COMMON MISTAKES LIST

6.missing dialogue

5.All dialogue

10.Mechanics

9.Incorrect Paragraphing

8.simple sentences

7.lack of description

4.Sudden solution to problem

3.No theme

2.Lack of Rising action

1. Weak or missing conflict

COMMONNarrativeMISTAKES

Mechanics

Easily fixed spelling and grammar mistakes

• Proofread your document. Look for the red and blue underlined words.
• Run a spellcheck
• Have a friend or parent read through your story
• Upload your story to Grammarly
• Read your story out loud. You catch more mistakes this way.

Too much dialogue?

You need to have a balance of dialogue and description in your story

A story that is mostly dialogue reads like a play without any of the visuals

• Add descriptive phrases to your speaker tags
• incorporate dialogue within a paragraph
• set a limit for yourself of only 4 lines of dialogue before a descriptive paragraph
• Look at examples from novels and short stories
• Practice writing descriptions of different places

Deus ex machina

a plot device whereby an unsolvable conflict or point of tension is suddenly resolved by the unexpected appearance of an implausible character, object, action, ability, or event.

Do Not:

• have your character win the lotto or find a large sum of money that solves the conflict
• introduce a character during the climax who solves everything
• "and then I realized..."

The rule of thumb for plot twists in literature is that a reader should be surprised, but shouldn't say, "I don't believe it.

Sentence Variety

Varying the types of sentences you use can make your writing more interesting.

• Try to include at least two of each type of compound sentence
• I,cI
• I;I
• I;ca,I
• If you want to emphasize action, place a form of the verb first.
• Example: Chasing puppies is fun.

No Theme

If your protagonist doesn't learn anything, then they are a boring, static character

Common themes

• A person should learn when to rely on others for help
• Don't give up when things get difficult
• People will do anything for love
• Power corrupts humanity
• A person should learn how to trust themselves and others

Rising Action

This is how you build tension and keep your reader interested

For this assignment, you should have three separate scenes of rising action

• Each rising action scene should lead the character toward the climax
• Separate your scenes by changing the location or having a jump in time
• Use the try/fail method

When to make a new paragraph

TiP-ToP - Time, Place, Topic, Person

Create a new paragraph when you:

• Have a shift in time
• Change locations
• Change of topics
• Change who is speaking

Dialogue

Very little dialogue or all indirect dialogue makes for a boring story

Dialogue can be used to inform the reader and to show characterization

• You should have a little dialogue in each scene
• Mix up your dialogue by using a combination of direct and indirect
• Dialogue is a good way to tell the reader something
• A mix of dialogue and descriptive writing makes for a smoother, more natural feeling story

Description

A story without description is like a s'more with no marshmellow

Show Don't Tell

• How do your characters carry themselves?
• What does that coffee shop smell like? What does it sound like?
• Change your dialogue up by adding action descriptions to it. What is the character doing as they talk?
• Describe each location your characters visit

Conflict?

Your protagonist needs to be working to solve a problem, or you will have a boring story

• Establish the conflict early
• Your character should work to solve the conflict throughout your story
• Use the try ----> Fail, Try----> fail method
• Not all conflicts are solved completely, but your protagonist should confront the problem in some way during the climax