Uploaded August 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Readers not caring about your characters is a big (and common!) problem. In this video I go over seven reasons that readers, editors, or agents might not connect to your characters.
1. You're not conveying the character's personality.
2. You're talking about what the character is like but you're not showing it.
3. You're showing your character's least flattering traits without giving a reason for why they are that way.
4. You're not conveying what the character wants.
5. You're not showing the problem preventing the character from getting what they want.
6. Your character is a stereotype or built on tropes.
7. You're not including sensory information to place the reader in the character's shoes.
FREE WORKSHOP: ellenbrockediting.com/2017/07/31/novel-boot-camp-workshop-1-submission-form
TWITTER: twitter.com/EllenMBrock
Readers not caring about your characters is a big (and common!) problem. In this video I go over seven reasons that readers, editors, or agents might not connect to your characters.
1. You're not conveying the character's personality.
2. You're talking about what the character is like but you're not showing it.
3. You're showing your character's least flattering traits without giving a reason for why they are that way.
4. You're not conveying what the character wants.
5. You're not showing the problem preventing the character from getting what they want.
6. Your character is a stereotype or built on tropes.
7. You're not including sensory information to place the reader in the character's shoes.
FREE WORKSHOP: ellenbrockediting.com/2017/07/31/novel-boot-camp-workshop-1-submission-form
TWITTER: twitter.com/EllenMBrock
![Novel Editor Q & A [Live Recording]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p8wgl2RI0Kc/mqdefault.jpg "Novel Editor Q & A [Live Recording]
A Q & A session on novel writing and editing. This is my first time hosting a Google Hangout so please bear with the awkwardness.")
