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Writing Problem: The Scenes Are Void of Meaningful Conflict
Problem: The Scenes Are Void of Meaningful Conflict
Solution: Character growth and story arcs don't occur in isolation. Conflict-guided scenes and conflict-guided storytelling, more broadly, open the narrative to moments in which the characters are continuously tested to validate their knowledge, skills, or relationships.
To drive the story forward with measured purpose, focus on building, developing, and testing a character's desires. If necessary, implement story or relational dynamics to economically assess, judge, and curate a character's failure (and the consequences thereof). Conflict needn't be grandiose; writers must be in tune with the different levels, types, and intensities of conflict that drive their story. Conflict should be multifaceted.
Writing Resources:
A Few Words About Conflict (Glimmer Train Press)
Conflict Thesaurus (One Stop for Writers)
6 Secrets to Creating and Sustaining Suspense (Writer's Digest)
Emotions in Writing: How to Make Your Readers Feel (Jericho Writers)
The Primary Principles of Plot: Goal, Antagonist, Conflict, Consequences (September C. Fawkes)
How to Master Conflict in Young Adult Fiction (Writer's Edit)
Failure, Conflict, and Character Arc (Writers in the Storm)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#writing conflict#fiction writing#novel writing#writing problems#writeprob#meaningful conflict#story dynamics#character dynamics#ya fiction#writing suspense#writing mystery#writing failure#character arcs#principles of plotting
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Writing Problem: The Villains Are Cartoonish, Evil-for-the-Sake-of-Evil
Problem: The Villains Are Cartoonish, Evil-for-the-Sake-of-Evil
Solution: Villains require just as much character development as the novel's heroes, protagonists, and perspective characters. Effective villainy incorporates consequential decision making, relatable character motivations, believable perspectives and experiences, and most important, intention. When a writer diversifies these facets of a so-named villain's free will, humanity, personal interests, and relationship with the story's main conflict, one is better-positioned to craft a more diverse and more engaging villain.
Writing Resources:
How Your Character's Failures Can Map A Route To Self-Growth (Writers Helping Writers)
Good Character Flaws: Create Complex Antagonists (Now Novel)
50 Questions to Ask Your Antagonist (Alyssa Hollingsworth)
Antagonist Starts Good, Becomes Drunk With Power (related, master list) (Writing Questions Answered; ahbwrites)
16 Villain Archetypes (Chosen by the Planet; ahbwrites)
How to Give Your Antagonist a Little Humanity (Fiction Writing Tips; ahbwrites)
How to Write the Perfect Villain (Jericho Writers)
How to Build an Antagonist (How to Fight Write)
Negative Trait Thesaurus (Evil) (One Stop for Writers)
Theme and Symbolism Thesaurus (Evil) (One Stop for Writers)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#writing villains#writing problems#writeprob#novel writing#fiction writing#two dimensional antagonists#relatable characters#character flaws#complex villains#complex antagonists#drunk with power#villain archetypes#the perfect villain#how to build an antagonist#symbolism#thesaurus
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19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
The original infographic on which this list is based was bulleted with short descriptions (see "All The Things that Are Wrong…" at Hey Writers and FastCompany). It's nifty quantitative data. However, the original article doesn't explore any solutions. So, I spent some time hunting down a few writing resources to fill in the gaps.
The following list of "problems" represents about half of those from the infographic. I tweaked the problem statements, and I drafted the solution text in a feverish rush. No apologies for repeated sources; I have my favorites. Read on:
Problem #01: The Story Begins Too Late in the Novel
Problem #02: The Scenes Are Void of Meaningful Conflict
Problem #03: The Story Has a By-the-Numbers Execution
Problem #04: The Story Is Too Thin
Problem #05: The Villains Are Cartoonish, Evil-for-the-Sake-of-Evil
Problem #06: The Character Logic Is Muddy
Problem #07: The Female Part Is Underwritten
Problem #08: The Narrative Falls Into a Repetitive Pattern
Problem #09: The Conflict Is Inconsequential, Flash-in-the-Pan
Problem #10: The Protagonist Is a Standard-Issue Hero
Problem #11: The Story Favors Style Over Substance
Problem #12: The Ending Is Completely Anti-Climactic
Problem #13: The Characters Are All Stereotypes
Problem #14: The Novel Suffers From Arbitrary Complexity
Problem #15: The Story Goes Off the Rails in the Third Act
Problem #16: The Novel's Questions Are Left Unanswered
Problem #17: The Story Is a String of Unrelated Vignettes
Problem #18: The Plot Unravels Through Convenience/Contrivance
Problem #19: The Story Is Tonally Confused
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Problem #01: The Story Begins Too Late in the Novel
Solution: Gain traction early; use simplicity, momentum, and a bit of the unknown to carry readers toward the more complex and the improbable. The first chapter is context for what the whole novel is about. Don't wait to pull in readers, don't hesitate to tell readers which characters are the most important, and don't hesitate to expose readers (and the viewpoint character) to the narrative's central conflict. Be upfront about what kind of story you're telling.
Develop a strong sense of who your protagonist is, articulate the protagonist's needs (which may change), and hint at the limits or barriers the protagonist must acknowledge, or defy, to achieve their current or a future goal.
Writing Resources:
8 Ways to Write a 5-Star Chapter One (Writer's Digest)
10 Ways to Start Your Story (The Writers Society)
How To Start a Story That Grips Your Readers (Jericho Writers)
7 Steps for Writing Your Novel's Opening Chapter (The Novel Smithy)
4 Key Elements of Scene Openings (September C. Fawkes)
How to Find Your Writing Style (sunnydwrites; ahbwrites)
Writing Riveting Inciting Action: 7 Ideas (Now Novel)
In Media Res: 6 Steps to Start Stories From the Middle (Now Novel)
Writing Great Beginnings and Endings (Writing Questions Answered)
Problem #02: The Scenes Are Void of Meaningful Conflict
Solution: Character growth and story arcs don't occur in isolation. Conflict-guided scenes and conflict-guided storytelling, more broadly, open the narrative to moments in which the characters are continuously tested to validate their knowledge, skills, or relationships.
To drive the story forward with measured purpose, focus on building, developing, and testing a character's desires. If necessary, implement story or relational dynamics to economically assess, judge, and curate a character's failure (and the consequences thereof). Conflict needn't be grandiose; writers must be in tune with the different levels, types, and intensities of conflict that drive their story. Conflict should be multifaceted.
