How to Fix a Broken Story (Writing Advice)

Learn how to rebuild a broken story in 7 simple steps.

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The Anatomy of Story REVIEW:

Save the Cat Writes a Novel REVIEW:
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[Ajisai_Kiku]

I'm starting to think you have the super power to pop up in the right time 😨

[ludovico]

Something I discovered: if you can always abandon a story that doesn’t work but recycle the elements that you like, as they might work in another story. I once stated writing a novel that was going nowhere: the plot didn't work, too many contrived coincidences, too linear, too anecdotal, no motivation for the villains, etc. I abandoned it, but years later I used the same villains for a story with a plot that got legs.

[caedrewan]

"write the islands" is a good way to describe what I've been doing - you could say right now I'm building bridges between those islands

[artmanoo]

Oh. I’m glad this time you said “Get ready” because last time I wasn’t ready.

[joshprice]

"We hate failure, it's shameful. It sucks." That made me laugh out loud. I've said it before, but I like your videos a lot Brandon.

[matthewpaul]

One trick I'm trying now is when juggling multiple characters, i assigned a font color to each one. Now I have a visual representation of the different character arcs so I can see where they are. I like the diagrams for plot points, so this is a good visual aid for keeping your many protagonists organized.

[OratoryJamesIV]

"Writing the islands" is exactly how I write. I never write linearly--not storytelling-wise, just purely from a "this is how my scattered brain operates" kind of way. I'm just working on my novel's most important scenes right now, and I'll figure out the rest later. 😅

[Antares]

For me, the most important thing has been to write some stories without the intention of finishing them. Just writing a short scene, a dialogue, an interesting battle or whatever, just to try it out. It helps me get past writer's block as well and takes the pressure off.

I think that keeping writing interesting and fun has been vital for me to keep at it. If that means I suddenly sit down and write a random horror scene that has no connection to any of my projects, that is fine. Your brain can easily handle multiple tasks, and in fact it helps see the other stuff you are working on in a new light.

I also think it's important to try different writing styles. If you always prefer third person as the default, try first person for a short story and so on. Keeping it fresh has been the key for me to keep enjoying my hobby of writing.

[jonasjablonowski]

Just wanted to say I love your content! I grew up as one of those "Jock" type guys, and most people wouldn't have pegged me for a writer. However, your videos gave me the confidence to explore writing finally! It's been so rewarding, and your videos have been an amazing tool to help me learn since I've just started!

[ZiptoZapto]

I've done step 4 to an entire two stories once. I had a story with a decent idea but a ton of plot holes, and it lost structure by the end, and another story that had not much to it. So I combined the two, and with a bit more work, fixed all my plot holes, gave more substance to the story, and came out on the other side better because of it.

[ShinGallon]

I'm definitely the "I have several key scenes I want in the story and getting to them is something I figure out as I go" type of writer, because even when I have scenes written out when it comes time to draw the pages I'll end up doing further edits. Also I tried planning out an entire book before drawing it and ended up never drawing it, wasted years of prep work doing that.
In my first book (which I'm drawing the epilogue of now) I had the hardest time figuring out how to get the characters from one key scene to another, and I'm still not entirely happy with how I did some of those, but that's what the revision process is for when I prep it for a print edition. Certain things could have been stronger but overall I'm proud of the result.
One thing I DID notice halfway through was that the hero seemed to be reacting to events happening to her, rather than causing things to happen in the story, but then I realized that every time she DID try being proactive it ended up making things worse so that became a theme, until the climax where her being proactive is what ended up solving the conflict so it kinda became accidental character growth. More of my "writing things in-progress" creative style.
The sequel is still just in "basic story idea" stages but I'm definitely going to take more care in making the plot work. I think the fact that I know it's gonna be around 200 pages (unlike the first book, which I hadn't planned on being a long story and it just snowballed) will help. I also have definite plans for things that need to happen in it. The thing I need to fix the most in it is how the heroes will defeat the villain because I may have designed her to be *too* strong.

