Guest Post: Jenn Bailey on Writing Her Henry Series
Ever since my Book Uncle and Me turned into the Book Uncle trilogy, I’ve been paying extra attention to books that start out by standing alone and then take off on their own paths. Some characters seem to demand that their writers turn their lives, adventures, families, and communities into multiple books.
VCFA graduate Jenn Bailey’s wonderfully whimsical character Henry first caught my attention with A Friend for Henry. Henry is a wistful little character, a kid who notices stuff, who’s capable of gleaning insights from the classroom goldfish—a kid with an inner life of consequence. So I was thrilled to see Henry sequels appear: Henry, Like Always, Henry and the Something New, and Henry’s Picture-Perfect Day, with still more to come. Henry, I hasten to add, did not disappoint. Each book enriches and expands on its quirky young character and his lovingly drawn community.
Henry Like Always hat: photo courtesy of Kevin Bailey
Naturally, I invited Jenn Bailey to talk about the process of writing this completely charming series.
A Creative Project with Guardrails
A huge thank you to Uma for sharing her space. I read up on the legend, The Broken Tusk, because I was so intrigued by her blog title. If you don’t know the story, read it! A true writer’s tale full of sacrifice, creativity, and dedication. No wonder Uma chose it.
I just launched the third Henry book – Henry’s Picture-Perfect Day – and finished edits on the fifth – Henry vs. the Universe, so I’ve been thinking a lot about why a series gets started, what it promises to the reader, and how it continues.
Photo © Denise Santomauro
When my publisher Chronicle first suggested turning my picture book into a series, I wasn’t sure. I did have another Henry story, but obviously a series meant telling more than just one. So, I asked myself some questions: Was my character big enough? Did he have more (and more) to share about himself? And in a unique way? Could I keep his experiences relatable?
Fortunately, yes. Henry is a quiet character, but I hoped that would give him his own space on the shelves—a place where the series would fit, and perhaps, stand out. Henry offers readers a more thoughtful, gently humorous point of view than many boisterous characters so he would have a distinctive style.
My question “Is he big enough?” really asks is he interesting enough? Does he have potential? Can he grow—again and again? A series character, like all characters, will need to grow and change but not all at once. Or in the same way book after book. If your character goes back on Step One at the start of every new story, your reader will become bored by the lack of progress. You need to make sure your character continues to grow, although perhaps in more subtle ways.
In a series, writers also need to take familiar character patterns and blend them with new character traits. We need to fulfill the promise of reuniting readers with a well-known story friend while also taking them on a new adventure.
“Writing this series has been fun and challenging—a creative project with guardrails. ”
I always start my books thinking of that new adventure and how it will stretch Henry in new ways. While he is stretching, I bring back some of the familiar – a thought pattern, a preference, or a secondary character to remind readers of previous stories. I want readers to experience a long character arc across the books. Even though Henry is growing and changing he is still Henry. This gives my readers a comfort level and surety that they can also tackle growth and change without losing themselves.
Writing this series has been fun and challenging—a creative project with guardrails. One I’m dedicated to until we are done.
A long character arc across books—that is exactly the work of extending a single book into a series. And I really like the idea of a project with guardrails. Thank you, Jenn Bailey, for these delightful books.