Writing Resources:
A Few Words About Conflict (Glimmer Train Press)
Conflict Thesaurus (One Stop for Writers)
6 Secrets to Creating and Sustaining Suspense (Writer's Digest)
Emotions in Writing: How to Make Your Readers Feel (Jericho Writers)
The Primary Principles of Plot: Goal, Antagonist, Conflict, Consequences (September C. Fawkes)
How to Master Conflict in Young Adult Fiction (Writer's Edit)
Failure, Conflict, and Character Arc (Writers in the Storm)
Problem #03: The Story Has a By-the-Numbers Execution
Solution: Structure must be impeccable. Except for when it shouldn't be. Formulas are essential. Except for when they're not. Outlines are absolute. Except for when they aren't.
Successful storytelling strategies should flex and shift and evolve as the needs and demands of the story flex and shift and evolve. If you plan to wield an effective structure to buffet your storytelling execution, then research and document the structure that best compliments your story, your characters, your characters' conflicts, and the themes reflected in those conflicts.
Writing Resources:
7 Point Story Structure Explained in 5 Minutes (September C. Fawkes)
How to Actually Use a Story Structure (September C. Fawkes)
Description: 5 Times When You Should (and 4 Times When You Shouldn't) Rely on Description (ahbwrites)
Basic Checklist for Your Story (The Right Writing)
Gothic Literature: A Guide To All Things Eerie (Jericho Writers)
Suspense Definition — Literature: Tips for Writing Suspense (Jericho Writers)
How to Create a Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps (How to Write a Book Now)
The Progressive Outline: How I Balance My Plotter and Pantser Tendencies (Michael Bjork Writes; Scrawls and Rambles; ahbwrites)
5 New Ideas for Outlining Stories (1000 Story Ideas; ahbwrites)
Problem #04: The Story Is Too Thin
Solution: Does the story lack balance?
Purposeful narrative structure. Effective characterization. Meaningful conflict (and meaningful consequences). Immersive description. Authentic character dynamics. A good story needs all of this and more. But it's okay to be stronger, or more experienced, in crafting one area of storytelling than in others. It's okay for one's attention to drift during the initial drafting phase.
If you know your strengths, then you can lean on them to bolster your storytelling where it counts. If you know your weaknesses or limitations, then you can avoid what frustrates you and maneuver toward what excites you. But take the time to identify what facet of your craft needs work and be open to exploring your weaknesses with further experience, research, and insight.
Writing Resources:
100 Character Development Questions to Inspire Deeper Arcs (Now Novel)
How to Write a Sequel That Satisfies: Simple Guide (Now Novel)
Best Story Writing Websites in 2022 (Now Novel)
10 Signs Your Plot is Weak (and How to Fix it) (September C. Fawkes)
Defining and Developing Your Author Voice (September C. Fawkes; ahbwrites)
How to Pace a Story (Writing Questions Answered)
Description: 5 Times When You Should (and 4 Times When You Shouldn't) Rely on Description (ahbwrites)
How to Focus on One Story (Alyssa Hollingsworth)
Problem #05: The Villains Are Cartoonish, Evil-for-the-Sake-of-Evil
Solution: Villains require just as much character development as the novel's heroes, protagonists, and perspective characters. Effective villainy incorporates consequential decision making, relatable character motivations, believable perspectives and experiences, and most important, intention. When a writer diversifies these facets of a so-named villain's free will, humanity, personal interests, and relationship with the story's main conflict, one is better-positioned to craft a more diverse and more engaging villain.
Writing Resources:
How Your Character's Failures Can Map A Route To Self-Growth (Writers Helping Writers)
Good Character Flaws: Create Complex Antagonists (Now Novel)
50 Questions to Ask Your Antagonist (Alyssa Hollingsworth)
Antagonist Starts Good, Becomes Drunk With Power (related, master list) (Writing Questions Answered; ahbwrites)
16 Villain Archetypes (Chosen by the Planet; ahbwrites)
How to Give Your Antagonist a Little Humanity (Fiction Writing Tips; ahbwrites)
How to Write the Perfect Villain (Jericho Writers)
How to Build an Antagonist (How to Fight Write)
Negative Trait Thesaurus (Evil) (One Stop for Writers)
Theme and Symbolism Thesaurus (Evil) (One Stop for Writers)
Problem #06: The Character Logic Is Muddy
Solution: Investing in realistic characterization will give a novel the curious details and sense of familiarity readers will readily absorb. Good character logic means providing original characters with the agency to speak, act, and react with authority. (It also doesn't hurt to have a character or two who are really good at faking it.) But it's not enough to simply imply a character's sense of self through dialogue and action. Writers should aim for a level deeper.
Don't write characters, write character arcs. Don't write character flaws, write character flaws that make characters curious, enticing, or attractive. Craft inimitable dialogue, encourage characters to engage their environment, and remember to hold characters responsible for their actions.
Writing Resources:
3 Redemptive Character Types (September C. Fawkes)
6 Ways to Write Truly Terrifying Villains (The Novel Smithy)
What Is Pathos in Literature? A Complete Guide (Jericho Writers)
Character Motivation Thesaurus (One Stop for Writers)
"I don't think you need all the backstory in the world..." (advice from Brennan Lee Mulligan, TTRPG gamemaster)
How to Improve Your Secondary Characters: 6 Fresh Ideas (Em Dash Press)
Some Quick Character Tips (Coffee Bean Writing)
The Importance of The Unlikable Heroine (Claire Legrand; ahbwrites)
Don't Design a Character, Design a Character Arc (avalera; ahbwrites)
How to Write Character Arcs (Helping Writers Become Authors)
Problem #07: The Female Part Is Underwritten
Solution: Frame and establish female characters who are their own and who can hold their own. Obviously, character-building must be done with care, but the emphasis on writing female characters well is not misplaced. Authors in the majority of those published often get away with female characters that are relegated to the role of the conveniently unprotected, the buddy, the substitute wife/girlfriend, the pawn/sacrifice, the hot chick, and/or the stoic action lady who can do anything because that makes her cool.
Write female characters with their own intelligences, experiences, shortcomings, and successes. These characters must come into their own organically, and they must engage the narrative (and readers) in a way that demonstrates their value without siphoning their agency.
