As an underwriter I have to constantly tell myself to slow down because I have my beats figured out and I want to get from point a to point b and sometimes I forget to build up between them.
What I do in this situation is right the fast pace beat you want to hit, but then I go back and reread it and add in filling details to help it not just be a series of one or two lines anymore. My problem is overcorrecting T_T
I feel this! After years of working as a technical writer where I was constantly scolded for "adding too much description," I now find it difficult to add description to my science fiction stories. :D
maybe it's a mindset thing? not like "oh youre so weak just don't do x" but maybe you need to put yourself instead of in one "writing" headspace, a "technical/academic" writing headspace and a "creative/descriptive" writing headspace. that way you can get good at directness without getting worse at descriptive ness at the same time
Late to the thread here, but I'm the opposite. I've alway been an underwriter, so my teachers always told me I had to do *more* Now I'm at the point that I've got both problems: I'm so self aware of my underwriting that I overcorrect and OVERwrite in the wrong places. 🤣
1 feelings, reflexion, wants, needs, flashbacks 2 add a b plot / c plot 3 bring back side characteres 4 add new characteres that create conflict 5 change something that was too easy 6 write the boring parts with a twist 7 Fix white room syndrome
@@dodapictures2141 I have specific publishing goal word counts Im trying to meet. However, in my personal diary I live on the edge and write what feels right.
This is such a useful video because I’m an underwriter when it comes to the stories I want to tell. I really relate to the fact that 70k might not sound short, but if you’re telling a complex thriller, then that might be short for what you’re actually trying to do. Skipping “the boring scenes” is exactly my issue, so I appreciate you touching on that!
Currently, I can soo relate. I've been bouncing from one "exciting scene" to another. I haven't even wanted to daydream about the less interesting bits.
In my second draft, my 70.000 words became 90.000 words. I fixed a lot of white room syndrome and I had a poor character, whose perspective I wanted to add, but she did not grow in the plot, she stayed the same. So I made her more desperate and let her steal something. It was great 😁
@@EleiyaUmei She returns the stolen item in the end. It’s a historical novel and her husband is a socialist during world war one. Class conscious and hopefully not at all discriminatory 😅
@@Supvia Okay, that doesn't convince me but I'm sure you did your best ^^' Maybe ask someone like a sensitivity reader to read through it if you haven't published it yet but intend to..
@@EleiyaUmei Thank you for your concerns 🙏 But it has been published by a small German publishing house two years ago. Fortunately, I‘ve not yet received any negative feedback on being class discriminatory. ☺️ My original comment was written without putting much thought into it (also please excuse that English is not my native language and I therefore lack writing skills). But let me explain a little bit more, why I decided on the theft side plot. The upper class main character slowly notices during the plot, that her family wealth is actually built on the shoulders of the workers, who produce concrete under terrible conditions. The pregnant side characters husband has been drafted and can no longer bring money home from the concrete factory, which leaves her and the baby penniless, since the factory she worked at had been closed down due to the war. Later on, the boss of the concrete factory (the main characters father) „graciously“ grants her her husbands job, where she has to stack bricks all day (that was literally a job in 1914), carrying the newborn baby all the time. The main character is shocked by this and befriends the side character, also having to apologise, because she caused her husband to be drafted. But - I felt like the side character was just suffering in all of her scenes, making her lack agency. The theft side plot actually turns her into an acting character herself: Suddenly she’s conflicted whether her behaviour was moral - it makes her more than just a victim and shows that she has choices, too. At the end, she returns the stolen item, as I already mentioned. I think there’s a lot of nuance and context to discrimination. Because yes, the main character IS walking on the other side of the street in the beginning to avoid the poor people, but she learns that exactly that is wrong and snobbish. Anyway, if my side character would be class-shamed in my story, the whole message would ridicule itself. I reaaally hope that this is not the case 😅
My 1st draft is usually under written. Once I have the bare bones story written I can go back enjoy the story and expand. I have the most fun going back fixing, adding or subtracting things. Building out the character and setting better scenes with more detail.
I'm the exact same! Even though I don't write much details in the dirty draft because it doesn't come intuitively, I love edit and adding all those missing details and seeing the story come together
This overwriter/underwriter series was perfect! I overwrote my last thriller novel and am currently underwriting my NaNo novel. Hopefully these videos can help me land in the happy middle ground. Thanks!
I need to give you the BIGGEST thanks, I was trying to figure out why my work was so fast paced and i ended up watching this video. Turns out my book was only action, there was no internalization
Thank you! I legit wrote “SO BORING “ after several scenes in my draft today. Your tips will help me. I’m working on my favorite trope but not in the genre I normally write!
I came away from this realizing I had so many great opportunities for more character development, subtle world building and description, several ideas for sub plots and plot detours... This was exactly what I needed to get my head in the right place. THANK YOU for your awesome practical advice Alexa.
