15 Things To AVOID When Writing Fantasy | WritingCraft
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- čas přidán 10. 06. 2024
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Here are 15 things you need to AVOID when writing your fantasy book or series! I'm also going to give some practical ways to work around these common writing mistakes. Let me know if you want to see more writing advice videos like this one!
0:00 15 Things To Avoid
0:54 - Sponsor
2:59 - Don’t Plan EVERYTHING
4:16 - A Slow Beginning
6:06 - Info Dump
7:23 - Cut it
8:23 - Too Many Characters
9:30 - Multiple Voice Styles
10:26 - Limitless Magic
11:28 - Giving Everything Away
12:17 - Common Tropes
13:31 - Excessive Fantasy Jargon
14:20 - Perfect Characters
15:13 - Action over plot
15:45 - Avoid Miracles
16:40 - Dialogue
17:43 - Pacing
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tip 16: write what YOU actually find interesting. Otherwise you’ll burn out after a few pages. Don’t listen to people who don’t like your ideas, just write them for yourself :))
YES! I 100% agree with this
This both is and is not true.
So on the one hand, yes, it's good to find a actual interest in what you're writing. It helps to spur you forward and keep focused.
On the other hand, placing too much emphasis on interest can also be bad advice for some. There are times where interests change and in any long writing project, you are likely to have times where you have absolutely no interest in it whatsoever. It is important to plug away at it regardless and some writers will be very quick to point out the difference between what they WANT to write and what actually makes them money.
Not if you want to be a professional writer.
@@sebastiansilverfox6912 On one hand, writers wouldn't give out a story that they don't like themselves and when you have to force yourself to write a story it could hardly be interesting for others. But on the other hand, you must not get lost in your ecstasy because it's like a m*******tion that would also make the story boring for others.
@@KKristof100 This sounds right on the surface but the reality is that there are writers who hate the grind and WANT to write something else, but have to write what pays the bills because that's what people find interesting and what they are actually good at writing. Skill is not always tied to emotion, even in something like writing. Certainly it can boost things or slow things down but dedication and skill are of far greater value than how one feels and most writers, particularly of long works, who are completely honest with themselves know this to be true.
Regarding point 4, cutting side plots: An alternative is to connect the side plot to the main plot. Maybe your antagonist is a wizard who can look through animal eyes, and is using the pigeon to spy on the protagonist, the old lady's neighbor.
Agree, sidequesty stuff that later becomes imported is awesome! Yeah, a scene that does not serve at least one purpose needs to go, but this can serve several purposes! Showing of the nature of the character, planting another for possible later use and well, a hidden checkovs gun or establishing of a principle apart from its importents so the plot twist is set up, but not obvious.
You could also use a misfit as the seed for your next novel.
That’s why I love the stormlight interludes. At least in the earlier books they would follow random people on random adventures but the stuff in the interludes always comes back in some way.
It is also a way to put in red herrings, I guess. Sometimes old lady is just an old lady, but if there are hints of importance, you can put it in, even if it is just a side plot with no value to main plot at all.
I wonder if the protagonist will pull a funny prank, like messing with that wizard's house. Maybe with a very strong flashlight.
Here's a secret tip: save side-quests for a short-story book! A book of different characters the people might be familiar with by then, making little story adventures of their own!
That's a good tip. I'm always happy to find out, after finishing a book, that there exists a collection of small sidestorys of the characters. A bit like Fanfictions. But from the author.
Or a good writing prompt to share with others so people can make fanfictions or story ideas of their own, which can also be very immersive and fun to give a join in to others who likes writing.
Hi, I’m from 2050. Readers’ attention span has shortened so much, stories no longer start with the inciting incident, but with the midpoint plot-twist.
Dear God
Paragraph too long, I skip. From 2149.
The first writer I ever read writing about rules concerning how to write a successful story wrote: don't ever create a character who has lost his/her memory. I've seen that rule broken and be successful over and over again. Be weary of rules. Even the basic rules concerning punctuation and Grammer can be broken in fiction. Though there are a lot of common sense rules.
My current project involves a protagonist with no memory 😅
I seem to remember that the 9 Princes of Amber were quite popular despite this.
I think something like this comes down to how it's done. If it's done sloppily, as a way to avoid fleshing out a character or just make them mysterious without putting in effort, or hide their real identity from the reader, that can come off as boring / low effort. But if the memory loss is an actual integral part of what's going on, I think it can be used to great effect.
@@BlackCatOnline- same bud. There’s is no box. No rules
Take what you learn as guidelines … maybe
Rules in this context are guidelines to keep you from tripping over your own feet. They're not laws to be abided at all costs. The more experienced and confident you are, the less you need them. If you're inexperienced yet someone who likes walking off the treaded path, I'd recommend to pick exactly one rule to break, and explore where that leads. But remember to tread carefully and watch out for corpses of your predecessors, because you're entering wilderness.
