We’ve all skilled it: a narrative that appears good on paper, options big-name characters, or begins with an intriguing premise—however in some way falls flat. Perhaps the characters really feel hole, the plot drifts with out objective, or the ending lands with a thud. However what really makes a narrative “dangerous”? Are there pitfalls you possibly can look out for that may save your story? Extra importantly, how are you going to keep away from these errors when writing or modifying?

Unhealthy storytelling is a type of issues the place you “understand it while you see it.” Or, relatively, you really feel it. Typically while you learn or watch one thing that isn’t working, it may be laborious to place a finger on what’s gone unsuitable. And but your intestine is aware of. Your visceral response to the story could vary from a gentle sense of dissonance, confusion, and even boredom all the best way as much as outright irritation and even anger.

The excellent news is that, as writers, the moments while you begin feeling the ick are the very best educating moments doable. They provide the alternative to look deeper into your personal expertise and study why the story prompts this response. Though the explanations can span the gamut and are sometimes fairly subjective and private, in the present day I wish to have a look at 5 of the commonest errors that may create an objectively dangerous story. I’ve included examples of tales through which the subject in query was well-executed in addition to tales through which errors turned what would possibly in any other case have been good tales into dangerous tales.

On this Article:

What Makes a Unhealthy Story? The High 5 Causes Tales Fail

1. Characters Who Don’t Precisely Replicate Humanity

It’s not who you’re beneath. It’s what you do that defines you.

Relating to characters, more true phrases have been by no means spoken than these from Batman Begins. This additionally goes again to that all-important adage, “Present, don’t inform.” Mainly: audiences will all the time decide your characters based mostly on their actions earlier than they give the impression of being to every other cues. Even if you happen to’ve created a personality who’s archetypally coded as a superb particular person, that isn’t sufficient by itself to forestall audiences from judging and disliking this character if the character is appearing out not-so-good habits.

Worse, if you happen to recommend to audiences {that a} character is sweet, solely to have that character’s actions fail to precisely replicate how such goodness performs out in actual life, the character will doubtless appear hypocritical or worse. In actual life, that is how we interpret such inconsistent habits from different folks. Why ought to we count on audiences to see our characters any otherwise?

However make no mistake, that is tough, since authors too typically fail to notice their characters with the identical objectivity as readers will. Not solely can we are inclined to see characters how we intend to painting them, we additionally have a tendency towards blindness the place our expertise aren’t pulling it off.

Unhealthy Instance: Within the BBC sequence Land Ladies, the character Joyce is offered as courageous, plucky, humble, and hard-working. She courageously volunteers as a Land Woman to serve her nation throughout World Battle II, soldiering on within the face of her concern for her beloved husband, who’s a rear gunner within the RAF. The issue (amongst many on this beleaguered sequence) is that Joyce was written to persistently carry out actions that confirmed her to be egocentric and controlling—not least in abandoning her wounded husband for errors he made when he had amnesia in France.

Good Instance: The key to remedying this drawback is to put in writing dimensional characters. After all, no character is sweet on a regular basis. In truth, such characters are usually boring. However writing a personality with layers and complexities is completely different from inconsistently presenting virtues and vices. Any really good story does this one effectively, however a latest instance that involves thoughts is Depraved, which creates a fancy dynamic between frenemies Elphaba and Galinda. Each characters current inner ironies: Elphaba isn’t as dangerous as she lets others assume, and Galinda is inferior to she lets others assume. As an alternative of glossing over these complexities, the story explores them truthfully, not least in authentically representing the results of each characters’ selections. The obvious instance is that Elphaba should ultimately tackle the function of the renegade everybody has all the time thought her, not least as a result of it’s tough for others to imagine the reality past the roles she has all the time performed.

2. Characters Who Don’t Adapt/Study/Change

When characters don’t be taught from their errors, and as a substitute maintain doing the identical silly nonsense again and again all through the story, the intention on the writer’s half is often to exploit a sure trope for all it’s value. Comedy is an apparent instance—and when the character in query is a supporting character this may generally work. Nonetheless, though audiences will willingly settle for huge shortcomings from a personality, they won’t lengthy endure a idiot who refuses to be taught and develop from the results of non-public actions.

Tales are change. If every little thing is similar on the finish because it was at first, you don’t have a narrative. Even in Flat Arc tales, through which the protagonist doesn’t change, the story world does change. Tales are finally research in evolution—whether or not deeply private and ethical or simply sensible. If characters fail to develop over the course of the story, this not solely lends itself to repetitive motion, it additionally fails to precisely painting an intriguing particular person who’s value following round for the whole thing of a film or ebook.