I don’t know if this is a problem for other people, but something that I do is write from a really limited POV. So if I’m writing in first person, I literally only write things that would occur to the character in the story. This is great bc it keeps me from over explaining a lot of things, but it also means that a lot of plot points/characterisations are confusing to the audience. To fix this, I go back through and try to find the places where my character just assumes that everyone can figure it out and flesh those out
oh my god I'm so glad you made this video lmaooo my first chapter for my book that was multiple scenes long was only 5 pages _after_ I bumped the font size up. . .
This came right on time. I’ve been underwriting for a while now, and you’ve brought up so many things I still need to consider before I “finish” my book.
I'm an underwriter, but I LOVE descriptions. (I had to cut out a full page because I was literally just describing the process of a character getting ready to leave.) The thing is, I feel like 80% of my novel needs dialogue to show character motivations, growth, etc. and I find the first go-around of dialogue extremely boring and cringey. I know how to spice up everything, but I need to push myself through finishing my draft instead of editing every minute detail.
I am a notorious underwriter. I often just let the first draft be skin and bone and then go back through and apply all the tips and tricks to write more.
Love this! I'm totally an underwriter. I think my biggest issues are lack of descriptions (though that's kind of on purpose, I tend to use a lot of placeholders in my first draft just so I can keep the story moving), underutilizing certain characters (which I'm working on now), and all A plot-lacking B plot. Great tips.
Both these videos are so helpful. I've both underwritten (not enough reflection and some white room syndrome) and overwritten (too many scenes mostly) my fantasy novel.
Thanks. I’m definitely an underwriter. I’m returning to my beat sheet first, but now I have more ideas to get sufficient meat on the bones, quickly enough for NaNo.
Thank you so much, Alexa, this video was a lifesaver! I consider myself an over writer in terms of descriptions, dialogues and monologues. I’ve never considered that an under writer can also mean one who’s story lacks plot points or conflict. That is something I struggle with a lot, especially coming from writing short fiction. I’m already starting to nail down some of these I’m seeing in my WIP. It’s making me eager to start edits. Great video!
this came right on time. Just finished my first novel - an action thriller - clocking in at 61k words. It's in the hands of beta readers right now. TY so much
This has been the single best video I have ever watched to help me understand how to craft and develop a story from my initial idea. I haven't even written it yet, but just having this in mind and taking notes as I watched has me feeling so much more confident about where to start, where to go, and what needs to be included for a well-rounded story. I'm going to check out the overwriting video next. Thank you very much!
I have been waiting for this one! Hardcore underwriter here and I usually start the fix by describing the room/setting. I’m seriously guilty of white room syndrome. Thanks for the video!! You are awesome!!
I always knew I was one of those writers that was more likely to need to add content to the first draft than delete but I never knew there was a name for it! Very enlightening, and especially helpful as I tackle my first novel project. 3rd week of NaNoWriMo and I've been worrying where the next 20K+ words are going to come from--now I know!
Thank you Alea, after 24 years as a video editor, it was ingrained in my mind to hunt for material I could toss on the cutting room floor to make room for more commercials but now that I am writing, this is a whole new ball game to fatten it up. Great tips. I'm in my 2nd rewrite and making her lost at sea, 3rd husband return! And this is a musical.
Guilty of emotion-hopping. It's my biggest mistake while writing and it's kinda hard to detect on your own cause it's so obvious to me what the characters are feeling that I often forget to write it down. For me, it helps to make emotional outlines: pick a scene, write down the basic plot and add for each character in the scene how they feel towards each plot element. It is kinda painful to do but it helps highlighting when emotional change occures and where to focus or at least when to drop some hints viva bodylanguage
Thank you, Alexa, for your videos! No matter what they're about, they never fail to give me motivational boosts. It must be the "happy writing" wish at the end haha!
Oh white room syndrome is such a problem for me, but hey, now I know that I can fix it. You're right, this does go very well with the overwriting, this lets you find the scenes you are missing and then you use the overwriter tips to tighten them up.
Thanks for this. I just had my manuscript edited and you just reiterated every part of the critique. I just started with my edit and already have added 5K words.
I am usually a screen writer, where you have to be so tight with your writing, and there’s no room for anything you can’t see (like moments of reflection). So I’ve found I’m a massive under writer for novels. This is helpful.
I think this was one of the most helpful videos I have watched, as I'm definitely an underwriter. Definitely lack feelings, reflection, wants and needs. My main story also has something like 98% A-plot, a whopping 2% B-plot and not much else. I do add characters, but they aren't a source of any major conflicts, so that needs some work. And I know I rushed parts, because I was in a hurry to get to the next exciting thing. Functional filler is definitely an area that can be improved, although I _think_ I'm not terrible with them. Lastly, white room syndrome is a bit of a hit or miss for me. I tend to do ok, but I know I slip up more times than I like to. A friend of mine, who I have actuall co-written a story with, is much better at making the surroundings feel alive than I am, so I believe it's time to go re-read some of his work with this in mind.
