Novel Problems Happen When Writers Are Too Nice
by Mary Kole | Former literary agent, now a freelance editor, writing teacher, and IP/story developer for major publishers and creators.
I've got something to say about the benefits of novel problems and tension in a story, and how "nice" can destroy both. That’s right, I said the benefits of novel problems. As humans, we’re hard-wired to solve and minimize problems. Not so in fiction writing! I'm not a fan of writers who take it too easy on their characters, never really putting their protagonists in any trouble.
I know what you might be thinking: “But I’m a nice person, why can’t I be that way when I’m writing?" This article isn’t saying that you, the writer, can’t be nice. But you, the plotter and character developer, should strive to be as mean and sadistic as possible … littering your work with escalating novel problems.
Sources of Novel Problems
Nice can ruin the tension and conflict in a story and make it dull. What I really cannot stand is manuscripts filled with nice moments where there is no active story tension or mystery to hook the reader. If nothing is uncertain or unpleasant—if there are no novel problems—what’s keeping readers turning the pages? If everything goes well for the characters, then it’s tough for an audience to engage.
That’s especially true when you fail to create novel problems at the end of a chapter (read more here on how to end a chapter). If a chapter ends with your protagonist in their comfy reading corner, and all seems right with the world … readers will be likely to put the book down. That is, if they’re not already asleep.
Novel Problems Don’t Create Themselves
The issue is that nice does not make us sit up and take notice of what's going on. Sometimes people say “Oh, that’s nice” when they want to be dismissive of something. Nice doesn't grab us by our collars and make us pay attention and it won't generate tension or conflict either.
Of course, we don't want our characters to suffer too much—some nice things do have to happen to them every now and then, especially to create counterpoint highs for their lows. But without tension, we have novel problems (and not the desirable kind, either).
Crafting Novel Problems Through Emotional Plot
Explaining a detailed emotional plot could fill an entirely new article (here’s one about how to outline a novel). The idea of the Emotional Plot addresses not only the action of the plot, but how the character feels and reacts to each moment. (You might call these reaction beats.) Don’t forget that there are two components to a story: what happens, and how characters react to it.
Keeping that in mind, remember that the climax of a novel (the high point of the action) usually aligns with the dark night of the soul (or the low point of the character’s emotions). Most of your story will involve placing your character in uncomfortable or dangerous internal or external conflict scenarios to create novel problems.
Your character should not experience a continuous slide into misery. Think of a snow tubing hill—you want some small bumps and victories before another dip. Let the character enjoy moments of happiness before bringing them down again.
Not Creating Enough Novel Problems? Cut the Cute
If you're finding that your plot feels too thick or your story lacks momentum, or you’re tempted to take a nap when reading revisions for the Xth time, ask yourself, “Am I being too pleasant? Are too many nice things happening to my character? Are there enough novel problems here?” Considering doing a boring edit (a fun revision trick for how to edit yourself). Pay special attention to chapter endings. Are they mostly ending with the resolution of a scene or problem? If yes, you’re doing too much “nice” and failing to create enough novel problems in the story to keep readers going.
You can't always inject every one of your plot points with life-or-death high stakes, that’s not practical. Repetition in writing and plot can make readers apathetic (see the law of diminishing returns as it applies to redundant scenes). When you get a lot of “more tension, please!” comments, consider the sweetest, comfortable moments in your story. Focus on adding novel problems and either cutting your peaceful sequences down or presenting a shocking plot twist after them that turns “nice” upside down.
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