What was your character like before this event?

In order to properly execute your plot points by showing rather than telling, you need to start by examining how the event will change your character. It could be as simple as changing their mind, perhaps they had a certain plan set in their mind but this event shows them that it’s a bad idea. It could be something big that changes their perception of the world, perhaps a loved one betrays them or they find out a dark secret. Or maybe it changes their perception of themselves, maybe the event shows them that they’re braver or more capable than they previously thought. Either way, a plot point should visibly affect your protagonist in a major way.

How did this event change your character or their trajectory in the story?

There are two ways a plot point can change the trajectory of a story. The first is by fundamentally changing the protagonist themselves, thereby changing any decisions they will make after this point in the story. It could also simply change the trajectory by giving them new information or direction that affects what happens next and the decisions being made.

A plot point doesn’t involve every conversation and scene throughout your book, but rather purely those that lead the protagonist where they need to go to get to your novel’s climax. When you’re writing a scene that can be considered a plot point, make it more obvious to the reader by clearly telegraphing the drama involved. Write in-scene with short and quick sentences so the pacing feels faster. Have your protagonist react to the information or events of the scene through action, mannerisms, changes in dialogue, etc.

What choice did your character make?

Major plot points should always be accompanied by character choice. Don’t make your readers follow a protagonist who lets the world kind of happen to them. Instead, allow your readers to follow someone who is an active participant in the world and in their own story (AKA someone who makes choices). Character choice is, therefore, an excellent way to telegraph to your readers that a major plot point is unfolding in your novel.

When writing a character choice into your plot, make sure to examine it thoroughly. Why is the protagonist making this choice? Does it make sense for them to make this choice? Just because you need your plot to lead a certain direction, doesn’t mean your characters can make choices they wouldn’t make.

How is your character or the events of the story different afterward?

What has changed based on this plot point? From your perspective, likely very little has changed, but you need to put yourself into the minds of your readers. Has their perception of the world you’ve created changed based on the information they’ve learned in this scene? Or was the protagonist about to head somewhere very dangerous when they learned of a different way to accomplish their goal, therefore totally changing the protagonist’s physical trajectory in the plot? Or perhaps a major life event occurs from which the protagonist will spend a significant amount of the book recovering? Think about what has changed for the protagonist based on the scene you’ve created and make sure those changes are telegraphed in the text. Showing, rather than telling, how the story or protagonist has changed will allow readers to see that a major plot point has occurred.

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1) Level of Stress

When you’re writing a character under stress, you’ll first need to decide on their level of stress. This involves considering two things: a) What would stress them based on their personality and 2) How much would that event stress them. Different events stress varying personalities at different levels. For example, a character could have a very high-stress job working for 12+ hours a day and be content with it, but they get tasked to babysit and all of a sudden they’re losing sleep. On the other hand, you may have a more laid-back or quirky character who gets stressed over being asked to virtually anything, even something as small as picking up a pen delivery. Simply start by asking yourself a few questions: How stressed do I want my character to be? What, based on my knowledge of their personality, would make them that stressed?

2) Body Language

The first way to show rather than tell stress is through body language. Perhaps the character starts to appear jittery, their hands shaking and their foot taping at all times. Maybe other characters start to notice bags under their eyes, their eyes looking bloodshot, and them displaying a series of nervous ticks like biting their nails, scratching their head, rubbing their forehead, cracking their knuckles, etc. You could have them obviously slapping themselves awake a few times, displaying that they are having trouble sleeping. Each of these pieces of body language allow the readers to see that this character is undergoing an event or circumstance that is leaving them stressed.

3) Action

Another manner in which one can show stress to your readers is through action. For example, the stressed character starts to display erratic behavior. They start showing up late to everything, seeming disheveled and dirty. Perhaps they fall asleep at their desk in the middle of class. They start laughing at random and inappropriate moments only to start crying a minute later. If they were more of a homebody, perhaps they suddenly suggest going out and drinking with friends. Maybe they start picking fights with strangers or distancing themselves from friends. Showing how their behavior changes through action can help the reader and the characters within the story note the level of stress the character is under.

