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Writing mistakes and how to fix 'em

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I found this article and I loved the advice:

http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-5-biggest-fiction-writing-mistakes-how-to-fix-them

Spoiler Alert!

1. Happy people in a happy land (no tension)
2. A world where the characters have no worry (no tension, again)
3 Marshmallow dialog (Dialog and conversation isn't the same thing. Conversation can get boring, meandering, and have no point; dialog shouldn't be any of that)
4. Predictability (Surprise your reader in every scene. They are there to be entertained)
5. Lost love (You're darn sick of a long project and it shows in your writing)

I fight Marshmallow dialog. Every exchange I write probably has ten drafts.

Also, I've dealt with the Lost Love thing on a couple of novels I wrote. The only fix I've ever found for that was putting it down for an extended period of time.

This article helped me; I hope it helps you too!
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You can tell this guy writes thrillers.

"Threat of death" hanging over every scene? Maybe in some genres, but I don't think that is universal. And expanding the definition of "death" the way he does is stretching. In a thriller, you need this for sure. I'm just not sure you need this in, say, an erotic romance. Will they or won't they is not "threat of death" in any sense, IMHO.

Something unexpected in every scene? Not sure that's realistic. And sometimes predictibility has its place in moving things along. Again, a must in a thriller but I'm not sure it's as universal as he says.

The stuff on marshmallow dialogue and lost love is bang on, though. I wrestle with both.
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Quote by seeker4
You can tell this guy writes thrillers.

"Threat of death" hanging over every scene? Maybe in some genres, but I don't think that is universal. And expanding the definition of "death" the way he does is stretching. In a thriller, you need this for sure. I'm just not sure you need this in, say, an erotic romance. Will they or won't they is not "threat of death" in any sense, IMHO.

Something unexpected in every scene? Not sure that's realistic. And sometimes predictibility has its place in moving things along. Again, a must in a thriller but I'm not sure it's as universal as he says.

The stuff on marshmallow dialogue and lost love is bang on, though. I wrestle with both.




I think "threat of death" is an overstatement. I think the author is trying to make the point that you need to have tension throughout the story.

So, for example... the first Fifty Shades of Gray book is better than the other two because of tension. Will she/won't she works there. In books two and three she took away that tension and tried to fill it with contrived plots (ambushed helicopters, crazy ex-submissives, a truly perplexing ex-lover) and it just didn't work for me. The tension had been released and we weren't getting it back.

I think I would replace "something unexpected" with "something interesting". Then I could agree with the statement for writing in general.