Aspiring authors often make this mistake when creating fictional characters (and it makes them unbelievable!) | Advice from a UK Book Editor
- Chelsea ✨
- May 18
- 3 min read
Professional book editor in the UK reveals a common mistake fiction writers often make when trying to create believable characters.
Imagine this:
You start a new book while cosy in bed with a cuppa, only to find that...
👉🏽 The character described as allergic to nuts in Chapter 2 scoops peanut butter from the jar in Chapter 14... 🤨
👉🏽 The main character's narration changes in each chapter
👉🏽 The character with freckles in Act One has none in Act Two, then has them again in Act three... 😅
👉🏽 The light, joyful character turns dark and stormy for no reason or explanation...
👉🏽 The villain/antagonist's motive keeps changing throughout the story... 👿
👉🏽 Two characters suddenly fall in love without any build up or much time...
👉🏽 A character's mental health issues seem to miraculously disappear with no explanation... 🤔
👉🏽 The funny sidekick stops cracking jokes from about halfway through...
👉🏽 The one with a 'bad smoking habit' isn't seen with a cigarette for most of the book... 🚬
You get the idea!
And after finding these types of examples, you might close the book for good! 😬
This is why getting a developmental edit can be the best thing for your book. It can flag up character hiccups and inconsistencies like these and give you solutions to fix them.
Developmental editing focuses on the “bigger picture” of a manuscript and is usually carried out before line editing, copy editing and proofreading. It wouldn’t make much sense to tackle the content of your story after adding and cutting scenes and polishing the language.
To give you more of an insight into what developmental editing involves, here's a little breakdown of what my developmental editing service focuses on:
Character Development: Are the characters believable and likeable? Are they relatable and realistic enough for the genre and target audience? Has the reader provided enough detail about them?
Plot: Is the story believable? Is the ultimate goal realistic and achievable? Is it engaging? Are there any plot holes that need to be addressed? Does the plot suit the genre and target audience?
Subplots: Do the subplots enhance the main story? Are they relevant to the main plot? Are they exciting or too complicated?
Dialogue: Is the dialogue believable and realistic to each character? Has each character got a unique voice? Does the dialect match and reflect the time or geographic area? Is the dialogue appropriate for the age of the characters?
Chapters: Do the chapter titles match the content? Are they all a similar length? Are they in the correct order? Could any chapters be cut or merged to tighten the overall structure?
Structure: Is the manuscript structured correctly? Does it follow the three-act structure? Is there a strong beginning, middle and end?
These are all questions I think about when editing your manuscripts, but it’s always helpful to keep them in mind yourself when revising your work.
ABOUT CHELSEA
Hey! I'm Chelsea and I'm a professional book editor at Stand Corrected Editing, my editorial business in the UK. If you would like me to edit your manuscript, please get in touch!
With my book editing services and packages, I hope to spread my knowledge and expertise on how to make your novel a success, and be a mentor to others who long to pursue a career as an author!
