What are some aspects of your story you aren't happy about?

[MesaMesa17]

If you had to criticise your story, what would it be? Is there one aspect you find lacking?

I'm a new writer who just started writing a week ago, and I've been mostly freestyling my plot as it goes. I rely a lot on random sparks of enlightenment, like when I'm writing, figuring out how the story should develop, I sometimes get this "Wait, I think this twist would be great!", if you catch my drift. For example, when I wrote Chapter 3 I had nothing planned for Chapter 4 lol (the twist in Ch4 was completely off the top of my head, but I think it worked out pretty well)

On the other hand, sometimes this leads to a couple of "convenient" scene setups, in order to spice up the plot as much as possible. Maybe some of you guys can relate? I think I did a decent job overall, but I'm working on this aspect, trying to plan a more concrete direction for my story before I begin writing my future chapters

 

[Bobple]

Oh is there plenty to criticise about.
My first and still ongoing story, The Stargazing Witch & The Dungeon Planet, has plenty of things that I am unhappy with.
- Grammar. The spelling and grammar was bad early on, it's not amazing now, but it is at least up to an okay standard now, with only occasional major issues (But my ability to skip words mid-sentence still plagues me).
- Pacing. That pacing of the first arc could've been more evened out and the pacing of the newest could be a lot faster.
- Speaking of third arc, not too happy with some of its contents. I ended up cutting some of plot points I had plan because I didn't feel that fit, but I could've create anything good to replace them with.
- World building. While I am mostly happy with it, there are a few areas which I wished I explored more and developed/
- And a bunch of other shit.

But I still do love my story and its characters of course. It is still something I made and I will see it too it's completion. I'm glad that over a year in, and even with my skills as a writer increasing I haven't even touched the stage of being disgusted over my own work. It's mine and I am happy with it, despite it's very clear bumps.

I plan & write my stories in very different ways depending on the story. Stargazing happens to be the one I just have a light plan for the arc then just go in and try to write. This has ups and downs, but it also allowed me to break through my wall and actually start posting online without being stuck in draft hell for other ideas I had (Which I was in for a few years at that point).

 

[MesaMesa17]

Oh is there plenty to criticise about.
My first and still ongoing story, The Stargazing Witch & The Dungeon Planet, has plenty of things that I am unhappy with.
- Grammar. The spelling and grammar was bad early on, it's not amazing now, but it is at least up to an okay standard now, with only occasional major issues (But my ability to skip words mid-sentence still plagues me).
- Pacing. That pacing of the first arc could've been more evened out and the pacing of the newest could be a lot faster.
- Speaking of third arc, not too happy with some of its contents. I ended up cutting some of plot points I had plan because I didn't feel that fit, but I could've create anything good to replace them with.
- World building. While I am mostly happy with it, there are a few areas which I wished I explored more and developed/
- And a bunch of other shit.

But I still do love my story and its characters of course. It is still something I made and I will see it too it's completion. I'm glad that over a year in, and even with my skills as a writer increasing I haven't even touched the stage of being disgusted over my own work. It's mine and I am happy with it, despite it's very clear bumps.

I plan & write my stories in very different ways depending on the story. Stargazing happens to be the one I just have a light plan for the arc then just go in and try to write. This has ups and downs, but it also allowed me to break through my wall and actually start posting online without being stuck in draft hell for other ideas I had (Which I was in for a few years at that point).

Ah yeah, I try to be aware of those flaws you mentioned in my own story as well. I still have a long way to go to reach your progress, and my story is is still young but I already love it and its characters, even if they aren't perfect

 

[Zagaroth]

The only thing I am really unhappy about is how rushed I made the marriage of convenience at the start.

I can't fit the related changes into a serial format smoothly, so I am going to finish writing and polishing this story as-is.

Then while my next story is in progress I will also take the time to edit in my final changes. There are continuity issues that I will need to fix all at once, so I don't want to deal with it in the live-published version.

When I have my improved version ready, then that is the version I will submit to publishers.

 

[RecursiveDescent]

Nothing in my story ever feels detailed enough, I have a habit of just not describing things I don't deem important in some way. So it just feels like something is missing that every other story I read has.
Plus the pacing is like insanely too fast, it's only been like 40 chapters and I'm practically out of ways to continue.

I planned so little that the first chapters are basically random nonsense I just put out to keep it moving, so I didn't even get to worldbuild much.
When I did finally start thinking more carefully, my isekai basically started turning into bleach.
Even my likely to be last villain is basically just going to be magical Aizen, considering how absurdly OP the magic system is and the main character in general, no matter how much I tried to reconsider it just fits so well.

 

[Nevafrost]

The aspect that the author isn't active

 

[TASTYLEADPAINT]

-Leaving the forest and engaging with humanity early
- the over complex lit rpg system
- upload schedule

 

[foxes]

It's usually a line between what I'm happy with and what I need. So you need either a voice from the outside or more than one way of doing things. And it is not always possible to put a good idea into a text, agreeing on all the existing details. Every time I rewrite a story, I regret the extra time I have to spend, but it makes the story broader and gives the characters more ideas about alternatives.

