We have one character, "Sassy Hummel." Check out that name! "Sassy" suggests someone spunky, not afraid to talk back, and spirited. "Hummel" is close to "hum" and "humble" – quiet, self-effacing words that contrast with "Sassy." Whoever she is, she has at least two sides. Listen to the words, too – "Sassy" is open and short, a good match for its meaning, while "Hummel" keeps the lips nearly closed, as humming would. Both words have an accented first syllable, and a softer second syllable, giving us the rhythm of a march in 4/4 time.
Sassy has a problem. Something has happened, and she knows "she should get over it." Getting over it is the last refuge of the disempowered. She can't make it better. The only option she has to improve her lot is to adjust herself to stop feeling bad about it. Somehow, she believes she "should" get over it – why? Who taught her that her problem is best dismissed?
The final phrase shows she can't get over it: "but how?" She doesn't know how she can get over it. There's no method for her to take that step.
With so much out of her hands, this could be a depressing sentence. The name Sassy – with its calls to unsinkable, rebellious women – brings some lightness to the sentence. So does its fast rhythm. Then, there's the snap of the final two words: "but how?" Just two casual syllables, looking for an answer. Maybe Sassy doesn't know how to get over it, whatever it is. What she has left is the willingness to ask the question.
This first sentence holds the seed of the book particularly well. The story will show how Sassy Hummel is both humble and daring, what "it" is that happened to her, and how she will get past it. The how takes some surprising and lyrical turns. Plumage remains a favorite.
Graphic elements by Ken Silbert
Photo by Yorman Tamayo on Unsplash