Writers Find It Hard to Sustain Story Conflict

“This (fortunately and unfortunately, because writing is such sweet torture) ain’t my first rodeo. I’ve been toying with the opening of my fourth novel, a speculative work of literary fiction. As a disclaimer: I know I can lean purply in moments. Unless it’s unbearable it’s not something I wish to change. I like to read sensory rich prose myself—I’m a lit fic girlie pop through and through. Just wanna know general thoughts. Does it hook you? What could make it hookier, if not? My third novel is i”

“There's no direct action, just a more intimate and emotional scene between two of my main characters. Would it get boring or too much? submitted by /u/justalostgirlidk [link] [comments]”

“There's not much here, but I want some feedback on it because I'm not really sure how to feel about it or how hooking it might be—or what else might be deterring. Dark Fantasy/horror. I like the rest of the chapter, it's just this whole introductory sequence that's got me caught up, especially the first few paragraphs. So, that's all I've sent. Also, I don't know why that keeps happening to random parts of the body text; I copied it from a text file and I can't se”

“Hello, I’m struggling with my first chapter. It’s a mystery with ya, gothic horror too. Things in here are clues that I don’t want to be revealed as clues yet. I want it to not be dragging but not have to explain a lot. Is this engaging without having to reveal what the mystery is going to be? I’ve never tried to write a mystery before. It’s intimidating! —————- The first time Jenny saw a face in a tree, she told herself it was knots in the bark. By the time she knew better, someone she knew had”

“Chapter One Hi there, I’m Nutro. Not the introduction I wanted to introduce myself with, but let me take you on a journey. A journey of how I became the Emperor of the Universe. This is a wild ride, so strap on your seat belts because we’re about to go crazy. Our journey begins in Xadia, the galaxy, and I know it’s quite foreign to you, so I’ll explain everything. Now, come closer. Leave all the planets behind, and then we arrive at Mother Earth. Yeah, for a millennium, the galaxy has been known”

“Hey guys just posting chapter 3 of my draft. Please let me know what you think of the fight scene and the pacing. Feedback appreciated The general has arrived, We didn't expected him to arrive so fast and started attacking people but the general has started attacking people in the south but the good part was we had already unlocked our elemental powers. I got earth, Rudra got fire, Ranveer got electricity, Samiksha got wind and adya already had water. We thought we were ready for the battle”

“In The 43, I have two protagonists who each possess journals. It is a challenge to write how they would view things in their own unique ways. I know I have to remove myself from my writing. Particularly with Daniel. He is both cynical of others, and an optimist about his future. He is a seasoned bounty hunter, and yet also writes poetry. I think I am starting to find my footing with his entries. Lefteris is a lot easier. His entries are much more streams of consciousness. I have a sample here re”

“A Half Truth — Chapter One Chapter One Briar has decided that today he's going to be beautiful at me. He's stretched along the low branch of the white birch as if the tree grew him, one bare foot swinging, his shirt open to the waist because it's the second frost and he wants me to know the cold can't touch him. His hair is the colour of wet bark and falls in his eyes on purpose. His eyes are green going gold at the edges, and they've been on me since I stepped out of the ald”

“sat down and let the creative juices flow, didn't put any goal in mind. I find writing fun, not really a writer just like to dip my toes. advice and discussion welcome. oh and just realized I'm conducting attention seeking behavior rn :) whateva bro. __________ A darkness shadowed Hazem in the corner, his face is scoured in a dark fog, as if light had escaped away from him, only the shape of his body remained in the corner of the cell, as he crouched down to meet Osman at eye level. Haze”

“​The MC used to be a commander of The Crown. The Crown went to war with another nation, so naturally, he was right in the middle of it. The Crown ordered him to slaughter an entire civilian settlement to force an unconditional surrender from the enemy. He was horrified by his actions and decided to desert and is now on the run from the Crown and bounty hunters. The Crown now had control over the enemy territory also and the Crown's overall power reached far and wide in the world. ​He travels”

