ShandraMorris

Helps Me Clear my Mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAPS5kZ3XeU

My protagonist has two friends. Their personalities are similar, but they're still different characters. It seems like a lot of work to cut one out and I don't see the harm in keeping them both in the story. What do you think?

A character in my novel is grumpy. Yes, he has other traits and he's not one-dimensional, but when you get right down to it, he's not pleasant to be around. I'm worried about his dialogue. He's always shouting at someone or saying something unkind. His other traits come through his thoughts, mostly. Is that okay?

Does a character have to fail in order for a story or novel to have enough conflict?

Why would I want to use an unreliable narrator when writing in first person?
When a writer uses first person, is it possible to include what another character might be thinking without changing point of view? If so, how?

The main character in my novel is strongly influenced by a character who never actually appears in the novel. (She's part of his past.) Some of my readers object and say I should re-think this and perhaps give them a scene together. Every scene I come up with feels contrived. They just wouldn't cross paths. Are there examples in literature of characters who have a profound influence but don't actually appear in the story?

I understand appearance is often cited as one way to characterize, but isn't this misleading? What a character looks like doesn't necessarily reveal the truth about him.

I know it's important to give a character a unique voice in dialogue, but what about the story itself? When writing in first person, does the whole story have to sound like the main character?