In my wanders as a writer, beta reader and editor of fiction, I've recently come across several drafts of stories with the same major issue: Unrealistic emotional reactions from characters. This is a common early draft issue, so no need to beat yourself up if your first passes through character reactions don't sit well with … Continue reading Re/action
Tag: character development
A message is not a story
As an independent editor/beta reader, I see a lot of writers fall into the message trap - they have something they want to say, something they feel is important, and they're very passionate about it. There's nothing inherently wrong with this - in fact, even if you're a pantser (vs a plotter), you should be … Continue reading A message is not a story