Tuesday's Writer's Tip - More on Characters and Revision #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Characters #Writing #Revision

Here's a question you need to ask yourself while you're revising your story. Does this character belong in this story? Sometimes in the heat of the rough draft and that of finding your way into the characters, you can put in someone who doesn't belong in the story. For me this isn't the hero or heroine but often a secondary character. Does heor she need more than one best friend or working colleague for the story. Sometimes two characters can be woven into one. The story should have just enough characters to make the story make sense. I once put a half dozen children into a story i was wrting and soon had a hard time distinguishing them and also having the hero and heroine relating to these children. But i do write stories with more than just two main characters but even then I need to be sure I've put the ones who are needed. This is easier done in the rough or planning stages of the book but I've citiqued friends' stories and asked that question why do you have three or four characters who would be doing the job of one  andmaybe two?

So make sure the characters all belong and that they're distinctive. Make sure not to confuse the reader with too many folks who seem to be the same.