[MatrixQ]

The most important thing to remember is that you're working with clay, not stone. Everything can be changed and a lot of the time, everything needs to be changed. If you're too hung up on what you've already written and can't let go of it, you'll just keep moving parts around that just don't work. Break those parts, recreate them, understand them, then you can start assembling them again. Nothing kills progress as much as clinging to what you've already done just because it's there.

[brianvadgardritter]

My first novel - lots of rejections. And rightly so. The story was total crap, but I learned a lot in the process.
2nd - still not good but able to fix it - and eventually had a publisher agree to take it on.
3rd - a publisher agreed to take it, but I couldn't accept their recommended changes - they had some good points regarding the flaws of my story, so I thanked them, declined their offer, and set out to rewrite huge parts of it.
4th - a prequel to my 3rd that will help fix some of the issues.

And these 4 are only my "complete" novels. Most of the time you don't even have to write the whole book to know if it'll work or not. I have a few I didn't even bother to finish because I realized that I could never pull it off as I intended. But it's not time wasted. It's great practice. And you might be able to salvage some parts. I've been able to use scraps from failed stories in other novels, like characters, plot twists, setting, a certain angle to a conflict - stuff like that.

Even if your story looks like a complete disaster - if the initial idea is good, don't despair.
Don't be afraid to make major changes - try stuff - see what happens.
If at first you don´t succeed: rewrite! rewrite! rewrite!

[CourtneyIsGoblin]

Great video, as always! I think it is important to consider whether your story is just too complex for you to write at your current level. You might be starting too big.

I spent nearly 15 years with a story that was going to be multiple books of
fantasy, symbolism, and deep character development. It was packed full of these dream like scenes that all had to be unique, bizarre, and contain puzzles that were symbolic of the various pitfalls of humanity. I can't fit into a single comment how complicated my idea was and the number of obstacles I encountered. I felt so stuck and overwhelmed that I would stop writing for years at a time then return and redo it all.

Finally, I had to admit defeat and shelve the idea. I need to get better at the foundational skills of writing and storytelling without an overly complex story plan on top of it all. I need to figure out my own writing style, habits, and what works for me on a small scale before I apply it on a larger scale. So I spent a year trying to find inspiration for a new idea and am now a few months into writing a novel. Just a single, simple fantasy novel.

I'm irritated at myself for spending so much of my life working towards something that had to be abandoned. But who knows, maybe I'll return to it when I am more experienced. This comment is a warning to all you stubborn perfectionists out there who have a big idea and want it to be both your first story and your magnum opus. Trust me. No one is naturally gifted enough that they don't require practice to reach their full potential. You are doing your magnum opus a disservice by trying to force it too early.

[valthestudio]

I ALWAYS have a problem with the characters having nothing to do. I have the overarching theme for their arcs, but i just don't know what those arcs should be. I am also terrible at writing a subplot. Everything is always straightforward and lacks any depth. I'm not gonna beat myself to it since i am literally just a fresh amateur writer, but man, these problems suck.

[freedomthroughspirit]

I don't view this as failure, it's just part of the process, like every draft. Thanks Brandon, these are great tips, I'll be using today!

[jetsdude]

One thing id love to see a video on is analysis of success stories that drastically strayed from the story arc structure or heroes journey blueprint. It seems like nowadays its mandatory to follow these blueprints but that mentality seems to clash with my creativity bone. There must be examples out there.

[mobeenrehman]

Accept failure as growth. You have no idea how badly I needed to hear that today. And that has nothing to do with writing.
Thanks Brandon.

[lunarshadow]

This video showed up at a perfect time. I've finished the Rough Draft and have been waffling on rewriting it, but that was before learning about the other 6 steps.

[petehealy]

Thanks for another *very* helpful video, Brandon! Re Point #7 ("Rewrite From Scratch"), I hesitate to call the first draft a "failure" or "mistake." Could be more motivating to think of it as a stepping stone. Thanks again, and keep up the great work!