Unhealthy Instance: Let’s return to some millennial rom-coms right here. The Marriage ceremony Planner showcases the most important issues of the style in that the characters be taught little to nothing from the battle. Particularly, Jennifer Lopez’s feminine lead exhibits as little grasp of self-worth on the finish of the story as she did at first. She alters her thoughts about potential love curiosity Matthew McConaughey, despite the fact that he has finished nothing to erase the truth that he’s a confirmed cheater—having compromised his relationship along with his fiancée (who’s not Lopez) repeatedly over the course of the story.

Good Instance: Each lead characters within the basic You’ve Acquired Mail be taught from their errors and limiting views (their Lies) over the course of the story. Each behave abominably at occasions, however their coming collectively in a relationship on the finish of the story feels satisfying relatively than irritating as a result of each have additionally confirmed their capability to alter. (Certainly, maybe probably the most beloved romance of all time, Satisfaction & Prejudice, follows an identical sample and works exactly as a result of the principle characters change so dramatically in the long run—notably with Darcy’s benevolent rescue of Lizzie’s disgraced sister.)

3. Plots That Are Constructed Round Actions Relatively Than Motives

Many of the issues on this listing come right down to the central difficulty of characters that exist to serve the plot, relatively than plots generated by the characters. The only technique to verify your story is to ask whether or not you’re inventing actions in your characters after which tacking on the motives afterward—or whether or not you’re permitting actions to come up naturally out of deep motivations. We see this typically in tales of all genres, however maybe nowhere extra clearly than in action-oriented tales, through which scene dynamics are constructed to make the most of, exemplify, and hammer residence sure character traits.

That is finished to create what is meant to be the pleasurable expertise of watching characters act out sure dynamics. Paradoxically, the consequence typically fails for the fundamental motive that the character’s actions, nonetheless attention-grabbing in themselves, aren’t arising from or creating causal or consequential progress.

Unhealthy Instance: The latest BBC adaptation of Winston Graham’s historic drama Poldark diverged from its supply materials in its fifth and last season. The consequence was a noticeable shift within the high quality of writing for the very motive that the writing grew to become extra about making the characters do issues for the sake of the plot, relatively than permitting the plot to rise realistically from the characters’ actions (one thing the sequence had finished very effectively up till this level). The ultimate season harps endlessly on the protagonist Ross Poldark’s “recklessness,” plunging him into more and more silly and absurd conditions—little question within the perception that the viewers has all the time loved this character trait. The distinction on this season is that the character’s motivations are retrofitted onto his recklessness, relatively than the recklessness arising as a pure character response to his deeper motives.

Good Instance: Though there are a couple of moments within the sequence that push this line, Yellowstone‘s presentation of Beth Dutton typically presents a powerful instance of a larger-than-life character who creates dynamic and attention-grabbing plot occasions that come up naturally from her personal character and motivation. There’s not often a way that Beth is being pressured to behave in sure methods simply to create these plot occasions or to permit for doubtlessly surprising or intriguing scenes. Relatively, the pressure of Beth’s personal passionate character creates the plot occasions as she goes. She is a very apparent instance, since her character is so aggressive and over-the-top, however she exhibits how writers can get the very best plots just by asking, “What would this character do on this scenario?” as a substitute of “How can I get this character to realistically do that factor?”

4. Plots That Don’t Finally Imply Something

Tales should imply one thing. In any other case, why hassle? Life is about that means. The act of dwelling is about discovering that that means, and tales are supposed to replicate that. In the event that they don’t provide that means—a level—then not solely do they nearly all the time fail to entertain, additionally they miss out on a a lot better potential.

How do you inject that means right into a story? It doesn’t should be something grand or sweeping and even deep. It simply has to supply an ending in cohesion with the story that preceded it.

The that means of a narrative is all the time discovered within the ending. The ending proves what the story was about. Which means, regardless of how nice the primary 90% of your story, if the ending doesn’t provide an appropriate commentary on every little thing that has come earlier than, the plot gained’t finally imply something. Each scene in a narrative’s plot should drive the story’s battle towards an endpoint that’s cohesive and appropriately tense with all that got here earlier than.

Unhealthy Instance: I’m going to choose on the ultimate season of Poldark yet another time. It’s value noting that, within the books, this season isn’t the tip of the characters’ tales. Nonetheless, for the needs of this adaptation, the fifth season is the tip and due to this fact the one alternative for audiences to tug a last sense of that means from the saga. Sadly, the comparatively poor writing on this finale not solely weakened the general characterization, notably of Ross, but in addition did not hone in on what had all the time been the throughline and level of the story: the battle between Ross and his nemesis George Warleggan, [SPOILER] who’s right here relegated to the background with a weird portrayal of delusional insanity within the aftermath of his spouse’s dying [/SPOILER].

Good Instance: The contrived “ending” of Poldark‘s Season 5 apart, the general presentation of the story within the earlier 4 seasons have been exemplary—not least as a result of the plot naturally returned time and again to core themes: Ross’s tempestuous relationship along with his spouse Demelza, his obsessive feud with George Warleggan, and his passionate championing of his mine employees’ rights. Each ending of each season main as much as the ultimate one felt satisfying precisely as a result of the tightly targeted plots allowed for outcomes that not solely felt cohesive however that carried the load of a deeper resonance.