“Here are the first five pages of my very early work in progress for my yet to be titled story. The story starts off normal but I’m trying to hint at something more being underneath within the first few pages, I have no idea if this will end up being a short story or a novel. Essentially, I want the story to start off like your average love story but it will soon turn to horror involving the character of Lily (which is what certain lines are trying to hint at). IDK if my rambling is making any se”

“This is the opening to a story I’m writing. Any good? It was easier to pretend it was a game. Lift the blanket without disturbing your snoring, stinking father. Lower yourself off the shared bed without waking your mother, whose arm dangles off the bed, close enough that she could grab you. Ease open the front door, careful not to make a sound, and head out into the morning. Chilly. She should have taken her coat, although that poor, threadbare thing wouldn’t have helped much. Silly: who feels s”

“I’m stuck in chapter one but in a good way. It’s my first time writing a story, and I’m understandably writing flaming hot garbage, but I feel like I’m making some progress just from rewriting the same scene over and over again. It’s not just the prose either, I’m understanding more about my main character, and I’m getting better at presenting the character with each rewrite. Is this like a common experience? Thanks for the feedback, I will be heading into chapter 2 now. submitted by”

“I've been writing a high fantasy story for the past year (I've been busy so I've been only been able to write five episodes/chapters) and I need some advice and criticism to improve my writing and storytelling. AMA submitted by /u/Remarkable-Sky7411 [link] [comments]”

“Heyyy everyone! 😋 Recently I start writing a fictional story soo give me a advice, what should I do,what I shouldn't do?.. iam a beginner. submitted by /u/Beautifully_Rotten [link] [comments]”

Here's a writing dilemma that got me thinking: Would you rather have an amazing story idea but absolutely no idea how it ends, or know exactly how an amazing story ends but…

“Avoiding violence Well am new to writing, I've recently had this idea of a story about a main character having to defeat several monsters looking make their existance vanish, what am looking for is a way to defeat them with as little straightforward battling as possible, mostly looking for a ruse or puzzle or an object, am trying to think of smth new and easly edited to fit each type of monster. The premise of how easy it should be, is that am looking to make this a comic series, so as not t”

“First post! I randomly wrote this chapter a week ago and it's a story I started plotting recently. I went back and reread it and thought it was pretty decent, so I sent it to my cousin sis. She asked me whether it was an excerpt from The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (the book we were discussing at the time) and I was so flattered!!! What do you guys think of it? I'd really appreciate some constructive criticism or an honest opinion about it. + What genre my writing would fit in. (Please”

“I'm curious... have you ever had an idea for two stories but realised the concept for both was too thin so instead combined them into one to give a better base to the story? I've been contemplating this. Separately the two stories I have just don't have a strong enough foundation to propel either forward but when I throw them together it works far better and feels like the idea could actually stretch much better. Have you done similar and if so did it work well for you? submitt”

“I've run into a writing-dilemma tht I can't seem 2 solve, and could use sum help - it's a superhero story about 2 men who get superpowers & use it in different ways; it's rlly just ideological conflicts between them, but now I'm at the ending where I don't knw how to go about it. Character 1 is an old, humble, and compassionate construction worker guy w/ a family & retired Army veteran who uses his abilities only to help people in his small hometown. He has no int”

“Hi, I don't write much and I am more of an artist. However, I do write quite a bit. I don't usually show people my works and I think that is stunting my growth as a writer. I ask of you to give specific and detailed feedback if possible, please and thank you! (Also feel free to ask any clarify questions !!) Amber sat there shirtless, cold, and in the middle of a forest. Yet he was enthralled, as he had been preparing almost his entire life for this. Sixteen years of impatient waiting and”

“Hello, everyone. I'd like to share the prologue from my latest fully completed and edited project. This is all of it, and not just the first page. My intention is to let the reader know immediately upon reading exactly the type of absurdity they're about to encounter and to set the stage without any delay. Any feedback is appreciated. Thank you. submitted by /u/ItsRuinedOfCourse [link] [comments]”

“I have about 6 story project ideas written on nothing but pure dopamine and random imagination. Now that im actually trying to make the stories, im having an obstacle with writing the plots—like, im stuck at one place trying to figure out the next sequence of events. Does anybody know how to combat this stress with anything organized?? submitted by /u/-auphelle- [link] [comments]”

