[theliteraryarchitect]

Writers: You're not going to learn everything at once... and that's okay.

There's an absolute glut of technical writing advice out there. It can be tempting to try to gobble it all up, and overwhelming when no matter how much you've read, you're still spinning your wheels on your WIP.

But remember: Learning to write is a long game. No matter how much stuff you read, no matter how much good advice you get, you can't cram all the knowledge into your brain at once and then wake up the next day a perfect, brilliant writer.

You learn how to write by writing. And thinking about writing. Reading about writing. Reading other writers. Critiquing other writers. Writing again. Getting critiqued again. Writing some more. Reading a little tidbit of advice that clicks. Using that tidbit. Finding another tidbit...

It takes a while. Mechanical knowledge becomes second nature eventually, but it happens over years.

Hang in there. Enjoy the process. Let your banana peels and egg shells become compost (they will, I promise). You've got all the time in the world.

[theliteraryarchitect]

Quick Editing Tip: Down & Up

The words “down” and “up” are often unnecessary and can be edited out of your writing. More often than not, their meaning is implied in the words they’re attached to.

Before:

I sat down on the couch.

After:

I sat on the couch.

Down is implied in the verb “sit,” so it’s unneeded. Same thing goes for “up” in many cases:

Before:

I stood up.

After:

I stood.

Unless you’re a soldier, you probably aren’t going to “stand down,” so you can safely omit the “up.”

Of course, there are times when the words “down” or “up” are necessary. A quick test to see if they’re needed is just to delete them. If the sentence still makes sense without them, you’re good to go. If not, put them back in.

Hope this helps!

[theliteraryarchitect]

Too Many Subplots?

Here’s a scenario that’s never, ever happened: I return a client’s manuscript with the note, “Love the through-line, but you could really use a few more subplots!”

Alas, it’s the opposite. I see manuscript after manuscript with way too many subplots. While sparing, well-chosen subplots can add depth and insight to a story, too many subplots will have one or more of the following ill effects:

Numerous subplots can compete with and draw attention away from the throughline, making the story feel shallow.

A subplot that’s not strongly connected to the throughline can feel like a random tangent or sidenote.

Too many subplots leaves the reader wondering what the character’s priorities actually are. Without knowing what the character wants, the reader can’t evaluate or make meaning from the events.

Too many subplots can make the novel ridiculously long—turning an otherwise sensible book into a 600 page tome.

Solution: It’s brutal, but you’ll need to decide which story is the story and condense, rewrite, or sacrifice the others upon on its altar. Consider Lisa Cron’s explanation of the subplot’s raison d’etre:

Subplots invite the reader to leave the recent conflict behind for a moment and venture down a side road that, he believes, will lead back to the story in the near future. The reader is willing to take this jaunt because he trusts that when the subplot returns to the main storyline, he’ll have more insight with which to interpret what’s happening… All subplots must eventually merge into—and affect—the main story line, either literally or metaphorically, or else the reader is going to be mighty disappointed.

Or, to quote John Gardner, “A story is like a machine with numerous gears: it should contain no gear that doesn’t turn something.”

So your first task is to determine whether your subplots have anything at all to do with your main storyline. If Prince Abernathy’s one true desire is to usurp the throne from his uncle, his unworldly love of cribbage had better intersect with his mutinous plan. Otherwise, truly, it has no reason to be there.

You can use the but/therefore method to track down a connection between your main plot and your subplots. As in,

Prince Abernathy challenges his uncle to a game of cribbage in the hopes of proving him unworthy to rule, but his uncle bests him, therefore Abernathy tosses the game out the tower window, renounces his membership to the Medieval Cribbage Society, and vows to find another way to dethrone his uncle once and for all.

If you cannot find such a connection, you can either create one in your revision, or remove the subplot.

In all likelihood, if you have too many subplots to begin with, at least a few are disconnected from your main plot—except perhaps by a few tenuous threads of narrative summary (e.g. In Chapter One you write “Abernathy absolutely lived to play cribbage,” but there’s not a single scene that actually involves cribbage until Chapter 15).

Other times, you’ve diligently woven all your subplots in the main story… but there are so many of them they’re crowding out the main storyline. Your scenes are almost impossible to write—you feel like you’re constantly juggling 27 balls in the air—and your novel just keeps getting longer and longer.

In that case, it’s time to play favorites, choosing a few subplots you can’t live without and removing or simplifying the rest.

Hope this helps!

