It is difficult for a reader to follow along a story line when a ten-year-old talks and behaves like a forty-year-old. Of course, there are youngsters that are more mature then others. However, aside from assuming a position that anything is possible, it also has to be reasonable and believable.

In addition, if your characters have no clear personalities, you will find yourself having to write ‘she said’, ‘he said’, ‘she said’, repeatedly. Otherwise, no one will be able to keep the characters dialog straight. It is a serious distraction and completely irritating to the reader if they continually get confused as to ‘who’ is saying ‘what’.

Here’s a tip – write and then read a page of dialogue without specifically identifying the characters by name. If you can follow along and know who is speaking then your characters are developed. If you, as the author have problems recognizing the difference between characters, imagine your reader. Enough said on that, now for something else to consider.

Although, everyone in the U.S. may speak English; their use of language could and often does vary. Your use of language depends on what part of the country you call home, your education, your religion and/or your upbringing. A New Yorker, for example, has a specific accent and group of behavioral traits that are identifiable and in many cases unique. The same could be said for someone born and raised in Jackson Mississippi or the San Fernando Valley in Southern California.

You want your readers to form a connection with your characters. To laugh with them, cry with them, and associate with their hopes and dreams. At the end, you want the story to come to life and have the reader relate and/or want to be one or more of the characters. This will keep them reading and coming back for more.

Here is another helpful tip – have each of your characters use a word or phrase that is unique only to them. For example, in my book, ‘The Second Coming: The Arrival’, Evie is the only character that using the word ‘sweetie’. Therefore, in my dialogue, when a reader sees the word ‘sweetie’ they know it’s Evie speaking so I don’t have to write, ‘Evie says’. If you can manage to do this with most of your characters, the dialogue will become easier to follow. Also try to introduce personality behavioral traits which can be brought out during your dialogue sessions. This will help the reader see the individuals on the page. For Example, one of your characters may mumble a lot, or snort when they laugh. Listed below is a quick illustration.

"I’m so sorry sweetie; I can’t understand you when you mumble."

"I wasn’t mumbling," she replies back aloof then I hear snorting coming from the living room.

"What are you laughing at? What Mom said wasn’t funny."

"I wasn’t laughing," she answers back then covers her mouth.

"Oh please, I could here you snorting from the Kitchen."

Even though I didn’t identify the characters by name in the five lines of dialogue written above, you know its three different people. You realize one is older and two are probably siblings. You also realize that the person who spoke first is the mother. And based on the rebut, you can deduce the person snorting is younger. It doesn’t matter how many lines of dialogue are written, you want your characteristics to always be identifiable in your story. And this can easily be accomplished by generating individual profiles on your characters.

And Bob’s your Uncle. There is the moral of the story, ‘Develop Your Characters First’. This will also keep you from making content mistakes within the book. Like a character is twenty-one-years old on page 102 and thirty-one-years old on age 298. Or she has hazel eyes on page 146 and brown eyes on page 357. You get the picture.

2. Set Professional Goals - Available 7/13/2020