Editing The Writing Workshop 4-30-18 (section)

===== 2. Instead of Showing What They Look Like, Make Us Want To Root For Your Character =====
It doesn’t matter whether you want your readers to see your protagonist succeed or see them fail, you want them for or against your character, period. You want that more than you want your readers to know what they look like.

You want your readers to want to keep following your character on their adventures, want them to keep turning the page.

Turn all the pages.

Show your readers your character in action. How do they react after witnessing a bad car accident? How do they react to being in a bad car accident? How do they react to good news? How do they react to being hit on at a pair by someone remotely not their type?

Give them the elements of your character and send your readers on the adventure with them. Remember that paragraph of “tell” from the beginning of the post? Go back and take another read. I’ll wait.

Are you cringing yet?

Instead of doing that, show the readers how your character feels about having to get up in the morning. Are they the type who’s excited for school, to see all their friends and sit in the front row of each of their classes? Or do they not want to go to school because they’re constantly being bullied by the “it clique” and therefore drag out the process of getting ready for as long as possible?

Or show us a little about your protagonist’s home life. Does your character have to pick their way through a messy room to get to their uniform, or is it pristine and the clothes are hanging in the closet organized by color? Does their uniform fit, or is the skirt or pants too tight in the waist because they can’t afford clothes that fit better.

Show a neat appearance, or show them being okay with leaving the house unkempt because they’re running late.

Show us, don’t tell us.

Obviously there are exceptions to every rule (like all the ones I break in the #WhoIsTalyaNightingale manuscript). In writing, all rules should be broken. What’s important is that you break these rules the right away.

And then go back and edit when you’re done.

Have I mentioned the importance of editing yet in this post?

No?

Well, editing is super crucial.

Taken from: <nowiki>https://thefakeredhead.com/2017/01/14/2-tips-on-introducing-your-protagonist/</nowiki>
----Or rather, this month's poem. Brianna Harpel, our writer over there at Caught in the Glow, is a lovely poet who never fails to amaze me with her poetry. Check out her poetry in The Creative Writers of NSA > Brianna > Poems!