Excellent post on the top five mistakes you can make in your plot. I recommend reading the full article but here's the short list:1. Being too nice.
2. Beginning and ending aren't the same story.
3. Failing to connect the dots and complete a character arch.
4. Inappropriate for the audience.
5. Making your plot predictable.
At a guess, 5, 3, and 2 are my top worst problems. I'm aware of them, but I still trip up sometimes. What about you?
Where does your plot falter on the early drafts?
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#3 and #5 are probably my downfalls...character arcs because I don't plan them well enough, and I always feel like my "twists" are predictable. That might be just me though - I've been told by beta's that they don't see 'em coming, so could just be my own neuroses telling me that...
ReplyDeleteI definitely employ mistake #3, all the time, but I have started plot mapping and this is helping, big-time.
ReplyDeleteI've been guilty of #2, but knowing that, I've gotten better about envisioning my ending before I begin so I know where I'm headed.
ReplyDelete#1 and #5 for me. Probably connected...
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