The Undoing Is Almost Always More Difficult

Mercy Watson Is Obsessed With Toast. What Was Blocking Me Was The Challenge Of Trying To Understand What She Loves, What Motivates Her. That Was The Missing Piece. Toast Became The Physical Symbol Of Mercy's Hopefully Endearing Greed And Obsession. Without That Element In Place, It Didn't Make Sense.

He Was Weeping. Although 'weeping' Really Is To Small A Word For The Activity The Kind Had Undertaken. Tears Were Cascading From His Eyes. A Small Puddle Had Formed At His Feet. I Am Not Exaggerating. The King, It Seemed, Was Intent On Crying Himself A River.

Magic Is Always Impossible.... It Begins With The Impossible And Ends With The Impossible And Is Impossible In Between. That Is Why It's Magic.

And So He Was Reading The Story As If It Were A Spell And The Words Of It, Spoken Aloud, Could Make Magic Happen.

This Is The Great Thing About Writing For Kids. Adults Might Not Do Anything If They Recognized Me. But If They Do See Me, And They're With A Kid, They'll Tell The Kid Who I Am. They Think They Should Give That To The Kid. So Generally That Sends The Kid Over.