A Great Storyline, Ruined by the Execution

 

Have you ever read a book by an author you usually enjoy, only to find yourself getting increasingly irritated as you turn the pages?

Yeah. That was me recently.

I just finished a book by an author whose work I’ve enjoyed in the past. The premise was good. The storyline had potential. There was enough there to make it a suspenseful, engaging read.

But the execution? That’s where things went wrong.

And as both a reader and an editor, I couldn’t help noticing the things that kept pulling me out of the story.

One of my biggest frustrations was the sheer number of characters introduced within individual chapters.

At one point, there were approximately six different characters and storylines being juggled in a single chapter, with nothing more than a space between each section to signal the shift.

Now, I’m all for multiple points of view. When done well, they can add depth, build suspense, and give readers information they wouldn’t otherwise have. But there needs to be a clear structure.

When you’re bouncing between six characters in one chapter, readers have to work harder to keep track of who’s who, where they are, and why their scenes matter.

My suggestion? Consider giving each character or storyline its own chapter, particularly when the perspectives are substantially different. If shorter sections are necessary, make those transitions clear and purposeful.

The goal is to keep readers immersed in the story, not make them stop and mentally reorganize everything they just read.

I figured it out, of course. But I shouldn’t have to work that hard to follow a story that could have been much more suspenseful with a little restructuring.

Instead of feeling eager to turn the page, I found myself getting bored and, honestly, annoyed.

The other issue was the amount of unnecessary backstory.

There was a character whose involvement in the main plot was relevant, but the author spent pages discussing her in-laws, how she and her husband met, and the personal issues they were dealing with at the time.

And I kept asking myself one question: What does any of this have to do with the story?

Backstory can be wonderful. It helps readers understand a character’s motivations, relationships, and decisions. It can even become an important part of the mystery itself.

But there’s a difference between developing a character and giving readers a detailed account of every aspect of that character’s life.

If the information doesn’t move the plot forward, reveal something important, build suspense, or deepen our understanding of a character who matters to the story, does the reader really need it? Sometimes, a few well-chosen sentences can accomplish what several pages of exposition cannot.

As writers, we may know everything about our characters. We may know their childhood histories, family dynamics, marriage problems, and what they had for breakfast three Tuesdays ago.

But that doesn’t mean all of it belongs in the manuscript.

Just because you know it doesn’t mean your reader needs to know it.

This is one of the reasons I believe editing is so important.

Editing isn’t just about correcting punctuation, catching typos, or making sure the grammar is right. It’s also about looking at the bigger picture.

Does the story flow? Are the transitions clear? Is the pacing working? Are we giving readers information they need, or are we distracting them with details that don’t serve the story?

Sometimes, a manuscript doesn’t need more words. It needs fewer.

Sometimes, a scene that the author loves needs to be shortened or removed because it doesn’t belong. And sometimes, a good story is hiding underneath too many characters, too much backstory, and a structure that keeps readers from enjoying it.

That’s where a thoughtful edit can make all the difference.

Here’s the funny thing: despite all my complaints, I finished the book.

The storyline really was good. I could see the potential, and I wanted to know how everything turned out. But I also kept thinking about how much more suspenseful and enjoyable the book could have been with some restructuring and tighter editing.

Now, I have two other books by the same author on loan from the library. And I’m seriously reconsidering whether I want to read them. 😂

Maybe I’ll give them a chance. Maybe they’ll surprise me. After all, I’ve enjoyed some of this author’s other work.

Have you ever read a book with a great storyline that was let down by too many characters, excessive backstory, or choppy transitions? Did you stick with it until the end, or did you give up?

Tell me in the comments. I’d love to hear about your reading experiences!

Sunday Grammar Minute: WHO vs. WHOM

 

Okay, confession time: even I have to stop and think about this one sometimes. 😂

So let’s make it EASY.

👉 WHO = the person doing the action.
👉 WHOM = the person receiving the action.

A little trick that helps:

If you can answer with he/she, use WHO.

If you can answer with him/her, use WHOM.

For example:

Who called you?
➡️ She called me.
✅ WHO

Whom did you call?
➡️ I called her.
✅ WHOM

Another one:

Who is coming to dinner?
➡️ He is.
Easy! WHO.

Whom did you invite?
➡️ I invited him.
WHOM.

And if you're sitting there thinking, “Yeah, but nobody actually talks like this anymore…”

You're not wrong. 😂

In everyday conversation, who has pretty much taken over.

But when you're writing formally—or trying to make sure your grammar is correct—knowing the difference is still useful.

And remember:

WHO = he/she
WHOM = him/her

There. Now you can go forth and confidently confuse yourself slightly less. 😂✍️

 

I Went To The Library For One Book!

 

There’s a special kind of excitement that comes from walking into a library with absolutely no idea what you’re going to read next.

You wander through the shelves. You pick up a book because the cover catches your eye. You read the back. Maybe you recognize the author. Maybe you’ve never heard of them.

And then you find another book.

And another.

Before you know it, you’re walking out with a stack of books that you’re fairly certain you cannot possibly read before they’re due back.

But that’s okay. Because there’s always the option to renew. And if you can’t renew? Well…there’s always the possibility of returning it and checking it out again later. 

Then there’s the occasional library surprise: You sit down with your newly borrowed book, get comfortable, and start reading—only to realize about three chapters in that you’ve read it before.

Apparently, I need to start checking Goodreads before I check out books.

But there’s something I love about being a library person.

