When we first start coming up with story ideas, we often want to remain as open-minded as possible. The craziest brainstorming can result in the most unique stories. *grin*
But at some point, we have to take those various thoughts for our story and assemble them into ideas that we can actually make work. Depending on where we fall on the pantser (those who write by the seat of their pants) to plotter spectrum, that assembly and planning step might be as detailed as a scene-by-scene outline or as vague as a notion of the type of story we want to tell.
Can we avoid major story issues by doing a Premise Check before we write? Click To TweetEither way, this point in our writing process is the perfect time to avoid major storytelling issues down the line. No one wants to finish drafting a story and discover that a character aspect or plot point that the whole story hinges on needs a major rewrite to fix.
It’s far better to proactively be aware of potential major story issues before we get too invested in words that will need to be cut. And that means we might want to include a step in our writing process to question what story issues we might run into before we write too many words.
The Usual Suspects with Major Story Issues
In both the plot and character aspects of our stories, we can stumble into major problems. Below are just a few of the things to watch out for…
Plot Issues to Avoid
A plot point that…
- lacks a cause or trigger
- fails to create a reaction or result in change
- leads to reactions that don’t flow or fit the cause
- lacks logic or doesn’t make sense
- doesn’t fit the world we’ve created
- contradicts the story on the time, place, or characters involved
- distracts from the story we’re trying to tell
- doesn’t match what would actually happen (unless we have an in-story explanation that doesn’t feel too convenient)
- contradicts what we’ve been told previously (again, unless we have an in-story explanation that doesn’t feel too convenient)
I’ve written before about how to find and fix plot holes, and the same steps can help us here. We especially have to watch out for creating more problems with our fixes.
During the brainstorming and story-planning stages, we might be tempted to go for the “easy” or contrived explanations for why things happen they way they do. We might hand-wave away problems, figuring no one will notice, or we might try to shoehorn in an explanation that doesn’t quite fit right.
But now is the time to make those fixes for real, before we commit to a story path with our time and energy in word count. *smile*
Character Issues to Avoid
A character aspect that…
- lacks a motivation (or ignores their stated motivation when convenient for the plot)
- isn’t consistent with their character development
- undermines other aspects of their characterization (without an in-story, not-too-convenient explanation)
- contradicts what we know or have been told about the character (without an in-story explanation what or how things changed)
- makes the character feel too much of a puppet to the plot
- distracts from the story we want to tell
- undercuts the story’s stakes or consequences of failure
- doesn’t allow for conflict or story tension
- requires a character to act in ways that breaks reader trust or connection (unless that’s the point of the story)
We’ve discussed the many approaches we might take in developing our character’s arc. But it can sometimes be difficult to understand where or how unsustainable issues creep in.
Let’s take an example to explain… In a romance, the plot might require the heroine to feel alone at the Black Moment. Obviously, there are many options for creating that situation. It’s not unusual to have a “break up scene” at this point, fulfilling the “boy loses girl” scenario.
However, if our hero does something so awful, so unforgivable, so unfixable, readers will no longer root for our couple to get together. That will break the story.
Instead, we need an option that allows readers to understand, forgive, and maintain the connection they feel to the characters. During our brainstorming and planning phase, we can ensure that our characters are being true to themselves and the story, before we ever write a word. *smile*
Another Source of Story Problems: Biases
There’s another source of story problems that we often can’t fix on our own: story, worldbuilding, plot, and character aspects built on our biases.
We all have biases—that’s not the issue. The problem comes when our biases are unquestioned and can lead to harm for others.
For example, if we’re biased against people of a marginalized population, such as those of certain races, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, body weights, economic situations, etc., we might cause harm if we write about characters of that population. We’re likely to mislead unaware readers into thinking our perspective is factually and uncontroversially accurate, and/or we’ll make readers of that population feel less than or attacked.
Preventing Issues: Part One
Yet at the same time, writing about a realistic world usually means that we need to include some aspects of diversity in our story. So what should we do?
- We can (and should) work on becoming aware of our internalized biases.
- We can (and should) pay attention to stereotypes about populations we include in our stories, especially watching out for reinforcing negative ones.
- We can (and should) invest time in researching our characters’ situations (and consider the source with our research).
But That Might Not Be Enough…
But none of that is a cure-all, as our biases can make us blind to the stereotypes and poor sources we might rely on. We usually don’t know nearly as much as we think we do, and if we rely on just our instincts, we’re bound to make harmful mistakes.
Even if we later bring in Sensitivity Readers, we’ll still run into several major problems:
- If our sensitivity reader finds issues, they’ve potentially been harmed by our bumbling.
- They might not feel comfortable telling us about the problems they find, especially if the issue resides all the way down to our premise, as they might worry about a “shoot the messenger” reaction.
- Depending on the depth of the issue, we might need to rewrite significant portions of the story, or potentially even scrap the whole thing (such as if the premise itself is problematic, like a Nazi romance).
Preventing Issues: Part Two
All that is why I loved an idea Heidi Heilig proposed on Twitter the other week:
Instead of sensitivity readers I wonder if we should start talking about and normalizing “Sensitivity Consultations”? Where authors/writers hire a person for an hour or two to discuss potential pitfalls at the outline/idea stage. It might save a ton of grief.
— heidi (@heidiheilig) September 5, 2018
I guess what I’m saying is, I just reserved time with a friend for a sensitivity consultation while I’m still at the first draft stage and not locked into any terrible decisions that would make both parties horrified down the line.
— heidi (@heidiheilig) September 5, 2018
This sort of relationship might also take some of the strain and pressure off both parties. Stakes are lower. Timelines are more flexible. It allows for the sharing of education and resources, and for brainstorming alternative solutions or directions.
— heidi (@heidiheilig) September 5, 2018
One of the biggest fears i see from writers about hiring readers is that they’ll say that a 2 year project has to be scrapped, ground up. One of the biggest fears I see from readers is that a writer will flat out refuse their advice and all their slogging through was in vain.
— heidi (@heidiheilig) September 5, 2018
(Check out the whole Twitter thread (including replies) for this great idea.)
In other words, just as we might check for plot or character holes before starting our drafting process, we might spend an hour or so in a consultation to check for issues in how we plan to incorporate or portray a marginalized character before starting to write. Checks at this stage would cost less, prevent harm to our readers (including our sensitivity reader), and most beneficially to us, avoid major rewrites or even losing a whole project that’s unfixable.
So the next time we’re working on fleshing out a story idea, we might want to add a step to our brainstorming/planning process. A Premise Check can focus on plot holes, character development issues, and problems with our plans for depicting marginalized characters—and everyone will benefit from better stories. *smile*
Before you start to draft, how much do you think through potential high-level issues with your story’s premise? Have you discovered plot holes or character issues at this stage? Or were you able to fix major problems in your story before writing them out? Do you think a Premise Check that includes a consultation for potential problems with marginalized characters would be beneficial? Do you have any suggestions to improve this idea?
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