A tip for cutting side plots is to put them in a separate doc for later ideas!
Good tip! I've done this before and ended up coming up with an idea for an entire new book based off the one side plot 😂
I've actually done that. Though I write historical novels, based around actual events, sometimes a plot thread takes away too much from the main storyline. However, sometimes there's enough there to make a separate story altogether. 😊
Yes, I call mine "purgatory." It can be bonus/promotional material. It can be that thing in the fridge that you'll feel less bad about tossing once it's really gone off. It might be the kernel of something you're not ready to write yet. Separating it from your current project is NOT the same as throwing it away.
I take advice regarding plotting or outlining with a pinch of salt. Everyone has their own methods, I never write more than one draft (I know, I just uttered blasphemy) I keep editing the same one again and again. If I make multiple drafts it just takes all the excitment away from the writing process. To each their own.
Steven Erikson who wrote Malazan does something similar! He goes back and edits what he wrote the day before before he continues the story, it helps him get back into the flow of the narrative. So that works!
Every writers psychology can work differently
The problem with advice on how not to write a fantasy novel is that there will be a successful novel that has broken them. The Dragonbone Chair is extremely slow at the beginning. Fellowship of the Ring is too along with info dump on history of Hobbits-and endless bloody singing. The worst offense for me is the justification for 800 to 1000 page "epics" because, you know, world building.
@@chandlerholloway3900 I can't thank you enough for telling me an actual legendary author does the same thing I do. I also edit the thing I wrote the day before. Now I can stop doubting my process whenever talefoundry says, "You need to write multiple drafts, it's a must!"
@@spilchsaysstuff1427 true. You can ignore the rules and still produce a masterpiece but not everyone can bend the rules, so it's nice for starting authors to have some general rules for their writing. However, if they can repeatedly produce good works that go against some principle, they should ignore it.
It's extra work at the front end or the back end. Both ways are valid.
I love hearing writers talk about their craft, it's always so interesting like peeking behind the curtain. Looking forward to getting more videos around writing
Actually, do include some standard fantasy tropes. People read fantasy because they like other fantasy books, give people more of what they like without giving them more of the same thing. At this point the basic fantasy tropes have been subverted so often that they are actually even more cliched than the originals. I read roughly two fantasy novels A DAY, Kindle Unlimited self published books, Best sellers, and Royal Road. You almost NEVER see the tropes that made the genre popular to begin with anymore.
This is actually a part of why I think The Lord of The Rings is still highly regarded today (and why I love it so much). In a world where every trope it invented or codified has been subverted, averted, inverted, and deconstructed to the point where the subversion/deconstruction has become a trope in its own right, reading something that shamelessly and proudly uses these old tropes (and a lot of them were simply reused from fairy tales and myths, so they are very old) with more artistic integrity and intentionally than most subversions and deconstructions, it makes for a refreshingly straightforward, awe-inspiring, and, frankly, fun read.
Imo like Sousou no Frieren having demons be pure evil is pretty cool
Deus ex machina: that's where planning really helps. Because if you need a certain outcome, you can create another plotline that leads up to it. Additional characters, even if they aren't that powerful/resourceful, can really turn around a situation. However, if they pop out of nowhere at just the right moment, that can be a very dissatisfying experience, even if it makes complete sense.
I'm writing my 9th book. Detailed plotting is good but it need not limit invention. What it does is tell you what you need to invent when you get there. One can always back up and insert foreshadowing and other plot or character elements on the next draft. Ideas pop up while the writer is in motion so don't worry about getting everything spot on while riding the plot rail.
I’m not a writer but I enjoy fantasy books with long detailed descriptions, archaic words, and flowery writing. Writers like Mervyn Peake feels more fantasy to me. Also dialogue that reads like modern California teenagers talking in a medieval fantasy world is something that can pull a reader out of the story too.
As a failed writer, one of the things I've learned in writing stories with an overpowered protagonist is that fighting isn't just the way to put the MC in a dangerous situation in order to build tension.
Time and time again I see are writers falling into the dragon ball power/enemy trope.
You can easily use drama or having the MC make moral choices. But it has to be believable, like both choices have its pros and cons. And you can't just make it appear out of the blue. Slowly build it by planting seeds along the way. And when the time is right, execute it. But never sound preachy at the final event. In fact, the less dialogue and the narrator explaining, the better.
And then have the overpowered MC live through the pros and cons of his/her decision.
And boom, you got another plot to build on.
Good one! Rule 10 Excessive fantasy jargon. I would like to read a fantasy story where place names like cities or geographical areas have simple names such as Starfruit River or the capital city Banger or The Short Grass Plains or Danby Four Corners. Makes it easier to follow.