Writing Resources:
Make Them Female (Horrible God)
The Importance of The Unlikable Heroine (Claire Legrand; ahbwrites)
100 Character Development Questions to Inspire Deeper Arcs (Now Novel)
We Need to Talk About Cold Women (HuffPost)
Writing a "Strong Female Character" That Isn't Heartless (Writing Questions Answered)
Strength is Relative: Female Characters, Gender Stereotypes, and Writer Authority (ahbwrites)
The Heroines of YA Dystopias Have All These Traits in Common (Refinery29; ahbwrites)
Female Characters to Avoid in Your Writing: An Illustrated Guide (The Caffeine Book Warrior; ahbwrites)
On Mary Sue (How to Fight Write; ahbwrites)
Core Principles of Crafting Protagonists (September C. Fawkes)
4 Ways to Unlock Your Character's Unique Voice (The Novel Smithy)
Problem #08: The Narrative Falls Into a Repetitive Pattern
Solution: Does the story begin at the right point? Are the characters introduced in scenes where they exert the right influence? Are the novel's emotional beats consistent (or meaningful)? What's the tempo like? Is the pacing balanced and purposeful at the sentence level, scene level, and act level? Is the story's use of description unique and dynamic? What's the difference between the author voice, the narrator voice, and the character voice? Be as flexible or inflexible as needed, but above all, be willing to learn.
Writing Resources:
Never Lie Beyond What You're Capable of Selling (How to Fight Write)
How to Craft Your Protagonist's Inner and Outer Journeys (The Novel Smithy)
5 Ways to Keep Reader's Interest When They Know Something the Character Doesn't (Writing Questions Answered)
Variations on Story Structure: A List (September C. Fawkes)
8 Common Pacing Problems (September C. Fawkes)
How Structure Affects Pacing (September C. Fawkes)
Quick Plotting Tip: Write Your Story Backwards (bucketsiler; ahbwrites)
What Is Pacing in Writing? Mastering Pace (Now Novel)
Problem #09: The Conflict Is Inconsequential, Flash-in-the-Pan
Solution: Many authors struggle to contrive meaningful conflict such that it either shapes or speaks critically to the trajectory of the characters it touches. Conflict is not a consequence or a corollary of scheme or impulse; conflict should develop as the story develops and grow as the character dynamics grow.
Explore character through conflict by reinforcing their goals and their perceptions (of reality), as well as the plausibility of maintaining either. Use conflict to reveal blind spots, biases, or fears. Conflict doesn't narrow the possibility of who characters are, or what the story might convey; conflict opens characters (or readers) to new methodologies, new stakes, and possibly new goals, as a result of enduring or overcoming the fracas in question. Conflict adds depth.
Writing Resources:
Conflict Thesaurus (One Stop for Writers)
Need Compelling Conflict? Choose A Variety of Kinds (Writer's Helping Writers)
How to Draw Readers in Through a Character's Choices (Writers Helping Writers)
Exactly How to Create and Control Tone (September C. Fawkes; ahbwrites)
Are Your Conflicts Significant? (September C. Fawkes)
Tension vs. Conflict (Hint: They Aren't the Same Thing) (September C. Fawkes)
How to Write a Dystopian Story: Our Gide (Jericho Writers)
Plot Conflict: Striking True Adversity in Stories (Now Novel)
How to Use Central Conflict and Drama to Drive Your Novel (Now Novel)
Problem #10: The Protagonist Is a Standard-Issue Hero
Solution: There different types of heroes. There are different types of villains. And the multitude of stories in which these various types of characters might interact require differing levels of focus. Not all heroes must have a tale of overcoming adversity. Not all villains need a tragic backstory. Not all comedy stories require a "meek schlub" to come out on top. Not all suspense or thriller tales require a "world-weary detective" fighting for emotional validation or recompense.
Diverse character types help drive diverse stories. Challenge how archetypes and standard-issue definitions traditionally render a "hero" or a "villain" in a story. Important Note: Don't give in by forcing a character to fit an established mold by the story's end.
Writing Resources:
Guide to Writing an Unlikable Protagonist (Words and Such)
How to Craft the Perfect Antihero (Writer's Digest)
How to Write an Anti-Hero Readers Will Adore (The Novel Smithy)
Types of Heroes: Crafting Your Characters (Jericho Writers)
How to Write Supporting Characters in Fiction (Jericho Writers)
10 Ways to Write a Chosen One That Won't Annoy Readers (The Novel Smithy)
Being the Best at Something (One Stop for Writers)
50 Questions to Ask Your Antagonist (Alyssa Hollingsworth)
How to Build an Antagonist (How to Fight Write)
Male Protagonists to Avoid in Your Writing: An Illustrated Guide (The Caffeine Book Warrior)
Problem #11: The Story Favors Style Over Substance
Solution: Writers commonly risk stumbling into the crevasse of convenience, no matter the genre (e.g., action must be cool or flashy, comedy must be glaringly funny, horror must be unremittingly scary). The primary fault lines for these seemingly innocent errors are twofold: inexperience and immaturity. That is to say, the more one reads and the more one writes, the greater one experiences, learns, and empathizes with a greater array of storytelling styles, techniques, and attitudes. Writing a more dynamic and engaging story that leaps beyond the crevasse of style over substance requires an eagerness to learn, a willingness to experiment, and an openness to difference.
Writing Resources:
8 Ways to Write a 5-Star Chapter One (Writer's Digest)
Building a Bold Narrator's Voice: 5 Methods (Now Novel)
How to Avoid Plot Armor (Coffee Bean Writing)
10 Tips for the Middle of Your Story (Coffee Bean Writing; ahbwrites)
Avoiding Plot Armor (How to Fight Write)
How to Absolutely Wreck Your Audience With a Character Death (lunewell)
Writing Description: Make Introspection More Engaging (ahbwrites)
How to Frame Scenes Like a Filmmaker (Kristen Kiefer)
Shakespeare's Genius Is Nonsense (Nautilus)
Problem #12: The Ending Is Completely Anti-Climactic
Solution: Endings can be dramatic. Endings can be a little ambiguous. Endings can be bittersweet. Endings can be simple surprises. Endings can be unique and unresolved. Endings can reverse motives, reverse perspectives, or reverse fortunes. Endings can be complex webs that tie up every single loose end. Whatever the author's preference, endings shouldn't read as if the last 10 pages were cut off.
