Mirror, Mirror
Recently I bought a copy of a pretty well reviewed and promoted speculative fiction novel. About two chapters in, the main character looks in a mirror and describes themself. I literally closed the book and stopped reading. The novel had other issues, but this put me right out of the story. This technique - being generous here - occurs a lot in first person narratives, about as often as a story beginning with the main character waking up from a dream. The mirror device is best avoided, but not necessarily because it's so overused - it's best avoided because simply put, it's so easy. A character, especially a protagonist, should never be described; they should be imagined.
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