I think about this often with real world locations. The most fantasy sounding area I can think of is Death Valley, the Dead Sea, Salt Lake, or Great Basin, otherwise geographical names seem fairly plain and ordinary unlike a lot of fantasy which uses names like "the Woods of Mystery, the Dragon Peaks of Korgath, or the Swamps of Sadness" or something.
@@Waxer3929 The Cliffs of Insanity!
Right? If I have to read another fantasy with multiple locations all named something like Eylyiandrye city, Adlerfuhaise-ville, kingdom of Alencyionius etcetera I will scream! 😭 Manhwa are super guilty of this!
Just pick a random word that's somewhat relevant to the location and slap the term for it to it, example : Moon + town, Moontown. If you want to be fancy translate it to a different language that ties into the geographic placement of your location, For example a medival central european setting, so german: Mondstadt. Consider the time period and adjust terms based on that and voilla : Mondstädt! I think there's a city in Genshin called that which is why it came to mind but yeah anything but keysmash names!
@@acanimatics906 Yngvlaglsined and Ddaaffllyydd (pronounced "Bob") made the long trek to Supercalifragilisticexpialadocioustown in search of the fell Unglynmyxl beast. As Yngvlaglsined read from the book of the mad god Vsylwyx, they learned that they would have to pass through the dread forest of Thgdairq and the mad caverns of Nxwallkkykk. Yngvlaglsined looked up from the pages of the book and said to Ddaffllyydd, "Fuck it, let's just go to Bargeport and have a nice Vinusian wine." Ddaaffllyydd nodded and added, "While we're at it, why don't we apply to change our legal names. My hand is cramping up, and I've only signed one document so far."
I'd say in most cases, a heavy use of fantasy jargon only works if there is actual pattern structure to it, and the reader is able to learn the patterns and know what to expect. JRR Tolkien did this marvelously with his books of Middle Earth. They are actually filled to the brim with jargon, but there is concise structure to everything that exists. Words have true meanings, and combination words are logical when you understand at least one subsegment. If you know what "minas" means, you immediately get a referential idea of every city/location that has "Minas" in it. His structure enables the reader to get a basic idea of the jargon without having to know everything about every place and item and character. As long as you get familiarized with a subset of commonly used phrases, you can get a feeling for almost everything without understanding 90% of the jargon that is used.
Where most writers fail, is when they lack this structure their jargon is based on, and instead just comes up with things as they go -without considering all the things the reader would have to understand to read between the lines. It's common especially in world building to work like this: "who lives in a place? where did they come from? What was it called before? Blend this into the city's name. Now over time words change meaning or evolve, how would that city name change?" etc. And while there is reason for this very complex approach, it also often ends up leaving the reader hanging with no threads to go by. They would have to basically understand everything about multiple groups of people, their combined history, their languages, and then a spice of writer's own style on top. That is simply too much to grasp, even if the substructure is there.
If we take a real world example, say "New York". As long as you understand the English language, you can already decipher some things. It's a new place, meaning an older counterpart/origin must have existed, likely somewhere else. This could hint at a form of migration. You don't know what York means, but you still get the core essence of what the city's overarching lore is, at its most basic foundation. You know something about its people, they likely came to that land and may have ties elsewhere, potentially far away even. All of this, just by understanding the commonly used word "new". "Minas" is similar. It's a reoccurring word that you can use to describe multiple places in a simple yet meaningful manner, to understand the basics of what you're dealing with.
"Make the first chapter as intriguing as possible."
Me whose book's first few pages are about a character waking up and getting ready for the day 😑
Do that, and make it interesting. Someone waking up and getting ready for a regular day can be interesting.
A lot of it is kinda subjective, though. "Avoiding long description of the world etc." - not every reader is alike. A lot of them like these sorts of things because they do like getting a really precise idea of the world and its content. You may also not be the next Tolkien, but it's possible to make long descriptions and worldbuilding interesting and nice to read with a good enough way of writing it with beautiful language.
Yeah sure if your only goal is "maximizing my chance of retention for a commercially successful novel" then I guess you will keep this in mind all throughout - but having some of it in good proportion can still be a good addition to your story.
Agreed. In one of my stories i have the characters searching for something in a giant multi-species necropolis.
I mean giant, as it's a mile long and wide graveyard and many many of the tombstones are huge- some like small houses or buildings.
Describing the architecture of several was great fun and I found it entertaining rereading it years later.
I did keep the descriptions within single, not overlong paragraphs. 3 or 4 intricately eerie sentences that held more mystery than exposition.
The book beginning that I've read that is probably my favorite, ever, remains the opening of 'The Hobbit'. Tolkien 'info dumped' about hobbits, what/who they are, their habits, their homes, a bit of their history (and touching on the history of others like dwarves), and of course about Bilbo and his history, including parentage.