“I show some of my writing to a friend, and they told me that my descriptions are to vague. How can I improve this? submitted by /u/Past-Criticism-6198 [link] [comments]”

“My second story reached it's climax and I've been struggling with it a little. To clarify a few pointers: - less than 5 chapters left (less than 4000 words left) - the mc dies in the end (but that's the trigger for the true ending) - the main villain is not evil, and he even helped the mc at some point. - my issue is that I don't want it to just be -- mc dies, the **thing** happens, and that's it. I want it to have supstance and impact. The main thing here is that I know how”

“Im writing a book in a trilogy that takes place in a greater timline ive broken down for future and past projects. Right now is about the peace ear of a war ending as the rebellion gets turned into an empire from the inside. The rebellion has been such for almost a million years and now its changing to fit the needs of one of my Main characters variants. Mind you its multiverse spanning and some characters are semi immortal due to power systems... oh and BTW two of my MC's are anthropomorphi”

“So, im working on a horror story right now, and it has monsters and stuff, i just really dont know how to make the scenes where they’re being chased or fighting the monsters feel fast paced. I just dont know how😭 My biggest problem is like, in the scenes where they’re running from them, i always make them feel repetitive. So, i would love some advice! Also, a bit of horror advice as it is my first time writing that genre. Its not gonna be like, IT horror, im leaning mostly on atmospheric vibes.”

“I'm a new writer and I have been working on a story since the beginning of the year. It started off with me just jotting down some little daydream fantasies that I think of while listening to music and doing something monotonous. They grew and I thought that the writing was pretty good. So after several weeks it expanded into me saying that I'm writing a book. It kept growing until it has now become 4 book, each a different stage in the story. Here's where it gets slightly complicate”

“I just wrote the first thing that came to my head to practice writing, so I don't really know where this story will be heading yet. submitted by /u/Davvison [link] [comments]”

Here's a short excerpt from a story I've been boiling in my head for a while. Does it flow well? Does it seem good? Is it intriguing? I just want some feedback.…

“hi i’m currently starting to write a story for a big project, I have a bunch of story’s ideas in my head but I really enjoyed this one so I decided to write more about it and ended up writing the whole synopsis over a month ago. I left it for other stuff to come back on it a month later in case to see if I still find the idea good. If anyone can give me feedback about it that would be great ! (also, I wrote the script in French since im a frenchie, so I just translated it and that's why it m”

“Ok, so what I mean is when you write or read a story where there are violently differing views and characters, how do you see the idea of pulling them into one goal and making them coexist to achieve a goal. However, there isn’t some overarching threat or principle or ideal that would bring them together. I’m gonna use an example. Heroism and Pride. Imagine this scene. There is a dangerous foe (up to your imagination as to what exactly) coming to the land (scale is also up to your imaginations)”

“I am not a professional author, and I write as a hobby (I don’t make any money from it). Right now, I have 5 fanfiction ideas outlined (2 have been started), and I have 2 original works. I am also in a busy season where I could only realistically write one story at a time (grad school) to ease stress. Since I like all the ideas, and also enjoy seeing people read my work (a personal thing), I wanted to gauge interest in the ideas. I’m posting summaries of each that I’m working on, but I could use”

“EDIT: This is a Fantasy story that takes place in a more urban timeline, think WW1 or prohibition, but with swords, sorcery, and a heavily protected caste system. Hello everyone! I would just like to see if this opener turns you off as a reader and if it does, what could I do to improve it? Is there something there with my writing, or should I scrap it and start over. For context, I just began writing a book i’ve been dreaming about writing for over four years. I really feel that there is someth”

“Hii I wrote my first short story. I don’t even know if I can call it a story actually lol. It’s mostly just my thoughts written into something. I hope you enjoy it and i would love any feedback :)) Maybe It All Started With Puberty I think this story probably starts with my teenage years. I was such an insecure girl during puberty. So, so, so insecure. Honestly, probably for as long as I can remember. I don’t know exactly where it came from, because it’s not like I looked bad. But hormones do th”

