on Writers Helping Writers:

Picture a protagonist who stumbles upon a mysterious artifact but shows no curiosity, or a group of friends who sit down separately at the summit of a hike under a breathtaking sunset, without a moment of communal awe.

Keeping your characters engaged with the story keeps readers engaged with it, too. Whenever something significant happens in the story, readers expect the characters to sit up, notice, and process its impact at some level.

The plot’s unfolding impact on the characters lends an organic quality to the storytelling. The characters’ reactions and their attempts to derive meaning from the events around them make the story seem kinetic, vital, living.

This meaning can’t be adequately conveyed by exposition; that would be “telling,” not “showing.” Instead, giving readers direct access to the context allows them to discover the meaning for themselves. This means exposing your characters’ interpretive process—their emotions, thoughts, and reflections about what’s happening around them.