A story about a story

Whilst a storm rages, bashing our cottage, I thought I’d share a story about how my new book Just The Two Of Us, came to life. It’s about imaginary friends and what happens to them when they are no longer needed.

Here’s the opening spread, where the little dog Arlo is summoned into being, just like my story ideas really, slowly gently and softly…

When my daughter was small she had an imaginary friend called Phyllis, I often thought about this, so I recalled memories to mine for ideas.

This story had many concepts, most way off from what was finally published. The first was about a reserved child whose imaginary friend could express what she couldn’t. I tentatively experimented with collaged tissue paper creating a character. But, didn’t like it or feel an interesting story emerging. I plodded on.

Around this time, I left my then agent and booked in with Ness Wood at Orange Beak Studio, keen to develop my work in a new direction, using this character as a starting point. The child now had an imaginary blue dog as a friend created with mixed media - collage, mono print and gouache. The joy of experimenting was I had no outcome to fulfil, neither did I have a story for these two characters evolving on my desk. I didn’t like the ‘style’ but knew I was getting close, what I did like was the emotional, if somewhat sad connection between them. I kept mulling and playing.

On a walk I had a light bulb moment! Turn the story around, make the main character the dog and tell the story from his point of view. And I continued experimenting.

Around this time Picture Hooks were running a competition with the theme friendship and quite literally, out of nowhere I drew this rough image.

Followed by this…

When I showed it to Ness, she said “You’ve got! You’ve done it!” (I think this is Ness’s iconic phrase when her mentees hit the jack pot!). So I entered the the competition, coming second. With no agent or book deal, (which was a freedom) it gave me a sense of direction. But I still hadn’t got a story. So I created another image (below) and this was the BINGO moment. That week, in my aunts kitchen I met the real Stella and Arlo, a little dog, with bushy eyebrows who crept onto her lap, eyeing us suspiciously. So, I pinched their names and the story started evolving with these words becoming the core of the concept.

Feeling confident, I sent these images to two agents with this opening line …

“What happens to imaginary friends when they are no longer needed?”

Both replied and quickly, James Catchpole the next day. I’d hooked a big fish! Yipee, I knew he was a brilliant editor and that’s what I craved.

We worked hard on the story for months, James patiently steering me away from complicated plots, such as Stella growing up and Arlo coming back to befriend her child. I wince! He suggested I put myself in Arlo’s paws. Be Arlo, feel like Arlo, be the character, what would he do, react, think etc. Is this method acting for illustrators? Importantly he suggested I draw the story first and leave the writing for later. He could see I ‘write’ visually and that words can squash and overcomplicate the creative process for me.

Soon, I was on a roll, at the same time an old friend sent me Two Of Us by the Beatles which I played on a loop, it encapsulated the essence of Stella’s and Arlo’s friendship and inevitably it inspired further illustrations and the title.

Twenty five rough dummy books later (!), James read it in submission meetings, telling me it made editors cry (sorry editors). It was quickly sold to Andersen Press.

The cover is ‘that illustration’, just slightly amended. I was delighted it was used.

But of course Arlo eventually moves on, as does Stella, much like real life. We tried to tackle this in a sensitive and positive heartfelt way. The story ends, as it started, except Arlo leaves with his new friend Calypso, who had been Stella’s neighbour, Sid’s imaginary friend once.

On a practical level, the book was made using mono print lines painted onto craft sponge, gouache (Holbein, I love it’s velvety quality) and a bit of collage - the poppies. Then assembled in Photoshop layers, I don’t digitally colour my work, preferring to paint on Fabriano water colour paper, then scanning.

I learnt a lot creating this book, it was a joy. You’ll be glad to hear my dummy book count for my next project is down to eight. More on that another time - it’s a passion project and proof to following your gut feeling and creating authentically, from the heart.

On a different subject, while I’ve been creating new stories I’ve become hooked on Night Tracks BBC Sounds great when you need calming background music.

Stay cosy.

Polly X