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Watch the first episode of Erndell Scott's Question and Answer Series, as he discusses his writing style and character development in the breakout historical fiction adventure novel, 'Paper Boats.' Do you have a question about 'Paper Boat' or the author? Send your questions to contact@erndellscott.com to have Erndell Scott post an answer. #erndellscott #video #paperboats #historicalfiction #adventure #characters #otto #writing #writingstyle #question #answer

The photo above is of me, Erndell Scott, as a child. I am often asked if Otto and I share similarities. Many readers remark on how smart and intelligent Otto was at such a young age. They accept this in him but they do find it interesting, if not surprising. I think when you spend as much time as I did writing Otto you form a bond and you can’t help to put yourself into your characters. We share the same curiosity and the same innocence about the world in many respects, but a

The overall theme in my novel, Paper Boats, is the idea of acceptance. It’s a topic I’m passionate about and one I explain in further detail when I give talks and speeches. Look around us in our world today; tolerance is shattering as it always has in history, which leads to actions usually in the form of violence. I don’t need to rattle off the places in the world this is happening. It’s written all over the newspaper and on television. So what’s the alternative? It’s accept

I receive many emails from readers about Otto, and it makes me happy to know people are connecting with him. In particular, readers are saying they love how Otto’s clothes represent his character, with one gentleman asking me if I had written that on purpose. The answer is yes. What Otto wears and the clothes he chose supports his character. They represent his ability to improvise, adapt and overcome. They also represent his intelligence because his clothes helps mask and hid

I received an email from a reader asking me if I had a map of Otto’s and Joseph’s journey. She wanted to see where they went in regard to the countries in Europe and the fronts of the Allied Armies. It’s a great idea so I created a map of their journey to help give perspective to where their travels took them. The hard part is that you don’t want to give too much information and create a spoiler for people who have not read the book. With that in mind, I plotted the boy’s cou

A fan asked me about the significance of the paper boats in my novel of the same name. Without revealing anything as far as the plot is concerned, I can certainly share their importance. The paper boats that Otto and Annie (two characters in the book) made and played with represent the idea of acceptance, a major theme in the book. A simple folded piece of paper brought both children together, Otto, an innocent, playful little boy and Annie, a precocious, astute little girl.