source: brainmillpress

exposition overload

• limit your adjectives and rely instead on strong verbs to propel the reader into the next sentence.

the backstory dump

• backstories help writers more than readers, who can understand stories perfectly well without knowing everything that happened before it began.

the apathetic protagonist

• you have about 250 words to make readers love or loathe the protagonist, or at the very least intrigue them. characters must want something, and that something must motivate them to act.

an unbalanced level of action

• write an appropriate level of action that appeals to the reader's curiosity without overwhelming them. a story that moves too slowly won't capture a reader's attention either.

the wake-up beginning

• as tempting as it may be to start your novel right when your main character wakes up in the morning, try to avoid it. this common introduction is not likely to captivate readers right off the bat.