Great advices, I think so far the best underwriting tips of what I've watched. Definitely coming back to this video whenever I need to remind myself of what to look out for, thanks.
Definitely have this issue, skip from one beat to the next without developing the stuff in between, so that it doesn't even make sense. Great advice! And have been called out too many times by this video haha
I really enjoy authors who describe weather, wallpaper and textures of fabric and color. I believe these things are especially important in audiobooks. I like to see the colors and since feeling the textures when I read❤
You gave me some good tips to be going on with . I don't know how to introduce some conflict, though, that will take a lot of thinking about. Thanks, Alexa.
Thank you so much for this!!! I've always been an underwriter. It was a struggle to get more than 50k out of my YA Contemporary and now, I'm attempting to write a YA Sci-fi.
Great advice! The ‘boring scene’ point I had to learn the hard way! I just cut the first four chapters of my fantasy because I was like, if I don’t like these scenes then readers won’t either. (It’s more that I couldn’t wait to get to the exciting parts, so I decided why not start there!🤦♀️
Thank you so much! I now have a good idea of what to go back and look for. I'm only about 10k words short of the sweet spot and I have and idea for a new scene to add but this video helped me add to that! Secondary characters! Great!
I have watched a few of your videos and this one popped up almost at the exact moment I was thinking how I should be able to extend the book, I am writing a mystery novel and has just started. I am at like 40 pages (booksize, not A4) and have jumped through the chapters and mostly focused on the base story so this was a good video for me today ^^ I need to think of a b-plot
You got me in the first 5 minutes. I wrote a mystery that rounded out at 55k at the end of my first draft. Watching this has been very useful. Everything you said was spot on; things played out too easily, making better use of secondary characters, adding more conflict and MC introspection. Looking forward to a meatier second draft.
I just love this video. And yea, busy rewriting my main book (old version amount 52 000 odd words - with mini history story info with over 92 000 odd words). And I have been enjoying the fresh creative vibe in creating the new version of each chapter. ATM, busy reading a book while procrastinating about the new chapter four.
Awesome, I’ve been waiting for this since the overwriter-video, because I definitely underwrite everything. I wanted to add though what you just touched on during the last two minutes: characters. Most advice out there is for plotting, but I found out I come from the perspective of characters. I need to get to know them, and when I finally do it’s more fun to imagine different smaller scenes for the readers to meet them as well. I want to showcase their layers, and their connections with other characters. So characters solve my connective-scene-subplot-problem. Also, I write really condensed, perfectionist prose, so all my scenes are stuffed to the brim with conflict, detail and characterization, and they work beautifully in themselves-but to work in a novel, they need to be unraveled a little, so instead of three things finding a resolution in a scene, I’ll limit myself to one or two max and carry the third through a couple scenes. That way, I get loads of smaller arcs to flesh out the plot, and some become bigger by necessity.
i was just thinking about how my current draft seems way too quick 😭 it’s like i want a certain pace and i just can’t do it and when i try to beef it up it just FEELS like filler description to me. def something i need to work on and experiment with
Could you make a video only about sub-plots? How to come up with them, how to juggle them around, etc. That would really be wonderful. Thank you for all your amazing videos, I began writing again thanks to you.
Awesome video! I’m definitely an underwriter and thus really helped me understand how to fix that. Maybe you could make a more in depth video just about subplots and a b c plots in the future? Keep up the great work!
Today is one of my writing break days but just you explaining this makes me excited to go try write and build out my WIP more ⚠️ definitely taking tips for tomorrow’s writing day! ❤️
This video helped out a lot. Am not writing a novel but I am writing a story. Well....it's a fanfiction. 1st time ever trying to write a story and I did manage to finish it. It's very close to 30k words. Problem is I don't have beta readers or someone that critiques. I already know that I use tons of tags which am trying to get rid of atm. If your wondering fanfic it is it's Sonic. Type of story: Action Drama.
Such a great idea and it’s funny that I just made some notes in my outline to use secondary characters more! Apparently I knew to use this method without realizing it! I’m glad I’m on the right path to build out my stories!
I totally have white room syndrome, but it’s not like I hide the visuals from the reader, I don’t have them really. My characters are blobs of which I just know who is who and they live in white space. That’s it :(
You didn't need to call me and my 3-year WIP series like this Alexa I would love to hear your thoughts on how to choose those b and c plots that fit effectively into an a plot because my biggest problem with this particular series is exactly that. I know I need more plotting, but I feel like nothing I try fits! Also, I call the "necessary filler" connective tissue! It was great hearing your take on it :)
I needed this. I started to write my 4th novel (still learning!) and in the hook alone I already see the underwriting. Watching this, just in that hook, no introspection and barely any actual scenery. Not because it's boring but because I know it and just... didn't actually write it? Oops?
