Has your writing fallen into a black hole?
Has your pacing dropped to a crawl, or your suspense become a snore?
Do you just feel stuck?
You might be sabotaging your own writing without even knowing it.
But don’t panic. Here’s how to avoid the four most perilous pitfalls of writing.
Pitfall #1: Your plot is going nowhere.
If your story is bogging down, it’s probably because you (the author) need to spend more time visualizing the specific outcome your main character wants.
Think about your main character for a minute. This person should desperately want to either: A) achieve something positive; or B) avoid something negative. Maybe both.
What does your main character want, exactly?
It needs to be important. And it must be so specific that you can picture your main character’s moment of triumph in your mind. What would it look like the minute this person reaches his or her goal?
Figure out precisely what that goal is, and write it down. Describe it in detail. Make it visual. Make it emotional. Make it real.
That strings a finish line across the end of your story, and instantly gives your main character something to work toward. Immediately, your plot will start picking up speed.
Pitfall #2: Your main character has it too easy.
Mediocre story endings just kind of happen. Good story endings are earned through struggle and sacrifice. Make your main character work hard enough to earn the ending. To do that, you need to pump up the conflict.
Start with the antagonist. Think about the most important person standing in the way of your main character, preventing her from achieving her goal.
Who is this enemy, and what do they want, specifically? Again, you should be able to visualize it.
This person’s goal must directly contradict your main character’s desires. If one character wants to save the world, the other wants to destroy it. If one character wants to prove a suspect innocent, the other wants him hanged. If one wants to unearth a secret, the other wants to keep it hidden. You get the idea.
Picture it like two dogs fighting over the same bone. Only one of them can have it. At the end of the fight, someone is going to be very unhappy.
Pitfall #3: You keep going back to fix things.
The learning curve for your first novel is often so steep that before you even get halfway through, you start thinking to yourself, “Wait, the stuff I’m writing now is so much better than the first few chapters. I should go back and fix everything!”
This is a trap. Don’t fall for it.
Seriously. Do everything you can to keep moving forward. You’ll need every last bit of creative strength to reach the end of the novel. Don’t squander your energy on perfecting something that you might end up deleting later.
Remember, the first draft of anything is just that: a first draft. You’ll make it better in the second draft, and in the third, and so on. It’s like a sculpture: once you have the basic form worked out, you can keep chipping and polishing until it’s beautiful. But first, you need that basic form. You need something to work with.
First, get it written — then later you can get it right.
Pitfall #4: You just can’t seem to get started.
There are countless reasons why writers procrastinate. But whatever the reason, the end result is always the same: a blank page with no story on it. Why does this happen?
In my highly unscientific study of writerly problems, based mostly on questions that pop up in my email, the biggest reason for writing procrastination is fear.
It’s a far worse problem than a lack of time or skill. Fear is insidious. It plagues you with uncomfortable questions that you can’t answer.
What if your story just won’t work? What if you never finish? What if everything you’ve written is awful?
Fear is the enemy. Don’t let it win. You can beat it with a simple tool.
A kitchen timer.
Yes, it sounds crazy, but it really works. Just set an ordinary timer for 15 or 20 minutes. While it’s counting down, do nothing but write.
Don’t check your email. Or social media. Don’t look at anything else. Just write.
Think about what your main character wants, what they must do to get it, who stands in the way, and so on. Write down the first thing that comes to mind. One sentence. Then force yourself to write another. Keep going, nonstop, until that timer goes off. It’s only a few more minutes. You can do it.
What’s your biggest writing pitfall?
When it comes time to sit down and write, what are the issues you struggle with most? What stops you from finishing a story or novel? Leave a comment below.
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