But knowing how to end a story is not an isolated challenge. To end a story properly and effectively, the author must know how the story begins, how its characters evolve, and how these dynamics transform over the course of narrative's varying points of tension and conflict. Recall, how does the story begin and why? How, specifically, do the characters evolve? And what compels them to do so? Where and how do the story's internal and external conflicts converge? Endings follow a few essential rules: endings require context, endings must be plausible, and endings must connect to the narrative's key elements.
Writing Resources:
Figuring Out Where to End a Story (Writing Questions Answered)
Writing Great Beginnings and Endings (Writing Questions Answered)
Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)
What Is the Dénouement of a Story? Your Guide (With Tips) (Jericho Writers)
How to End a Story Perfectly (Jericho Writers)
Story Climax Examples: Writing Gripping Build-Ups (Now Novel)
How to End a Novel: Writing Strong Story Endings (Now Novel)
Tension vs. Conflict (Hint: They Aren't the Same Thing) (September C. Fawkes)
Utilizing 3 Types of Death (September C. Fawkes)
10 Signs Your Plot is Weak (and How to Fix it) (September C. Fawkes)
Problem #13: The Characters Are All Stereotypes
Solution: To be more than a collection of tropes, characters must be emotionally differentiated, possess myriad insecurities, battle visible and invisible vulnerabilities, willingly blur their own logic to achieve what they perceive as necessary, and debate their own flaws. Solid characters, well-rounded characters, and well-defined characters give readers a reason to stay engaged.
To craft these characters, authors should be conscientious of what internal rules the story's characters follow, what flaws these characters must overcome, and what trajectory each character arc takes in parallel to the overall narrative arc. Not every character needs to know who they are or how they want to influence the story to stick in readers' minds, but the author should have a good grasp how the character grows (or regresses) relative to how they engage the story's central conflict or theme.
Writing Resources:
10 Traits of a Strong Antagonist (Fiction University)
The No-Effort Character Sheet for Lazy Writers (justsomecynic; ahbwrites)
How to Write Deep P.O.V.: 8 Tips and Examples (Now Novel)
Character Flaws: Creating Lovable Imperfections (Now Novel)
How to Use Character Flaws to Enrich Your Writing (Perpetual Stories)
Character Flaws: When Is Too Far Too Far? (The Character Therapist)
20 Powerful Romance Tropes (and How to Make Them Original) (Jericho Writers)
Does Your Character Have a Secret? (Writers Helping Writers)
Creating Villain Motivations: Writing Real Adversaries (Now Novel)
Some Quick Character Tips (Coffee Bean Writing)
Dynamic vs. Round Characters: Who Needs a Character Arc? (The Novel Smithy)
Problem #14: The Novel Suffers From Arbitrary Complexity
Solution: More spectacle isn't always better. Larger and relentlessly diverse casts aren't necessarily more dynamic or more representative. More gore doesn't exactly make the violence more believable. More tears won't always pull readers into a deeper emotional connection.
Balance in everything, whether in drawing lots for which characters live or die, or assembling the combination of goals and threats the cast must surmount to reach the end.
Sometimes, it helps to weave from the simple toward the complex: If you understand what is essential to the story, and the role of each character in the story, then you can expand outward, deliberately, and unfold more detail from a central theme or narrative device. (If the author does it the other way around, and weaves from the complex toward the simple, then plot holes form, characters lose their purpose, and the story's conclusion feels less and less tethered to the inciting incident that supposedly pulled in readers at the outset.)
Writing Resources:
5 Ways to Make Mundane Scene More Interesting (Writing Questions Answered)
Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)
What Is Prewriting? Preparing to Write With Purpose (Now Novel)
How to Write the Perfect Plot (in Two Easy Steps) (Helping Writers Become Authors)
Writing Description: Encourage Readers to Infer More Than They Realize (ahbwrites)
Reasons to Kill Your Characters (Coffee Bean Writing)
How to Absolutely Wreck Your Audience With a Character Death (lunewell)
Coming Up With a Plot (From Scratch) (September C. Fawkes)
Problem #15: The Story Goes Off the Rails in the Third Act
Solution: Weaving a compelling third act necessitates a guarded understanding of how to view and interpret a story on the micro and macro levels. That is to say, an attention to detail is essential, but equally valuable is the opportunity to take a step back and view the whole narrative as the sum of its parts. Do individual characters achieve their personal goals? Are relationship arcs incomplete? Is the drama, humor, or sense of mystery that drove the story in the first two acts, present or validated by the third act?
If one thinks of the whole of a story as a tapestry of sorts, then one might also view each chapter, arc, or act as a meaningful shape, pattern, or attribute of that greater tapestry. These attributes cue the readers as to what facet of story (or character) to focus on, depending on the moment. These attributes can also expose consequential divergences from established narrative designs.
How should readers interpret and process, or otherwise organize, these complex stimuli? For example, an author who purposefully generates tonal proximity between characters or events will ensure emotional continuity from scene to scene or from act to act.
Writing Resources:
5 Ways to Surprise Your Reader (Without It Feeling Like a Trick) (Writer's Digest)
Writing Great Beginnings and Endings (Writing Questions Answered)
How to Pace a Story (Writing Questions Answered)
How to Write Exceptional Endings (September C. Fawkes)
What Is Pacing in Writing? Mastering Pace (Now Novel)
What Is Rising Action? Building to an Epic Climax (Now Novel)
What Is the Dénouement of a Story? Your Guide (With Tips) (Jericho Writers)
How to End a Story Perfectly (Jericho Writers)
Problem #16: The Novel's Questions Are Left Unanswered
Solution: Conflicts require consequences, character arcs require a destination, and unresolved or unanswered questions have their own purpose. But having too many unanswered questions can make a novel's ending feel too foggy, if not outright incomplete. In short, loose threads can be frustrating.
Handled appropriately, loose threads may encourage the reader to hum and ponder how each character's life may evolve following the novel's events. Some readers adore the beauty of an imperfect story. However, handled poorly, loose threads speak to a poorly planned and disorganized narrative for which the writer was mistakenly more invested in drafting a kitschy or vulgar hook than a purposeful climax or dénouement.