But because of the right amount of detail, and especially the very conversational tone of the 'narrator', it worked wonderfully. It felt like someone was speaking to me, explaining something they found interesting to me, like a friend would. It made me interested in not just continuing the story during my first read through, but has made 'The Hobbit' my number 1 re-read book, ever. I've read 'The Hobbit' at least a dozen times, probably more.
Not gonna lie, the fact that I'm avoiding most of these out the gate, without being aware that they are common mistakes, makes me kinda happy, lol. And I'm still in the process of writing chapter one of my very first original story. Kinda. XD
I had a weird teen phase, but the only thing that came from it was a graveyard of characters I had fun imagining, once upon a time.
I digress, lol. This video was very reassuring for me as an aspiring novelist. And it never hurts to have what you're doing right reinforced. I'm glad I watched it and I'll definitely take to heart what I've heard.
Tropes: (opinion warning) one thing that particularly annoys me both in fantasy and sci-fi is turning human traits into races, species or cultures. And particularly the haughty-common-barbarian trinity (e.g. elves/humans/dwarves or Vulcans/humans/Klingons or vampires/humans/werewolves). This takes away so much. Real societies are much more diverse, and can also differ from yours in completely different ways than just some personality trait. There are better ways to build expectations than painting faces green as well.
i kind of don't get what you mean. And I am trying to understand for my short stories
@@jeremiahhecita1027 don't make a planet of hats.
That is, don't boil down an entire nonhuman society to just one trait. Don't make all orcs slobbering meatheads who murder.
And that's... half correct. Because you can take a trope of a culture and do a deep dive. There's nothing wrong with a big race known for their physical strength to have a basis in war or martial power, if you're willing to explore the depths of it.
@jeremiahhecita1027 I think they are saying humans=boring when designing unique races and cultures which I don't personally agree with.
@@jeremiahhecita1027 Trying to say that when there are multiple speices in a fiction, their members often resemble like-minded clubs rather than individuals with possible variations. A notorious example: the classy elves and stubborn dwarves. These species should be able to form diverse communities like humans do, not act like they all share the same mindset.
Subverting tropes is fun though.
Protagonist: "Wow! Does this mean I'm the Chosen One?"
Athena: "No. You're just the best I could find on such short notice."
As someone who is on the beginning of their writing journal, I really appreciate your channel and this video. I'd love to see more creative writing content here and also some vlogs about your own writing.
On point 2 (info dumping), it's good to tie in important aspects of the world with the story. If everyone has magic, and your world has like a mage cast system based on their magical prowess - have that be an important part of the plot. When the characters interact with a thing in the story, and that thing changes them or informs their actions, the reader will find it more interesting. That's what I've found, anyway. Great video dude!
I think a slow start is still not horrible if it develops the characters and flashes out their perspectives on what the plot will be. In my story the plot starts with a mystery that the protagonists are trying to uncover. But while the mystery is still slow to build up, and the story is picking up pace, the character work and setting up stuff for later payoffs will help keep the readers in my opinion.
A mystery to solve isn't a slow start. It's maybe not the grand disaster or worldending event. But that's not the point.
I think what it is refering to would be you character enjoying his everyday live while nothing important happens. Only to show that he is an aprentice smith... which also will not be important.
I love how this is less things to avoid and more a list of different strategies and when they're appropriate. It's wonderful and thoughtful and also the old lady and the pigeon sounds very Victor Hugo 😆😆😆
One piece of writing advice that I disagree with: many of these types of channels have recommended that I read up on all the current books in the genre I am going to write. But then we wonder why there are so few original ideas and why so many stories seem to resemble each other. Because they are either deliberately or subconsciously influencing each other. As I am halfway into my novel, I am deliberately avoiding all the recent books of my genre. I am reading history books or things outside of my genre for reading pleasure, because I do not wish to be influenced by current trends or plot devices. I’m writing the story I wish someone had already written that I could read. I hope it turns out well, I can’t say for certain this is the best approach, but if nothing else my story will not feel the same as someone else’s book. 😁
9:30 - Multiple Voice Styles - Voice is different than P.O.V. (Point of View) Voice is the style and word choice of the author for narration and characters. P.O.V. is the perspective the story is told from (1st person, 3rd person, etc.) You actually should want to use multiple voice styles, so that each character can sound unique, as opposed to the amateur writer's tendency to make every character sound the same, like you, the author. When you do that, even if you properly attribute each line of dialogue, it still might make the reader unable to tell your characters apart. Also, Switching P.O.V. can be done, but it's difficult and not recommended for beginners.
The Broken Earth Trilogy is a great example of a work that uses different P.O.V.s to great effect (and the switch between second- and third-person, yes, second-person narration, provides a lot of foreshadowing for the ending), but also keep in mind that N.K. Jemisin is one of the greatest writers alive and trying to live up to her work is a very tall order.
More writing advice please!! I’m writing my first novel and will take any advice I can get!
