Characters and couples research

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4. What's important to keep in writing

Don't write Diane in flashback for nostalgia. Write her as the absence that shapes Alex's present.
The moment Diane is invoked (directly or obliquely), the reader understands Alex's specific wound: she keeps losing the people who chose her.
In kid fic, Diane is always present. Every time Alex watches Max, she thinks of her mother.
Do not let Diane's death be a plot point. It is a character fact about Alex — it is why the word "please" is so devastating when she finally says it.

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Revision history (1)

Revision 1 · 2026-09-06T18:47:12.694Z