Writing Tip of the Week: Driving Your Story Forward
Every story has a unique momentum and pacing. Whether you’re writing a historical romance or a high-octane thriller, keeping the reader engaged and invested in the story and its characters should always be on your mind.
While it’s fun to experiment and go off on tangents and subplots during the drafting process, the final story should be streamlined and pared down to the essential elements so that readers can understand and enjoy your narrative work.
How can you effectively keep your story moving forward? Let’s talk about it!
What’s Relevant?
Every scene or chapter should be relevant and provide important information about the characters or plot. Even subplots should somehow tie into the main story, even if it’s tangentially.
Remember, irrelevant characters, scenes, and storylines should be removed. If they don’t contribute to the overarching story and the main character's goal, they’re unnecessary. By asking yourself, 'If I cut this out, would it be noticeable?' and being willing to let go, you'll maintain control over your story and keep your readers engaged.
Usually, as you read through your completed manuscript, you’ll be able to see these irrelevant aspects and cut them for the good of the story.
Conflict, Conflict, Conflict
Conflict drives a story forward. Whether it is direct or indirect, there should be some level of tension between characters. Even if it’s a minor disagreement, that can be enough to keep things interesting.
It’s okay for friends, lovers, and coworkers to disagree and have conflict. It doesn’t mean they must have a battle royale that results in burning cars and damaged buildings. Minor conflicts help propel the story and the main character forward, allowing the reader to see new dimensions of the protagonist and help us empathize or sympathize with them.
Ratchet Up That Tension!
Similarly, creating tension between two characters can also help drive the story forward. It’s like a rubber band being stretched slowly; anticipating when the tension will snap between two characters can keep the reader locked in to see what will happen when everything comes crashing down.
Rom-coms do this (Will they, or won’t they?). Action movies do this, too (Will they diffuse the bomb in time and save the Senator’s family?). Tension is a great way to keep the reader turning the page and staying up past when they should have gone to bed.
Nothing is a No-No
Have you ever watched a movie and a scene comes on where nothing happens? No conflict. No tension. Noting relevant to the story or characters in the story. It’s just there.
You have two options: 1) Cut it; 2) Fix it.
Ask yourself why the scene is in your story. Should something happen? Should the reader learn something about the main character that will matter later on? Maybe it’s a set-up scene for a payoff later in the story.
Sometimes, I write out a sequence to see how things play out based on an idea I had, and it won’t go anywhere that works in the story. I can quickly cut it out once I see it’s not working.
Remember, your goal is to ensure every chapter and moment in your story delivers important information about the story or the characters. If it does neither, it might be worth removing.
The Sidetrack Trap
Sometimes, you’ll be having so much fun living in the world of your story and its characters that you’ll take detours to see what might happen if they do X, Y, or Z. Since every story you write has unlimited possibilities – after all, you’re its creator – this can be an enticing exercise. But not all sidetracks and detours connect to the main road, and it’s even worse if you know your main character wouldn’t do what you are writing them to do.
Example? As I was drafting my latest novel, The Sexual Misadventures of Alicia Williams, Alpha Female, I thought it would be fun for Alicia and her love interest, Mitch, to go skydiving. Mitch would surprise Alicia with this exciting date, which she knew nothing about. I was writing the scene of them driving to the airfield, and I stopped dead. Based on what had already been established about Alicia, I realized there was no way she would ever get on that plane to jump out of it.
While this would lead to conflict between the two characters, it wasn’t the right place in the story for that to happen, so I dropped the whole sequence. Sometimes, you must take that detour to see if you’re potentially driving your story off a cliff. I definitely would have.
Final Thoughts
Writing a story is often about trial and error. Hundreds of ideas will pass through your imagination and onto the page as you write. Some will work, and some won’t. And that’s okay. The important thing is to get the ideas down on paper and cut out the irrelevant, pointless, and not-so-great ideas during the editing process.
You know your story better than anyone. As you read through your manuscript, you’ll sense where things work, where they lag, and where improvements or cuts need to be made. The key is to do what’s best for the story and its characters, make sure every moment counts, and move the story’s arc and the main character’s arc forward.
