TFTSP: Breaking the Fourth Wall
Posted on: December 6, 2022
Shadow Mountain’s slush pile is open! And you know what that means…
Tips from the Slush Pile! Please don’t have your character break the 4th wall to introduce themselves. It’s happening so often, it’s becoming cliche. I’m not even halfway through the slush and already the tally for this sort of opening is the highest on my list, even beating out characters waking up!
This tactic is frequently an excuse to info dump about the character and their problems (and usually their appearance). Frequently, this is only done for the first chapter, then the rest of the book proceeds with that wall firmly in place. That’s just weird.
Avoid the cliche beginnings if you want agents and publishers to take a closer look at your manuscript.