My boyfriend regularly claims to have thought up a new invention, but I am still waiting to retire on the riches that his fertile imagination apparently promises. In the meantime, I feel that I may have stumbled upon an invention of my own: the Character Consistency Chart! During the writing of my latest manuscript, I regularly scroll back to cast an eye over early chapters. This led me to notice that as the story blossoms characters change, fade away, swap hats, become wistful when they were angry, or simply disappear into the wings. In short, characterisation was becoming inconsistent. I wanted to address this. But how? As the word count grows, it is becoming more difficult to recall exactly how someone behaved 30,000 words ago. So I put my thinking cap on and came up with the idea to draw up a chart of each character's motivation as they move from chapter to chapter. That way, I will be able to smooth out the details of who and what they are. Indeed, as I peer at the horizon and see the welcome figure of a finished first draft waving to me, I suspect I may need many more charts to guide me through revisions. I feel quite proud of my Character Consistency Chart - possibly the first of many.
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children's author
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