I was reading submissions this weekend and once again, I was seeing a common trend among writers. In an attempt to make their stories interesting, authors are just adding sub-plot upon sub-plot to what could have been an outstanding story.
And this is a problem!
I want you to think of it this way. Why is it that we often laugh at (although we might be addicted to them) soap operas? Consider the plots. For those of you who are old school, consider everything Ericka Kane went though in all of her years on All My Children!
Can we say "OMG!!!!!!" How many marriages? How many times was she in a crisis or in a hospital or in the middle of who knows what was going on. If there was a problem happening in the town or in anyone's life, you could guarantee, Ericka was either involved, or it was going to have an effect on her emotionally, physically, mentally or who knows how else.
And it was simply too much!
Well, the same is true with your stories. The reality is that we, meaning the readers, have to connect with the characters in the stories. We can often relate to one (maybe two) of the emotions or problems, but when you pile on too much, we simply cannot handle it.
I would also add that trying to keep track of all of the plots in our heads is often difficult. Come on authors, you know you struggled to keep the stories straight when writing it. How do you think the readers are feeling?
The better approach is to pick one and add depth to it. Take us INTO the story and INTO the characters. Immerse us in story and not overwhelm us with an avalanche of plot!
No comments:
Post a Comment