[theliteraryarchitect]

Writers: If you enjoyed writing it, that’s enough. Writing can be an end in itself. It doesn’t have to be “good” by anyone else’s standards. It doesn’t have to be published or validated in any way. Delight in putting words on the page. Delight in falling down pretty rabbit holes that might not “make sense” to others. IT’S OKAY TO WRITE JUST TO WRITE, just to have fun, just to please yourself. This is your permission slip. Go forth and create nonsense. I’m cheering for you. xo

[theliteraryarchitect]

PSA: Writing a book can take a looooong time. If you've been working on your project for a year, two years, five years... you're not doing anything wrong. If you've written three drafts and thrown them all away, if you can only write a hundred words a day, if you put your book down for six months and pick it up again only to be baffled by what you've written... Congratulations. You're not inefficient or slow. You're just a writer. Welcome to the writing life.

[theliteraryarchitect]

Writers: You Can Have as Many Fucking WIPs as You Want

Hey friends. I just wanted to throw this out there because I see a lot of posts from writers lamenting that they’re starting new WIPs without finishing the old ones. Some of this is in the form of memes and jokes, some of it is in the form of updates or confessionals, but there’s always this implication that writers are doing something wrong by starting something new before the old thing is finished, hopping from project to project, or working on multiple WIPs at once. So I just want to say this:

The writing process is not linear.

Bouncing between multiple WIPs is totally okay.

Abandoning old WIPs that you’re no longer interested in is totally okay.

Starting 10 or 20 or 30 stories for every 1 story that you finish is totally okay.

Only wanting to work on something that’s exciting to you (a new thing) and not something you’ve burned out on (an old thing) is totally okay.

I get that feeling like you’re always starting and never finishing anything is a big bummer. But it may help to remember that despite years of capitalist indoctrination, the creative process is not an assembly line.

Sometimes it takes writing 100 pages to realize that your idea is untenable, or that you’re not actually that interested in it, or that you want to take things in a completely different direction with a totally new story.

I’m a published writer and I average at least 10-15 WIPs for each one that I actually finish. It may take me two sentences to abandon it, or 200 pages. And sometimes I come back to them and finish them in the future. But after 20 years of writing my computer is full of barely-started stories that were destined, for whatever reason, to die.

If you’re turning your back on a story that really excites you and you deeply wish you could complete because you’re scared or blocked, that’s a frustrating pattern that’s totally worth trying to fix (I’ll be addressing this problem in detail in a new book I’m working on!). But for the most part, having a ton more WIPs that you actually finish is a completely normal part of the creative process and you don’t need to be so hard on yourself about it. You’re doing great, and I’m cheering for you.

[theliteraryarchitect]

Hey Writers

You know that book or story or poem you have a secret, burning desire to write but are scared as hell to start or finish or look at or even think about?

Go do it.

Here’s the thing: We need you to write what you want and need to write way more than we need you to write what you think you should write.

So put down that WIP you’ve been spinning your wheels on—you know, the one you’re white-knuckling out of some misguided sense of duty—and go chase your fire. Start the story you’ve been dreaming about. The one that scares the poop out of you. The one you get all twitterpated when you think about. The one you keep making excuses to avoid working on: “But I can’t write that because [insert really convincing sounding reason here]…”

Or, alternatively, turn your current WIP into the story you actually want to write. A lot of times we start our dream project… then steer it in an uninspiring direction because we’re trying to follow some bullshit writing “rule.” Go back to the last place it actually turned you on and work from there.

Please? (Thank you.)

[theliteraryarchitect]

“Try to bust yourself gently of the fantasy that publication will heal you, will fill the Swiss cheesey holes. It won’t, it can’t. But writing can.”

— Anne Lamott (via theliteraryarchitect)

[theliteraryarchitect]

How do you 'slow down the pace' before and after major action without boring the reader? (I'm sorry for my bad english but I do really enjoy your blog. Thank you!)

Hi! Thanks for writing, and your English seems totally fine to me!

Slowing Down the Pace of Your Story Without Boring Your Reader

Firstly, I think that due to Hollywood movies we’re all a bit brainwashed that a novel needs to be a fast-paced nonstop action ride… or we risk boring the ever loving fuck out of our readers. But here’s the truth:

What holds a reader’s attention is not constant action but doubt and unanswered questions.

Let me repeat that.

Suspense is not about action (”something’s happening!”), it’s about doubt (”what’s going to happen?”).

So, how do you keep your readers from getting bored when your story’s pace slows down? Make them uncertain. Give them something to wonder about. Foreshadow the next major plot point. Sow the seeds of doubt. If you sprinkle in enough “clues,” readers will stay engaged even when the pace slows down because they don’t want to miss any important information. 