Excellent tips! I once heard a clever idea that I use everytime and keeps me on track and that is to break your novel into traditional 3 acts for instance act 1 is 22,500 words act 2 is 45,000 words and then the denouement 3rd act 22,500 words adding up to a total of 90k words for an adult fiction thriller which is what I write in. I like to stay within the 80k to 90k area for adult fiction personally and when I break my book down to 3 acts I can keep on top of under-writing.
Thank you for this video. My first novel is currently a little over 50k words and I've been looking for ways to flash it out without adding unneeded fluff.
I have an issue with small talk and romantic storylines and I usually avoid writing them because I find them tedious and unnecessary (not to mention I do not enjoy writing them or know how to write them well), so I try to have more argument tension, but this leads to really dramatic storylines but still an underwritten story because there isn't any of that 'loose chatter' and generalisation. I've tried writing a dual protagonist story and it does work writing more, however I always find one of the Protagonist is 'lower tier' and less interesting than the other.
Ha ha! Tell me about it. I went through soo many failed attempts at a first date for the story I'm currently working on. This piece feels so -- thin, but I just can't with the more "boring" bits.
@@KaterynaM_UA I've tried having a character explain the world to my MC but it either makes my MC feel dumb/stupid about the world or the explaining character seem like a boring know it all who's Info dumping. I think the weakness lies in character arcs. Like I have the "this character is going to go through some traumatic experiences" arc. But given them no personal growth arc, romantic arc, etc etc. Like even a friend conversation, I've gotta see it like "what's the friendship arc here" are they gonna have a mini argument and split up? Is miscommunication gonna come into play? Is someone gonna say something offensive and cause some conflict? I personally find that can be too dramatic... But then i remember it's not dramatic... It's quite realistic...
Alexa: "Are there characters that just disappear?"
Me: o.o stop calling me out like this
so relatable xD on my 5th draft im like "oh i should bring back that main character's friend uh"
I just killed him off lol
As an underwriter I have to constantly tell myself to slow down because I have my beats figured out and I want to get from point a to point b and sometimes I forget to build up between them.
Agreed 😅
What I do in this situation is right the fast pace beat you want to hit, but then I go back and reread it and add in filling details to help it not just be a series of one or two lines anymore. My problem is overcorrecting T_T
“You wrote your book and it’s ‘only’ 30,000 words” 😳
Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap.
My first draft was 350 000 words. XD XD I've cut it down to 310k now. XD I'm such an over writer. Here, take my words! I have too many!
Oh my god, I wish I could write that much!
@@lukesahagian I wish I didn't. XD And it takes ages to edit it all.
Oh god I didn’t even think of that. But that’s a huge achievement, to have that much creativity you can write that amount for your story. Well done!
I think writing too many essays made my writing stiff and too straight to the point lol. I used to be able to write much longer stuff...
I feel this! After years of working as a technical writer where I was constantly scolded for "adding too much description," I now find it difficult to add description to my science fiction stories. :D
maybe it's a mindset thing? not like "oh youre so weak just don't do x" but maybe you need to put yourself instead of in one "writing" headspace, a "technical/academic" writing headspace and a "creative/descriptive" writing headspace.
that way you can get good at directness without getting worse at descriptive ness at the same time
@@fkdjdjcmckdjdjf3728 lol one of my friend told me my writing has become too explanatory instead of letting the readers infer things
Late to the thread here, but I'm the opposite. I've alway been an underwriter, so my teachers always told me I had to do *more*
Now I'm at the point that I've got both problems: I'm so self aware of my underwriting that I overcorrect and OVERwrite in the wrong places. 🤣
1 feelings, reflexion, wants, needs, flashbacks
2 add a b plot / c plot
3 bring back side characteres
4 add new characteres that create conflict
5 change something that was too easy
6 write the boring parts with a twist
7 Fix white room syndrome
Ah, the video I’ve been waiting for.
*Stares blankly at 29,000 word “novel”
@@dodapictures2141 I have specific publishing goal word counts Im trying to meet. However, in my personal diary I live on the edge and write what feels right.
Find every contraction and decouple it. That should add a couple hundred.
Please do not do this. Good lord.@@mariokarter13
That's great! You already have almost half a novel!
I just finished my entire fantasy draft at around 50k so i definitely need this 😬😭
Heh, same bc nanowrimo
ahh same!! my goal was 70,000 and i can’t get passed 55,000 😔😔
@@abbyjdunn right?! I was like “60k at the least” but I couldn’t even reach that 😭
Oh my god! Wow! Gratz! I am 1/3 in with 40k!
@@PianoMan-hx3ev and also, a wizard is never late. He arrives precisely when he needs to❤️
This is such a useful video because I’m an underwriter when it comes to the stories I want to tell. I really relate to the fact that 70k might not sound short, but if you’re telling a complex thriller, then that might be short for what you’re actually trying to do. Skipping “the boring scenes” is exactly my issue, so I appreciate you touching on that!
