As an editor, I find myself spotting a few of the same big-picture issues over and over. So, a quick thread!
— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
Top 3 big-picture problems I see most often:
1. Lack of agency
2. Impersonal stakes
3. No character arc
4. (Bonus!) For romance: no conflict— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
Agency= a protagonist's (or any character's) ability to act on the plot more than the plot acts on them.
— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
Lack of agency results in plot-driven stories, where the characters are constantly just reacting to events & other's people decisions.
— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
On impersonal stakes: these are stakes that either *seem* to matter but don't really, or stakes that matter but not to the MC personally.
— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
Superhero stories often have impersonal stakes. "I must save the city!" Okay. Why does "the city" matter more to you than anyone else?
— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
To make impersonal stakes personal, layer them into the character's backstory and/or motivation.
— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
Character arcs are arguably one of the best ways to take a story from "a nice read" to "THIS STORY MADE ME CRY/HAPPY-SIGH/HULK SMASH."
— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
Character arcs are the process by which your plot challenges your characters & forces them to change & grow, for better or worse.
— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
For positive arcs, the character starts with some internal problem or flawed world-view. They acknowledge it, try to overcome, & finally do.
— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
Negative arcs (usually villains, or sometimes in literary fiction) are reverse: they eventually give in to or are seduced by their flaw.
— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
Lastly, romances! I see MANY where there's no actual conflict, nothing (or only a superficial thing) keeping the couple from being together.
— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
A really strong, organic way to develop romantic conflict is to give your lovers opposing goals.
— Naomi Hughes (@NaomiLHughes) April 8, 2017
