Resistance Manifesto - Wendy Uzzell

I will not write that which does not allow the reader to know the characters in a story. Knowing the character allows the reader to care about what is happening in the story, and keeps the author between the rails for what they can say and do within the story. They do not have to meet criteria of a social nature “good women” or “misunderstood boy” but they do have to have a personality – something that appeals. Characters who have both good and evil within them are the most interesting. Interactions between characters should not be superficial, with inner monologues filling the pages. What goes on between characters should be reflected in their actions or speech, with some inner monologue to support it. Or, if the inner monologue does not support their actions, then it should be significant friction, enough to warrant the discrepancy, not a petty focus. I don’t want to be the kind of writer who is so vague in their setting that it is difficult for the reader to know where they. Setting is very important to a reader, and writers who write of generic places with out revealing the “why” of being there are cheaters. I have to know why the character is where they are, and why it is important to the story. I don’t want to write in ways that become too predictable. My voice should not always be heard above all else. I don’t want to use the same phrases, word arrangements, identifying mannerisms that distract the reader from knowing the story in its own right. I cannot write about people who sit in lawn chairs and are served, or people who go adventuring with no discernable purpose. I will not describe a colossal effort of physical labor with a passing phrase. I will not ignore the sweat of the workers who build things, and I will not diminish their contributions by writing only of the final result. A pyramid is not built in a sentence.