Maybe A Trope, Maybe Not

 I’ve been thinking a lot about tropes and how they’re used in literature and cinematically. And there is one thing that does annoy me, but it’s probably less of a trope and more of a pet peeve. And that’s a delay in the action so the protagonist can express a deep seated concern about a person, situation, or their feelings.

I’ve been watching Star Trek Discovery and find the thing that irks me the most is when one of the characters stops, at the height of a crisis to talk with someone about whatever. I’m like: Come on already. People are in immediate peril, the ship or something is about to blowup, everyone is about to be captured or die, and you take your time to discuss a eureka moment or a newfound understanding of something? Especially when there are mere seconds remaining and the time it takes to talk about it is longer that the time you’ve got? Just save the day and discuss it later. Geez.

As I said, it’s probably not a trope per se, but it is an annoying plot device. The progression of the action is being determined by external forces and the hero is having an existential experience. Antagonists don’t seem to be hindered by this affliction.   

Taking a Timeout to Backtrack and Examine What I’m Doing

I’ve taken some time off from writing my book to explore what others in the writing world are doing and what readers want and expect—or don’t want.

The article below has been quite helpful to me. I must say I’m guilty of incorporating one of the tropes listed that readers find annoying. I’m not going to say which one, but I will say I’m going to have to go back and make a few changes.  

Does your #WIP contain one or more of these?

 Bibliophiles Are Sharing The Most Annoying Book Tropes And I'm 100% On The Same Page As Them

Don’t Worry If What You’re Writing Doesn’t Make Sense at First

 It made sense when I thought about it. It made sense when I wrote it. It’s not making sense now that I read it. The solution for that is to leave it be. It’ll make sense later on when you go back to work on revising it. 

It’s just a matter of putting a square peg into a round hole. There’s a way to do it. You have to take the time to whittle, chisel, and glue the pieces until it fits comfortably.

Edit, revise, rework, what made sense in you mind until it makes sense in your story. 

In the course of writing my story, I created a few scenarios that seemed impractical, but I kept plugging away at them until I was comfortable with them fitting logically within the framework of my plot. They still need to be tweaked, but at least they fit within the hole I had set aside for them. 

Sometimes Reading Words of Encouragement is Just the Motivation You Need

 Sometimes reading things like Margaret Atwood’s Ten Rules for Writing Fiction in Advice To Writers helps to reinvigorate and inspire.

I find rules six through eight work for me.

Enjoy the holiday.

Big Story, Little Details

 I’m plodding ahead with my science fiction book and discovering that the further along I go, the more I end up going back and changing things. 

As my story progresses and my characters grow, I’m finding things that no longer fit or make sense at the beginning of my story. There are more plot twists and turns than I ever imagined I’d have. Something that made sense at the beginning of the story no longer makes sense. Or I have to fix the continuity of a plot thread because the logic or rationale has changed so drastically that it just doesn’t make sense in its original context.

I’ve had to reign myself in when I realized I strayed too far from an established trait of a character. 

It’s sort of like imagining the drawing of a landscape, painting it, then stepping back to look at the progress only to notice how much it doesn’t look anything like what you imagined. It’s recognizable as a painting, but that’s about all it is.

Another way of looking at it is by imagining constructing a building. You have an idea of what it’ll look like and what you want to put in it. But getting the plumbing, wiring, heating, and other components right, then figuring out what to do when you run into a problem is the challenge.

Solving all of those issues is what makes the task at hand challenging and fun.

I can’t wait to find out how my story continues to unfold.