When you read the backstories of prominent fiction writers today, you realize that a good number of them share the same reasons or factors that drove them to fiction writing; you might even recognize these factors yourself:
- Wonder and Dreams
- The need for an Escape.
- The flair for writing.
- Nagging story ideas.
- To Voice concepts or thoughts.
In the first few years of writing, our enthralling and often whimsical journey starts without the meticulous prudence of a plotter, or the eagle-eye of a seasoned writer. For some of us, storytelling began in middle school or high school, and even much earlier. For the bunch of us that persevered (those of us that were passionate), we were able to learn and grow from consistent reading and the criticism of others.
While we continue to hold the verity of dutiful improvement as storytellers, most of us do suffer Imposter’s Syndrome to varying degrees. It is an endemic that lasts throughout the earlier years of the writer’s career, even for the most renowned writers. There’s always that clicking that makes you wonder if your writing is up to par, and how others might receive it.
In truth, surviving the writing career will require you to walk by faith in your lowest lows. A writer is one who writes, and a fundamental reason for writing is that writing eventually becomes you. Writing is a progressive journey of improvement and learning; To suppress the angst of imposter’s syndrome, you would have to keep learning, keep practicing, and keep the faith.
At the start of your career, you will begin to notice some recurrent problems in your writing; little habits you will be oblivious to. Sometimes, a few writing habits are primordial indications of your writing style, the rest are just limitations that must be clipped.
There are 5 major Storytelling Pitfalls to look out for as it relates to Fiction. For the fun of it, I’ve coined names for three of them:
- Forever feeling
- Tunnel weaving
- Always Li-Lying
- Info-dumping
- Head hopping
1. FOREVER FEELING:
You know when you’re trying to express a sensation in a character’s body, and you can’t find the perfect sequence of words that is both immersive and revealing? So, what do you do? Sometimes, you might fall into the trap of choosing the easiest way out – feel, felt, feeling.
The problem is not about any of these words but instead what they do to your reader, especially if you keep repeating them throughout your book:
First Issue:
It retracts from the reader’s experience: your reader experiences less and you miss the opportunity for wordsmithing. Constantly using these words in writing is a typical example of telling instead of showing; a fiction writing rule you must never break.
Second Issue:
It limits your creativity as a writer. There’s always a better metaphorical way to describe action and emotions. In fact, the more analogous your metaphor, the more vivid the imagery. Constantly striving to be creative with your expressions merits your ability as a storyteller. Yes, less is more, but sometimes more is better.
Solution:
At all points, whenever you’re nudged to use “feel”, “feeling”, or “felt”, rather than indulge in lazy writing, put your word-smithing skill to use. Don’t be a spoiler by telling your readers just how your character feels. Give them details and actions that let them experience it for themselves.
Your readers know that a darkened expression and clenched fist portray rage. They also know that shivering portrays cold or fear. You don’t need to tell them that “Mary felt cold.”
To illustrate, “Mary felt nervous” could be:
“Mary swallowed hard.” Or “Mary trembled.”
2. TUNNEL VISION:
This is a fun name for something that usually happens to first-time fiction writers. They often forget to distinguish the beginning and end of scenes. The result is a story that warps the reader through countless dimensions until the next chapter.
The writer may start without defining where the scene unfolds or without sharing important details to give the reader an orientation of what’s going on, and who the important characters are. This especially happens when the writer uses the third-person unlimited PoV.
Solution?
If you’re using Third Person Unlimited PoV, the safest approach is to Define the scene at the start of the chapter. A writing maxim says: “Enter the scene late, leave early.”
The beginning of your scene should answer the questions: Where are we? Who are the characters in this scene? What are they doing? Are all Characters present?
Your scene beginnings are transitions. So, you should use your first sentences to establish pertinent details in the story such as:
- Where is the scene taking place? For the location of the scene, you could either start with the name of the place. For a scene in a house, you could state whose house it is. Sensory details also work well to establish where the scene is taking place: use sight, sound, and smell to paint a vivid scene.
- When is the scene taking place? How much time has passed between the last scene and the present scene? Maybe, no time at all. But when there has been a passage of time, try not to leave your readers years or days behind from the present reality. Telling them the amount of time that has passed makes it easier for them to understand the changes that may have occurred in your story.
To combat tunnel vision, end the previous scene with a cliffhanger. If connected, your next scene should build on the premise already laid by the last scene, using the first sentences to help your readers follow the progression of the story.
3. ALWAYS LY-LYING:
You know the words I’m talking about. All the adverbial ‘ly’ words you choose to hoard and not banish, especially in fiction writing. One might use these words hoping they would add to the imagery of their writing. But in truth, these words sap any vivid collection your reader can manage.
Here is an example of a Ly-assault:
He ran vigorously down the street and ducked into an alleyway. Fearfully and stealthily, he went up to the shop’s backdoor.
He dashed down the street and ducked into an alleyway. With an eye over his shoulder, he crept up to the backdoor.
