AUTHOR | HISTORIAN | ARTIST

writingbox:

Describing characters can be a little bit of a ‘telling’ minefield. While you are almost certainly going to end up with some ‘told’ description of a character, try to keep it to a minimum, ‘showing’ things about their appearance through action and dialogue instead.

Examples:

Instead of ‘She was short’, use ‘She clambered onto the chair, her legs dangling several inches above the floor’

Describing Characters Through ‘Showing’

mordinwrites:

Found this article. Found it incredibly helpful. Be sure to go read the full story, but these are the ten questions the author (Lydia Netzer) covers in it:

1. At what point did you feel like “Ah, now the story has really begun!” 
2. What were the points where you found yourself skimming? 
3. Which setting in the book was clearest to you as you were reading it? Which do you remember the best? 
4. Which character would you most like to meet and get to know? 
5. What was the most suspenseful moment in the book? 
6. If you had to pick one character to get rid of, who would you axe? 
7. Was there a situation in the novel that reminded you of something in your own life? 
8. Where did you stop reading, the first time you cracked open the manuscript? (Can show you where your first dull part is, and help you fix your pacing.) 
9. What was the last book you read, before this? And what did you think of it? (This can put their comments in context in surprising ways, when you find out what their general interests are. It might surprise you.) 
10. Finish this sentence: “I kept reading because…”

Ten questions to ask a friend who just read your novel

clementive:

Ok. I’m tired of the typical vampire, werewolf and fairy.I’m also tired of the occidental-centrism in mythology. Hence, this list.

I tried to include as many cultural variants as I could find and think of. (Unfortunately, I was restricted by language. Some Russian creatures…

In Which Diversity Isn’t a Myth