“Can someone please maybe help me out with feedback for a book I'm trying to write. It's romance with a hint of revenge that didn't really happen. The word count is 57321. . I don't know what to do so please someone help me out here. I'd appreciate anyone's feedback. I unfortunately cannot afford to pay anyone for his services so submitted by /u/bookworm_6320 [link] [comments]”

“Hi, dear redditors and fellow writers! Heads-up before I get lost in details: This is my first reddit post ever (!) and I'm not entirely familiar with the structure of this platform, so I hope I'm posting this question in the right forum—or thread? Anyway, so I'm writing a novel told by an omniscient narrator, and generally, I believe that I've created a witty, emotive and sometimes judgemental voice. The narrator's tone is supposed to be somewhat biased and designed to switc”

“I posted this excerpt here a little while ago and got some really helpful feedback, especially about areas that needed more context, character thoughts, and grounding. I’ve gone back and revised the scene, adding and changing the things that were pointed out while trying to keep the original flow and voice intact. I’m posting it again to see whether the changes actually fixed those issues or if there are still things that aren’t coming across clearly. I’d really appreciate any honest feedback, e”

“First time writer here. I wrote a short story and would love to hear some feedback on it, if possible. Please be nice. I appreciate you giving it a look. submitted by /u/zamboknee [link] [comments]”

“Sometimes an idea starts simple, then suddenly it has history, politics, side characters, worldbuilding, and consequences you didn't plan for. I think that can be exciting, but also overwhelming. How do you know when a story is big enough for one book, or when it needs to be narrowed down? submitted by /u/Ok_Relationship7540 [link] [comments]”

“If you are writing a story that takes place in a real location, I'd suggest seeing if there's a subreddit for it. If there is, go in and ask for help with your story. Ask for ideas of where your character(s) would go or what they could do. Give enough information about your characters and the story so people have an idea of what it is you're looking for. You don't have to let them in on the entire outline. Locals will be able to give you better information than Google or other ar”

“Hey! I've recently started rewriting a romance story I originally began a while ago, and I've just finished the new version of Chapter 1 (around 4,800 words). The story follows John, a high-achieving student who has become used to school coming relatively easily to him and genuinely wants someone who can challenge him academically. In this chapter, a transfer student named Isabel joins his class and, during a diagnostic test on one of his strongest subjects, gives him the first indicatio”

“I am writing a three-act short story and need ideas for the second act. This is where my MC tries different things to regain normalcy in life after pending job loss, cardiac event, and living through a national recession, Act I. Any recommendations or referrals to an 'idea generator?" I have three in mind. submitted by /u/CognisantCognizant71 [link] [comments]”

“After fighting with my guardian and parents i decided to become writer My guardian tell me I can i need to gave him good story in month and guess what I only has 5 days left and I made nothing My story is that mc big brother died suddenly and he traveled back in time 3 days before incident that is only thing I made I created 3 till mc his brother and serial killer ( who is not real killer btw) mc accidently killed his brother Killer backstory This is everything I has till I only has 5 days and I”

“Hello, I am looking for any kind of feedback. I stopped writing for so long and picked it up again some months ago but I don't know if I'm even any good. This is the opening of the story. Thanks in advance for anyone taking the time to read it. It was impossible to practice in peace with a bunch of screaming children running around. What happened to all the adults? Undisciplined brats should be locked up. With one motion he sheathed his sword and stormed into the dark corridor. Was it re”

“I have been stuck on the idea for this story for a while, I stopped writing for a few months and came back to try and finish this. I feel like it has potential, but I have no idea where to take it. Here's the basic intro that I have: The voicemail came a 2:09 a.m. Mara almost deleted it. An unknown number, thirty seconds long, no transcript. The only reason she decided to play it is because she couldn't sleep. At first, there was nothing but static. Then breathing. Wet, ragged. Close to”

“It's been 2ish days with no sleep and I'm alive only through the forces of spite and bad coffee. Does this actually make sense or is it sleep deprived nonsense. I've written some basic dialogue to try and get show the idea. Any help or thoughts would be welcome. The Druid has burnt a village to the ground after one of the villagers burnt a wasps nest in the woods because it was stinging foragers. The protagonist Knight comes across this and demands justice for this evil atrocity. Dru”