Also, you can show that although the pace may be slowed, your characters are not out of the woods. Use interior thought and emotion to reveal that even if things seem fine right now, your protagonist has concerns about the future.

If done well, these “slow” times can actually be very engaging to a sensitive reader who knows (because you’re guiding them toward this belief) that things can’t stay like this forever.

Thanks for your question and hope this helps!

[theliteraryarchitect]

I have difficulty staying excited with my story. I get excited at first because I'm finally making progress when I think of more ideas, but the more I work on it and stumble upon blocks, the less excited I am. Is there a way to know if this is because I'm working on it too much, or because I genuinely find it boring? I do have the tendency to get bored quickly, and I find that I get excited (and scared) when I feel like I've finally made progress. I'm just afraid I'll find the heart of my story boring, and then I'll have to scrap it when I've been working so hard on it for so long

When Writing More Makes You Less Excited About Your WIP

Oh yeah, this is such a delicate balance—because on one hand, you have to spend a lot of time with a story in order to write it. But on the other hand, spending too much time can make even the most exciting idea start to feel stale.

The key is to step away before you completely burn out. Take short breaks—not just to rest, but to re-evaluate what really excites you about the story. When you come back, try to follow the parts that feel “hot” and fun rather than forcing yourself through the sections that feel dead.

A good gut-check: If you take a break and come back still feeling disengaged, it might be a sign that the story itself isn’t holding your interest. But if, after a little time away, you start feeling those sparks again? That’s just temporary burnout, and you can work through it.

I wrote a post about this exact problem here: My #1 Tip for Getting Over a Writing Slump. You might also find this other Ask that I answered helpful: When Writing Your Story Feels Boring.

And honestly? Every writer feels this way sometimes. You’re not alone.

Hope this helps <3

/ / / / /

@theliteraryarchitect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler, a writer and developmental editor. For more writing help, download my Free Resource Library for Fiction Writers, join my email list, or check out my book The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.

[theliteraryarchitect]

How to Make Readers Care About Your Plot

It's a funny little trick, really. Because the truth is readers don’t care about your plot.

They care about how your plot affects your characters. (Ah ha!)

You can have as many betrayals, breakups, fights, CIA conspiracies, evil warlords, double-crossings, sudden bouts of amnesia, comas, and flaming meteors racing directly toward Manhattan as you want.

But if readers don’t understand how those events will impact:

A character they care about

That character’s goal

The consequences of the event, whether positive or devastating

…then you may as well be shooting off firecrackers in an empty gymnasium.

Why Plot Without Character Falls Flat

Here’s an example:

A school burns down. Oh my god, the flames! The carnage! The dead and injured children! There are police everywhere—total chaos!

And your main character? Standing on the sidewalk, watching and crying.

Dramatic? Sure. But does the reader care? Not really. There’s no emotional connection, so it's basically a meaningless plot point.

Plot + Character Impact = Reader Investment

Now, let’s take the same event but give it stakes.

Meet Mary Ann. Mary Ann has been a middle school teacher for 25 years. This year, she gets a new student—Indigo. An unusual girl with clear troubles at home and a habit of burning things.

Mary Ann defends Indigo when the school administration wants to expel her, citing safety concerns. Mary Ann sees something familiar in Indigo—something that reminds her of her own sister, who was institutionalized as a child.

One day, Indigo explodes in rage, screaming, “Burn it down! I’ll burn this whole place down!”

Mary Ann is shaken. This isn’t just defiance—this is a real threat. She nearly sides with the administration but, haunted by her sister’s fate, fights for Indigo’s second chance.

Indigo is placed in counseling. A compromise that will hopefully solve the problem.

That night, Mary Ann sleeps soundly. She did the right thing. Didn’t she? But the next morning, on her drive to school, the radio blares an emergency bulletin. There's a fire at the school.

Mary Ann speeds through red lights. Her stomach twists. When she arrives… it’s too late.

Oh my god, the flames! The carnage! The dead and injured children!

The exact same plot point—but now it matters.

How to Make Your Plot Matter to Readers

The secret? Before you set something on fire (literally or figuratively), give your character—and thus your reader—a stake in the outcome.

1. Tie Events to Character Desires and Fears.

Why does this event matter to this character?

How does it challenge their values, beliefs, or personal history?

2. Make the Conflict Personal.

The fire isn’t just a disaster—it’s a gut-punch because Mary Ann fought for Indigo.

