Story is everything. It’s the prime initiative. The raison d’être. Nothing should subjugate it. Nothing be held higher or given more attention. Sounds simple, right? Not so much.
I recently read a story that had amazing detail, setting, and concept, but the author spent so much time pushing her agenda she lost the thread of the story. It was lost among the message. It didn’t help that she presented her story in a fractured timeline, destroying any chance for tension. The characters were subservient to the setting. The setting used mostly as evidence in proving her cause. It was a missed opportunity. The book could have been great. It had all the elements, but needed editing and a strong hand.
There are steps you can take to make sure your story remains at the forefront. The biggest is to understand the big ways you can go off track. Here are some things have a tendency to take over:
Agenda
In today’s world, making a stand for a social cause is admirable, but only if it remains organic to the story. Don’t take a stand and then try to shoehorn it into your story. Instead, make your cause part of character—a seamless part of the story, not something held apart or pushed. Choosing an agenda to push is not the best approach. It’s better to create a character who believes in and holds a specific belief. Remember to keep your story and characters as the focus of your novel, not whatever cause you want to readers to adopt. It’s fiction, not propaganda. When it crosses the line, it fails.
Setting
It sounds funny that setting can overshadow story, but it can. Rich detail and world building is immersive and compelling. It wraps around readers and invites them to become part of the world. This can be amazing and inspire cosplay and passionate fans, like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. But it can just as easily become a distraction—the only thing that sticks with the reader. We’ve all read books that lacked in plot, but was textually beautiful. Places we wanted to visit, but whose story we can’t remember. The best settings support the story. They define the characters. One test to use is If the story can work in any other location, then your setting isn’t working hard enough. But if the setting could exist without the story, then you may have gone too far in your world building and not far enough with your plot.
“Writing”
This is the easiest trap to fall into as a writer. It’s easy to have moments when you are aware of being a Writer with a capital W. These are times to tread carefully. There is nothing worse than picking up a book filled with “writing”—flowery, overwrought sentences or clichéd phrases packed into a tight space. Writing should not feel like writing. The best prose disappears into the page. It pulls us through a story with its mastery, but doesn’t draw attention to itself. Writing should not feel self-conscious.
Ego/Author Talk
This is similar to “writing” in its source. This happens when the author inserts him or herself into the narration or exposition. It’s like a flag that says, “hey, pay attention, I’m being clever here!” Ego is found in sentences that draw attention to what is happening or is about to happen. It’s when an author preens a bit on the page. It’s the writing equivalent to aping for the camera. It’s like a photobomb on the page. If you find sentences in your work that draw attention to what you are doing or to your omniscient narrator, cut them. It’s just too precious and little more than strutting on the page. It’s also common and easy to do, so don’t feel bad if you find some ego in the pages. But be vigilant to eliminate it from your work.
Asides
No matter how clever, asides that don’t support or further the story should be eliminated. Usually, they are fun ideas that don’t fit into the flow of the main story and get shoved into a weird transition between scenes. If they don’t relate to the main story, its subtext, character development or theme, they need to go. Save your clever idea for another story. Don’t try to make it work because it’s clever. (Do you see a trend here? Save the clever stuff. It’s mostly the result of ego, not good writing or editing.)
Repetition
It is easy to fall into repetition in stories. As authors we want readers to notice the big stuff and will try repeating that information to ensure that. This often happens when describing emotions. If your sentences start feeling like you are reading a thesaurus, edit. There is no reason to use four words to say your character was angry. You also do not need to repeat ideas to emphasize them. Write them strong in the beginning and you’ll eliminate the urge to repeat yourself.
Dumbing It Down
Your audience is smart. They picked your book, right? Don’t talk down to them. This can happen in a lot of different ways. The most common is over-explaining. Give them credit. Assume your audience can figure things out without beating it to death. Let your editor tell you if you haven’t done enough.
The Unnecessary
There is always material you can be cut to bring the story to life. When revising, cut, cut, and cut mercilessly. Remove anything that is not necessary to anchor and hook the reader. When in doubt whether something is necessary, cut it. If it doesn’t work without the edited material, you can always put it back. But you can always cut more than you think you can. Sometimes that means words. Sometimes it’s entire scenes. Be willing to delete your favorite bits if they don’t serve the story or your characters. It hurts, but it’s worth it in the end.