In last week’s post, I talked about basic pitfalls some writers fall into that I’ve seen over the years as a judge for fiction writing contests. I also give some tips on how to avoid them. Although you can read this post as a standalone, it may give you more context to start there!
https://www.towritewithwildabandon.com/p/common-fiction-writing-pitfalls-part-1-of-3
This week, we’ll take a closer look at some of the more advanced pitfalls and how you can avoid them in your fiction writing.
Mistakes that Take a Bit More Work
Undefined characters. A surgeon working the night shift in one story could just as well have been the sniper sitting in a tree night after night in another story. Nothing makes who or what they are unique. They are simply cardboard cut-outs standing in each other’s place. In extreme cases in some short stories, I couldn’t even tell gender*, age, or the barest outline of what physical attributes make this human different from every other one in the world. Make the reader believe this is a surgeon. Believe this is a sniper. Believe he or she or they is rich or poor or educated or uneducated or whatever it is they’re supposed to be. It’s in the details.
Here’s a video from Abbie Emmons that gives a good framework for developing characters including a downloadable character profile template ($5 USD):
*I understand and fully support that gender is on a spectrum rather than an either/or, binary concept. We still need details to give us a clearer picture of who that person is. And if someone identifies within the binary confines of the spectrum, I feel it’s okay to show that.
Painted backdrops. It’s hard to inhabit a flat painting. Instead, the best writers give us a world to step into. One way to do this is ensure your characters are interacting with their environments in ways that are particular to that location. If your story could happen anywhere from a cliffside ledge to a little motel room in the desert, think of things that could only happen on a cliff, like a rock coming loose and falling, and only happen in a desert motel room, like the AC flickering in the baking heat, a lizard crawling out from under the bathroom door, or that faint smell of… what?
Louise Tondeur has some more advanced ideas for making your backdrops come alive, which I think are really good. (I particularly like The Trysting Place idea…)
Author clearly doesn’t know what the story is, then tries to mask that ignorance as “mystery”. Not everything makes it into your story, but the author still needs to know it. Confusion and fog don’t come off as mystery as you hoped; they come off as… confusion and fog. Know your story inside and out – including the stuff that doesn’t make the page. Realize that plot holes are just that: holes to fix, not something to sell as an intriguing puzzle.
Nathan Bransford actually talks about building a mystery here, but the same concepts apply.
Over to You
Have you noticed any similar pitfalls that writers fall into? Let us know in the comments below or email me directly.
Next week, we’ll conclude with Major Issues.
Until next time, keep writing with wild abandon!
~Graham
email me if you get lost.
Thanks for the mention
1.) A good story that could be told in 100 words, gets stretched out into five long pages by way of adverbs, adjectives, and details that did nothing to move the story forward. Arrrgh.
2.) Anachronistic language eg The Greek centurion saying "Way to go!" An alien asking "What's happening?" No!
3.) The mixing of language registers drives me mad. eg When the character should say "Who was it for?"or "I laid on the bed." because that is the incorrect grammar THAT character would use. Not "For whom?" or "I lay on the bed." Are you telling a story or writing an essay? The language you use with your buddies is not the language you use with the local priest? Be sensitive to language.