A to Z Challenge: R

R is for Red pens and ReWrites.

It happens to all writers. You've written a fantastic story and it's time to send it off to your critique partner or editor. They return the manuscript with so many notes your story won't be the same.

It's time to ReWrite.

That's right. Get out the big, fat eraser and start deleting. Maybe you'll start with your MC. Character development is one thing I need the most help with, so I generally ReWrite my character, using the notes from my CP.

When I first began writing, I thought I could just sit down and write the story. For a beginner, that worked fine, I guess. I generally start my stories with a character in mind and a situation to work through. My stories ended very quickly because once my character got past the situation, that was it.

I have since learned that in order to make my character real and believable, I needed to create a CHARACTER for my character. It's like reading a biography. The person writing the biography learned as much about their character as possible, maybe even interviewing him or her more than once. Getting to know your character will enable you to write a better story. In order to do this, you MUST know the CHARACTER of your character. Who is she? What made her so happy? Angry? Bitter? Scared? What made him so strong mentally? What happened to him that caused him to be mean, insensitive, careless? Why is he such a gentleman?

Let's learn about your character. It's time to give your character some CHARACTER!

First step: Your character needs a problem he or she wants to see resolved or fixed. As an example, I will create someone, give them a problem, and together we will create a character. Someone who readers will want to read more about. Someone who will leap off the first page of your novel and capture the audience from the first page.

So, get your RED pen and ReWrite that character:)