North West Scoobies Take a Pride in Their Appearance

George Kirk

Steve Hartley

I love to read Steve Hartley’s Danny Baker and Oliver Fibbs books, they’re full of characters that leap off the page and make you giggle. So I was really looking forward to Steve’s character workshop ‘Keeping Up Appearances’.

But to be honest, the day didn’t start well. First my bus driver refused to give me a ticket all the way to Deansgate because it was closed. Then I discovered all the people on the bus were wearing far more impressive hats than me, a state of affairs I am really not used to. Still, not to be deterred, when the bus stopped on the outskirts of Manchester city centre, I gathered up all my enthusiasm and power walked my way passed the rather colourful crowds.

Suddenly I was met by an on coming Christopher Biggins sat atop a rather snazzy looking convertible in a lovely yellow jacket!

Really, how am I supposed to get anywhere with all theses balloons in the way?
(Photo courtesy of MEN Media)

Quickly I ducked into City Library and began adding up the clues. The crowded streets, the big hats, Christopher Biggins. Toto I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, we’re somewhere over the rainbow! That’s right, we’d crashed down right in the centre of Manchester Pride and our library conference room had one of the best views in the city. As many of our party were understandably delayed we had plenty of time to watch and wave out of the window. We even saw the Queen… kind of.

...by paying close attention to people’s facial expressions, mannerisms, voice and language you can soon identify the four major character types, analytical, amiable, expressive and drivers.

Eventually it was time to the serious business of character development. Very serious. No we mustn’t giggle as Steve tries to vocalise over Madness ‘One Step Beyond’ at full volume from the street outside.

In his pre-writer life Steve often delivered training courses to professionals people to help them improve their people reading skills. They were based on the theories of the father of analytical psychology, Carl Jung. He showed that by paying close attention to people’s facial expressions, mannerisms, voice and language you can soon identify the four major character types, analytical, amiable, expressive and drivers. Sound a bit heavy for a Saturday afternoon? Not when Steve demonstrated each one with an array of impressions of our countries venerable politicians and celebrities.

Just obsereve Steve’s mild eyes, his relaxed, open posture.
Yes, there’s an amiable and no mistake. 

We had a lot of fun analysing ourselves and each other. We even decided whose character was most suited to the position of prime minister. But fun as it was, how can all this psycho babble help us with our writing? Well Steve has taken what he has learned from his previous career and made it relevant to writers. Once we know and understand these character types in the real world then it becomes easier to recreate them in our stories. By staying close to their behavioural models our characters become more believable and consistent.

Even more helpful still, once we know what type our character is, we know exactly how they will behave under pressure. And let’s face it, love our characters though we do, we love to make them suffer for our art even more!

I’m quite new to this
but I think this lovely character may be an analytical.
What do you think? (Photo courtesy of MEN Media)

I’m quite new to this but I think this lovely character may be an analytical. What do you think?  So, as the last of the colourful characters followed each other down the grey tarmac road it was time to click my heels together and mutter, ‘There’s no place like home’. It worked! Up popped a very amiable character to offer me a lift and save me from the wicked bus driver of the Pendle Witch Way. So I’m glad to say, I went home head held high in my new hat, and it was a very happy ending.

George Kirk, expressive amiable.

With Thanks to MEN Syndication and photographer Andrew Stuart, for the great pictures of Manchester Pride on Parade, Saturday 24th August 2013.
Copyright to Andrew Stuart - email andrew.stuart1@me.com, 07841537040

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George Kirk
@GeorgeKirk2

George wrote as soon as she could hold a pencil but never anything factual.  She teaches at a primary school in East Lancashire and finds the relationships and diversity within the White British, Bengali and Pakistani community it serves, truly inspirational. George has been published in A Pocketful of Moondust and in 2011, her picture book text 'Once Upon a Princess...' went on to win a national award. She is now developing two series - a respectable snot fantasy for 7-9 year olds and a culturally diverse fantasy for 9-11.

Network News: North West Writers Chasing the Publication Dream

 Report by George Kirk

The North West Professional series 2013 events began on 16th March when Manchester City Library was full of the joys of spring. And why wouldn’t it be? Okay the sky was greying and the temperatures were dropping to Siberian levels. But the brilliant Lil Chase was preparing her presentation ‘Books that Sell and Sell Well’, and our publication hopes were rising like the daffodils outside.


If you really want a professional who knows their commercial onions then you can’t go to anyone better than Lil. With A career that has taken her from Mills and Boon, through Cornerstones Literary Consultancy and finally to the massively successful book packager Working Partners as commissioning editor, she really can claim to know exactly what it is that makes a book sell. And Lil was not just there to give us the theory because she has applied all that she has learned to launch her own writing career. She is currently working on her third early teen novel. Her first two, ‘Boys for Beginners’ and ‘Secrets, Lies and Locker 62’ both currently have 5 star ratings on Amazon.

There were technical issues on the day of course; the laptop and projector did not want to talk to each other. So while turns were taken to mediate between them, the rest of us compared notebooks. After all everyone knows a great story has to begin in a fabulous notebook doesn’t it? Or maybe not, because with all techno differences smoothed over Lil never gave them a mention in her talk, even though she admits to having a big collection herself. 

What Lil did treat us to was a presentation that was like, ‘How to Write for Children and Get Published’ BUT with a lot more laughs. She cleared our path through the maze of concept, positioning, structure, protagonists and hooks to name but a few, before taking us out the other side with the covering letter.

It was a lot of fun. She taught us always to bait our hook with a really good but, while we dazzled her with our brilliantly inventive concepts. And who could ever forget the dilemma of Terry and Susan’s new bed sheets?

The afternoon flew by and we were so absorbed most of us forgot to eat or drink. We all left with a really clear idea of what it is we are aiming for if we want to make our work commercially attractive. So if you listen carefully, that tap tappity tap you can hear coming from the North West is the sound of the next best sellers beginning to bloom. It’s just as well the next North West event is all about the agents, we’re going to need them.

Speed Dating for Writers will be held on the 13th July at Manchester City Library. A panel of professionals including Zoe King and Elizabeth Bonsor from the Blair Partnership, agent Catherine Pellegrino and Philippa Donovan of Smart Quill Editorial will be delivering a range of talks. And there will also be the chance for a one to one for those who have pre-booked.

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George Kirk
@GeorgeKirk2

George wrote as soon as she could hold a pencil but never anything factual.  She teaches at a primary school in East Lancashire and finds the relationships and diversity within the White British, Bengali and Pakistani community it serves, truly inspirational. George has been published in A Pocketful of Moondust and in 2011, her picture book text 'Once Upon a Princess...' went on to win a national award. She is now developing two series - a respectable snot fantasy for 7-9 year olds and a culturally diverse fantasy for 9-11.