“Hello, precious friends. It's been a while. I would like some feedback on the beginning of my first chapter. I've posted the opener before and received such wonderful feedback that has helped me in such unwordable ways. I've tweaked it a bit and have been going back and forth on eight billion different directions for how to write it from there. It's been so long since I last wrote, and fresh eyes would help a lot. It's so fascinating how proud I am of the rest of the book, ye”

“I’ve recently gotten into writing a story. The story is heavily based on ice hockey being played by an American who’s forced to move to Hokkaido, Japan which is normally flipped with prospects coming out of Japan to play in the US typically. My story focuses heavily on hockey, which could be hard to describe at times especially for people who don’t know much about it. I added an auxiliary adding some slang definitions and rules to make it more clear. My main issue is that I’m not too sure if my”

“I'm developing a fantasy story and would love honest feedback on the plot. Spoilers ahead, since this is the full outline. Premise A human known as the Demon Lord waged war on the world for a hundred years. He was finally defeated by a party of Heroes called the Prophesized. As he lay dying, one Hero said, "May the gods strip your soul of evil and bless you with another life." He laughed, since he believed the gods had abandoned him. Then he died, and four hundred years passed. The”

“I’m in the process of outlining a full-fledged novel, but wanted to ask for feedback to help guide my thoughts as I proceed. Feedback/critique on anything from writing style, characters and setting, what lands or doesn’t, unanswered questions, inconsistencies, overall feel, suggestions and ideas on what to explore or consider in more depth etc. All welcome and appreciated. “Breathe. She has to breathe. Heart. Has to beat. Live. Live, burn you!” - this line’s a wheel of time easter egg (if you kn”

“There are two main characters. A grumpy guy and a talkative guy. They're both exceptional fighters and competent. They met in a prison and escaped it together. They parted their ways but reunited once again. The talkative guy decided to stay with the grumpy guy because he finds him cool but the grumpy guy finds this very annoying. They're currently wandering freelancers. Their job is to deliver a dead mage's box to a temple. However, every single faction is behind the box because all”

“I have a script i've been working on but i don't feel like it has the traditional format. The main character enters a competition near the beginning. The competition doesn't occur until the of the story when it becomes very important for the rewards. The problem is that the competition isn't necessarily the main story, it's kind of a side story until the end. There's no main antagonist. What drives the story is the group of friends continuously choosing the wrong/immature”

“Hello, I'm a beginner writer, I've followed many suggestions, and i've been refining this chapter for a week now. I'd hope to publish this as a webnovel one day. I've read my first chapter so many times I can't feel anything from it anymore. Please let me know if theres anything I should add or change to improve this chapter. My target audience is teenagers. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XT8vNJrFz0HpMG85mMYDJ9HHXK8zwnDg7W7zrsQbm1s/edit?usp=sharing Would you keep rea”

“It would change up a bit after this point, so I wanted to see if this standalone part is interesting enough to keep going. As a note: this is the beginning of the second part of a story that is split into two. This is not the story's actual beginning. submitted by /u/YOYOVILLERULER9 [link] [comments]”

submitted by /u/Ticket-Tight [link] [comments]

“Hey guys! So this was for a class and its already submitted sadly, but i was wondering how i can improve this. I really dont like how this turned out but i want to try to see what i can do better for next time. (note- i thought we had to write this double spaced and it turns out there was no such restriction ;-; Ive got a more detailed second copy of this but I had to cut a lot to make it fit the page limit) It was a prompt exercise for character POV and it had to be three pages long! This is th”

“https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KhOzsOHi-G40STj2qRK_oUquLoD0r1jGT73i8FEYbm4/edit?usp=sharing Hello, I'm a complete beginner when it comes to novel writing, but the idea for this story has been living in my head for a very long time, and I’ve finally decided to actually write it instead of just thinking about it. I know there’s a lot I still need to learn about writing. This chapter took me few days to write, and I’m not sure how much of what I’m doing is right or wrong yet. If you have t”

submitted by /u/Dizzy-Eagle4750 [link] [comments]