Should your characters act, or plan to act?

Authors are reminded that the reader must be in the head of their viewpoint character.

But editor Louise Harnby has a quick caveat: that you should watch for when their intentions become more prominent than their actions.

A very basic example: “I get out of the car to walk towards the caravan” focuses on the intention; “I get out of the car and walk over to the caravan” emphasizes the action.

Do you have to remove every instance of this? Absolutely not.

Head over to Harnby's blog post on best practices for “shown prose” versus “told prose,” as well as how to revise when necessary.