In the video you watched earlier, you learned about a character named Lola who is nice to everyone. The two paragraphs below demonstrate two ways that a writer might introduce Lola. Read them both, and decide which one makes Lola seem more interesting.
Lola Hernandez examined herself in the mirror. She looked much like the other girls in her class―long hair, dark brown eyes, and plump lips. She smiled at herself to see what others saw. “I’m the sweetest person in the world,” she said to her reflection. She knew this because her parents always told her so.
Lola Hernandez examined herself in the mirror. She looked just like all the other girls in her class, but she wasn’t anything like them. As she smiled at herself, she realized that this was what the world saw―a sweet-natured, cheerful girl. Only she knew about the secrets hidden deep inside her heart.
Question
Why would Version 2 seem more intriguing to most readers?
Published authors know that whenever they introduce a new character, they have a very short amount of time to grab readers’ attention and keep them reading. Fortunately, there are several reliable techniques that anyone can use to help a character make a great first impression. Click each row in the table below to learn about some of these techniques.
Describe a character’s main goal in life or the character’s reasons for getting involved in a particular situation.
Introduce a character and the story’s main conflict at the same time. Right away, readers can see how the character tries to solve a problem.
Describe some of a character’s conflicting traits, such as bravery in the face of most dangers but a terror of clowns.
Focus first on one of the character’s weaknesses―it can make readers eager to see what kind of trouble the character gets into.
Hint at a secret the character has or describe a mystery that surrounds them.
