What’s all this about word count?
Put A Love Story by Eric Segal beside War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and the argument does not stand. But I am not thinking about selling, for a change; I am thinking about determining the volume of your book accurately.
I read somewhere an easy way to do it. If you divide your book into [...]
Lack of coherence between the plot and the scenes
Yet another milestone for fiction writers. Designing scenes in relation to the plot is one of the most difficult and time consuming tasks for fiction writers. Any waywardness here and you may not reach your goal. That is why creating scenes is so so important.
What lack of coherence between the plot and the scenes can [...]
Structure that doesn’t fit your plot
A good structure helps to build on mystery and suspense; it intensifies emotions and keeps the reader glued to the story. While creating an appropriate structure for your fiction, it is best to keep the demands of the plot in mind. Use of flashbacks is a common and effective device to show characters’ past. Sometimes, [...]
Faulty jumps in time
Fiction writing is like climbing Everest. Along with managing technicalities, you need sheer guts to reach the top. Brave you already are if you’re a fiction writer, so let us talk about technicalities to prepare us for the long and tough journey ahead.
Jumps in time is another aspect of fiction writing that needs careful consideration. [...]
Action and psychology
It’s best for a work of fiction if action and psychology is balanced through careful planning of the plot. If there’s too much action or too much psychology, the reader will, sooner or later, suffer from indigestion, which is exactly what you do not want.
Depending on the genre in which you are writing, you need [...]
Insignificant details
Every great writer uses minute details in his work to bring a story to life. Carefully analyzed characters and story world will show off observations that a reader has overlooked in life, giving it a novelty that is so rare.
Problem arises when a writer starts including insignificant details in his work. It might happen because [...]
Faulty point of view (POV)
This is just a reminder. Most of you must already know what a blunder it is to switch point of views (POV). It is important for every fiction writer to decide upon the POV the first thing. First person is very much in fashion, although third person (limited omniscient) is what most fiction writers use.
In [...]
Dragging pace
Even a well-written book can fail to please the readers if it is slow paced. Boredom is a word that shouldn’t exist in a fiction writer’s dictionary. I think entertainment is an incredibly important aspect of fiction writing. If you think about all the great books you’ve read, you will always find them entertaining. Yes, [...]
Use of clichés: fiction writing
Encountering a cliché in good writing leaves a bitter taste. I understand how easy it is for readers to point out mistakes in a work of fiction and trash it at the least pretense. But if you see it as I do, it is a good thing. After all, it is making you strive for [...]
Impatience kills
The truth is you are in a difficult profession, a profession that does not give you quick results and absolutely no security unless you are a published author. If you are still in it, you’re made for it.
For a writer at work, impatience is one of the deadly sins that can lead to complications and [...]
Too much logic or too much instinct
Well, it doesn’t clearly fall under the title dangers for fiction writers, but it sure is something to notice and think about. Too much logic or too much of instinct won’t kill your work. Some writes mainly use their instincts and feelings while writing; they do away with a definite structure and plot; they break [...]
Incorrectly judging the scale (time span) of a book
The scale of a book is the number of years in it. Some books scan three generations and some just a couple of days. It is difficult to write that way. Imagine a book of 1,00,000 words with the story of three generations or just four days!
Before deciding on which scale you choose for your [...]
Too much subjectivity or objectivity
Too much subjectivity without objectivity can speed up the ruin of a book just as too much objectivity without any subjectivity can. Both are equally important for a fiction writer, before and when writing a book. Now, the big question is – when to be subjective and when objective? And. How can I be both [...]
Danger of imitation (of favorite authors)
First let me clarify; subconscious imitation is not plagiarism. It is not sly copy pasting of original material for instant gains. The imitation we talk about here originates from the desire to write like the author you admire. It is neither a blot on your personality nor on your writing. May I dare to say [...]
Too much complexity or simplicity
A book with complex ideas can be written in a simple way, which is really a good thing, but a simple book written in a complex manner is not something any writer would want. Right now, we are not going to talk about writing a book cause that is difficult. Instead we will [...]
