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“To be continued" is your enemy. Write a complete story in one chapter.
I see writers who spend much time planning lengthy, elaborate storylines in vast original universes. They write one chapter, which by itself gives readers nothing. Then they get bored or distracted and never continue. The story is left unfinished forever and all the work is for nothing. This is a net waste of everybody's time.
Limit your scope. Take your cosmic plans and pare them down to a single, shining core concept. What if you had to make this about one character, about one pivotal moment in their existence? What if this was the only chapter of this you were ever going to be able to write (which it might well be)? What's the most important single thing you want to express? What's the most effective way to express it?
Starting things doesn't count. You've got to get to the end.”
―
I see writers who spend much time planning lengthy, elaborate storylines in vast original universes. They write one chapter, which by itself gives readers nothing. Then they get bored or distracted and never continue. The story is left unfinished forever and all the work is for nothing. This is a net waste of everybody's time.
Limit your scope. Take your cosmic plans and pare them down to a single, shining core concept. What if you had to make this about one character, about one pivotal moment in their existence? What if this was the only chapter of this you were ever going to be able to write (which it might well be)? What's the most important single thing you want to express? What's the most effective way to express it?
Starting things doesn't count. You've got to get to the end.”
―
Sean Gengler’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Sean Gengler’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Polls voted on by Sean Gengler
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