Does your story belong in therapy? Perhaps one portion of it appears to be in conflict with another portion, maybe over tone or theme.

The problem might be that we as authors haven’t shaped the story enough during its formative stages to ensure the plot, characters and message can adequately address conflicts, motivations and ideas.

Consider allowing more discomfort and unhappy circumstances to appear in your story; this may create the right situations so your story can more adequately present and work through plot conflicts, character motivations, and thematic ideas.