4) Dialogue

You can also display character stress or anxiousness through dialogue. Perhaps a very talkative character suddenly has very little to say. Maybe they’ve suddenly become harsh, stress making them lash out at anyone who speaks to them. They could become very sensitive, unable to have conversations without tearing up. Their report with every character will be different, so perhaps someone that they normally love spending time with they suddenly grow distant from knowing that they’ll break down around them. Think about your character’s dynamic with everyone in the story as well as their normal manner of speech. Showing changes in these two aspects of the character will allow the readers to notice further red flags.

5) Arc

As with anything in your story, whether it is background noise or not, there needs to be a purpose. Consider the stress that your character is under a mini-arc. Why are they going through this? What does this stress show about the character? Perhaps it shows that a character that we previously thought infallible isn’t as strong as they portrayed themselves to be. Or maybe it challenges a character in an area that will reveal something new about them. Consider how the stress changes the character and how the audience perceives them.

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1) What type of anticipation?

Anticipation can mean a few different things, mainly it could be a positive, negative, or unknown thing. So, for example, say your character is excited about an upcoming road trip planned with their closest friends. This type of anticipation is a form of excitement and any thoughts or actions that this trip consumes for them will generally be in a positive manner.

On the other hand, maybe a character is supposed to go see their father over the weekend with whom they don’t have a good relationship. This form of anticipation is akin to dread and their actions or behaviors while thinking about this event will be negative. Finally, perhaps your character was told to meet with their teacher after school. If the object of anticipation is this vague, your character has no idea what to expect. Could this be a good thing? Could they be in for a scolding? This will likely have them fluctuating back and forth within their minds and actions and can make your character appear and feel scattered.

2) Mannerisms

One way to show that your character is anticipating an event is through their body language. But again, how their body language reflects their feelings will depend on the type of anticipation they’re feeling. Someone feeling excited about something will likely exhibit behaviors like having a spring in their step, smiling and appearing hyper, maybe packing early or trying to find new ways to pass the time (picking up new hobbies, suggesting playing games, etc). Someone who is dreading an event will likely be exhibiting body ticks like shaking their leg, biting their nails, cracking their knuckles, wringing their hands together, grinding their teeth, etc.

3) Dialogue

You can also display anticipation through character conversations. Regardless of whether the anticipation is negative or positive, the character will likely bring up the event often. If they’re looking forward to it, perhaps they ask questions about what other characters are packing, what they’re most excited about, or mention things they’re planning on doing in the middle of a totally unrelated conversation. If they’re worried or unsure about an event, perhaps they spend a lot of time asking other characters what they think the event is about or about possible punishments they could be facing. In addition, perhaps they space out in the middle of other conversations all the time, appearing distracted and disheveled.

4) Behavioral Changes

Prior to the introduction of an event worthy of anticipation, you’ll need to make sure you thoroughly establish the type of person your character is. This way, when their behavior changes drastically in anticipation of an event or phenomenon, you can see that they’re either much happier than normal or the deterioration that they face. For example, let’s say a happy and not normally superstitious person begins to believe they’re facing a string of bad luck. The anticipation here becomes what the next bad luck event will be, they don’t know when or where it will happen which makes it more terrifying.

This previously positive person is suddenly feeling hopeless, like no matter what positivity they put out there some unseen force will come and take it away from them. They begin coming to school with puffy and dark eyes. Whereas they were previously very chatty, they suddenly begin to keep to themselves. When they would previously spend lunchtime on a long walk appreciating the beauty around them, now they lay on a bench and listen to metal music. Their previously stylish wardrobe is replaced with stained sweaters and ripped jeans. Having other characters observe the changes in a person’s habits or behaviors is yet another way to show how an event is affecting them in either a positive or negative manner.

