Claudine Gueh Yanting Listens to Her Picture Book's Main Character

I'm thrilled to welcome back picture book author Claudine Gueh Yanting. Her latest book, Brightness Sailors, Bit by Bit, is a bittersweet poetic text about a girl trying to keep her grandmother from drifting away from the real world and memory. Claudine talks here about getting to know her main character.

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A SPECK OF ME, A RIVER OF HER

She was different.

En, my main character in BRIGHTNESS SAILORS, BIT BY BIT, was a seven-year-old who sailed out to relight her grandma’s dark and troubled stream of thoughts. En pushed the boat out alone, her determination as clear as the sky was black.

And off she went, my little heroine.

Who wasn’t a watcher but a doer.

Who did not sit and cry when sad things happened, but went out and made things brighter.

En was so different from my real seven-year-old self (I was more Ramona-on-her-sulky-days) I was worried I might not know her deeply enough. Like every writer then, I carried out imaginary conversations to seek more answers.

First, I spoke to myself:

Don’t idealize her.

Don’t turn her into who you wish you had been. (All right, all right … just not entirely, you clear? Let her be a speck of you, and a river of herself.)

Don’t make her out to be Super Girl 99. She’s only seven, and she’s losing her closest family. Do you not think she’s terrified?

…

 Then En spoke honestly to me. It was strange she sounded older and more independent than her age. Yet I couldn’t take those traits from her and I didn’t want to change her age. Seven felt right, and En was different, remember? So I let her be her. Here’s what she told me before I wrote her story in verse:

I’m scared. It’s so dark. But then I try not to think about it. Finding Grandma is more important.

And later, when she was in the middle of the stream:

The waves are sneaking higher, b…but I’ll try to ignore them. Reaching Grandma is more important.

And finally:

What if she doesn’t remember … How will we … What can I …  

Loving Grandma is more important. I’ll try and try and try to help her remember.

Trying and doing – that was En’s way of coping. She sailed out alone. She released Brightness from a sack. She rowed on when the waves grew harsher, letting her insecurities show bit by bit through her environment and not through her. She stayed strong, as advised by the spiders in the sky. She smiled despite the wreck. Who knew seven-year-old protagonists could be this cool?

En was afraid, but she didn’t show it much or stray because of it. I’m very proud of her, my little heroine. I hope her Brightness reaches you.

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Purchase Brightness Sailors, Bit by Bit on iTunes, Kobo, B&N, and Sony

Learn more about the book and about Claudine Gueh Yanting at CarryUsOffBooks and Goodreads.

To celebrate its release, Claudine has a gift for everyone called ‘A Little Book of Brightness.’ Please remember to check it out. Thanks for reading!

Guest Blogger Claudine Gueh Yanting

One of the most interesting recent children's books is a picture book called My Clearest Me, by Claudine Gueh Yanting. The highly poetic text shows the thoughts of a shy boy who wonders how he fits into the world. I am delighted to have Claudine as my guest today. I asked her to talk about the experience of writing this unusual book.

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THE NIGHT WIND KING

It started out this way: a boy would be asleep and there would be creatures appearing in his dream. Perhaps in alphabetical order. The focus would be on the train of creatures in the dream. The readers would be ‘watching’ a circus show.

Sounds like a good idea for a picture book.

Right?

Somehow, my mind kept drifting to the boy. The only quiet element in the ruckus.

Who was he? How was he like? Did he … want something?

Contrasts & Imagery

Wynn’s conflicts are based on my experience as an insecure introvert. Right from when I’d known the boy would be a quiet child, the image of a bout of fresh, gentle night wind came to me. He would be the Night Wind King, soft and clear.

So I looked for imagery in the night sky, in clothings, in masks and real appearances, and in music.

The train of contrasts followed:

- Wynn’s ‘shy and nestled voice’ VS the noisy swallows stirring the sky;

- a pale boy in soft-colored pajamas VS rowdy children in clown/T-Rex costumes;

- soft flute music VS clattery-clack drum beats;

- a bout of night wind VS sparks that crack the sky. 

Soon the sounds and silence began to mix. I started to think about presenting the story in a musical way.

So I Wrote In Verse, Which

… nearly did me in.

Honestly.

The concept was to set the tone in a softly blowing manner with a consistent rhythm. I’d wanted the language to be part of the wind imagery. Even Wynn’s worries would be presented in a style that was very honest and clear, like a voice that’s right next to your ears. No additional noise necessary.

Each word was reconsidered and each line revised over and over. 

Then came another challenge …

Combining Story with Art

Usually, the illustrator would take charge of the artistic direction, working closely with the editor on the book concept. In our case, I was the writer and the editor. And Sarah hadn’t learned to interpret a children’s book text as a professional illustrator yet. (My Clearest Me would be her first children’s book.) 

So we did what we could:

While writing the manuscript, I was already visualizing the artistic direction of each page.

Would this be a single picture in a double-page? Would this be a close-up? How could we show the contrast between Wynn and the other kids?

I related to Sarah my ideas and showed her a flimsy book dummy I’d made. She got things very quickly.

About a week later, she showed me the storyboard. We went through each page and tweaked the drafts, with Sarah putting in her ideas and details along the way. They worked amazingly. There wasn’t a moment of frustration during our partnership. None at all. It was so fun for us, and the book has turned out to be as whimsical and magical as we’d hoped it would be!

We’d done our best to sail this ebook out. Fingers-crossed, we just hope the rest of the world will like Wynn’s story, too!

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A postscript from Claudia: My Clearest Me is a small gift of courage for children who are exploring their inner world. And if you have a minute, it’d be truly wonderful if you could help us grow and share your thoughts on Amazon. Good story? Not so good? I’d love to read what you think!

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You can purchase My Clearest Me here and see the book trailer here.