When I wrote my first novel, which I released early this year, one of the major things I changed on the final draft was the structure of the prologue. The prologue of Falhorne: The World is Burning is a battle scene but my first few drafts included a bunch of smaller pre-battle scenes setting up the world and the characters before the action really got started. If I'd kept those scenes, the prologue would have been long and extremely clunky. Fortunately my beta-readers were really on the ball and I ended up changing things so the battle gets going right on the first page with the world-building unfolding alongside the plot action as the protagonist fights for his life.
Point 9: The Princess Bride, or, "How many tropes can I squeeze into a single story?"
Have you read the book? It’s a satire, it’s literally doing that on purpose for satirical reasons.
I'm not a writer, but based on your advice, I'm rather looking forward to reading the fantasy novel you're writing!
The other thing about dropping worldbuilding info in naturally at a later point is that it can actually function as a plot twist, or at very least an intriguing recontextualisation of the plot so far. This works especially well if you've got a fish out of water protagonist who is discovering the world alongside the reader, but it can work with an unreliable narrator device too.
15: Every artist can tell you that until you sit down and start working on your project, you have *no idea* what you are going to do. All of a sudden you'll start having flashes of "Ah, that would be cool!" or "Oh! If I do this it will pay off so well later!" Planning is good, but getting your hands dirty is better.
Good tips! I fell squarely into over-planning when starting my current project 14 years ago. I plotted things out to the minute, and while I did use it pretty faithfully in my first draft, none of it matters now that the story has evolved.
Very good stuff! One point I had to add was that while you don’t want a long, unnecessary side quest that doesn’t add anything, I think it can be very effective to put in small details and yes, on occasion even small tangents, that don’t really have any cause or effect on the central journey. What I’m saying is that not everything has to be tied directly to the main conflict of the plot. It’s okay for things to just happen, because that’s the way it works in real life.
Hi, I follow your channel and I am also writing a fantasy book in my spare time. I have bought some self-editing books on Amazon that have some great ideas for mistakes writers should avoid.
Watching your video, in particular the deux ex machina part made me think I should change a sequence in my book where the main character is saved by another one almost miracolously. I am intending to add a much darker twist to it that actually fits much better with the plot. Thank you for pointing out the obvious to me. It helped already.
Also, I think you should definitely make more of these videos :)
Thank you for mentioning Assasins Apprentice and using book two original cover art! So many people are missing out on the story of Fitz and the Farseers!
I think these pieces of advice are overall good guidelines.
As someone who is also naturally a planner, I still try to leave room for characters to drive the story: if while writing their interactions and development it feels more natural that they would behave in a certain way once reaching decision point X, I go along with that and adjust the story to still follow the main plot outline, rather than forcing them to act according to the original plan.
And having an engaging first chapter in which stuff happens and questions are raised tends to work better, the slower set up can come later - so long as it is not an exposition dump to show straight away the effort that went into world-building.
When it comes to dialogues, I took the habit to read them aloud to get a feeling whether they sound like something a real person would say. I think a writer can get away with a specific character talking more "like a book" if there are solid story and personality reasons, but it should be an exception and definitely not one of the main characters with the most lines of dialogue.
I'm not sure the points about slowness always apply. It depends what kind of book you're trying to write. If anything, I'd say that relying too much on action and things being 'cool' is a sign of a lack of skill in a writer. If the prose is good, if the story is good, if the characters are good, if the world is intriguing, those things will keep the reader engaged. As long as they have a reading age above that of a child, anyway.
It depends on the reader and not just intelligence, Some people like politics while others want to see how the MC wins. And some people just like looking at the world.
This makes me feel so good about my novel. I’ve avoided all of these. And I’m 5-7 chapters away from finishing the first novel. ❤
Awesome! Good luck with your writing!
What’s the book called?
Pro tip about planning from non-writing projects: revise your plan. Don't treat it as a static skeleton to fill with muscle. Treat it like a plan in personal life: always advance towards the goal, but adapt to the opportunities and roadblocks as you learn about them.
Great advice! I’ve been steadily writing for the past few years but it’s always good to get some reminders to not stray off course
One observation on point 4 the granny subplot. Maybe the granny is in with the villain and doing what's she's doing to distract the side character. Darlings are often like an Rubik's cube, a simple twist can make a darling into a major plot point.
Great video, I love discussions and more in-depth discussions about what makes good writing, and how a writer might use the different tools and devices in storytelling to make it come alive.
