Sometimes when I need a break from writing, I like to stretch my creative muscle in other ways. Recently, I’ve returned to sculpture, something I did a lot of once, but not for a long time. It’s been so liberating that I started teaching a class for middle schoolers called Characters in Clay. The course explores what makes great characters in books so great and then asks students to create an original character of their own imagination from polymer clay. Students then present their finished work to the class and including the character’s story (because a bit of public speaking never hurts!). I hope to post my students’ creations soon, but I thought I’d share some of mine.