Writing Resources:
Guide to Writing an Unreliable Narrator (Writing and Such)
Story Threads: Fixing Rips in Our Story (Writers Helping Writers)
Loose Threads Can Unravel a Novel (All Things Writing)
How to Pace a Story (Writing Questions Answered)
Figuring Out Where to End a Story (Writing Questions Answered)
Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)
What Is the Dénouement of a Story? Your Guide (With Tips) (Jericho Writers)
How to End a Story Perfectly (Jericho Writers)
Suspense Definition Literature: Tips for Writing Suspense (Jericho Writers)
Problem #17: The Story Is a String of Unrelated Vignettes
Solution: For authors who struggle to coordinate or connect a single, cohesive story, it can be tempting to lean into episodic incidents that are individually intriguing but neglect to pull readers into a larger, more satisfying narrative. Resources about structuring scenes and structuring stories are numerous, but for writers who need to connect the muscle and sinew of their story with intent, learning the basics is often the best: Action and reaction compel reader engagement.
How does a character react to a new, tense, or changing situation? How do these actions or reactions introduce the story to readers or help them explore it? And on a micro level, how do word choice, rhythm, and tone reinforce these facets of the story?
What are the characters' goals? What are the stakes? What burdens complicate (or which advantages elevate) these characters' motivations? What conflicts skew these characters' perceptions of the stakes? What does failure look like? What are the consequences or costs? To the environment (social, political, relational)? How do characters respond to these heightened stakes, to the responsibility of these fresh consequences, to the shifting balance of power in the surrounding context?
Writing Resources:
How to Start a Story That Grips Your Readers (Jericho Writers)
Plotting Tip: One Simple Step to Ensure Our Story Works (Jami Gold)
Episodic vs. Epic: Go Bigger With Your Writing (Writers Helping Writers)
Guide: Filling in the Story Between Known Events (Writing Questions Answered)
What Is a Plot Point? Find and Plan Clear Story Events (Now Novel)
The Parts of a Story: Creating a Cohesive Whole (Now Novel)
8 Foreshadowing Laws: How to Foreshadow Right (Now Novel)
Structuring Satisfying Scenes (September C. Fawkes)
The 5 Commandments of Storytelling According to The Story Grid (September C. Fawkes)
Problem #18: The Plot Unravels Through Convenience/Contrivance
Solution: Many writing workshops and advice columns have opined on this for a reason: Coincidences that get characters into trouble are good, coincidences that get characters out of problems are bad. Resolving issues of perceived relevance between scenes, or events, often requires resolving issues of causality. Contrivances do not serve the reader. A believable and engaging rhythm requires everything to be connected.
What realizations or insights emerge after certain events occur? Does context require readers consume certain types of information before others? How can the story be revised to ensure a natural movement between these events, the information they provide, and characters' reactions to this information?
The degree or intensity of relatedness will vary, depending on the author's narrative style and the presumptive demands of the genre or audience. However, nothing should come easy; the characters (and readers) should earn whatever details they acquire to see the story through to the end.
Writing Resources:
7 Novel-Opening Mistakes That Make Literary Agents (And Readers) Groan (Jericho Writers)
8 Common Pacing Problems (September C. Fawkes)
Cause and Effect: Telling Your Story in the Right Order (Writer's Digest)
Crafting an Effective Plot for Children's Books (Writer's Digest)
8 Foreshadowing Laws: How to Foreshadow Right (Now Novel)
Episodic vs. Epic: Go Bigger With Your Writing (Writers Helping Writers)
Figuring Out Where to End a Story (Writing Questions Answered)
Problem #19: The Story Is Tonally Confused
Solution: What is the novel's general attitude, particularly given the story's descriptive specificity, the characters' emotional latitude, and the atmospheric dynamic of the feelings a specific scene is written to elicit? Tone is an interrelated mix of narrative forms and attributes. Identifying, organizing, and manipulating tone means establishing and controlling these attributes. But a word of caution is often warranted: Mixing and matching and glibly contrasting tone doesn't always come across as clever, to the reader, as the writer might imagine. Consistency and relevance are important.
Authors must know the difference between recognizing a scene's tone and sustaining it such that its rhythm lends the appropriate heft. Word choice matters. Character mood matters. Point of view matters. Scene structure matters. And in the end, disruptions matter, too.
Writing Resources:
How Do You Build a Novel's Tone? (Now Novel)
Suspense Writing: Examples and Devices for Tenser Stories (Now Novel)
Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)
How to Fix Characters Who Are Too Similar (Writing Questions Answered)
Working Comedy and Romance Into Drama (Writing Questions Answered)
Selecting the Right Sentence Structure for the Right Emotion (September C. Fawkes)
Exactly How to Create and Control Tone (September C. Fawkes; ahbwrites)
#writing#writeblr#novel writing#fiction writing#writing tips#writing problems#writing advice#writing research#writing help#writeprob#style over substance#story is too thin#writing conflict#writing villains#arbitrary complexity#questions are left unanswered#writing female characters#writing description#masterpost#tone#mood#the plot unravels#what are the stakes#purposeful climax#sense of mystery
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Writing Problem: The Conflict Is Inconsequential, Flash-in-the-Pan
Problem: The Conflict Is Inconsequential, Flash-in-the-Pan
Solution: Many authors struggle to contrive meaningful conflict such that it either shapes or speaks critically to the trajectory of the characters it touches. Conflict is not a consequence or a corollary of scheme or impulse; conflict should develop as the story develops and grow as the character dynamics grow.
Explore character through conflict by reinforcing their goals and their perceptions (of reality), as well as the plausibility of maintaining either. Use conflict to reveal blind spots, biases, or fears. Conflict doesn't narrow the possibility of who characters are, or what the story might convey; conflict opens characters (or readers) to new methodologies, new stakes, and possibly new goals, as a result of enduring or overcoming the fracas in question. Conflict adds depth.
Writing Resources:
Conflict Thesaurus (One Stop for Writers)
Need Compelling Conflict? Choose A Variety of Kinds (Writer's Helping Writers)
How to Draw Readers in Through a Character's Choices (Writers Helping Writers)
Exactly How to Create and Control Tone (September C. Fawkes; ahbwrites)
Are Your Conflicts Significant? (September C. Fawkes)
Tension vs. Conflict (Hint: They Aren't the Same Thing) (September C. Fawkes)
How to Write a Dystopian Story: Our Gide (Jericho Writers)
Plot Conflict: Striking True Adversity in Stories (Now Novel)
How to Use Central Conflict and Drama to Drive Your Novel (Now Novel)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#writing conflict#fiction writing#writing problems#novel writing#conflict#writeprob#conflict thesaurus#reinforcing goals#character agency#character choice#writing drama#how to create and control tone#writing tone#adversity in stories
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Writing Problem: The Characters Are All Stereotypes
Problem: The Characters Are All Stereotypes
Solution: To be more than a collection of tropes, characters must be emotionally differentiated, possess myriad insecurities, battle visible and invisible vulnerabilities, willingly blur their own logic to achieve what they perceive as necessary, and debate their own flaws. Solid characters, well-rounded characters, and well-defined characters give readers a reason to stay engaged.