I’ve had a professed grumpy writing coach, tell me the cut non plot important locations or character positions. I agree if it is jarring to the reader, but I think I’m going to learn make it easier for the reader to see a similar scene that I saw writing it. I think the cut anything that is not necessary for the plot approach actually can remove immersion. I want to make my style something that will allow readers to animate the scene themselves. Something that despite my use of first person past makes the story have volume and real distance to the readers.
honestly, these are good tips for beginners, they can avoid some mistakes and then explore these situations later on with more experience on their back, although point 14 is kind of too subjective, at least on the talking style chosen; while it's important to emulate real conversations, one must take in consideration the ambiance, the current mood, at what point of the story they're in etc. one good example, Star Wars, when Darth Vader utter that famous line: "No Luke, [I] am your father", that's over dramatic, something that would be out of place elsewhere, but it fits the scene well, aggravating the emotions already in game.
As a future potential author myself I would love to see more writing videos.
Maybe even sneak peeks about what you are working on, like some setting details or magic system plans
Really enjoyed your advice about writing. I like how you named specific things to avoid that can hinder a beginning writer. Thank you!
Something that @Reedsy said that stuck with me for writing fantasy or just stories in general for battles or anything that will require your protagonist and their team to strategies and create a plan prior, it's a good idea if you lay the plan out within the text, to make it go not as planned. Create plans, lay them out for the reader, then have things ruin those plans as they are implemented. Like having something unexpected, but foreshadowed pop up to make the plan go completely haywire. Also, the opposite is also a good idea. When a plan is required, have your protagonist and his team talk about a plan, but not actually mention a plan, then after the plan is implemented and succeeds, explain the plan after it was a success. Anime, especially Naruto, does this quite often.
Now, to add to @Reedsy advice, the only drawback is that the more you use this, the more predictable it gets. On the flip side, you can use the technique above to subvert expectations by flipping the technique in which you've used the first one several times, then you can lay out a plan to the reader in which it is actually successful. Since you've primed the reader to expect that whenever a plan is actually spoken, it'll fail and whenever just the plan is mentioned without being laid out, it'll succeed. Now you can lay out a plan that succeeds to surprise the reader, due to the fact they'll expect the opposite.
Martin does a lot of priming in his books, where he'll use some technique often only to have something opposite happen. You can see it with Rob Stark, who wins battle after battle, only for the red wedding to occur. Dany conquers city after city, only to get stuck in Mareen and dragged down by politics. We expect Dany to conquer Mareen and move on, but she doesn't. She stays because she realizes that just because she's set slaves free, doesn't mean she's made their lives better due to the fact this just fall into chaos after she leaves. Basically, he sets up patterns within the book to get readers to anticipate something, only to break the pattern and create a sense of surprise in readers.
Priming in itself is a psychological technique in which mostly advertisers use to get you to buy something. The technique basically, increasingly exposes you to whatever service or product they want to sell you, by showing you constant images, videos, and other sensory information to, like pairing the sound of a can of pop opening to the image of coca-cola. So, basically, you'll see an image of a can of coca-cola opening in an ad, along with the fizzing drink being poured, mixed with the reaction of someone drinking that pop and feeling satisfied. Then the put images of coca-cola all over the place so you're constantly thinking of it. When you have that option to buy, you buy coca-cola. This can also work in writing, only instead of getting you to buy something, you're set up to think something will happen or expect a certain pattern to continue, only for the author to subvert expectations and create that awe-struck twist, like with George and the Red Wedding. We don't expect Rob to go out like that because he's primed us to expect Rob to win because all he's done so far is win. Same with Dany. She's won every battle, only to get stuck in this city with the Harpies. He uses it a lot throughout his books. House of the Dragon is using it right now with Queen Rhaenerya. If you've read the book or paid attention in the Game of Thrones, tv show, you know how she ends. So to set her up as a very sympathetic character in the first act, is a great way to subvert expectations. We're primed to want to root and cheer for Team Black.
brilliant tips! helped me a lot! thank you so much, it actually gave me a right direction to work towards!
I enjoyed this video greatly, I would definitely watch more writing advice videos from you. Also, more theory and lore videos would be fantastic!
I appreciate readers speaking to things in writing that drives them nuts. I’d love it if you’d do more videos like this 😊
Really looking forward to these writing videos!
I'm excited to make more!
I love how many of these tips also apply to [REDACTED] fiction!
Thank you! this was really helpful!
You really make me just want to send you the first chapter of my story to see if it is good. I struggle with writing and feeling confident with said writing is an even more difficult struggle.
One of my all-time favorite series, The Bartimaeus Trilogy, does this really well. One character is telling his own story in the 1st person, present tense while the other protagonist's story is told in 3rd person limited in the past tense. And somehow it works
I’m a pantser BUT what often happens is that… I go off the rails completely so after writing my story, completely improvising, I bring in the timeline of scenes and structure so the final story is a yummy stew
"Giving Everything Away" is a helpful tip you don't see covered often, Thanks.