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1) Mannerisms

One way to show your readers that two characters are close friends is by using their mannerisms and body language. When two people are close, especially when they’ve known one another for a long time, they naturally have a higher level of comfortability around each other. So, having your characters pat one another on the back, rest their head on their friend’s shoulder, playfully nudge one another, uncross their arms when one spots the other- these types of actions show the reader that these two characters are close.

You can even use less obvious mannerisms as a way of showing the reader they know one another well. For example, perhaps one character always taps his foot when he’s nervous. Have your other character notice him doing this and call him out on it. This shows the reader that these characters not only display more open/warm body language around each other, but they also know one another well enough to recognize and idiosyncratic body language as well.

2) Dialogue

Another excellent way to display friendships in your writing is by using dialogue. This is also one where you need to be cautious because you can easily slip into lazy writing territory. The last thing you want to do is write something along the lines of, “Hey Tim, you know how we’ve been friends since the second grade?” Authors often make the mistake of writing dialogue like this in order to establish a long friendship. The problem with this is that it sounds super unnatural and is too clearly the author sending a message to the reader. This can have the effect of taking the reader out of the book slightly.

Instead of being so obvious about it, attempt to cite a specific memory that goes along with a conversation that they’re having. Say you’re writing two male characters, one of which is asking the other for girl advice. You could have his friend say something like, “As long as you don’t throw up on her shoes I think you’ll be fine,” and the other could say, “Dude, that was in second grade, when are you going to let that go?” This not only establishes some playful banter between the characters, but also gives a rough timeline on the friendship in a more natural manner.

3) Circumstantial Differentiation

You can also show your readers a close friendship by differentiating between how your characters act around one another vs. how they act around other characters. So perhaps one of your characters is joking around and being very fun and outgoing around their close friend, but then some of their other friends come over and that person instantly becomes shyer or more guarded. Or maybe one of your characters if very boisterous around other people, but when they’re alone with their best friend they’re more relaxed and sensitive. You can also have their mannerisms change, having them cross their arms, ruffle their hair, cover their mouth with their hand- all of these can show the reader that the character has become less comfortable.

4) Confidence/Protectiveness

As you’ll know from friendships in your own life, close friendships offer a certain level of confidence. Having your characters confide their feelings or secrets with one another will help establish the level of trust that they have for one another. This doesn’t have to be a seamless process to show their closeness either. Perhaps the character being confided isn’t going to react well to this secret- friendships don’t have to be perfect and loving all the time to be close. Having the confiding character say something like, “I knew you’d be like this…” or something along those lines to indicate that they know each other well enough to predict their reactions does just as well to show your reader that closeness.

In addition to confiding in each other, close friends tend to also show protectiveness around each other. So, you could introduce a character that one of the friends deems as untrustworthy and show how they stand up straighter and act wary or defensive of their best friend while in this person’s presence. Or you could introduce a character that the best friend is threatened by as another potential best friend and show some jealousy there.

5) Other Characters

Finally, you can use other characters and their opinions to reinforce the friendship you’ve established. Having other characters like your protagonist’s parents or additional friends that also reinforce the reverence and closeness of the friendship will also reinforce this to your reader. So perhaps your protagonist’s parent is always asking, “Where’s Jimmy?” anytime your protagonist is seen without him or maybe the best friends get into a fight at some point and everyone is shocked by this. Having people outside of the friendship notice how close they are gives even more legitimacy to the friendship.

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Meet Cute

Every romance needs a good old fashioned ‘meet-cute’, right? For those unfamiliar with the term, this refers to the way in which people who are destined to be romantic interests meet one another. It also happens to be one way to show or indicate to your readers that a romance is about to blossom. Because we’ve seen so many of these over the course of our book and movie consumption, even if we didn’t know the terminology, we’re already primed to notice one when it happens and to know immediately that the two characters participating in the meet-cute will find love.