To craft these characters, authors should be conscientious of what internal rules the story's characters follow, what flaws these characters must overcome, and what trajectory each character arc takes in parallel to the overall narrative arc. Not every character needs to know who they are or how they want to influence the story to stick in readers' minds, but the author should have a good grasp how the character grows (or regresses) relative to how they engage the story's central conflict or theme.
Writing Resources:
10 Traits of a Strong Antagonist (Fiction University)
The No-Effort Character Sheet for Lazy Writers (justsomecynic; ahbwrites)
How to Write Deep P.O.V.: 8 Tips and Examples (Now Novel)
Character Flaws: Creating Lovable Imperfections (Now Novel)
How to Use Character Flaws to Enrich Your Writing (Perpetual Stories)
Character Flaws: When Is Too Far Too Far? (The Character Therapist)
20 Powerful Romance Tropes (and How to Make Them Original) (Jericho Writers)
Does Your Character Have a Secret? (Writers Helping Writers)
Creating Villain Motivations: Writing Real Adversaries (Now Novel)
Some Quick Character Tips (Coffee Bean Writing)
Dynamic vs. Round Characters: Who Needs a Character Arc? (The Novel Smithy)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#writing problems#novel writing#fiction writing#character stereotypes#lovable imperfections#writeprob#character building#round characters#dynamic characters#character flaws#romance tropes#writing romance#character tips
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Writing Problem: The Novel's Questions Are Left Unanswered
Problem: The Novel's Questions Are Left Unanswered
Solution: Conflicts require consequences, character arcs require a destination, and unresolved or unanswered questions have their own purpose. But having too many unanswered questions can make a novel's ending feel too foggy, if not outright incomplete. In short, loose threads can be frustrating.
Handled appropriately, loose threads may encourage the reader to hum and ponder how each character's life may evolve following the novel's events. Some readers adore the beauty of an imperfect story. However, handled poorly, loose threads speak to a poorly planned and disorganized narrative for which the writer was mistakenly more invested in drafting a kitschy or vulgar hook than a purposeful climax or dénouement.
Writing Resources:
Guide to Writing an Unreliable Narrator (Writing and Such)
Story Threads: Fixing Rips in Our Story (Writers Helping Writers)
Loose Threads Can Unravel a Novel (All Things Writing)
How to Pace a Story (Writing Questions Answered)
Figuring Out Where to End a Story (Writing Questions Answered)
Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)
What Is the Dénouement of a Story? Your Guide (With Tips) (Jericho Writers)
How to End a Story Perfectly (Jericho Writers)
Suspense Definition Literature: Tips for Writing Suspense (Jericho Writers)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#fiction writing#writeprob#writing problem#novel writing#questions left unanswered#how to pace a story#how to end a story#writing suspense#writing mystery#story threads#unreliable narrator
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Writing Problem: The Ending Is Completely Anti-Climactic
Problem: The Ending Is Completely Anti-Climactic
Solution: Endings can be dramatic. Endings can be a little ambiguous. Endings can be bittersweet. Endings can be simple surprises. Endings can be unique and unresolved. Endings can reverse motives, reverse perspectives, or reverse fortunes. Endings can be complex webs that tie up every single loose end. Whatever the author's preference, endings shouldn't read as if the last 10 pages were cut off.
But knowing how to end a story is not an isolated challenge. To end a story properly and effectively, the author must know how the story begins, how its characters evolve, and how these dynamics transform over the course of narrative's varying points of tension and conflict. Recall, how does the story begin and why? How, specifically, do the characters evolve? And what compels them to do so? Where and how do the story's internal and external conflicts converge? Endings follow a few essential rules: endings require context, endings must be plausible, and endings must connect to the narrative's key elements.
Writing Resources:
Figuring Out Where to End a Story (Writing Questions Answered)
Writing Great Beginnings and Endings (Writing Questions Answered)
Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)
What Is the Dénouement of a Story? Your Guide (With Tips) (Jericho Writers)
How to End a Story Perfectly (Jericho Writers)
Story Climax Examples: Writing Gripping Build-Ups (Now Novel)
How to End a Novel: Writing Strong Story Endings (Now Novel)
Tension vs. Conflict (Hint: They Aren't the Same Thing) (September C. Fawkes)
Utilizing 3 Types of Death (September C. Fawkes)
10 Signs Your Plot is Weak (and How to Fix it) (September C. Fawkes)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#writing problems#novel writing#fiction writing#anticlimactic ending#writeprob#anticlimactic resolution#story climax#tension versus conflict#how to end a story#where to end a story#overwhelmed by plot points#what is the denouement#strong story endings#character death#your plot is weak#how to fix it
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Writing Problem: The Female Part Is Underwritten
Problem: The Female Part Is Underwritten
Solution: Frame and establish female characters who are their own and who can hold their own. Obviously, character-building must be done with care, but the emphasis on writing female characters well is not misplaced. Authors in the majority of those published often get away with female characters that are relegated to the role of the conveniently unprotected, the buddy, the substitute wife/girlfriend, the pawn/sacrifice, the hot chick, and/or the stoic action lady who can do anything because that makes her cool.
Write female characters with their own intelligences, experiences, shortcomings, and successes. These characters must come into their own organically, and they must engage the narrative (and readers) in a way that demonstrates their value without siphoning their agency.