Another fantastic video!!! Thank you!!!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching :)
I wrote a story that I'm proud gonna rewrite that was written as if the whole thing was a journal written by the character and at the very beginning it says if the reader is reading it the writer is dead. Which while this tells you how it ends you are left wondering how and when. Since nobody will read it I can spoil it but basically the main character went mad and destroyed his universe and so the book ended up in our world. The last chapter is criptic random letters and symbols that are a code that translate to basically "its all gone, what have I done" and morse code for sos
When I think "slow beginning" I think Eragon lol
Finally i got my motivation to write again. Thank you
I'm happy I could help!! Keep on writing!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for this video, it's going to transform my writing tremendously! 😊 Thank you! 🤗💙
Cool video, loved the art.
In addition to what you said, planning too much kills the thrill of invention. One of the most enjoyable parts about writing is the unexpected discoveries and surprising connections. If you have everything planned, you miss out on the fun of that. That fun is often what keeps me going when some of the sentence-by-sentence writing is bogging down. Great advice!
I think very important is character growth.
If you've created distinct personalities for your characters then as your writing they'll behave naturally to events, and often you'll find them reacting to things different than you imagined.
Known to sabotage entire storylines and highjack well thought out character arcs and lead them in unknown directions.
This video was so helpful. I'm working on my first novel, and several of these points are helping me navigate the strange waters of a new creation! Thanks for your wonderful help!
I don't agree with cutting off side stories, i think side quest like stories are the best for character development as well as to show more of the characters personality, what they like to do for fun, what they enjoy eating, how they carry a conversation in a calm environment ect. and hell it can even be used to break up tension from previous chapters during the down time in the story where things are slowing down a bit. just because something seems useless doesn't mean it can't have it's uses if you really want to put those side stories in. on a more personal level, cutting out ideas in general takes the fun away from writing in the first place. It is so much more interesting to me to take an idea that's out of the box while i am writing and fit it into place like a puzzle piece. doing that insures that none of my ideas go to waste, and i don't just give up because having to cut an idea has ruined the mood for me to continue with the story.
As someone that is working on a back at the moment, these tips are going to be fantastic.
Good video Jay, keep these up.
How would you personally draw the line between a showing a main character's thoughts (who's mind we have reader insight into) vs not giving away too much in their chapters by only slimming it down to their dialogue and body language? In other words, what do you think is too much, despite the fact that the chapter is from THAT character's perspective?
Hot dang, this should be interesting, right after November writing month.
The number of things on this list I DIDN'T do when planning out/writing my in-progress graphic novel makes me feel a lot better about my writing. I had a rough idea about how the plot was going to go but I kept it loose and largely make up the action/dialog as I go. I mostly worry that the characters are boring, which is why I tried having little character interaction moments between the two main characters from time to time. Hopefully they're fleshed out sufficiently.
this is a really great video, thanks for the advice!
Glad it was helpful!
Love love the scene you described of the mc being poisoned
Great set of tips. Some of the things that annoy me as both reader and writer are:
1. the abuse of magic systems, which you discussed. Besides the ommipotent magic users you've mentioned, there's the newbie magic user who only knows spells a, b, & c who never puts time into.learning more, but when it comes down to defeating the bad guy, they are secret masters of super spell XYZ and win with no effort. This is cheating the reader.
2. Protagonist is an abused orphan but turns out to be the missing heir to the imperial throne.
3. World maps designed to make it easy for the MC to complete their quest. As someone who studied geography in university, I prefer a realistic map.
4. Pushing a message. A godchild if mine is trying to write a book to get across a message she wants to tell the world. OFC, she cried to me abt not being able to get past chapter 3 because she didn't know how to work her "message" into the narrative. What I told her, which I've learned from my own handful of published stories is, "Forget the message. Write a story you.like and want to read. The message will take care of itself."
Frex, I wrote a story for fun on a joke concept (a Gorgon having a bad hair day), and found in the end that it said a lot about the dangers of overindulgence. I never planned on that message, but it became apparent once the story was complete.
Gosh, I am such a pantser - I haven't even heard of 'solid ground' 😂
I did have a real hard time with 'perfect characters'. Made the awful mistake of excessively basing two of my main characters on friends of mine, had to rewrite the whole draft just so I could make them more... well, assholey. Also forced me to change their whole arcs! Hundreds of hours of work, complicated stuff.
Hey, great list :) I enjoy how you go straight to the point instead of meandering around each of the lil' nuggets.
Also love the imagery!
Thank You!
3:00 Details for the details god! Complicity for the complicity throne!
Good advice. We are working on the third draft of our fantasy book now and we chose to put a small battle first with one of the protagonist and the apposing army (but not the most powerful villains) to create tension at the beginning. I am co writing a fantasy book with my sister.
That's exciting, I wish you and your sister good luck on your writing journey!
I never realized that as a novice writer, it can be damn hard when your dreams and hopes of becoming a storyteller after 35 years of waiting rely on reader reviews of seven chapters from your first fiction novella. Your channel keeps my spirits high. Thank you, Jay. I'm subscribed.
