: Re: How should I introduce my characters? I'm pretty good at creating compelling characters with decent personalities and motivations. I like the comradery vibe, so they're generally already part of

@Alves689

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There is no need for the characters to remark on each other's traits because your prose should be showing those traits as the story moves along. You already do some showing in He dropped it from his flipper. The same kind of showing can be used to illustrate an angry character:

The lug wrench clanged to the floor as Jerry dropped it from his flipper. Jerry's whiskers sank. Bob glared at Jerry and began shaking. "You," he enunciated, "never manage anything, now do you? Do you?"

There is also no need, when introducing a posse of characters, to introduce them in a group. Introduce your group naturally as your story moves along. One way to do this is have the characters in several scenes involving large groups. Victorian novels with their world-building focus, did this often. For example in The Age of Innocence Wharton starts in a crowded opera house, introducing characters as they look at each other across boxes and move into boxes to visit. Additional characters are introduced via Old New York gossips sharing tidbits about supposed shady dealings or at dinner parties as they naturally show up and are included in the circle.

A modern novel involving a close knit group is Then We Came to the End. Set in the first person plural, this novel about most people in an office being fired has a setting where it is natural for characters to ruminate on each other (who is going to be fired next?). It also shows - from it's unusual point of view - different people at different times, since it can jump into any member of the "we."

Your reader doesn't need to know all the pertinent details about the character right away. When a character detail is needed, show the person acting that way, or have someone's dialog show the action.

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