Writing Resources:
Make Them Female (Horrible God)
The Importance of The Unlikable Heroine (Claire Legrand; ahbwrites)
100 Character Development Questions to Inspire Deeper Arcs (Now Novel)
We Need to Talk About Cold Women (HuffPost)
Writing a "Strong Female Character" That Isn't Heartless (Writing Questions Answered)
Strength is Relative: Female Characters, Gender Stereotypes, and Writer Authority (ahbwrites)
The Heroines of YA Dystopias Have All These Traits in Common (Refinery29; ahbwrites)
Female Characters to Avoid in Your Writing: An Illustrated Guide (The Caffeine Book Warrior; ahbwrites)
On Mary Sue (How to Fight Write; ahbwrites)
Core Principles of Crafting Protagonists (September C. Fawkes)
4 Ways to Unlock Your Character's Unique Voice (The Novel Smithy)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#writing problems#fiction writing#novel writing#writing female characters#writeprob#strong female protagonist#character development#gender stereotypes#strength is relative#ya fiction#ya distopia#core principles of crafting protagonists#make them female
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Writing Problem: The Story Has a By-the-Numbers Execution
Problem: The Story Has a By-the-Numbers Execution
Solution: Structure must be impeccable. Except for when it shouldn't be. Formulas are essential. Except for when they're not. Outlines are absolute. Except for when they aren't.
Successful storytelling strategies should flex and shift and evolve as the needs and demands of the story flex and shift and evolve. If you plan to wield an effective structure to buffet your storytelling execution, then research and document the structure that best compliments your story, your characters, your characters' conflicts, and the themes reflected in those conflicts.
Writing Resources:
7 Point Story Structure Explained in 5 Minutes (September C. Fawkes)
How to Actually Use a Story Structure (September C. Fawkes)
Description: 5 Times When You Should (and 4 Times When You Shouldn't) Rely on Description (ahbwrites)
Basic Checklist for Your Story (The Right Writing)
Gothic Literature: A Guide To All Things Eerie (Jericho Writers)
Suspense Definition — Literature: Tips for Writing Suspense (Jericho Writers)
How to Create a Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps (How to Write a Book Now)
The Progressive Outline: How I Balance My Plotter and Pantser Tendencies (Michael Bjork Writes; Scrawls and Rambles; ahbwrites)
5 New Ideas for Outlining Stories (1000 Story Ideas; ahbwrites)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing problems#writing tips#writing advice#fiction writing#novel writing#plotting#story structure#writeprob#execution#description#plot outline tips#ideas for outlining#new ideas for outlining
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Writing Problem: The Narrative Falls Into a Repetitive Pattern
Problem: The Narrative Falls Into a Repetitive Pattern
Solution: Does the story begin at the right point? Are the characters introduced in scenes where they exert the right influence? Are the novel's emotional beats consistent (or meaningful)? What's the tempo like? Is the pacing balanced and purposeful at the sentence level, scene level, and act level? Is the story's use of description unique and dynamic? What's the difference between the author voice, the narrator voice, and the character voice? Be as flexible or inflexible as needed, but above all, be willing to learn.
Writing Resources:
Never Lie Beyond What You're Capable of Selling (How to Fight Write)
How to Craft Your Protagonist's Inner and Outer Journeys (The Novel Smithy)
5 Ways to Keep Reader's Interest When They Know Something the Character Doesn't (Writing Questions Answered)
Variations on Story Structure: A List (September C. Fawkes)
8 Common Pacing Problems (September C. Fawkes)
How Structure Affects Pacing (September C. Fawkes)
Quick Plotting Tip: Write Your Story Backwards (bucketsiler; ahbwrites)
What Is Pacing in Writing? Mastering Pace (Now Novel)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#writing problems#fiction writing#novel writing#writeprob#repetitive storytelling#writing description#structure affects pacing#flexible plotting#inner and outer journeys#pacing#novel pacing#plotting tips#write your story backwards#what is pacing
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Writing Problem: The Protagonist Is a Standard-Issue Hero
Problem: The Protagonist Is a Standard-Issue Hero
Solution: There are different types of heroes. There are different types of villains. And the multitude of stories in which these various types of characters might interact require differing levels of focus. Not all heroes must have a tale of overcoming adversity. Not all villains need a tragic backstory. Not all comedy stories require a "meek schlub" to come out on top. Not all suspense or thriller tales require a "world-weary detective" fighting for emotional validation or recompense.
Diverse character types help drive diverse stories. Challenge how archetypes and standard-issue definitions traditionally render a "hero" or a "villain" in a story. Important Note: Don't give in by forcing a character to fit an established mold by the story's end.
Writing Resources:
Guide to Writing an Unlikable Protagonist (Words and Such)
How to Craft the Perfect Antihero (Writer's Digest)
How to Write an Anti-Hero Readers Will Adore (The Novel Smithy)
Types of Heroes: Crafting Your Characters (Jericho Writers)
How to Write Supporting Characters in Fiction (Jericho Writers)
10 Ways to Write a Chosen One That Won't Annoy Readers (The Novel Smithy)
Being the Best at Something (One Stop for Writers)
50 Questions to Ask Your Antagonist (Alyssa Hollingsworth)
How to Build an Antagonist (How to Fight Write)
Male Protagonists to Avoid in Your Writing: An Illustrated Guide (The Caffeine Book Warrior)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#novel writing#fiction writing#writing problems#writeprob#heroic archetypes#writing female characters#brooding male#being the best at something#how to craft the perfect antihero#antihero#the chosen one#characters to avoid
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Writing Problem: The Character Logic Is Muddy
Problem: The Character Logic Is Muddy
Solution: Investing in realistic characterization will give a novel the curious details and sense of familiarity readers will readily absorb. Good character logic means providing original characters with the agency to speak, act, and react with authority. (It also doesn't hurt to have a character or two who are really good at faking it.) But it's not enough to simply imply a character's sense of self through dialogue and action. Writers should aim for a level deeper.
Don't write characters, write character arcs. Don't write character flaws, write character flaws that make characters curious, enticing, or attractive. Craft inimitable dialogue, encourage characters to engage their environment, and remember to hold characters responsible for their actions.
Writing Resources:
3 Redemptive Character Types (September C. Fawkes)
6 Ways to Write Truly Terrifying Villains (The Novel Smithy)
What Is Pathos in Literature? A Complete Guide (Jericho Writers)
Character Motivation Thesaurus (One Stop for Writers)
"I don't think you need all the backstory in the world..." (advice from Brennan Lee Mulligan, TTRPG gamemaster; ahbwrites)
How to Improve Your Secondary Characters: 6 Fresh Ideas (Em Dash Press)
Some Quick Character Tips (Coffee Bean Writing)
The Importance of The Unlikable Heroine (Claire Legrand; ahbwrites)
Don't Design a Character, Design a Character Arc (avalera; ahbwrites)
How to Write Character Arcs (Helping Writers Become Authors)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#novel writing#fiction writing#writing problems#writeprob#character logic#logic is muddy#writing villains#villain redemption arc#secondary characters#design a better character#how to write character arcs#character arcs#backstory#unlikable heroine#pathos in literature
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Writing Problem: The Story Begins Too Late in the Novel
Problem: The Story Begins Too Late in the Novel
Solution: Gain traction early; use simplicity, momentum, and a bit of the unknown to carry readers toward the more complex and the improbable. The first chapter is context for what the whole novel is about. Don't wait to pull in readers, don't hesitate to tell readers which characters are the most important, and don't hesitate to expose readers (and the viewpoint character) to the narrative's central conflict. Be upfront about what kind of story you're telling.