Currently, I can soo relate. I've been bouncing from one "exciting scene" to another. I haven't even wanted to daydream about the less interesting bits.
In my second draft, my 70.000 words became 90.000 words.
I fixed a lot of white room syndrome and I had a poor character, whose perspective I wanted to add, but she did not grow in the plot, she stayed the same. So I made her more desperate and let her steal something. It was great 😁
That sounds potentially class-discriminatory...
@@EleiyaUmei She returns the stolen item in the end. It’s a historical novel and her husband is a socialist during world war one. Class conscious and hopefully not at all discriminatory 😅
@@Supvia Okay, that doesn't convince me but I'm sure you did your best ^^' Maybe ask someone like a sensitivity reader to read through it if you haven't published it yet but intend to..
@@EleiyaUmei Thank you for your concerns 🙏 But it has been published by a small German publishing house two years ago. Fortunately, I‘ve not yet received any negative feedback on being class discriminatory. ☺️
My original comment was written without putting much thought into it (also please excuse that English is not my native language and I therefore lack writing skills). But let me explain a little bit more, why I decided on the theft side plot.
The upper class main character slowly notices during the plot, that her family wealth is actually built on the shoulders of the workers, who produce concrete under terrible conditions. The pregnant side characters husband has been drafted and can no longer bring money home from the concrete factory, which leaves her and the baby penniless, since the factory she worked at had been closed down due to the war. Later on, the boss of the concrete factory (the main characters father) „graciously“ grants her her husbands job, where she has to stack bricks all day (that was literally a job in 1914), carrying the newborn baby all the time. The main character is shocked by this and befriends the side character, also having to apologise, because she caused her husband to be drafted.
But - I felt like the side character was just suffering in all of her scenes, making her lack agency. The theft side plot actually turns her into an acting character herself: Suddenly she’s conflicted whether her behaviour was moral - it makes her more than just a victim and shows that she has choices, too. At the end, she returns the stolen item, as I already mentioned.
I think there’s a lot of nuance and context to discrimination. Because yes, the main character IS walking on the other side of the street in the beginning to avoid the poor people, but she learns that exactly that is wrong and snobbish.
Anyway, if my side character would be class-shamed in my story, the whole message would ridicule itself. I reaaally hope that this is not the case 😅
Me: Is DEFINITELY and overwriter
Also Me: Tips for underwriters! The exact video I needed!
I’m an underwriter. I basically do a zero draft which is mainly dialogue (my strong suit) and then my first draft is basically filling in the blanks..
Maybe this is what I should do. I always go back in the middle of my drafting and am like “No. This is boring.”
omg i do it the same way. i love writing dialogue and then i have to go back and figure out all the rest lol
Me: I'm getting a little insecure because my book is too short
Alexa: Say no more
Oh I definitely needed this! I just finished the first chapter and it's barely 2k words
*depressed laugh*... mine are about 700 words lol
god i relate to all of this so hard
A chapter being around 1500-2000 words is totally normal though. Mine are usually around that length, but I guess it can depend on the genre too
@@hannaholmberg3054 from what I've heard 4000 to 5000 is the normal amount.
My 1st draft is usually under written. Once I have the bare bones story written I can go back enjoy the story and expand. I have the most fun going back fixing, adding or subtracting things. Building out the character and setting better scenes with more detail.
I'm the exact same! Even though I don't write much details in the dirty draft because it doesn't come intuitively, I love edit and adding all those missing details and seeing the story come together
This overwriter/underwriter series was perfect! I overwrote my last thriller novel and am currently underwriting my NaNo novel. Hopefully these videos can help me land in the happy middle ground. Thanks!
I've finished watching all of alexa's videos and the waiting for more is torture
always a good plan to then go and write about that torture. ;) great practice!
Oh my gosh, the thing you said about the forgetting about characters later on is SO ME.
That NaNo realization damn near crushed me. I'm still working on expanding my first successful one.
I need to give you the BIGGEST thanks, I was trying to figure out why my work was so fast paced and i ended up watching this video. Turns out my book was only action, there was no internalization
Thank you! I legit wrote “SO BORING “ after several scenes in my draft today. Your tips will help me. I’m working on my favorite trope but not in the genre I normally write!
As soon as I got the notification, I thought yes!!! This is what I need!
I need a button that shows me Alexa videos I haven't watched yet 😂
I wonder how many finance people clicked on this video thinking it was about a different type of underwriting. LOL. Great video, as always. Peace!
I, on the other hand, was puzzled by a lot of underwriting videos that weren't what I was looking for at all. :-D
I came away from this realizing I had so many great opportunities for more character development, subtle world building and description, several ideas for sub plots and plot detours... This was exactly what I needed to get my head in the right place. THANK YOU for your awesome practical advice Alexa.
