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5. Failure to describe characters.
Novels appear inside the readers’ minds as they read along. The
writer’s job is to create mental pictures for readers, and that
includes images of the characters. All main characters should be
described in some detail, including the character’s face, body,
gestures, and clothing.
The more important the character, the more specific the description
should be. This description usually should be on the same page (or
shortly thereafter) where the reader first meets the character.
Even minor characters are worthy of some description. Generally,
anyone who speaks should be described.
Sometimes I’ll see a novel where major characters are not described
at all. More commonly, the character is described once, early, and
then never again. A writer should periodically remind the reader of
what the character looks like. The reminders need not be long, just
a sentence or even just a phrase here and there. |
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6.
Using summaries rather than scenes: The story should be told
chiefly in scenes, rather than in summary. This is a summary:
My mother and father lived on Elm Street, and were happy for many
years, until the truck ran over father's leg. We never knew if he
tripped or was pushed under the truck. He was in the hospital two
months, but never fully recovered. I had to get a job at the
factory.
A
scene is told in real-time, moment by moment:
Smith buttoned his coat and made his way down the sidewalk. An ice
truck passed, leaving a thin trail of water on the cobblestones.
Smith glanced over his shoulder into the wind, and pulled the coat's
belt tighter. His foot missed the curb, and he tumbled forward,
hitting a lamppost, then falling into the street. The pickup's
driver tried to swerve, but too late. The fender clipped Smith’s
shoulder, and his leg fell under the rear wheel. The sound of the
femur breaking was as loud as a pistol shot.
Scenes are vastly more vivid and memorable than are summaries.
James Thayer’s thirteenth novel,
The
Boxer and the Poet; Something of a Romance, will be published by
Black Lyon Publishing in March 2008. |
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