First time writing, many authors place so much emphasis on being able to write the very best 'prose', that they often forget to tell a good story. The typical reader is more likely to read an ordinarily worded page-turner, than a perfectly composed story that lacks substance. Here are 4 ways that writers often fail when writing their first books.
1. The well-known 'try-hard' effect. Just as we remember from the school yard, there was always the person who was trying too hard to be accepted, or too hard to be liked, that they ended up being the opposite. Its the same for writing. People try too damn hard to get it right and it finishes up sounding forced and strained.
2. Dangling the carrot. Among the first things you learn when writing is that you want to keep your readers hooked. Unfortunately, some people can take this too far and wind up alienating their readers by withholding too much information. Readers read for pleasure. If they wanted a mind-bender they would buy the cryptic crossword! It's fine to leave a little unknown, but don't withhold so much information that it becomes an effort to follow the story.
3. Jumping from scene to scene. It is essential in order to get your plot structure straight before writing your final draft as things need to flow in a systematic order. Sometimes, when caught up in writing, it is easy to forget other factors that are going on in the story, and get write scene after scene which sometimes don't link or make good sense.
4. Overdoing the first chapter. Starting authors are trying so hard to get attention that they throw all their techniques away in the first chapter. The first chapter often contains their best prose, introduces their best characters, mentions the best hooks, inserts the best humor, and describes the best settings. It sets the other chapters in the book up for fail. Learn to pace these things out, and place your best bits periodically throughout the novel to hold the reader's enthusiasm.
1. The well-known 'try-hard' effect. Just as we remember from the school yard, there was always the person who was trying too hard to be accepted, or too hard to be liked, that they ended up being the opposite. Its the same for writing. People try too damn hard to get it right and it finishes up sounding forced and strained.
2. Dangling the carrot. Among the first things you learn when writing is that you want to keep your readers hooked. Unfortunately, some people can take this too far and wind up alienating their readers by withholding too much information. Readers read for pleasure. If they wanted a mind-bender they would buy the cryptic crossword! It's fine to leave a little unknown, but don't withhold so much information that it becomes an effort to follow the story.
3. Jumping from scene to scene. It is essential in order to get your plot structure straight before writing your final draft as things need to flow in a systematic order. Sometimes, when caught up in writing, it is easy to forget other factors that are going on in the story, and get write scene after scene which sometimes don't link or make good sense.
4. Overdoing the first chapter. Starting authors are trying so hard to get attention that they throw all their techniques away in the first chapter. The first chapter often contains their best prose, introduces their best characters, mentions the best hooks, inserts the best humor, and describes the best settings. It sets the other chapters in the book up for fail. Learn to pace these things out, and place your best bits periodically throughout the novel to hold the reader's enthusiasm.
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