Should one start off a book by introducing a character...?

[????? ?????]

and talking about them and stuff?

 

[Tory Mae]

Talking about them? Like "Jenny stretched her arms in bed, her knuckles hitting her headboard as she took a long yawn. She was eighteen with long brown hair, and a straight A student in college. She was determined, independent, and sweet. She loved animals.. blah, blah, blah?" NO. Never. This is called author intrusion and it's the #1 mistake YA (Young Adult) authors make. It's awful. You're supposed to SHOW your character's personality, not TELL it Instead of 'she loved animals' have her get out of bed and pull on her volunteer tee from the local animal shelter, then check her e-mail to see if her college professor sent her an assignment but instead find....
See? It works so much better lol

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[Alleigh Wiggs]

Depending on what kind of story your writing it can be a really good idea if you are using that character enough to make it somewhat important that you need to know the character. I think it's a good idea