What is a Contrived Story? | The Effects of Forced Writing

What makes a story contrived and how can you avoid it in your own writing?

We want our heroines to win, our mysteries to be solved, and our lovers to get together, but how come, when some stories give us the ending we want it feels so unsatisfying? Well, in this video, we'll discuss the possible cause of contrived writing and what we can do to fix it.



#theotherepicstory

[WritersBlah]

This is definitely a common pitfall that I notice being made by beginner writers. A problem being solved by happenstance usually indicates a lack of trust in the author's ability to understand their characters.

Where I do think it gets a little complicated (and where I'd love your input) is when contrivances are used to create problems. As in, "the heroine sneaks into the villain's lair, but realizes too late that the villain expected her tactic and set up an ambush." How much detail is necessary to make that sort of twist believable while still maintaining an element of surprise?

[callumbreton]

I believe that's the end all be all of bad storytelling. As soon as it's the plot dictating events rather than the characters, rather than the other way around, that's when you know you've made a mistake. Because when you do that, you're just pulling back the curtain on your machinations as the storyteller, shattering the eReaders immersion and reducing the themes and ideas of the plot to "they're just happening because I want them to happen"

[KaramoSusso]

That’s why tv shows decline after the first episode

[RockaFellaa]

It’s obviously understood just about as much as I haven’t watched this “YouTube” live?

[alexshevchenko]

Putin's excuses and reasons for attacking Ukraine seem a bit contrived.