• Shoo the rhinoceros out of your the room
• Delete authorisms
• Crack a joke – but only for a good reason
Unfortunately, a lot of novice writers don’t quite know when to inject humor into their fictional tales. The result is they either miss opportunities to use an effective narrative tool or they misuse (and quite often overuse) it.
• Avoid writing concealed identity story
One kind of plot you should avoid is the concealed identity story. This involves keeping the main character’s identity or true nature secret until the end of the story, often the last line.
• Cut here-to-there action
• Eschew dead narrator plot gimmick
• Clip deus ex machina ending
• Stop dumping backfill into your story
• Don’t end novel with cliffhanger
• Speed up story by curtailing dramatic narration
• Remain wary of using fast-forward
• Destage dramatic action that slows story
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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.
Check out some of my guidebooks for plotting your story:
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