T.K._Paradox
Was Divided By Zero: Looking for Glovebox Jesus
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2021
- Messages
- 1,052
- Points
- 153
When creating your story you eventually come to a point where you might feel uneasy about how your story is moving.
Whether your story is moving at a snail's pace with filler or flat lining build up because your character(s) seemed to rush through the plot I am here to help.
First I would like to say that a really common thing with new writers is rushed plot lines, do to them fearing that they will draw out unimportant scenes so they railroad the plot and don't give the main cast, the antagonists and side characters, and the setting time to adjust and mature to the story beats.
Meaning that your main cast might end up coming off as stagnant in their growth as a character, your antagonists and side characters may seem one dimensional and tacky, and your setting may be lacking impact and gives nothing but a vague idea on the surroundings of the current plot point.
My advice for you guys that can't slow down is to provide some insight on the current story beats through interactive dialogue, giving some insight on why the cast
– main and side – has a reason to care about their current situation, and how that may link with future parts of the story allowing you to set up some starting points for the next arc in place.
And as for expanding on your main cast and side characters personality I would recommend demonstrating a character's willingness to grow or stubbornness to stay the same. Remember having a character be intentionally ignorant or caught up in their ways is NOT the same as a stagnant character.
Remember to also demonstrate personality through action – or lack of action, the way they carry themselves when it comes to following up on their word or beliefs is a great way to hammer home what type of person a character is.
Another thing to consider is to make the setting have a natural ambience by tying its importance to the current story beats by showing how the setting has shaped characters that have come from the setting around them, and how it seems to impact the main cast, and how much time can be stressed. As it allows for tension to build or decline on how urgent your current story beat is and can help set up another crucial plot point.
All in all do your best to show more character interaction, flesh out the setting, play out how a setting affects the environment and characters around it, and demonstrate how a character changes or refuses to change throughout the plot. These will all help you slow down your plot and not make your story seem rushed.
As for the opposite side of the coin, those that draw out their story into mind numbing filler I would highly recommend 'trimming the fat' of your story.
Exposition is an important tool that helps establish a narrative without having to see it happen right as the story is going. However I recommend cutting out useless information that could be picked up by the audience while they are reading or information that serves little purpose in character development, fleshing out the setting, and establishing the current struggle your main cast faces.
Another thing to avoid is consistent rehashing of previous events, while it is fine to remind the reader both indirectly and directly that the previous plot points still have an impact and have assisted the build up of the story so far there is no need to keep repeating a summary on previous story beats UNLESS it somehow ties in with the current plot point.
And finally keep your main cast going forward, a reactionary main cast can make a setting stale if they decide to only take action when something moves against their interests. Try to keep your characters active and involved in the story so as to not draw out unnecessary scenes.
So as a reminder for those that really pad out their story, keep exposition down to a minimum, have active protagonists, and don't constantly remind the reader that a previous event happened unless it is important to the current plot point.
Overall I hope this has been helpful for any of you and wish you all the best in your writing.
God bless you all,
Sincerely, T.K.
Whether your story is moving at a snail's pace with filler or flat lining build up because your character(s) seemed to rush through the plot I am here to help.
First I would like to say that a really common thing with new writers is rushed plot lines, do to them fearing that they will draw out unimportant scenes so they railroad the plot and don't give the main cast, the antagonists and side characters, and the setting time to adjust and mature to the story beats.
Meaning that your main cast might end up coming off as stagnant in their growth as a character, your antagonists and side characters may seem one dimensional and tacky, and your setting may be lacking impact and gives nothing but a vague idea on the surroundings of the current plot point.
My advice for you guys that can't slow down is to provide some insight on the current story beats through interactive dialogue, giving some insight on why the cast
– main and side – has a reason to care about their current situation, and how that may link with future parts of the story allowing you to set up some starting points for the next arc in place.
And as for expanding on your main cast and side characters personality I would recommend demonstrating a character's willingness to grow or stubbornness to stay the same. Remember having a character be intentionally ignorant or caught up in their ways is NOT the same as a stagnant character.
Remember to also demonstrate personality through action – or lack of action, the way they carry themselves when it comes to following up on their word or beliefs is a great way to hammer home what type of person a character is.
Another thing to consider is to make the setting have a natural ambience by tying its importance to the current story beats by showing how the setting has shaped characters that have come from the setting around them, and how it seems to impact the main cast, and how much time can be stressed. As it allows for tension to build or decline on how urgent your current story beat is and can help set up another crucial plot point.
All in all do your best to show more character interaction, flesh out the setting, play out how a setting affects the environment and characters around it, and demonstrate how a character changes or refuses to change throughout the plot. These will all help you slow down your plot and not make your story seem rushed.
As for the opposite side of the coin, those that draw out their story into mind numbing filler I would highly recommend 'trimming the fat' of your story.
Exposition is an important tool that helps establish a narrative without having to see it happen right as the story is going. However I recommend cutting out useless information that could be picked up by the audience while they are reading or information that serves little purpose in character development, fleshing out the setting, and establishing the current struggle your main cast faces.
Another thing to avoid is consistent rehashing of previous events, while it is fine to remind the reader both indirectly and directly that the previous plot points still have an impact and have assisted the build up of the story so far there is no need to keep repeating a summary on previous story beats UNLESS it somehow ties in with the current plot point.
And finally keep your main cast going forward, a reactionary main cast can make a setting stale if they decide to only take action when something moves against their interests. Try to keep your characters active and involved in the story so as to not draw out unnecessary scenes.
So as a reminder for those that really pad out their story, keep exposition down to a minimum, have active protagonists, and don't constantly remind the reader that a previous event happened unless it is important to the current plot point.
Overall I hope this has been helpful for any of you and wish you all the best in your writing.
God bless you all,
Sincerely, T.K.