The outcome isn’t just tragic—it’s haunted by Mary Ann’s past regrets.

3. Show Consequences.

Readers need to feel what’s at stake before, during, and after the event.

The weight of the aftermath makes the plot stick in the reader’s mind.

The result? Higher engagement, deeper emotional connection, and a plot that actually matters.

Summary: It’s Not About the Events—It’s About the Impact on Your Characters

I used a fire in this example, but this applies to any plot development.

Even something subtle—a whispered secret, an unread letter, a missed train—can have devastating emotional weight if it affects your character in a meaningful way.

Make your readers care about your plot by making your character care about it first.

Hope this helps!

/ / / / /

@theliteraryarchitect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler, a writer and developmental editor. For more writing help, download my Free Resource Library for Fiction Writers, join my email list, or check out my book The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.

[theliteraryarchitect]

Quick Plotting Tip: Write Your Story Backwards

If you have a difficult time plotting, try writing or outlining your story backwards—from the end to the beginning. Writers who have a difficult time outlining, plotting, and planning their stories often benefit from this technique. You’ll need a general idea of what your story is about for this to work, and of course you need to know the ending, but you might be amazed how helpful this trick can be.

Why is writing backwards easier? Basically, instead of answering the question “this happened… now what comes next?,” you’ll be answering the question “this happened… so what would come right before that?” which narrows the possibilities for your next move and can help keep your story on track. (Incidentally, it’s also the way Joseph Gordan-Levitt’s character comes out on top in the film The Lookout.)

Writing backwards can also help you more tightly weave together your subplots, themes, and character relationships, and keep you from going too far down any irrelevant rabbit holes.

If you don’t want to write or outline completely backwards, remember that you’re free to jump around! If you’re feeling stuck in your story or novel, jump to the middle or end and write a few scenes. Many writers get stuck because they feel they have to write their story linearly from beginning to end, which results in an overdeveloped (and often irrelevant) beginning and an underdeveloped ending.

So go work on that ending! It’s much more likely that you will need to change your beginning to fit your ending than the other way around, so spend time on your ending sooner rather than later!

[theliteraryarchitect]

How do I deal with someone who wants my opinion on how to make their work better, but gets mad when I give them criticism. I have tried spinning it as a positive, and being gentle but no matter how careful I am with my words they take it as an insult. They have good idea, but cannot keep the narrative straight and more than once have forgotten to introduce entire characters who are important to the plot. When I ask who the character is, they act like I should just know . The readers aren't gonna be mind readers and I don't know how to tell tell that without them blowing up in my face.

any advice would be appreciated.

What to Do When a Writer Can't Take Feedback... No Matter How Nicely You Phrase it

Oh yeah, I’ve run into this a lot as an editor. Some writers say they want feedback, but what they really want is validation. And no matter how gently or positively you phrase your critique, they’re going to take it the wrong way.

Honestly? At a certain point, it’s not worth the stress. If someone consistently reacts badly to feedback, the best thing you can do is stop giving it. A simple “I don’t think I’m the right reader for this” or “I’m happy to read for fun, but I don’t think my critiques are helpful to you” should do the trick.

You did your best, but you can’t force someone to be open to critique. Time to throw in the towel.

Hope this helps.

/ / / / /

@theliteraryarchitect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler, a writer and developmental editor. For more writing help, download my Free Resource Library for Fiction Writers, join my email list, or check out my book The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.

[theliteraryarchitect]

Concept: Maybe Your First Draft DOESN’T Suck

Hear me out on this one. There’s a lot of advice out there (I’ve given it myself) about being okay with writing a shitty first draft, and I basically agree with the premise. Too many new writers get paralyzed with the expectation that they should be able to sit down and barf out a flawless masterpiece, when in actuality good stuff usually requires a TON of editing in the post-first-draft stages.

However. As someone who has been writing and editing my shit for 20 years now, I must say that, more and more, when I get lost in the weeds in a writing project, when I get so far down a theoretical rabbit hole I can’t remember what the fuck my story is even supposed to be about, when I get to that point where I feel like the more I write the worse it gets… it’s the first draft I return to for clues about the real essence of what it is I’m trying to write. And it never, ever lets me down.

Your first draft has magic in it.

That initial spark, that thread of a story, that excitement you had that made you want to start this project… it’s living somewhere inside your first draft, and it’s precious as fuck. And it’s a sad truth that, sometimes, the more you edit, the more that spark gets lost. So you may need to return to your first draft to find it again.

