My absolute favourite part of writing our wild adventure, Ministry of Mischief, was creating the magical land of Impworld and all the imps in it! Illustrator Nikolas Ilic did such a great job of bringing these characters to life in his drawings; I hope you love them as much as I do.
Impworld is a land where bad is good – specifically, bad luck. The imps work hard to bring small misfortunes to humans. Have you stubbed your toe lately? You’ve been visited by Stubbz: the imp in charge of stubbed toes! Perhaps you’ve had a papercut? Then you’ve been the target of Szlice: the imp in charge of papercuts. Every day, I’m personally followed around by Warezit: the imp in charge of when you’re looking for something for ages, and you can’t find it, then it turns out it was in your hand the whole time. Now, where did I put my writing pen again...
Now, if you are looking to create your very own imp, I’m here to help! Here’s how I do it:
STEP ONE: Choose your imp’s job!
When I start to design a new imp, I first consider their job. In Ministry of Mischief, the bad luck agents have jobs they are in charge of – just like Stubbz, Szlice and Warezit. Any small misfortune you can think of, there’s an imp for that. An imp in charge of missing the bus. An imp in charge of untied shoe laces. An imp in charge of when you get pooed on by a bird. The funnier, the better!
STEP TWO: Choose your imp’s name!
Just like when I wrote my first series, Rules for Vampires, a big part of my writing is creating my own rules for these characters to follow. For me, I decided that every imp would have the letter Z in their name.
Stubbz
Szlice
Warezit
Loozshoes (the imp in charge of loose shoelaces)
Buzstop (the imp in charge of missing the bus)
Do you see as well how all of the imps’ names are related to their jobs? Be as creative as you like! And remember: all rules are made to be broken. Maybe your imp has a totally unique kind of name, without any Z at all.
STEP THREE: Choose your imp’s design!
Stubbz (stubbed toes) is round and rocky. Szlice (papercuts) has a paper-like body that can fold into different shapes. Warezit (misplaced writing pens) has lots of eyes. When drawing your imp, have a think about what their body should be like: long and thin? Small and stocky? How many arms do they have? Do they have hair? Do they have sharp teeth?
And finally, the most important step: HAVE FUN! I’d love to see any fun designs you make! Can’t wait to see you all in Impworld, in Ministry of Mischief!
My son will most definitely do it by Suzi Smith * - 14-09-2024 15:03
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