When I'm editing a client's pages, one of the biggest challenges I notice is that the POV character feels flat.

Really, how I feel is disinterested. And I wonder why...

The premise of the story is interesting, but the character just isn't.

Then I go through this checklist to analyze why, starting with these 3 key items.

When I bring these concerns to the writer, they often need to go back to brainstorming and re-visioning and re-imagining their character in a new, more complex, and more specific way. And that's okay.

Here's my top 3 checklist items:

• What does your POV character want in this scene? (Every scene needs a character goal.)

• What do they want in the story overall? Both the outer, tangible goal. And the inner desire, that may not even be conscious yet.

• What is stopping them and why does it matter? (This one is often left out and is the most important.)

I'll pause here for today because this is a lot.

Go back to your problem scene and see if you can answer these questions.

Let me know what you discovered.

❤️