It’s all about the characters

July 23, 2014

In the world of selling books, it’s not all about the sentences. At Ploughshares, agent Eric Nelson argues: A fresh plot matters and unusual characters do, too. “The most interesting books have characters who do the opposite of what we’d do… Imagine Hamlet, if Hamlet took decisive action. Horror movies wouldn’t exist at all without the idiot who always suggests they split up.”

is an intern for The Millions. She's worked as a management consultant for various American and European companies and one African government. Her website is eliseliu.com and she tweets @eliseliu.