Did you see it? A sliver of an image that flashed when you read the second sentence; that is what your words can do to your readers when you avoid the shortcut called adverbs.
Like the ‘feel’ sisters, ‘ly’ words only mean opportunities lost. There are always better substitutes that add to imagery and sustain the reading pace. Some Ly words read awkwardly and have the ability to make your reader pause; not the epiphanic kind of pause either, the worst kind: irritation or boredom.
Another downside of using ‘ly’ words is that they take on the same position as filler words. This also happens when you’re speaking, and you use sounds like “uh, uhm…” Ly-words have the same effect sometimes. For instance, the sentence: “She danced happily” or “He sobbed sadly”. Except you’re describing an unusual situation, a person who dances should be happy, and a person sobbing is definitely sad. Well, unless they’re the Joker.
Solution:
Replace ‘ly’ words with vivid verbs. ‘Ly’ words strip your readers of mental engagement. Also, using ‘ly’ words in dialogue could be jarring for your readers. As much as possible, substitute these adverbs for dialogue beats. Again, unless it adds clarity to context, eliminate redundant adverbs when writing.
4. INFO DUMPING
This is probably the most common pitfall for new writers. Have you ever been trying to get invested in a scene, only to have the writer distract you with the origin story of a character that just appeared in the scene?
That is info dumping, and it is the bane of storytelling. It is the best way to snipe a reader’s momentum and disconnect them from whatever psychological, emotional or dramatic experience you were building.
Information is important in storytelling. But a good storyteller knows that it is better to infuse details over the course of a story, than to dump it in one go.
Info dumping could take on different forms. It could be in the form of exposition such as providing too much information on character backstory, and lengthy explanations of character choices.
It could also be in the form of dialogue. You can tell when a dialogue is unnecessarily lengthy and mainly for the purpose of communicating information. This kind of dialogue tends to lack the natural flow that a dialogue should have.
Another way to info dump is trying to reveal information with too many flashbacks and dreams. Flashbacks are best used sparingly. An incessant use of it could tire out your reader and stall the narrative.
You wouldn’t want someone to tell you what happens in the last episode of your favorite series would you? That’s what info dumping does to your readers. It takes away the thrill and suspense from your story. It keeps your readers detached from the emotions in your story.
Solution:
You’ll need to trust your readers a little more. Only add fragments of backstory as an ACTIVE part of the scene, even in dialogue. To promote an immersive reading experience, your reader should not be able to perceive info dumps. Information should occur naturally in the story.
5. HEAD HOPPING:
Head hopping is a common term for when a writer hops from the point of view of one character to the other within the same scene. Think of it like you’re moving from the mind of one character to the next, all within a single scene.
Here’s an example of what head hopping looks like:
“Akpan lost thought. Her full gaze was right in his direction! Their eyes touched! Just for a bit, but he saw her hesitate when their eyes met. She then waved to Edima, before turning back to her friends. She had to pretend like she hadn’t noticed him; and that she wasn’t smitten by his good looks. She would keep up her act for a while. “Let’s keep lover boy chasing a little longer”, she thought.
She was heading towards his direction. “Act cool,” Akpan said to himself. He adjusted his collars and put both hands in his pockets, he made sure to pay attention to the sculpture in front of him.
“Don’t look at him,” Pamela cautioned herself as she strolled past him in the most uninterested way she could. Akpan let out a smirk. The old ‘hard to get’ trick. Well, two can play at that game.”
You must have found it difficult to catch your breath reading that. This minute we’re in Akpan’s head, the next minute we’re in Pamela’s; and the very next, we’re left wondering whose head we’re currently in. That’s exactly what head hopping does to your readers! It takes them round on a ‘not so pleasant’ ride, and eventually leaves them hanging.
As much as possible you should avoid head hopping because it could be jarring for your readers. It often tends to leave your readers confused. Your story could also lose its emotional essence and suspense when you head hop.
Solution:
- Choose a point of view for a particular scene and stick to them. If you must switch point of views, it should be at the beginning of a different scene and/or with a different character.
- Indicate a clear switch in point of views by using an in-chapter or in-scene separator (formatting). You can do this when there is something important that can only be revealed from another person’s point of view. Once you switch, stick with that point of view till the end of the scene. It also helps to indicate which character’s perspective we are reading at the start of that PoV.
Some of these pitfalls are inevitable at the start of your fiction writing journey, but they are all part of the learning endeavor. As you learn to spot these errors and address them, your writing will improve immensely!
If you found this article helpful, you might want to read my other articles here. I recommend:
- How to Create an Outstanding Character
- How to Start the First Chapter
- What Great Novels Have in Common
My name is Racheal Asikpo. I can take the creative weight of completing your stories. I can also give you 70% distance from the writing and research. I offer ghostwriting, developmental editing and copyediting services. How about you allow a fresh pair of eyes give you a fresh breath of air?
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