Keeping your characters engaged with the story keeps readers engaged with it, too. Whenever something significant happens in the story, readers expect the characters to sit up, notice, and process its impact at some level.
Giving readers direct access to the context allows them to discover the meaning for themselves. This means exposing your characters’ interpretive process—their emotions, thoughts, and reflections about what’s happening around them.
Think of folding character interiority into a passage to create a “progress report,” showing the character’s ongoing impressions of what they know and feel so far while the action is still unfolding.
Read more in my post at Writers Helping Writers—
- Using progress reports to keep readers attached to the story
- Maintaining the stream of character perspective
- Using thought to crack open new options
- The value of reacting right now
Understanding how stories work changes everything. I’ll show you how to back up your creative instincts so your ideas hit home. It’s time to accelerate your journey from aspiring writer to emerging author.
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