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Topic : Re: Is it important to describe every character of the storyline? Note: I am not sure of which site this question belongs to: Writing SE or Literature SE. If this question is unfit for this site, - selfpublishingguru.com

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No, don't describe any of your characters.

I mean it. Focus on what your characters say and do. When you stop the action to describe people and settings, readers like me will skip ahead to the next paragraph to see if the story starts up again there. And, chances are, we will not have missed anything crucial. Look at the stories you read. Do they include character descriptions? Do you read them or skip ahead?

"Norms, habits, beliefs, and nature" are revealed through your characters' actions. This is one instance where "show don't tell" is actually good advice.

So no, don't describe your characters. (Except, of course, where the description is part of the story. Owen's appearance was important to A Prayer for Owen Meany. The description of the blind man revealed the narrator's point of view in Raymond Carver's "Cathedral.")


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