I don’t know if this is a problem for other people, but something that I do is write from a really limited POV. So if I’m writing in first person, I literally only write things that would occur to the character in the story. This is great bc it keeps me from over explaining a lot of things, but it also means that a lot of plot points/characterisations are confusing to the audience. To fix this, I go back through and try to find the places where my character just assumes that everyone can figure it out and flesh those out
oh my god I'm so glad you made this video lmaooo my first chapter for my book that was multiple scenes long was only 5 pages _after_ I bumped the font size up. . .
Yes! Especially as a pantser, I just throw the plot on page as it comes along and then realize I have to beef it up later.
This came right on time. I’ve been underwriting for a while now, and you’ve brought up so many things I still need to consider before I “finish” my book.
I'm an underwriter, but I LOVE descriptions. (I had to cut out a full page because I was literally just describing the process of a character getting ready to leave.) The thing is, I feel like 80% of my novel needs dialogue to show character motivations, growth, etc. and I find the first go-around of dialogue extremely boring and cringey. I know how to spice up everything, but I need to push myself through finishing my draft instead of editing every minute detail.
oh i could listen to this woman forever
I am a notorious underwriter. I often just let the first draft be skin and bone and then go back through and apply all the tips and tricks to write more.
Love this! I'm totally an underwriter. I think my biggest issues are lack of descriptions (though that's kind of on purpose, I tend to use a lot of placeholders in my first draft just so I can keep the story moving), underutilizing certain characters (which I'm working on now), and all A plot-lacking B plot. Great tips.
Both these videos are so helpful. I've both underwritten (not enough reflection and some white room syndrome) and overwritten (too many scenes mostly) my fantasy novel.
Thanks. I’m definitely an underwriter. I’m returning to my beat sheet first, but now I have more ideas to get sufficient meat on the bones, quickly enough for NaNo.
Thank you so much, Alexa, this video was a lifesaver! I consider myself an over writer in terms of descriptions, dialogues and monologues. I’ve never considered that an under writer can also mean one who’s story lacks plot points or conflict. That is something I struggle with a lot, especially coming from writing short fiction.
I’m already starting to nail down some of these I’m seeing in my WIP. It’s making me eager to start edits.
Great video!
this came right on time. Just finished my first novel - an action thriller - clocking in at 61k words. It's in the hands of beta readers right now. TY so much
Definitely an overwritter but love hearing advice for the opposite lol
Same. My book is still over 300k and I've cut 40k from it. XD
This has been the single best video I have ever watched to help me understand how to craft and develop a story from my initial idea. I haven't even written it yet, but just having this in mind and taking notes as I watched has me feeling so much more confident about where to start, where to go, and what needs to be included for a well-rounded story. I'm going to check out the overwriting video next. Thank you very much!
I have been waiting for this one! Hardcore underwriter here and I usually start the fix by describing the room/setting. I’m seriously guilty of white room syndrome. Thanks for the video!! You are awesome!!
I always knew I was one of those writers that was more likely to need to add content to the first draft than delete but I never knew there was a name for it! Very enlightening, and especially helpful as I tackle my first novel project. 3rd week of NaNoWriMo and I've been worrying where the next 20K+ words are going to come from--now I know!
Thank you Alea, after 24 years as a video editor, it was ingrained in my mind to hunt for material I could toss on the cutting room floor to make room for more commercials but now that I am writing, this is a whole new ball game to fatten it up. Great tips. I'm in my 2nd rewrite and making her lost at sea, 3rd husband return! And this is a musical.
I have trouble with underwriting, this video was totally for me 🖤
Guilty of emotion-hopping. It's my biggest mistake while writing and it's kinda hard to detect on your own cause it's so obvious to me what the characters are feeling that I often forget to write it down. For me, it helps to make emotional outlines: pick a scene, write down the basic plot and add for each character in the scene how they feel towards each plot element. It is kinda painful to do but it helps highlighting when emotional change occures and where to focus or at least when to drop some hints viva bodylanguage
Finally! I've been waiting for this. Time to plug in some earphone and listen to the sweet dulcet tones of Auntie Alexa lecturing me!
Thank you, Alexa, for your videos! No matter what they're about, they never fail to give me motivational boosts. It must be the "happy writing" wish at the end haha!
Oh white room syndrome is such a problem for me, but hey, now I know that I can fix it.
You're right, this does go very well with the overwriting, this lets you find the scenes you are missing and then you use the overwriter tips to tighten them up.
Thanks for this. I just had my manuscript edited and you just reiterated every part of the critique. I just started with my edit and already have added 5K words.
That's funny. I'm always worried my writing is way too much internalized thought.
Yes!! I've been waiting for this video! My NaNo project needs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
I've come back to this video several times. It's a nice touchstone for anyone who tends towards starker early drafts. Thankyou.
