Writing Roots

S35E9 – The Confusion Caused by Bad Blocking

Few things throw readers off in a book like characters or objects suddenly teleporting in middle of a scene. We’re not talking about actual teleportation, which is more than plausible within fiction. We’re talking about blocking – a term borrowed from theater, used to describe the scripted motions of each actor with each other and with their surroundings. Bad blocking is when the author accidentally places a character at a doorway when seconds ago they were sitting on the couch, or when the physical choreography of certain scenes are simply too unrealistic. It can happen in fight scenes where a sword is accidentally pulled through a sheath because the author writes motions that aren’t possible with a real sword. It can happen when characters are interacting and accidentally reach through one another to grab something.
This problem is most often caused by a lack of attention, which is what makes it a big red flag for readers. If the author isn’t paying attention to the details of where characters are, then how much are they paying attention to the rest of the plot? In this episode, Ley and Leigh discuss the most common mistakes made when it comes to bad blocking, and the easiest ways to fix them.
First aired September 29, 2022.
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S35E8 – When the Cliché is Too Cliché

If you’ve been listening long enough, you’ve heard us tell you that clichés are a good thing. When applied correctly, they can help provide a framework for a character and even your plot as a whole. However, there is a fine line to tread between using these known elements to begin building your story, and using them to the point where it is just cliché.
The most egregious use of a bad framework for a character is to use the Mary Sue trope. That’s when the main character is, in the eyes of the reader, too perfect. A Mary Sue (or Gary Stu) fulfills the fantasies of the author, but usually feel bland and unrealistic. This isn’t the only trope or cliché that can be a problem. The list is much longer than we have time to cover. But there are things you can look for in order to spot a trope used incorrectly.
First aired September 26, 2022.
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S35 Bonus – Bad Writing Distracts from the Book

The last thing any reader wants is to be distracted while they’re reading. There are memes galore about it. What’s worse than someone deciding to talk to you as soon as you start reading, is the book itself becoming a distraction from the story. Many things can cause this, but it usually comes down to one thing: bad writing.
Anything from misspelled words and incorrect punctuation to words picked up in a thesaurus to tense consistency. Even the formatting of a book can be distracting if it was done improperly. Listen to this episode for a breakdown of the most common distractions in writing, and how they can be prevented.
First aired September 24, 2022.
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S35E7 – Slow Beginnings Ruin Stories

In media res is a common phrase used to describe how to start a story or scene. It means to get into the action quickly, to what really matters right away. This one thing can make or break a book. If a narrative starts too slowly, or is otherwise lacking some kind of interesting hook at the beginning, readers are not likely to keep going. Many readers use the first page or two as a gauge for whether or not they’ll enjoy the rest of the book. If it goes nowhere, the reader goes nowhere.
Beyond just the beginning, authors need to keep up the pace of the book as a whole. If too many things happen which are unconnected with the plot as a whole, readers will feel misled, like their time is being wasted. Of course, what is slow depends on genre. It won’t be the same for everyone. As an author, this means you need to know your audience. Know the genre and what readers find acceptable in regards to pacing. Fantasy readers are a lot more forgiving than action and thriller readers.
Ley and Leigh talk about the problems with slow beginnings and meandering plot progress in this episode.
First aired September 22, 2022.
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S35E6 – The Problem with Annoying Main Characters

When we talk about main characters being annoying, we aren’t referring to their personality traits which may be annoying in a real person. For readers, an annoying main character is often one who is unrealistic. Whether that’s because the author has created a Mary Sue/Gary Stu, or because they keep waving the magical wand of “because the author said so.” Characters don’t have to be perfect (actually, perfection often causes this problem more often than not), but they do need to be compelling.
In this episode, Leigh and Ley talk about what works and what doesn’t work when crafting a main character, and how to avoid making one that will turn readers away from your story.
First aired September 19, 2022.
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S35E5 – When Characters Make Bad Decisions

Few things are more annoying than when a character makes a bad decision. We’re not talking about ones which are bad within the context of the world and the story. All characters need to make a bad decision or two in order to keep the plot moving and interesting. We’re talking about the decisions that don’t make sense for that character. An assassin who has to show off her skills at every turn to prove she’s the best, when the actual best assassins are never known. The sensible one suddenly going off the rails for no reason. Miscommunication for the sake of employing the miscommunication trope, even when the character has been established as being open.
These apparent contradictions signal to the reader that the character is underdeveloped or that the author is forcing events to appease the plot. It never feels whole or natural. Listen to this episode for more about how to fix this problem to make sure your character decisions make sense for them.
First aired September 15, 2022.
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S35E4 – One Impossible Thing in Fiction

It’s no secret that people turn to books to find an escape from the reality of the world. It’s why fantasy and science fiction are so popular. Even books outside those genres often include one impossible thing which the readers simply accept as being part of the tale. That acceptance, however, is limited. If you begin to include to many unrelated impossible things, readers start to look elsewhere for an escape.
This red flag is more than just having a story set in a fictional world fictional elements. It’s like including fae and Marvel-esque superpowers and space battles and whatever other one you want. If you have to spend too much time explaining why they all belong in the same story, you’re probably including too many shiny ideas. Instead, pick one. A single cornerstone impossible idea, then build the rest of your world from that. Listen to this episode for more suggestions on how to make the impossible things in your story cohesive, rather than a red flag to turn away readers.
First aired September 12, 2022.
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S35E3 – When There’s Buildup Without a Payoff

Plot points set up within a story need to be resolved. That’s pretty straightforward, right? That, however, is not how it turns out for a lot of new authors, especially pantsers (or discovery writers). Sometimes we find ourselves including interesting tidbits that the reader thinks will play an important part in the story, but then it never actually comes back into play. Maybe the character discovered an interesting power, or a magical item, which soon finds itself lost in the meandering plot.
Setup without payoff may not be something that immediately makes a reader set down a book, but it will negatively impact their overall view of the story. It may even keep them from continuing the series because the ending didn’t satisfy all of the questions they had, and they don’t have trust that the author will resolve those in the coming stories.
In this episode, we talk about this red flag in novels, how to avoid it, and ways to keep the tension but still give the necessary satisfaction to the readers.
First aired September 8, 2022.
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S35E2 – Bad Beginnings Ruin a Story

Start too slow and you bore the reader. Start too quickly and you confuse them. Finding the right balance for the start of your story is essential. Unfortunately, it’s also incredibly difficult.
There are many ways you can start off a story in the wrong way. You can make it cliché, use a flashback, or throw them into action without context. The list goes on and on and on. We talk about some of the common mistakes at the beginnings of novels that turn away the readers in this episode, then break down how to fix and avoid the problem.
First aired September 5, 2022.
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S35E1 – The Problem with Head-Hopping

There are a few red flags in writing that will cause nearly all readers to set down a book and never pick it up again. It can range from something as simple as bad grammar and punctuation, to problems with the characters.
One of the more common problems, especially among new authors, is a lack of consistency in who is telling the story. Changing the point-of-view character is common enough in fiction, especially in fantasy and sci-fi. However, there is a difference between this normal POV change and what is known as head-hopping. The latter means switching between character perspectives in a single scene, sometimes a single paragraph or sentence. This style of change causes confusion and a lack of continuity that frustrates readers into setting the book down.
We break down what head-hopping is, how to identify it, and how to fix it in this episode.
First aired September 1, 2022.
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