Useful critiques and future stories...

I often discuss my ideas with my good friend Dave, who always gives me a greater insight into them. He helped by acknowledging the character traits that I had initially decided upon for the little girl and linking them with her actions. For example, if she is polite and kind, then she probably wouldn't ask for something different when it came time to eat, she would probably just eat what she was given, leaving an opportunity for her to be impressed and inquisitive about the vegan food. If she IS inquisitive (which, at this point, she is) then she needs to be forever asking questions. Kids do that kind of stuff anyway. I did it all the time, my mum reminds me frequently of how annoying it was. This can then lead on to scenarios in which she can make comparisons between situations that she is familiar with, such as breast feeding (if she has a baby brother perhaps?) and the exploitation of female cows for their milk. Dave suggested something along the lines of "Did mummy give away her milk too?". This would help her "make the connection" as is often stated in the vegan world. I do believe her love for the dog will be incredibly useful in this respect too.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, my idea of the potential to flash forward in time to witness the strong, young, activist that she becomes would limit this girls journey to one book. There is so much more to explore in this girls experience of being vegan in a non-vegan world. I should know! For example, the stories can follow her as she gets older (and the age range of the book will go up along with her age), attends school, and is confronted with some very typical and common questions/problems that vegans face. Immediately, this made me think of one of the first questions people ask when they learn you're vegan "So what do you eat?". I think entire stories can be devoted to questions such as this or perhaps just scenarios. Maybe in one book it can be how she deals with other kids at school. Another book could be about how she handles Christmas. The list could go on. This also allows for me to create ANOTHER book for my final major project, which would link my PMP, my essay and the FMP together perfectly. I feel energised at the concept of this becoming a series of sorts.

On a side note, I was just thinking of potential titles for this initial book. I'm not settled on one yet, but I keep coming back to "What's a vegan?". I think this could work, although, as discussed in a previous blog post, it would almost certainly limit the book to children of vegan parents. Still, it didn't stop Ruby Roth. I also think it would make for a great cover illustration of the girl looking up to the creatures. That way the cover is already conveying the point, the theme and the characters of the story. But still, I'm just thinking out loud here. I had better get back to whittling now.