 Guest Blog by Mary Wagley Copp Last week, I submitted an early draft of a picture book to my critique group. It was delightful and humorous and a fun read. AND it fell flat. Yes, it had a great plot, but it had nothing underneath the activity. It seems to be a common struggle for many writers – that deeper dimension. It lacked layers. Scenes were engaging but there was nothing behind the scenes. The pacing was great, the story appealing, but nothing deeper. I knew this, of course, but I could not get to that important dimension of the story. You know, the part that lets a reader connect to the main character. The dimension that resonates with the kid in all of us.  In giving her feedback, one of my critique partners quoted the writer Edward Gorey and his Great Simple Theory About Art from his letters in Born to be Posthumous (Little Brown and Company, 2018). The theory. . .that anything that is art. . .is presumably about some certain thing, but is really about something else, and it’s no good having one without the other, because if you just have the something it is boring and if you have the something else it’s irritating. - Edward Gorey Initially, this sounded complicated. Gorey, after all, has been described as a weird genius. (I admit I have heard it said more simply as “this story is about…… But, really, it is about….”) We dissected this quotation and related it to my manuscript. It really refers to layers. There is the explicit, obvious layer – the “certain thing” – what is happening in the story. The plot. The “something else” is about the deeper dimension. It is what the reader, no matter their age, will resonate with. A longing, a need for something, a frustration – a FEELING. There it was – that “certain thing” of my story was delightful and fun. But, it lacked that “something else.” But, how to go deeper? How do you peel back the layers of your text to get to the gem? The place that will have your reader really resonate with your main character. My guess is it doesn’t just appear on the first draft. It certainly wasn’t in the manuscript I submitted to my critique group. So, what questions did my partners ask me to help me delve a little deeper? Here they are and I hope they help you: What does my protagonist really want? What is behind/below the main character’s actions? What might they be feeling? Is my focus on plot preventing me from delving deeper? Is the resolution staying true to the main character’s inner yearning? These are difficult questions. With some manuscripts I struggle mightily to answer them. I sit with the questions for days, weeks, months. And, honestly, sometimes I put the manuscript aside because I can’t drill down enough to get to the core that will convey a struggle most of us can relate to. And your main character does not have to be a human, of course!
There is no formula for getting to this part of a protagonist’s journey. That is part of the beauty of it. There is no checklist—or AI prompt—that can uncover that emotional truth for you. The work comes from paying close attention to your character and to your own understanding of what it means to be human. For me, this inner dimension, is the most difficult part of writing a good story. And, for me, it is the most rewarding. Plot may give readers a reason to turn the page, but that "something else" is what stays with them. So stay with the struggle. Keep asking what your character truly longs for. Celebrate when you finally uncover that deeper layer—because that's when a story stops simply being about “some certain thing” and starts being about “something else” – that deeper dimension we all can relate to.  Mary is a children’s author and former filmmaker. Her picture books include Wherever I Go (Atheneum/S&S 2020), illustrated by Munir Mohammed, and Yoshi’s Big Swim: One Turtle’s Epic Journey Home (Capstone, 2023), illustrated by Kaja Kajfez. Her newest title Sometimes We Pray (Charlesbridge, 2026) was illustrated by Felishia Henditirto and her upcoming My One Wish Was You – A Christmas Miracle in the Animal Shelter (Sourcebooks, 2027) will be illustrated by Jaimie MacGibbon (Sourcebooks, 2027). When not writing, Mary teaches ELL to newcomers in her area. To learn more about Mary visit her website.
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