Who's There? Introducing Characters in a Scene

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Have you ever walked into a room, thought you were alone, and then realized someone else was there? A little jarring, right? It's unexpected and totally throws you. Well, you can do the same thing to your readers if you forget to let them know there are other characters in the scene besides the narrator.

Readers rely on clues to ease them into the scene so they can concentrate on enjoying the story itself. They expect authors to set the scene and provide them with the necessary tools to understand what's going on. One element of that is to let them know who is lurking about.

Have You Met Ted? Introducing Characters

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Writing is a creative endeavor, but a lot of it is the technical aspect of controlling when and where information is supplied to the reader. Throw too much at them and they're overwhelmed, too little and they're lost. The same goes for introducing characters. How do you know when (and where) to shove a character onto the page?

Different level characters will have different entry points, but they'll all show up at the same thematic time: When they start affecting the story.