Pronouns replace nouns that have already been used in a sentence or scene.
Personal pronouns: I / you / he / she / we / you / they
Instead of using a character’s name over and over again – which is both annoying and distracting for a reader – you can use the appropriate pronoun to refer to that character.
Problems arise when you write about characters you can see clearly in your mind’s eye, but have used pronouns that can designate more than one person or thing. There’s no more effective way to confuse your readers!
Problem: Jeremy told Nathan that his mother thought he had stolen the cake.
Who’s mother was suspicious and which boy was suspected of stealing? If you have a reader comment that they’re not sure who is doing what, then you’re going to have to re-write.
Solution:There are many ways to fix this type of problem depending on the scene, but using dialogue often works well – “Your mother thinks I stole the cake,” Jeremy said to Nathan.
As you revise each scene of your writing, ask yourself the following question: Is there more than one character or thing that the pronoun I have used can be referring to? If you answer yes to that question, revise to make your meaning clearer.
