Who Needs Magic?, has embraced her identity as a fairy godmother much more readily than Delaney has. This might explain why Ariella’s bucket list includes:

1. Visiting the Fairy Tale Museums in Moscow, Germany, Latvia and anywhere else she might find one.

2. Visiting Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

3. Traveling the Fairy Tale Route in Germany, which includes locations related to fairy tales collected by the Grimm Brothers.

4. Writing a book listing all fairy godmothers and other magical helpers in fairy tales from around the world.

5. Attend the new Broadway musical production of Cinderella and meet the cast backstage.

About the Book

Now that Delaney Collins knows she’s a fairy godmother, she’s ready to make magic happen. But first, she has to find her next client, and it’s not as easy as she thought it would be.

Delaney’s spending the summer working at Treasures, a second-hand store at the mall, surrounded by cool vintage boots—and potential clients. But when she finally feels a connection with Jeni, a girl who needs a life-changing, happily-ever-after wish, Jeni doesn’t want her help. And to make matters worse, Delaney finds herself competing with another f.g., Ariella. Glittery, sparkly Ariella is an uber-f.g., granting wishes with a flick of her lemon candy stick, while Delaney can’t seem to make anything happen—not even a summer romance with her boyfriend, Flynn.

It takes more than waving a chopstick to make big wishes come true, but what good is being an f.g. if you can’t make the boy you like want to be with you as much as you want to be with him?

Amazon | Indiebound | Goodreads

Photo Credit Mark F. Schwartz

About the Author

Kathy McCullough grew up in Michigan, Florida and Pennsylvania, and she now lives in Los Angeles, where she writes novels and screenplays.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Jan Lewis

Jan Lewis writes YA fantasy of the contemporary and traditional varieties. She lives in Oklahoma with a husband, two kids, two cats, a dog, and a mother. Instead of unpublished, she prefers to call herself pre-published. While she enjoys drafting, her heart is truly in rewriting and editing. She loves ladybugs, fairies, blue roses, cats, musical theater, and pretty much all things geek.

Post © Jan Lewis and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Aug 1, 2013

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: Character Bucket List

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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