I am usually a screen writer, where you have to be so tight with your writing, and there’s no room for anything you can’t see (like moments of reflection). So I’ve found I’m a massive under writer for novels. This is helpful.
My prayers have been answered.
I think this was one of the most helpful videos I have watched, as I'm definitely an underwriter.
Definitely lack feelings, reflection, wants and needs. My main story also has something like 98% A-plot, a whopping 2% B-plot and not much else. I do add characters, but they aren't a source of any major conflicts, so that needs some work. And I know I rushed parts, because I was in a hurry to get to the next exciting thing. Functional filler is definitely an area that can be improved, although I _think_ I'm not terrible with them. Lastly, white room syndrome is a bit of a hit or miss for me. I tend to do ok, but I know I slip up more times than I like to. A friend of mine, who I have actuall co-written a story with, is much better at making the surroundings feel alive than I am, so I believe it's time to go re-read some of his work with this in mind.
This is awesome advice! Ideas began popping into my head as you gave advice!
Thanks for this video. It's very time;ly for me for the novel I am working on which I KNOW will be too short. Very helpful.
I didn't even realize I needed this but now I see that I SO did!! Thank you so much!
Great advices, I think so far the best underwriting tips of what I've watched. Definitely coming back to this video whenever I need to remind myself of what to look out for, thanks.
Definitely have this issue, skip from one beat to the next without developing the stuff in between, so that it doesn't even make sense. Great advice! And have been called out too many times by this video haha
I really enjoy authors who describe weather, wallpaper and textures of fabric and color. I believe these things are especially important in audiobooks. I like to see the colors and since feeling the textures when I read❤
You gave me some good tips to be going on with . I don't know how to introduce some conflict, though, that will take a lot of thinking about. Thanks, Alexa.
Very detailed?
I just wanna say a huge thank you to Alexa for this fabulous video!
Best regards from an Ukrainian!
Just keep writing!
You for sure did. I need to elaborate on my characters' internalization
Yay! I’ve been waiting for this one!!!
I know this video has been up for a while, but it's exactly what I needed right now. Thank you!
Exactly what I needed! Brb going to create some more conflict for my characters :D
Thank you so much for this!!! I've always been an underwriter. It was a struggle to get more than 50k out of my YA Contemporary and now, I'm attempting to write a YA Sci-fi.
Wow, this was exactly what I needed. Thank you so much for the advice!!
Great advice! The ‘boring scene’ point I had to learn the hard way! I just cut the first four chapters of my fantasy because I was like, if I don’t like these scenes then readers won’t either. (It’s more that I couldn’t wait to get to the exciting parts, so I decided why not start there!🤦♀️
I LOVED this video, it was like a light bulb going off in my head - thank you for all the tips. Looking forward to actioning them into my novel :)
I am an underwriter who actually internalizes a lot. It is more the external events that I underwrite.
Earlyyy, I love your writing tips! It really helps alot
Thank you so much! I now have a good idea of what to go back and look for. I'm only about 10k words short of the sweet spot and I have and idea for a new scene to add but this video helped me add to that! Secondary characters! Great!
Worldbuilding! I'm writing a sci-fi and have thus far completely neglected to sprinkle in fun, contextual-but-not-plot-critical details.
I have watched a few of your videos and this one popped up almost at the exact moment I was thinking how I should be able to extend the book, I am writing a mystery novel and has just started. I am at like 40 pages (booksize, not A4) and have jumped through the chapters and mostly focused on the base story
so this was a good video for me today ^^ I need to think of a b-plot
You really should make a video on A B C plots! Was struggling with ideas, remembered you touched on it here, and it helped bump me along!
You got me in the first 5 minutes. I wrote a mystery that rounded out at 55k at the end of my first draft. Watching this has been very useful. Everything you said was spot on; things played out too easily, making better use of secondary characters, adding more conflict and MC introspection. Looking forward to a meatier second draft.
This is extremely helpful for me. Gave me much to think about as I finish my 3rd consecutive NaNo at
just wanna say, I think you've been so helpful to me on my journey with my books.
I just love this video. And yea, busy rewriting my main book (old version amount 52 000 odd words - with mini history story info with over 92 000 odd words).
And I have been enjoying the fresh creative vibe in creating the new version of each chapter. ATM, busy reading a book while procrastinating about the new chapter four.
Awesome, I’ve been waiting for this since the overwriter-video, because I definitely underwrite everything. I wanted to add though what you just touched on during the last two minutes: characters. Most advice out there is for plotting, but I found out I come from the perspective of characters. I need to get to know them, and when I finally do it’s more fun to imagine different smaller scenes for the readers to meet them as well. I want to showcase their layers, and their connections with other characters. So characters solve my connective-scene-subplot-problem.