Develop a strong sense of who your protagonist is, articulate the protagonist's needs (which may change), and hint at the limits or barriers the protagonist must acknowledge, or defy, to achieve their current or a future goal.
Writing Resources:
8 Ways to Write a 5-Star Chapter One (Writer's Digest)
10 Ways to Start Your Story (The Writers Society)
How To Start a Story That Grips Your Readers (Jericho Writers)
7 Steps for Writing Your Novel's Opening Chapter (The Novel Smithy)
4 Key Elements of Scene Openings (September C. Fawkes)
How to Find Your Writing Style (sunnydwrites; ahbwrites)
Writing Riveting Inciting Action: 7 Ideas (Now Novel)
In Media Res: 6 Steps to Start Stories From the Middle (Now Novel)
Writing Great Beginnings and Endings (Writing Questions Answered)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#novel writing#fiction writing#strong sense of who your protagonist is#writeprob#wants versus needs#scene openings#start your story#chapter one#inciting incident#inciting action#start your story in the middle#writing problems
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Writing Problem: The Story Favors Style Over Substance
Problem: The Story Favors Style Over Substance
Solution: Writers commonly risk stumbling into the crevasse of convenience, no matter the genre (e.g., action must be cool or flashy, comedy must be glaringly funny, horror must be unremittingly scary). The primary fault lines for these seemingly innocent errors are twofold: inexperience and immaturity. That is to say, the more one reads and the more one writes, the greater one experiences, learns, and empathizes with a greater array of storytelling styles, techniques, and attitudes. Writing a more dynamic and engaging story that leaps beyond the crevasse of style over substance requires an eagerness to learn, a willingness to experiment, and an openness to difference.
Writing Resources:
8 Ways to Write a 5-Star Chapter One (Writer's Digest)
Building a Bold Narrator's Voice: 5 Methods (Now Novel)
How to Avoid Plot Armor (Coffee Bean Writing)
10 Tips for the Middle of Your Story (Coffee Bean Writing; ahbwrites)
Avoiding Plot Armor (How to Fight Write)
How to Absolutely Wreck Your Audience With a Character Death (lunewell)
Writing Description: Make Introspection More Engaging (ahbwrites)
How to Frame Scenes Like a Filmmaker (Kristen Kiefer)
Shakespeare's Genius Is Nonsense (Nautilus)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#fiction writing#writing problems#novel writing#writeprob#style over substance#narrative voice#perspective#plot armor#frame scenes like a filmmaker#genius is nonsense#character death#character development#writing conflict#writing the middle
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Writing Problem: The Story Is Tonally Confused
Problem: The Story Is Tonally Confused
Solution: What is the novel's general attitude, particularly given the story's descriptive specificity, the characters' emotional latitude, and the atmospheric dynamic of the feelings a specific scene is written to elicit? Tone is an interrelated mix of narrative forms and attributes. Identifying, organizing, and manipulating tone means establishing and controlling these attributes. But a word of caution is often warranted: Mixing and matching and glibly contrasting tone doesn't always come across as clever, to the reader, as the writer might imagine. Consistency and relevance are important.
Authors must know the difference between recognizing a scene's tone and sustaining it such that its rhythm lends the appropriate heft. Word choice matters. Character mood matters. Point of view matters. Scene structure matters. And in the end, disruptions matter, too.
Writing Resources:
How Do You Build a Novel's Tone? (Now Novel)
Suspense Writing: Examples and Devices for Tenser Stories (Now Novel)
Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)
How to Fix Characters Who Are Too Similar (Writing Questions Answered)
Working Comedy and Romance Into Drama (Writing Questions Answered)
Selecting the Right Sentence Structure for the Right Emotion (September C. Fawkes)
Exactly How to Create and Control Tone (September C. Fawkes; ahbwrites)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing tips#writing advice#writing problem#novel writing#fiction writing#writeprob#writing tone#characters who are too similar#writing comedy#writing romance#writing drama#how to create and control tone
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Writing Problem: The Novel Suffers From Arbitrary Complexity
Problem: The Novel Suffers From Arbitrary Complexity
Solution: More spectacle isn't always better. Larger and relentlessly diverse casts aren't necessarily more dynamic or more representative. More gore doesn't exactly make the violence more believable. More tears won't always pull readers into a deeper emotional connection.
Balance in everything, whether in drawing lots for which characters live or die, or assembling the combination of goals and threats the cast must surmount to reach the end.
Sometimes, it helps to weave from the simple toward the complex: If you understand what is essential to the story, and the role of each character in the story, then you can expand outward, deliberately, and unfold more detail from a central theme or narrative device. (If the author does it the other way around, and weaves from the complex toward the simple, then plot holes form, characters lose their purpose, and the story's conclusion feels less and less tethered to the inciting incident that supposedly pulled in readers at the outset.)
Writing Resources:
5 Ways to Make Mundane Scene More Interesting (Writing Questions Answered)
Feeling Overwhelmed by Plot Points (Writing Questions Answered)
What Is Prewriting? Preparing to Write With Purpose (Now Novel)
How to Write the Perfect Plot (in Two Easy Steps) (Helping Writers Become Authors)
Writing Description: Encourage Readers to Infer More Than They Realize (ahbwrites)
Reasons to Kill Your Characters (Coffee Bean Writing)
How to Absolutely Wreck Your Audience With a Character Death (lunewell)
Coming Up With a Plot (From Scratch) (September C. Fawkes)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
#writeblr#writing problem#writing tips#writing advice#fiction writing#novel writing#complex story#writeprob#prewriting#plotting#character death#plotting from scratch#reasons to kill your character#balance in everything#central theme#feeling overwhelmed by plot points
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