Writers who struggle with showing rather than telling will make the mistake of making the meet-cute too big, cliche, and cheesy. These are the writers that have the characters lock eyes from across the room and tell us that ‘the planet shifted on its axis and they could see the entire universe in their eyes.’ Not only is this super cheesy eye-roll-worthy writing, but that just isn’t what happens in real life. Even for people who claim to experience love at first sight, it really just means they were attracted to or drawn to that person at first sight in a way that they didn’t understand. Planets weren’t moving in the sky.

When you’re writing your meet-cute, try to make it both memorable and realistic. Maybe they’re going for the same book at the library or (if you’re going for the hate-to-love angle) maybe she buys the last donut right out from under him at his favorite donut shop. We shouldn’t be hearing about how your protagonist’s whole world has been altered by this interaction, but rather we should just witness a memorable interaction between these two characters- that’s more enough to go on.

Meaningful Interactions

Any great romance can’t be immediate, it needs to be built up. If you start off your characters already having all of these feelings for each other then it makes them both appear shallow and basic- their love needs to have substance if you want it to be something readers will root for. So, rather than directly telling your reader that your character is starting to feel a certain way, show us scenes between them playing out.

Perhaps, after their initial meet-cute, one character walks into their next class and recognizes the first from their initial interaction- realizing they go to school together. And, oh no, the only seat left is the one right next to them, whatever will your character do? Boom, you’ve created another setting for them to interact. And, of course, they get paired up for a group project and are forced to work with one another in closer proximity.

Once you’ve created a space for them to interact, you’ll need to create meaningful conversations between them. How do people get to know one another? Don’t jump straight to deep dark conversations, maybe start by having them talk about what’s going on in class, maybe they stumble upon a mutual interest they share. Instead of directly telling the reader ‘I feel this way about this character’, focus on how things that the love interest says makes your protagonist feel.

Physical Response

Going along with the previous step, instead of showing the protagonist’s feelings through telling you should be showing it through physical responses. Perhaps one thing he says makes her roll her eyes, or maybe another thing he says makes her smile or laugh- showing the beats of their conversation through body language and mannerisms works just as well as telling the reader how your character feels each step of the way.

Pursing lips, raising brows, widening eyes, scrunching brows, biting lip, crinkling nose, stretching, nail-biting, sitting upright, crossing legs, grunting, coughing to cover a laugh, cracking knuckles, tapping foot, scratching chin, smoothing hair- these are just a few mannerisms that can express various degrees of attraction, annoyance, confusion, or boredom. Brush up on your physical language, figure out what types of mannerisms fit each character in each state or mood they’d express, and then use these to show their feelings throughout their interactions.

Perceptions Changing

As your story progresses, there should be beats in your scenes where your characters’ perceptions of one another either change or grow. The learn unexpected things about one another, perhaps your biker cool-guy love interest secretly plays the piano or your lawyer workaholic woman has a rough family life. We should see certain moments where eyes widen or they get big smiles on their faces and one of them asks “What?” and the other says something along the lines of “Nothing, I just… wouldn’t have guessed…” while staring at them intently. These bigger moments, we know, are the moments where they’re slowly falling in love. But you don’t need to say this to us; if you focus on their mannerisms and the dialogue and substance behind these moments, your reader will fill in the blanks.

The Trigger & The Epiphany

All of these little interactions and moments that you create between your two love interests should culminate in a single moment- THE moment. That’s right, it’s the moment that your protagonist realizes they’re either in like or love with the love interest. We, of course, have known for quite some time, we’ve just been waiting for our protagonist to catch on. This moment could be big or heroic like the love interest comforting the protagonist after they opened up to them. Or it could be small and sweet like in the sitcom The Office when Pam says she knew she liked Jim when he told her that her yogurt was about to expire. Either way, the realization should come from a meaningful moment, not just from your protagonist sitting around ruminating.

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