Writing Rules - part of a series in no particular order

kylasedai:

Rule: Knowing everything there is to know about your characters does not mean your readers have to.  You’re the author.  Of course you know all there is to know.  Danny Grayson went to college on a cross-country scholarship.  This will probably never be mentioned in one of the books.  Or if it is, it’ll be in one of the encyclopedias written after 10 books are out and I’m a billionaire and people are hounding me for extra details just so they know more about the world - think J.K. Rowling and how much the fandom squeals every time she reveals something about a character that wasn’t in the books, but she had to know it to make a fully developed, three-dimensional character. 

Use details about your characters sparingly.  Don’t give the entire backstory in their first appearance.  Or their second.  Wait until it is relevant to the plot, scene, conversation, whatever.  Would you really want to get involved with a person who, on a first date, told you about the time they cut their initials into the cat’s fur when they were four, when you were talking about ice cream?  No?  Then why do you want to read about them?  Save that tidbit for when they’re comparing most embarrassing moments, or the character’s mom is telling childhood stories to their significant other while the character stands off to the side absolutely mortified.  Or don’t tell it at all, and keep it a secret that only you and the character know.