The main problem is that there is never enough time for this approach. And sometimes it's better to make a stupid hero who uses momentary ideas to rush forward.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Nothing, really. If something is wrong, I fix it.

Here's what I do. I write 3 times what a
I need, throw out half, then carefully pare it down to the absolute distilled essence of the story. Then I go back and add fluff.

The left over gets recycled later for another story, so I always have extra fluff.

Also, I start at the end and work my way backwards.

Here

Writing your first arc

First thing first, I wanna celebrate the fact I've reached the climax of my prologue. But now, this is the first hurdle to face. Writing an arc. In this arc is where my other half of sypnosis will be introduced. I already know the progression of how: >I'm going to introduce the end game...

forum.scribblehub.com

My all-purpose advice.

 

[Lloyd]

I don't write it fast enough.

 

[Sergeandgreen]

Well, i have two stories, one is a fanfiction and the other is an original. The fanfiction naturally has the advantage that you have a linear storytelling, as you already know what will happen. But my original has the problem that there are so many different plot points I'm building up that it can be confusing. I mean, it is increadibly fun to write, and i think despite everything, it is entertaining to read as the "confusing storytelling (From a first person pov) underlines the scatterbrainness of the mc. But i still wish it would be a bit more streamlined.

Also i overcomplicate plots. Sometimes i wish i would write some brain dead action, faceslapping, powetrip story, but even my attempts (in non released stories) ended up getting a overly complicated.

Another flaw of mine is being unable to give characters distinctive talking patterns. (I'm working on that.)

On the other hand, i think one of my strengths is world-building. My overly complicated plots reach into different levels of society and show multiple different kinds of people and their ambitions; I create legends, religions, and myths and people that are driven by them; I use interactions with the flora and fauna of the fantasy world that are linked to the plot, secret realms have reasons to be there, and wars affect more than just the soldiers.
Oh and I can also write cringe conversations between teenagers and their parents. I also write decent fluff scenes.

 

[expentio]

I sometimes feel like the start of my novel Slime Girl isn't truly giving it credit. It's nothing major, but at that time I was starting out and while I'm not exactly unhappy with the plot there's something that kinda tells me it could've started better. It's mostly in comparison to the fact that by now it's closing in on 500k words (or 1800 pages and ongoing). To me a small epos, especially as it's the foundation to many of my other stories playing in the same world.
Also, I feel like I sometimes have small lengths due to the style where I rarely skip time.

 

[Astrolust]

If you had to criticise your story, what would it be? Is there one aspect you find lacking?

I'm a new writer who just started writing a week ago, and I've been mostly freestyling my plot as it goes. I rely a lot on random sparks of enlightenment, like when I'm writing, figuring out how the story should develop, I sometimes get this "Wait, I think this twist would be great!", if you catch my drift. For example, when I wrote Chapter 3 I had nothing planned for Chapter 4 lol (the twist in Ch4 was completely off the top of my head, but I think it worked out pretty well)

On the other hand, sometimes this leads to a couple of "convenient" scene setups, in order to spice up the plot as much as possible. Maybe some of you guys can relate? I think I did a decent job overall, but I'm working on this aspect, trying to plan a more concrete direction for my story before I begin writing my future chapters

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my story
View attachment 30594

When I don't have an outline, I love writing this way too. The only issue is I run into, is I would constantly be jumping the shark. When I was writing my first story I had to dump I think 20kish words because I hated a plot twist i just radomly and haphazardly introduced 4 chapters prior. Lucky enough I hadn't yet posted the chapter with the twist so in the end I just reeled it back in.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

For me, it's my magic system, grammar, and descriptive ability.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

If an author is ever 100% happy with their work ... they are probably absolutely wrong about it being done. Seriously I do not know of any author who cannot find flaws in their own work who is actually worth reading (the few who insist they have no flaws are best avoided). Even after many, many re-reads and revisions, there will always be something that does not (or no longer) rings true, something that a later event negated so should be removed or edited, something that was missed the first (or fifth) time through that needs to be added, something added the third (or ninth) time through that does not make sense, a sentence missing a word, containing a wrong word, or containing one or more extra words, etc.

Heck, the first thing I had professionally published I read through after the fact and found one section that was so good I did not believe I had written it (I had, verbatim in my very first draft and not reread it since), three that were absolute garbage (two were my own fault, the other the result of the editor trying to fix what HE thought was a mistake and doing it poorly... really poorly).

With some ongoing projects, the biggest problem I have I think are the "side treks" that distract from the actual story, but build up the characters and suggest plot points. So, it takes 30 chapters for the characters to really get into the main "mission" and one section that was supposed to be a single chapter about the heroes playing an actual game with the villain that looks like it will take four to finish... and it all ties in together, and has too many great little "character moments" to cut but also brings the overall plot to a crashing halt...

