Progress Report -- Developing Characters

I'm into the second rewrite of my work in progress (see previous post). Because of the holidays, I'm a couple days behind in my work.

So it's full speed ahead for the rest of the year, and probably then some.

One thing I find important in a rewrite, especially the second, is to understand my characters more deeply. Characters were only developing in the early part of the first draft, and became more fully realized as the story progressed near the end.

So, when going back to the manuscript and understanding the characters even more, changes can be made to give them more vitality at the beginning. And in the process, they will become more fully developed by the end of the second rewrite.

And they will evolve even more in the successive rewrites, until the author is satisfied (as much as one can be) with the final draft, before submission to an editor. 

In other words, the author really gets to know and understand those fictional folks who populate the pages. More importantly, readers will see them as real people and respond to them accordingly.  

Until the next time....