Really helpful, thank you alot!
Glad it helped! :D
More of this please.
14:00 Goblinslayer goes in the opposite direction and names everything and everyone after their job, archetype, or role in the story.
Great information and interesting video editing. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for sharing the tips. I have a blind spot to tense switching that even with practice continues to plague me. It's because I hear the words in my head and put it on the page, I don't always keep my tenses straight in my head.
The tip I can share is: don't obsess over the perfect first line. We assume you're working digitally, meaning you don't need to start your chapter or page with a great line. You can always scroll back to add one. My tip: write your second line first. Then flow from that line. And when you read back what you've written, you can get a better sense of what you want your first line to do.
Thank You
First off, editing is on point. And verb tense is a big thing! If you don’t keep the verbs consistent, it is absolutely confusing.
Action: I would even go further and say it shouldn't just be necessary for the plot, it should also be engaging the reader. That seems obvious but it's actually easy to mess up. If you're making an epic story about politics and strategy, by all means detail your grand battle. But when you're making a story about personal journeys, I don't even care who's winning and why, but I will care about individual fates that it creates. Chases are a popular way to throw in some adrenaline yet extremely hard to do meaningfully. Maybe your character learns something or has to make a difficult decision, maybe a sacrifice that changes the progression. Otherwise it feels just cheap and random, at least for very experienced readers.
Yes, make more!
The other side of over-planning: it becomes a form of procrastination. "I'll start writing as soon as I've planned out EVERY detail." Uh-huh. Sure you will. Sometimes this comes from being intimidated by your own story. You're afraid you won't do it justice, but if you just map out a few more things, then it'll come together. No. The only way past that fear is to open up a blank document and start writing.
Same with research. There comes a point when you just have to put down the library books and start writing. Otherwise you'll research and/or plan until the end of time and never actually, you know.... write.
Thank you for this video. Great sponsor…darn my cataract surgery that made glasses unnecessary.
Great video, even for someone who doesn't want to write a novel but likes to understand it's structure
Glad you enjoyed! :)
Nice advice, thx. Lets be sure it doesn't dissappear into thick or thin air.
Eh, I'm not a fan of arbitrary rules of writing. A lot of the points on this list is stuff you can absolutely get away with if you actually think about what you're doing and do it well enough. They're not mistakes, they're just difficult for beginners to work with. That means they should be treated with due respect, yes but if you always avoid them it will weaken your writing skill and stifle your creativity. It's a reductive approach to art.
Like, writing perfect characters or magic with no major downsides doesn't make the story worse _per se,_ it just makes it more difficult to write well. You'll want to know what you're doing, see? But you can't learn that if you don't give it a shot once in a while. You gain more experience from making mistakes than you do from always playing it safe. The only way to get good at a difficult thing is to fail at it until you figure it out.
I am not writing a book but I really enjoyed the video an can use this information for writing homebrew campaigns for Table Top RPGs. :)
Thx! 😊
Yes. More. Please.
One of my short stories involved an over powered wizard character trying to hide out as a simple dude in some backwater village. The best choice I made for the story was him unintentionally losing his spell book and unable to renew spent spells (yes it was DnD 3.5 at the time). So his greatest challenge was retaining his cover while scraping together the money and ingredients needed for an arcane tome and magical ink. Needless to say he got to keep his spell already memorized by meditation but if you know the DnD system it’s like having a character with once per campaign spells stuck in repeated situations that could’ve been easily solved if he only had his damn spell book.
I've just started writing a fantasy novel and have already fallen foul to several of these. Thanks for the advice.
5:26 I think the best example for that is Malazan Book of the Fallen. the huge explosion that killed the armies in Pale and the character realizing it didn't came from Anomander Rake but from one of the empire's mage and the question starts why did they do it or does the order really came from the empire and what is the purpose for killing their own soldiers and if the survivors are in danger..
I don't like it when people say magic should have consequences. I think it's more like it should have limits. Because while some stories do well with magic being energy draining, others are just as good with it being determined by your knowledge and skill.
You asked if you should make more videos about writing tips. My man, make whatever makes you happy. I could listen to a video of you telling us about your favorite types of cheese, and your narration about it would still be interesting.
Love this video, definitely make more! One thing that I just realised is that maybe my whole book series is based around a trope and you can guess where it's going, but it is made for younger readers so maybe that's ok? I've already written two books in it so I can't stop now
Tropes aren't a bad thing! There's certain tropes I want to include in my book, but some tropes like "farm boy becomes the hero" can be a little tiring. If you're writing a story for younger readers I don't think it's too big of a deal at all since a lot of the books I read a kid are filled with common tropes
@@CapturedInWords Yeah, it's more magical item quest. Thx for tips btw