Yes, we’re taking things in a different direction this week. Normally, I go at things from a positive, constructive angle, but this time, we’re going to try and see things from a negative, reparative angle. Keep in mind, negativity and writing don’t mix too well. However, if you are struggling to find ways to improve your narrative, this post has some simple writing tips for you! I’ll be nice, don’t worry.
Flawless Characters
And by that, I don’t mean “great” characters, I mean characters with no vices or maladaptive habits. Boring characters, in other words. This is probably the biggest issue I see as an editor. Lots of writers are terrified of making their protagonists seem like jerks, so they try to avoid having them mess up or make asses of themselves.
In the simplest narrative structure imaginable, you want your character to be sad in the first chapter and happy by the last chapter. They want a hot dog in chapter one; by chapter two, they’ve got their hot dog. That’s the essence of a story. Note that the story is defined by lacking something. We can also imagine the inverse, wherein someone has a hot dog in chapter one, but by chapter two, they’ve eaten it. Now they’re sad, because they don’t have a hot dog anymore. This story is defined by losing something. If you extrapolate these, you can get a million different story combinations and arcs. But the trouble begins when you give them unlimited hot dogs from the beginning. They don’t want hot dogs, therefore they don’t need any more hot dogs.
When you make your main character an epic cyborg ninja from the future who’s also super handsome and witty and rich, your readers will despise them. If your YA protagonist is a totally normal, average girl who has a harem of boys asking her out in between her epic battles with the evil government, your book is going to lose people by chapter two. You think I’m exaggerating, but I’ve seen people pass off manuscripts like those.
Often, people say they’re giving their characters flaws, but in reality, they’re just giving them quirks. Writing tips tend to neglect this; traits like “clumsiness” aren’t major character flaws.
But they can be. See, I’m a terribly clumsy person in real life. I bump into doors, drop stuff all over the floor, and I’ve stepped on my girlfriend’s hair a million times. Going, “tee-hee, whoops I’m so clumsy,” doesn’t cut it. You want to write a clumsy character? Make them miserable whenever they hurt people. Make them break something important to someone else, entirely because they don’t understand where their body starts and ends. Imagine how it feels to watch somebody’s face fall because you’ve destroyed something precious to them. And no matter how much you say it was an accident, they’re still sad—and perhaps even furious. How does your protagonist deal with that? Boom, you’ve got yourself the beginnings of a character arc.
The trick is to lean in.
Ridiculously Blatant Political Messaging
Here’s a fun little writing tip: you can’t escape politics. All books are political. This is because everything is inherently political. Are you writing a fantasy book with a good king? Then you’re saying you believe good kings can exist. Are you writing a children’s fairy tale where the good guys win in the end? Then you’re drawing a line in the sand between good and evil. You can’t escape political messaging. And it’s always important that you’re aware of the messages you’re sending.
But you shouldn’t spend three pages of dialogue where your characters talk about how vaccines cause autism and how the left is going to turn your kids gay. Not just because those ideas are stupid, but because nobody wants to read explicit political messaging in fiction, whether they believe it or not. Subtlety is key. Want to make people believe healthcare is a right? Don’t have a character say, “man, if only healthcare was free,” show us someone suffering because they can’t afford to go to the hospital. Don’t namedrop any political organizations when you talk about these things, go straight to the idea and let it speak for itself. Allegories work. Let your readers figure out what you’re trying to say. They’re smarter than you think.
Particularly Problematic Pacing
We all remember how Game of Thrones ended, right? Blagh. I’ve never seen interest in a franchise drop off a cliff like that. One day, it was the biggest show in the world, the next day, we all just forgot about it. And why did it fail? Because it all went too fast. If I’d been there to give them writing tips, I’d have told the writers to pay more attention to pacing. But what is pacing? Well, imagine your narrative is a little guy running a marathon. He’s doing his best, but he has to run for miles and miles. If your story is short, but your manuscript is long, then you haven’t fed that little guy enough! He’ll practically crawl the whole time. But if your story is long, and your manuscript is short, he’ll have to sprint the whole time!
Your story content needs to match its word count. But it’s not as simple as making your story shorter and longer. Sometimes, your story might move quickly in some places and slowly in others. Your poor little runner won’t know what to do! You have to make sure your runner is jogging at a steady pace. That’s not to say you can’t put little hills in at times. Sometimes, you want the story to run slower. Sometimes, the story works better if it moves faster in places. But there’s a huge difference between jogging downhill and sprinting. And jogging uphill is a lot more enjoyable than having your runner crawl the whole way.
Look at your narrative and ask yourself if you need to slow things down or speed things up. So long as you pay attention, you should be fine!
Well, I hope these little writing tips have helped you find some issues in your manuscript! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out at [email protected]!