It’s not just about getting books for free. It’s about discovery. You can browse without knowing exactly what you’re looking for. You can take a chance on an author you’ve never read. You can find a book you might never have picked up in a bookstore.

And sometimes, you find exactly the story you needed without even realizing you were looking for it.

So yes, my library card gets a workout. My “to be read” list is never-ending. And I will probably continue bringing home more books than I have time to read.

Because there are worse problems to have.

Are you a library person, a bookstore person, or both? 

You Know You’re a Book Lover When…

 

You know you’re a book lover when you say, “I’m just going to read one chapter,” and suddenly it’s midnight. 

You know you’re a book lover when you have a stack of books waiting to be read… but somehow you keep buying more.

You know you’re a book lover when someone asks what you’re reading, and you immediately start talking about the characters like they’re actual people you know.

You know you’re a book lover when you refuse to lend out your favorite books because what if they bend the cover? 

You know you’re a book lover when you walk into a bookstore “just to look” and walk out carrying three books.

You know you’re a book lover when your idea of a perfect evening is a cozy blanket, a cup of coffee, a good book, and absolutely nowhere you need to be.

And you definitely know you’re a book lover when a fictional character breaks your heart and you need a day to recover. 

Books have a funny way of doing that. They take us somewhere else, introduce us to people we’ll never actually meet, and somehow make us feel like we’ve lived an entirely different life for a few hours.

That’s the magic of reading.

So tell us…

What’s one thing you do that proves you’re a book lover? 📚❤️

Grammar Minute Whenever I Get a Minute

Today’s grammar offender:

SEEN

I missed my Grammar Minute Monday.

Life happened. Things happened. I got busy. You know how it goes.

So I decided that instead of Monday Grammar Minute, we’re going with “Grammar Minute Whenever I Get a Minute.” 

And today, we’re talking about a word that gets abused ALL. THE. TIME.

SEEN.

As in:

❌ “I seen that.”

❌ “I seen her yesterday.”

❌ “I seen that movie.”

Good Lord. 😳

NO.

Please stop doing that to poor little seen.

Here’s the rule:

Saw is the past tense of see.

👉 “I saw that movie.”

👉 “I saw her yesterday.”

👉 “I saw what happened.”

Seen is a past participle, which means it needs a helping verb such as have, has, or had.

👉 “I have seen that movie.”

👉 “I have seen her before.”

👉 “I had seen that coming.”

So if you’re saying:

“I seen it.”

I’m gently reaching through the screen and replacing that sentence with:

“I saw it.” 

And if you’re talking about something you’ve experienced before:

“I have seen it.”

Think of it this way:

I saw.
I have seen.

Not:

I seen. 😬

And listen, I’m not judging anyone for making a grammar mistake. We ALL do it. Sometimes our brains are moving faster than our mouths, and sometimes our mouths just apparently decide to freelance. 😂

But now that you know…

I better not see “I seen” in the comments. 👀

Until next time—or whenever I get a minute…

Where’s The Time?

 

 

I didn’t do a Monday Grammar Minute this week because, well… it was Labor Day! 🇺🇸 So I decided to wait until next Monday. And trust me, next Monday’s Grammar Minute is going to be a good one. It’s about something I admittedly struggle with myself. 

But today, let’s talk about something writers struggle with: actually writing.

I’ve struggled with what we commonly call “writer’s block,” and I recently started looking into it a little more because I’ve been getting back into my own writing.

Interestingly, what we call writer’s block can have several causes, including procrastination, perfectionism, anxiety, or simply not having a regular writing routine.

And honestly? That made sense to me.

I’m not someone who believes you should force yourself to write every single time you sit down. Sometimes you really do need a break. Step away from the story, take a walk, read a book, or do something completely unrelated. Creativity doesn’t always show up on command.

But there’s another side to this.

Sometimes the problem isn’t that we can’t write.

We simply aren’t making time to write.

Someone recently told me they don’t have time to write.

I asked, “Not even fifteen minutes?”

Do you get a lunch break? Close your office door and write for fifteen minutes.

Do you sit on the couch after dinner watching television? Get up and write for fifteen or thirty minutes.

Have fifteen minutes in the morning before everyone else is awake? Grab your coffee and write.

You don’t need an entire afternoon. You don’t need a perfectly quiet house or a fancy writing space.

You just need time.

Even fifteen minutes counts.

You might write a paragraph. Maybe a page. Maybe you’ll spend ten minutes staring at the screen before an idea finally comes to you. That’s okay.

Because writing is a process.

You don’t have to produce something brilliant every time you sit down. You just have to show up.

One paragraph becomes a page. A page becomes a chapter. A chapter becomes a book.

I know this because I’ve been guilty of it myself. I have books I want to write, ideas sitting in notebooks, and characters wandering around in my head. Sometimes I don’t write—not because I don’t have ideas, but because I haven’t made the time.

So lately, I’ve been getting back into my own writing and reminding myself of something I tell other writers all the time:

Stop waiting for the perfect time to write.

There probably isn’t one.

Write when you have fifteen minutes. Write badly. Write a scene out of order. Write something you might delete tomorrow.

Just write.

You can edit terrible writing. You can rewrite a bad chapter. You can fix awkward dialogue.

What you can’t edit is a blank page.

So if you’ve been saying, “Someday I’m going to write that book,” maybe today is the day you stop waiting for someday.

Give yourself fifteen minutes.

You might be surprised at what happens when you finally give yourself the time to put the words down.

And remember:

You don’t have to finish the book today. You just have to write the next sentence.

Happy writing! ✍️📚