Also, I write really condensed, perfectionist prose, so all my scenes are stuffed to the brim with conflict, detail and characterization, and they work beautifully in themselves-but to work in a novel, they need to be unraveled a little, so instead of three things finding a resolution in a scene, I’ll limit myself to one or two max and carry the third through a couple scenes. That way, I get loads of smaller arcs to flesh out the plot, and some become bigger by necessity.
Very helpful video. Working on the third draft of a novel, and this is exactly what I needed to hear to get me motivated to help me bring my wc up.
i was just thinking about how my current draft seems way too quick 😭 it’s like i want a certain pace and i just can’t do it and when i try to beef it up it just FEELS like filler description to me. def something i need to work on and experiment with
Thank you for your tips! I am definitely an underwriter and find it very useful
Could you make a video only about sub-plots? How to come up with them, how to juggle them around, etc.
That would really be wonderful. Thank you for all your amazing videos, I began writing again thanks to you.
Awesome video! I’m definitely an underwriter and thus really helped me understand how to fix that. Maybe you could make a more in depth video just about subplots and a b c plots in the future? Keep up the great work!
Today is one of my writing break days but just you explaining this makes me excited to go try write and build out my WIP more ⚠️ definitely taking tips for tomorrow’s writing day! ❤️
Just wanted to say. This was a quality video. Thanks
This video helped out a lot. Am not writing a novel but I am writing a story. Well....it's a fanfiction. 1st time ever trying to write a story and I did manage to finish it. It's very close to 30k words. Problem is I don't have beta readers or someone that critiques. I already know that I use tons of tags which am trying to get rid of atm.
If your wondering fanfic it is it's Sonic. Type of story: Action Drama.
Such a great idea and it’s funny that I just made some notes in my outline to use secondary characters more! Apparently I knew to use this method without realizing it! I’m glad I’m on the right path to build out my stories!
This is the most useful videos on "underwriting" I have ever seen.
I totally have white room syndrome, but it’s not like I hide the visuals from the reader, I don’t have them really. My characters are blobs of which I just know who is who and they live in white space. That’s it :(
this video is on point i have disappear characters which Im planing to use them on midpoint thank you so much alexa your wonderful!
You didn't need to call me and my 3-year WIP series like this Alexa
I would love to hear your thoughts on how to choose those b and c plots that fit effectively into an a plot because my biggest problem with this particular series is exactly that. I know I need more plotting, but I feel like nothing I try fits!
Also, I call the "necessary filler" connective tissue! It was great hearing your take on it :)
This advice is fantastic!!! Really admire your smarts on these topics and the way you deliver the advice. Super helpful :) Sincerely, an underwriter
Thank you!! I really needed this! 😊
This is EXTREMELY helpful! Thank you!
I needed this. I started to write my 4th novel (still learning!) and in the hook alone I already see the underwriting. Watching this, just in that hook, no introspection and barely any actual scenery. Not because it's boring but because I know it and just... didn't actually write it?
Oops?
Excellent tips! I once heard a clever idea that I use everytime and keeps me on track and that is to break your novel into traditional 3 acts for instance act 1 is 22,500 words act 2 is 45,000 words and then the denouement 3rd act 22,500 words adding up to a total of 90k words for an adult fiction thriller which is what I write in. I like to stay within the 80k to 90k area for adult fiction personally and when I break my book down to 3 acts I can keep on top of under-writing.
Thank you for this video. My first novel is currently a little over 50k words and I've been looking for ways to flash it out without adding unneeded fluff.
I have an issue with small talk and romantic storylines and I usually avoid writing them because I find them tedious and unnecessary (not to mention I do not enjoy writing them or know how to write them well), so I try to have more argument tension, but this leads to really dramatic storylines but still an underwritten story because there isn't any of that 'loose chatter' and generalisation.
I've tried writing a dual protagonist story and it does work writing more, however I always find one of the Protagonist is 'lower tier' and less interesting than the other.
Ha ha! Tell me about it. I went through soo many failed attempts at a first date for the story I'm currently working on. This piece feels so -- thin, but I just can't with the more "boring" bits.
regarding small talk, you can use it as a subtle world building and characterisation tool! No one wants to read actual small talk in a book. xD
@@KaterynaM_UA this sounds interesting
@@KaterynaM_UA I've tried having a character explain the world to my MC but it either makes my MC feel dumb/stupid about the world or the explaining character seem like a boring know it all who's Info dumping.
I think the weakness lies in character arcs. Like I have the "this character is going to go through some traumatic experiences" arc. But given them no personal growth arc, romantic arc, etc etc. Like even a friend conversation, I've gotta see it like "what's the friendship arc here" are they gonna have a mini argument and split up? Is miscommunication gonna come into play? Is someone gonna say something offensive and cause some conflict?
I personally find that can be too dramatic... But then i remember it's not dramatic... It's quite realistic...
Thank you for this video! I know I struggle with this and you’ve offered so many tips, I’m excited to try these ☺️