Being a writer is like being a juggler with five balls in the air, and one of them catches fire or grows spikes at random, and another is a chain saw that every once in a while turns on... So if you can use the chainsaw to deflect the spiked or burning balls (without losing a hand in the process) you're keeping up with the game... but you will almost never be completely happy with the outcome, especially as there are still more balls in play... and, oops, you just chopped one in half so now you have one more thing in motion...

 

[MesaMesa17]

It's usually a line between what I'm happy with and what I need. So you need either a voice from the outside or more than one way of doing things. And it is not always possible to put a good idea into a text, agreeing on all the existing details. Every time I rewrite a story, I regret the extra time I have to spend, but it makes the story broader and gives the characters more ideas about alternatives.

The main problem is that there is never enough time for this approach. And sometimes it's better to make a stupid hero who uses momentary ideas to rush forward.

Ooh that's an interesting take, but I think I agree

If an author is ever 100% happy with their work ... they are probably absolutely wrong about it being done. Seriously I do not know of any author who cannot find flaws in their own work who is actually worth reading (the few who insist they have no flaws are best avoided). Even after many, many re-reads and revisions, there will always be something that does not (or no longer) rings true, something that a later event negated so should be removed or edited, something that was missed the first (or fifth) time through that needs to be added, something added the third (or ninth) time through that does not make sense, a sentence missing a word, containing a wrong word, or containing one or more extra words, etc.
Heck, the first thing I had professionally published I read through after the fact and found one section that was so good I did not believe I had written it (I had, verbatim in my very first draft and not reread it since), three that were absolute garbage (two were my own fault, the other the result of the editor trying to fix what HE thought was a mistake and doing it poorly... really poorly).
With some ongoing projects, the biggest problem I have I think are the "side treks" that distract from the actual story, but build up the characters and suggest plot points. So, it takes 30 chapters for the characters to really get into the main "mission" and one section that was supposed to be a single chapter about the heroes playing an actual game with the villain that looks like it will take four to finish... and it all ties in together, and has too many great little "character moments" to cut but also brings the overall plot to a crashing halt...

Being a writer is like being a juggler with five balls in the air, and one of them catches fire or grows spikes at random, and another is a chain saw that every once in a while turns on... So if you can use the chainsaw to deflect the spiked or burning balls (without losing a hand in the process) you're keeping up with the game... but you will almost never be completely happy with the outcome, especially as there are still more balls in play... and, oops, you just chopped one in half so now you have one more thing in motion...

Good perspective! I may be new but I'm already struggling to share the screen time for certain characters, trying to make sure they develop equally. The plot has to move at a pace that caters for their overall development as well. It really does feel like juggling as you said

 

[Shard]

-Leaving the forest and engaging with humanity early

Funny, that is one of the first things that happened with my characters going 'fuck the plot!' on me.

Overall, my biggest issue is that I changed my mind on things several times, and need to fix logic/time issues. Second biggest issue is that I am too slow for my own tastes at writing. Thirdly, I could really do more description, since I mostly stick to what is going on in general, and leave everything else to the reader. Most of my characters don't even really have descriptions.

 

[2wordsperminute]

I like the writing style I had in the beginning better, but I had no idea where I wanted to take the story until chapter 10.

 

[MesaMesa17]

Haha I'm on the other side, I think I'm too fast. I write about 3000 words a day right now as a university student - sometimes I get locked in and just pump out paragraphs. I find this style a bit too reckless for my liking, but I don't like not writing when my brain juices are flowing lol

Funny, that is one of the first things that happened with my characters going 'fuck the plot!' on me.

Overall, my biggest issue is that I changed my mind on things several times, and need to fix logic/time issues. Second biggest issue is that I am too slow for my own tastes at writing. Thirdly, I could really do more description, since I mostly stick to what is going on in general, and leave everything else to the reader. Most of my characters don't even really have descriptions.

 

[ElijahRyne]

If you had to criticise your story, what would it be? Is there one aspect you find lacking?

I'm a new writer who just started writing a week ago, and I've been mostly freestyling my plot as it goes. I rely a lot on random sparks of enlightenment, like when I'm writing, figuring out how the story should develop, I sometimes get this "Wait, I think this twist would be great!", if you catch my drift. For example, when I wrote Chapter 3 I had nothing planned for Chapter 4 lol (the twist in Ch4 was completely off the top of my head, but I think it worked out pretty well)

On the other hand, sometimes this leads to a couple of "convenient" scene setups, in order to spice up the plot as much as possible. Maybe some of you guys can relate? I think I did a decent job overall, but I'm working on this aspect, trying to plan a more concrete direction for my story before I begin writing my future chapters

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my story
View attachment 30594

I want to plot the whole thing out, get and follow a schedule for said writing, and get better at editing.