5. Themes That Are On the Nostril

Good themes come up naturally from plots which can be pushed by robust characters. Though you possibly can research theme (and for my part ought to—try my ebook Writing Your Story’s Theme), you actually don’t should for the straightforward motive that in case your plot and character are working effectively, so is your theme. Briefly, if you happen to keep away from all the earlier pitfalls, you’re most likely already writing a narrative with innately chewy themes. On the flipside, nonetheless, is the issue of writing themes that really feel too apparent or on the nostril.

These are often tales through which the theme is both explicitly harped upon (as a form of “ethical of the story”) or tales through which the thematic metaphor is blatant (i.e., the story’s exterior battle is just too clearly contrived as a mirror of the theme). There’s nothing unsuitable with an specific thematic metaphor (such because the communism of Animal Farm or the underworld of grief in What Desires Might Come). However a superb rule of thumb is that the extra specific the thematic metaphor, the extra emotional complexity the story requires in portraying its ethical quandaries.

Unhealthy Instance: Thunderbolts* was a a lot better movie than a lot of what Marvel has been placing out within the final six years. Sadly, it suffered from a scarcity of thematic depth for the very motive that it leaned all of its thematic weight into the specific metaphor of psychological well being and despair. [SPOILER]The dangerous man is actually despair—a sentient and all-consuming void that has develop into disassociated from its human originator.[/SPOILER] On the floor, this is a wonderful thematic metaphor, particularly because it ties into the protagonist Yelena Romanov’s personal existential struggles. And but the movie felt decidedly shallow within the face of such an incredible thematic exploration, just because its plot and character dynamics didn’t catalyze the theme. The characters and their involvement with this antagonist have been largely incidental, thematically pertinent solely tangentially via their private histories with PTSD and guilt.

Good Instance: A a lot better instance of cohesive themes is one other Marvel entry, The Winter Soldier. Though structurally a lot the identical as Thunderbolts*, this movie is ready to deepen itself past easy action-genre tropes into an earnest exploration of the complicated intersection between ethical values and relational loyalty. The explanation its themes really feel much more natural, and in consequence extra thought-provoking, is as a result of these themes come up naturally from the protagonist, Steve Rogers, and his interactions with each different character, notably his long-lost finest pal Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier. One notable distinction between these two movies is that each character in Winter Soldier performs an vital thematic function in interacting with the protagonist and prompting his personal journey. In distinction, characters in Thunderbolts*, together with the nominal protagonist Yelena, are little greater than spectators to the principle motion, which is pushed by the seeming bystander “Bob.” They may simply be modified out for a completely completely different group of heroes, whereas Steve Rogers is particularly inherent to the plot and theme in Winter Soldier.

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Ultimately, dangerous storytelling is often the results of misalignment between character and motion, plot and that means, theme and execution. The commonest narrative failures occur when writers attempt to pressure tales relatively than uncover them. The silver lining is that this: if you happen to can acknowledge what doesn’t work in different tales (and your personal), you’re already midway to crafting one thing higher. Nice storytelling is solely sincere storytelling pushed by actual characters, deep motivations, and resonant penalties.

Wordplayers, inform me your opinions! What’s a narrative you wished to like—however simply couldn’t? What made it disintegrate for you? Inform me within the feedback!

In Abstract:

Tales that fall flat typically share the identical core issues: characters that lack dimensionality or progress, plots that prioritize spectacle over motivation, and themes which can be both nonexistent or overly literal. Understanding these pitfalls can assist writers inform tales which can be extra emotionally sincere, structurally coherent, and finally extra impactful.

Key Takeaways:

• Characters should replicate human complexity. Viewers decide characters by their actions, not the writer’s intentions.
• Change is the heartbeat of story. If characters (or the world) don’t evolve, the story stalls.
• Plot should come up from character motivation. Don’t reverse-engineer actions simply to create drama.
• Your ending is your that means. A satisfying conclusion echoes and elevates every little thing earlier than it.
• Themes work finest when natural. On-the-nose metaphors typically really feel shallow with out robust emotional grounding.

Need Extra?

If you happen to’re able to dive deeper into what makes characters really work—and methods to construct significant arcs that drive every little thing from plot to theme—try my ebook Creating Character Arcs. It breaks down precisely methods to assemble transformative journeys that resonate with readers and anchor your whole story—each plot and theme. You will discover it right here in my retailer or wherever books are bought. It’s out there as an e-book, paperback, and audiobook.

Click on the “Play” button to Hearken to Audio Model (or subscribe to the Serving to Writers Grow to be Authors podcast in Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, or Spotify).

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