Insight 016 — THE CHARACTERS

Alex Revival
3 days ago
1 min read

DIALOGUE 6: THE CHARACTERS

Everyone told her the characters were complex.

MAYA: Readers said Elena felt real. Multi-layered. Fully formed.

LAPTOP: Read-through to chapter five: 19%.

MAYA: The readers who stayed loved her.

LAPTOP: The readers who left left at chapter two.

MAYA: What happens in chapter two?

LAPTOP: Elena thinks about her childhood for eleven pages.

MAYA: That's her backstory. You need context to understand her choices.

LAPTOP: The reader needed to care about her before they wanted context.

MAYA: ...

LAPTOP: They didn't know her yet.

MAYA: I know.

LAPTOP: You gave them her history before you gave them a reason to stay.

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DIALOGUE 6: THE CHARACTERS

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