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next time!
While it’s fun to experiment and go off on tangents and subplots during the drafting process, the final story should be streamlined and pared down to the essential elements so that readers can understand and enjoy your narrative work.
How can you effectively keep your story moving forward? Let’s talk about it!
What’s Relevant?
Every scene or chapter should be relevant and provide important information about the characters or plot. Even subplots should somehow tie into the main story, even if it’s tangentially.
Remember, irrelevant characters, scenes, and storylines should be removed. If they don’t contribute to the overarching story and the main character's goal, they’re unnecessary. By asking yourself, 'If I cut this out, would it be noticeable?' and being willing to let go, you'll maintain control over your story and keep your readers engaged.
Usually, as you read through your completed manuscript, you’ll be able to see these irrelevant aspects and cut them for the good of the story.
Conflict, Conflict, Conflict
Conflict drives a story forward. Whether it is direct or indirect, there should be some level of tension between characters. Even if it’s a minor disagreement, that can be enough to keep things interesting.
It’s okay for friends, lovers, and coworkers to disagree and have conflict. It doesn’t mean they must have a battle royale that results in burning cars and damaged buildings. Minor conflicts help propel the story and the main character forward, allowing the reader to see new dimensions of the protagonist and help us empathize or sympathize with them.
Ratchet Up That Tension!
Similarly, creating tension between two characters can also help drive the story forward. It’s like a rubber band being stretched slowly; anticipating when the tension will snap between two characters can keep the reader locked in to see what will happen when everything comes crashing down.
Rom-coms do this (Will they, or won’t they?). Action movies do this, too (Will they diffuse the bomb in time and save the Senator’s family?). Tension is a great way to keep the reader turning the page and staying up past when they should have gone to bed.
Nothing is a No-No
Have you ever watched a movie and a scene comes on where nothing happens? No conflict. No tension. Noting relevant to the story or characters in the story. It’s just there.
You have two options: 1) Cut it; 2) Fix it.
Ask yourself why the scene is in your story. Should something happen? Should the reader learn something about the main character that will matter later on? Maybe it’s a set-up scene for a payoff later in the story.
Sometimes, I write out a sequence to see how things play out based on an idea I had, and it won’t go anywhere that works in the story. I can quickly cut it out once I see it’s not working.
Remember, your goal is to ensure every chapter and moment in your story delivers important information about the story or the characters. If it does neither, it might be worth removing.
The Sidetrack Trap
Sometimes, you’ll be having so much fun living in the world of your story and its characters that you’ll take detours to see what might happen if they do X, Y, or Z. Since every story you write has unlimited possibilities – after all, you’re its creator – this can be an enticing exercise. But not all sidetracks and detours connect to the main road, and it’s even worse if you know your main character wouldn’t do what you are writing them to do.
Example? As I was drafting my latest novel, The Sexual Misadventures of Alicia Williams, Alpha Female, I thought it would be fun for Alicia and her love interest, Mitch, to go skydiving. Mitch would surprise Alicia with this exciting date, which she knew nothing about. I was writing the scene of them driving to the airfield, and I stopped dead. Based on what had already been established about Alicia, I realized there was no way she would ever get on that plane to jump out of it.
While this would lead to conflict between the two characters, it wasn’t the right place in the story for that to happen, so I dropped the whole sequence. Sometimes, you must take that detour to see if you’re potentially driving your story off a cliff. I definitely would have.
Final Thoughts
Writing a story is often about trial and error. Hundreds of ideas will pass through your imagination and onto the page as you write. Some will work, and some won’t. And that’s okay. The important thing is to get the ideas down on paper and cut out the irrelevant, pointless, and not-so-great ideas during the editing process.
You know your story better than anyone. As you read through your manuscript, you’ll sense where things work, where they lag, and where improvements or cuts need to be made. The key is to do what’s best for the story and its characters, make sure every moment counts, and move the story’s arc and the main character’s arc forward.
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next time!
No comments have been added yet.
