Your Book Sucks and Here's Why

You Write Too Much and Not Enough

You write too much and not enough. 

How is this possible? How can you simultaneously write too much and not enough? Oh, trust me, it's possible.

*shoots narrowed eyes at fanfiction writers (including myself)*

This is honestly a pretty common occurrence. Essentially, what happens is that a Wattpad book drags on for sixty to eighty chapters, and you make it all the way through just to realize the main character spent fifty chapters at their house or at school doing the same monotonous things every single chapter. And before you say, "Well, if the character is in high school, that's their entire life! It wouldn't be realistic if most of it wasn't at school!"

Spare me. 

I just graduated high school, and let me tell you, I did plenty of things that didn't revolve around sitting in my house versus sitting in a classroom. Even if that is most of the character's life, it doesn't have to be most of the book. Just ask yourself: if their existence entirely revolves around depicting what they ate for breakfast and who they interacted with on the bus, what even is the point of the book?

Not to get mean, but I'm just genuinely curious. I'm not saying you can't have those things in your book! I'm saying you have to do it well. What are you telling the reader? If it isn't anything important, it's time to take a hard look at your plot. Too many books start out with either moving to a new house, or starting out the first day of school, or going through an unnecessary amount of detail regarding their morning routine. Who cares? Sorry, but you need to ask yourself that. Chances are, what you're saying in your book can be said much more effectively and concisely, so cut back on excess and unimportant information. 

In having too many chapters and not enough plot to stretch across the entire book, sometimes writers unintentionally limit their characters. For example, the other day I was reading this Eyeless Jack fan fiction. It has several million views, and it is like sixty chapters long. I'll spare you all the details (there weren't many) and get straight to the point. Disclaimer: I am not calling this person out! I read all the way to the end, and wouldn't have if I hadn't enjoyed it at least a little bit. 

I'm not mentioning the character development, or my like/dislike of the book itself, or a book review, or anything. All I'm pointing out is that the author limited themselves when trying to push the plot forward. For one, the only two settings that dominated the majority of the book were set inside the house as well as a few very minor scenes in the woods. Any other settings were random and sporadic at best. This was because the main plot surrounded around the female lead being Jack's "pet," as he affectionately referred to her, or as we'd call it: prisoner. She was essentially locked inside the house, never allowed to leave or have any friends, and even spent a good deal of time chained to her bed. 

While this may seem like a dangerous romance where he's forced to spend time with her and they fall in love (Stockholm Syndrome, anyone?), it wasn't. It could've been, but it wasn't. See, the main character spent so much time in the same house, or in the same bedroom chained to the same bed, the book was dry. Sixty chapters went by, and when I closed out of it, nothing really had happened. If the author had taken out the romance, there would be nothing. There's also the fact that while there was a truck that Jack owned (stole?), she never used it. Even if it was only a small scene, an attempted escape into the dark wilderness could've been so interesting. 

What if she met campers in the forest? Tried to get help? In the book, she does meet two cops who come to the door (I can't remember why), but five seconds after they recognize her, Jack slaughters them and the same plot drags on. The author could've turned that into at least a five chapter chase, filled with drama as she struggles between finally being free and her desire to stay with Jack because she's falling in love with him. 

But it didn't, because the author limited themselves. If they had written a feistier character who was constantly looking for methods of escape, it would have been so much more dynamic. Imagine if Jack was written as being a bored, lonely individual who knew she was trying to escape, and let her get so close each time just because it was entertaining. That would've been great! But the character was so fearful of Jack, and was written to be so oddly content with her life as a prisoner that the author restricted her from really doing anything at all. 

She spent most of the time in her room reading, and when she wasn't doing that she was showering, or watching tv, or having Jack bring her a sandwich. I'm being serious. I think it was a good read, and I think the character development was decent, and I read it all. But that's not to say it couldn't have been better, and I am disappointed because it has so much potential. 

Do not restrict your characters. Do not lock them up in houses and chain them to their beds unless you are going to incorporate it into a dynamic and action packed storyline. I'm sorry, but sixty chapters of two characters hanging around the house and describing their bed time routines isn't very interesting. The only reason I kept reading was because the character development wasn't half bad and the romance plot building was a slower burn and far more realistic than most. 

Give your characters every opportunity you can for them to stretch the plot line to its limits and keep your characters guessing at every turn. Do not write an eighty chapter book that says nothing at all. That is how you write too much and not enough: you have a large word count, but nothing of any value is being said. If your character spends several chapters going between home and school, shake it up. Maybe they go to a shooting range and witness a crazy person turn a gun on their friend. Maybe they go to a demolition derby for a fun weekend trip. Maybe they go to the beach and go pontoon boating just to run out of fuel, stranded from the shore. 

Decide what you want your characters to do and have them do it. Humans are creatures of habit, yes, but fictional characters shouldn't be. Take an ordinary teenager with an ordinary life and make it interesting. Too many people do a plot that creeps along like a snail and a fast romance that buds in a week, when it should be the other way around. 

Don't worry so much about views. Plenty of shitty books have tons pf views and plenty of great books don't have many at all. Focus on what you're saying, and don't forget that there is such a thing as oversharing. 

You know what else you write that sucks? Fan-fiction. 

You're in luck, though, because the next chapter happens to be about that.