I’m not saying don’t edit. I’m not saying that your first draft is a genius work of art that’s ready to publish. I’m saying there’s SOMETHING in there which is true and magical and important, and in the long run it may do you a disservice to think of it as “shitty,” crappy, useless, garbage, etc. You may miss out on what it has to offer you.

Things you might discover in your first draft that can get your project back on track (and/or get you excited again about a piece that’s started to make you cranky):

A particular character you love who you decided “wasn’t important” and cut from your story

An important emotion that’s being conveyed

A unique rhythm or style that got lost after too much editing

A fun story thread

An atmosphere, place, or description that excites you

A general feeling in the writing or the story

A sense of why you wanted to write this in the first place 

What do you all think? Has this happened to you? Do you ever go back to your first draft and realize it’s NOT garbage? That it has something special you want to keep and develop throughout your editing process?

[theliteraryarchitect]

I don’t know who needs to hear this but it’s okay for writing to be a HOBBY that you do because you enjoy, and that you don’t want to do when you’re not enjoying it. No one’s up in the business of knitters telling them they have to be willing to SUFFER and SWEAT or they’ll NEVER FINISH THAT SWEATER and they can’t expect good things to come to them. I don’t know why our current culture around writing is so intense, but I’m here to support your casual, relaxing writing habit. If people can glue pompoms together or knit a scarf or watch hours of streaming shows with their spare time there’s absolutely no reason writers can’t waste time writing just for pleasure, without any expectation that they’re going to Achieve something Amazing and Important or make a bunch of money or whatever.

[theliteraryarchitect]

I stand corrected: According to a great many who have piped up in the comments, apparently people ARE up in the business of knitters. What the hell. Get out of the business of knitters, people. May we all enjoy our hobbies without pressure to professionalize.

[theliteraryarchitect]

Hello bucket. I am thinking about multiple pov and whether it works for my first draft. I find that the secondary characters are more engaging to be with, but less central to the overall theme/plot. How can I improve my main character to be actually interesting and not just a flat outline? they feel like a generic isekai protagonist that the viewer can self-insert on. How do I add flavour without it being some gimmick?

When Your Main Character Feels Boring

Great question! It’s super common for side characters to be more engaging than protagonists, and honestly? That’s not always a bad thing. Heroes often have the “straight man” role in a story—they’re the steady center while the zany, chaotic, or ultra-dramatic side characters swirl around them. Think of Frodo surrounded by Sam, Gollum, and Merry & Pippin. Or Luke Skywalker next to Han Solo and Leia. The protagonist’s job is often to move the plot forward, while side characters get to steal the show in smaller bursts.

That said, if your main character feels like a generic self-insert, there are ways to make them more compelling without relying on gimmicks. A few things to consider:

• What’s their perspective? A strong POV can make even a “bland” protagonist interesting. Do they see the world through a hyper-logical lens? A poetic one? A deeply cynical or absurd one? If your story is in their POV, let their voice shine through in the narration.

• What do they struggle with? No one is interesting without internal conflict. What contradictions exist within them? What do they want vs. what do they fear? Even a relatively passive protagonist can be compelling if they’re actively grappling with something.

• What do others see in them? Why are the more engaging side characters drawn to this person? What do they argue about? What do they love/hate about each other?

• Give them choices. A lot of self-insert-style protagonists feel bland because things happen to them instead of them making things happen. Put them in tough situations where they have to make active, often flawed, choices.

And remember, not every character needs to be flashy to be compelling! Sometimes, the best protagonists are the ones who hold the emotional core of the story while the side characters get to be the comic relief, the drama, or the wildcards. The trick is making sure your protagonist has something driving them, something personal at stake, and a perspective on the world that’s worth following.

Hope this helps!

/ / / / / / / / / / /

@theliteraryarchitect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler, a writer and developmental editor. For more writing help, download my Free Resource Library for Fiction Writers, join my email list, or check out my book The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.

[theliteraryarchitect]

Writers: What’s Your Biggest Struggle?

I’m working on a new class for writers, and I want to make sure it’s on a topic that actually helps. So tell me: what’s your biggest problem right now?

What's the hardest thing about writing?

Getting myself to actually write

Forming my ideas into a story

Revising or editing my draft

Sharing my stories with others

Voting ended onFeb 20, 2025

Got more to say or another problem I haven't listed here? Let me know in a reblog, comment, or message. I really want to make sure that my first class touches on a helpful issue.

Thanks!

[theliteraryarchitect]

Mmmmmk. I'm brewing some ideas. Just remember that y'all asked for it. Stay tuned.