How a Critter Becomes a Character: The Making of Miss Polly Porcupine

The Birth of a Character

Have you ever wondered how an author brings a character to life? What process is used to create their personalities? How are characteristics chosen?

Would you like to learn my personal process of birthing a character? You do—wonderful! Pull up a chair, a cup of Chillie Chuck’s Hot Chocolate, and one of Whistle Pig’s fabulous gingerbread mice. Warm your tootsies in front of the fire in my cozy cabin. Listen carefully, for this is the secret of the ages!

Leslie’s Log of Characteristics

That crackling fire is nice, isn’t it? The fire and I have something quite in common, but with a twist. You see, the fire is burning sycamore logs. I also have a log. However, it’s a different sort—one that houses all of the personality characteristics from people I have met throughout the years. I generally choose a few key personality traits from this list to represent my critter’s demeanor.

Take Miss Polly Porcupine, for instance. When I began writing Wintertime in Timothy Hollow, I knew that I wanted a schoolteacher. I could have made her young, but I have a lot of wonderful elderly women in my life who were amazingly supportive of me. I knew these women embodied the version of the teacher that I wanted to create. I wrote down my list of characteristics from grandmothers and special older women in my life. I then narrowed down that list.

Miss Polly’s Personality

I wanted my teacher to have a sprinkle of sweetness and kindness. It was important that she be encouraging and patient with her many pupils. I decided that she was going to have old-school philosophies with a dash of endearing goofiness. She would be up for shenanigans and adventures, especially if it was in the best interest of her students.

My character was a blend of personality traits borrowed not only from my grandmothers, but also from a neighbor of one of my own Nanas. After choosing what personality traits she would have, it was time to choose what special items, traditions, or quirks would make her distinguishable from the other characters.

Grandmotherly Energy

It was important that this character possessed something that would attract readers to her and make her memorable. My German Oma had a sweet tooth, and as a child I remember going over to her house and being supplied with a nice reward. She had many varieties of candy such as gummy bears, chocolate, Nutella, sherbet, and ice cream, just to name a few.

I thought it would be sweet—pun intended—if Miss Polly kept certain sweets in a jar at Sycamore School House. I needed a kind of old-school candy since Miss Polly is, well, old-school. The most logical choice I had was timeless lemon candies. In Wintertime in Timothy Hollow, she is described as always smelling of sweet lemon candies. She would give them out as rewards for good behavior and for trying diligently.

Great—so I had the personality characteristics and the identifying tradition that is purely Miss Polly to a T.

Choosing a Critter

Now what? Ahhh, this fire is so nice. Let’s take a break for a second, sip some cocoa, take a bite of a gingerbread cookie, and recenter ourselves. This is an awful lot of information to take in and process. Miss Polly wouldn’t want you to wear yourself out. I can already see the smokestacks rising from your ears.

Are you refreshed now? Wonderful! Now, as I have said, a critter must be chosen for the teacher. This is the most important part of character making, if I am to be honest. Choosing the right critter can set the whole stage for how a character is viewed and whether they will be accepted and well-liked among readers. Think of it as winning a popularity contest.

How did I choose the right critter for my teacher, you ask? Well, as you can see, I have been referring to the Sycamore School House teacher as Miss Polly. I will explain her name later, but first—critter choosing.

I did not just want to choose an animal that everyone already loves. Readers love bunnies and all sorts of cuddly critters. This was a golden opportunity to give a critter with a bad reputation some good vibes. So, I decided to choose a porcupine. Who can love a porcupine? How do you hug one? Very gently—but in Timothy Hollow, anything is possible and all critters are lovable. It’s a magical place, after all.

So I chose a porcupine and just ran with it.

What’s in a Name?

What’s in a name? Everything. The way a reader feels about a character, and of course, the way they relate to it. I like to create whimsical, earthy, or sweet names. Oftentimes, I will choose the first letter of what the critter is and then choose a name that shares that letter. So for our porcupine teacher, I chose Miss Polly.

The Final Touches

Earlier in this article, we talked about giving a character creative beliefs, traditions, or items that made them distinguishable. It was time to put the final touches on Miss Polly Porcupine, teacher extraordinaire.

To offset the fact that Miss Polly Porcupine has quills—and I mean as many as 30,000 of them—I was on a mission to make her look as cuddly and sweet as possible. Going back to those basics of adding small things that would increase her warmth, I added a green-and-red velvet dress to her attire so she would look cuddlier. I even added wire-rimmed glasses to make her look older. With Miss Polly’s heartwarming personality and personal effects, she was now a well-rounded—quite literally—approachable yet practical teacher at Timothy Hollow’s Sycamore School House.

So, you see, it’s a pretty straightforward method that I use to birth my characters. I see that you finished your drink and cookie. Would you like a second? Let’s just sit here with Miss Polly as we enjoy this fire.