(The sound of a pen scratching. LOGO.)
Hellooo everybody! Today I'm picking apart every writer's
greatest insecurity: "What if my book is boring?!" It very well might be, and sometimes it's hard to
tell. Actually, no. Not really. There are some telltale signs that your book is an absolute
snooze. The problem is a lot of writers don't know how to read into these signs.
But that's where I come in! I'm telling you how to figure out if your book is boring, so you can fix
that shit real quick! Before we get started, I want to give a huge shout out to NovelPad,
who has sponsored today's video! NovelPad is a super straightforward, super easy to use software
that allows you to write your very own novel. It's not a normal word processing software; it
is specifically geared toward the novel creation process. I went into NovelPad very skeptical,
because I've tried other novel creation software in the past and hated it. But NovelPad gets it
right. It has ALL the features I was looking for without all the clutter and nonsense that I found
in other platforms. Every feature of NovelPad is designed to help you remember what you were doing
as quickly as possible and be one click away from writing at all times. It lets you see your novel
from as many angles as possible. You can see it from the perspective of a character. You can read
the scenes that happen in a particular setting, or location, or for a particular plot, or subplot.
It really makes analyzing and tracking your story incredibly easy. You can literally track and read
every single scene that a particular character appears in. One of my favorite features is the
color coding feature. You guys already know I love to color code my edits, and NovelPad makes that
super easy. They allow you to focus on specific colors. In my case, those would be specific edits,
so I can focus on those scenes exclusively. On top of that, NovelPad has a super active community.
They're in their Discord chat every day talking with other writers so they can learn any new
features they need to add to the software to make it even more appealing and effective for writers.
It's nice to work with a company that cares whether or not you actually LIKE their product.
If you're interested in trying out NovelPad, I highly recommend them. I'm using them right
now for my current work in progress, and I've REALLY been enjoying this software. You can
try them out for a FREE 14-day trial. There is no credit card required, which means no risk.
I've got it linked below. Try them out for free right now! And while you're here, be sure
to subscribe to my channel and ring that bell! I post videos on Wednesdays. Sometimes I talk about
tropes. Sometimes I give writing advice. But all the time, I'm here with my wonderful face
and my expressive hands! And don't forget my number one best-selling dark fantasy
romance The Savior's Sister is now available in audiobook! You guys have been hounding me for it
and it's here! So go pick it up! I've got it linked below, check it out! And now let me
break down the 10 reasons why your book is mega, super, ultra boring. Sorry, not sorry! Number
One (1): Your book is slow. Pacing varies based on genre. Some genres naturally move slower than
others. Some genres naturally move very, very quickly. Likewise, in most novels, there tends
to be a mix of faster scenes and slower scenes in order to create balance and intrigue. However, if
your pace is consistently super slow–specifically in scenes that don't need to be, or shouldn't be
slow–this is boring. "But Jenna, how do I know if a scene doesn't need to be, or shouldn't be
slow?" Is your character doing jack shit aside from eating cereal? Then speed it up! No one gives
a fuck about cereal. Is your character fighting a bad guy or running for their life? Then the pace
absolutely should NOT be slow. Running is fast! That's the entire point of it! Pro Tip: if you are
relying on long sentences or paragraphs and tons of descriptions, you're looking at a slow scene.
And while slow scenes absolutely have their place, too many in a row will put your reader to sleep.
Number Two (2): You keep repeating yourself. I recently read a book where a character only
had one week left to live. This right here sets high stakes. It should make things interesting.
Except the author kept reminding the reader that the character had one week left to live...in every
paragraph. I once counted six mentions on a single page. If you turned it into a drinking game,
you would have died of alcohol poisoning before the chapter was over. Repetition has its place
stylistically, and slight repetition can be useful to remind the reader of important events. But you
don't gotta repeat the same shit over and over again! This caters to your dumbest reader, and
if you write for dummies, you get a dumb book. For everyone else, the repetition is gonna make the
book boring and a little offensive. Number Three (3): You've got too many info dumps. Info dumps,
by and large, are not interesting. They should be few and far between. There are some genres where
info dumps are harder to avoid. You may inevitably have a couple. A couple info dumps are fine.
An info dump every other page...is boring. Typically, the content that most often gets info
dumped is the world building, and that's a very lazy way to create your world. Instead of writing
lengthy essays, you can show the world around your character as they experience it. And if they're
not experiencing it, guess what? It's not relevant to the book! Info dumps are the number one problem
listed when readers complain about boring stories. Unless you want your book comparable to melatonin,
use the action of your story in order to build the world. On a similar note, Number Four (4): You're
all tell and no show. One of the reasons info dumps are so boring is because they're all tell,
no show. You are telling your reader the history of the world. You're telling them
about the farming and agriculture. You know what other reading material does this? Textbooks! The
things we avoid reading because they're so fuckin' boring! But telling can expand past
info dumps. Sometimes writers get lazy and tell how a character is feeling, tell what a character
learned, or even worse–tell the themes of their novel. It's not interesting to be spoon-fed the
most dynamic, visceral content of a story. It's so much more engaging to show sexual tension through
heartbeats and body language. It's exciting to show a character's growth and arc. And themes
are meant to be implied, not explicitly stated in neon lights. Telling takes away the immersion. It
removes the reader from the story, which makes the content a whole lot duller. Number Five (5): Your
writing is clunky. Your writing is your method of delivering the storyline, and clunky writing is
kinda like displaying a perfectly cooked steak in a soggy paper bag. Not appealing, is it? So
how can you tell if your writing is clunky? First of all, your sentences are structured the same,
with the same format, syntax, and conjunctions. Second, you are relying too heavily on cliches.
"She was as free as a bird!" "He was gone in the blink of an eye!" Third, there is no variety
in sentence length. Longer sentences draw out the pace, shorter sentences quicken the pace,
and you need a variety to keep things interesting. And lastly, your writing is too clinical. Many
writers, like myself, prefer a straightforward approach. But there's a difference between
clarity and being dry. Remember, writing is an art form. It's not only important to tell your story,
but to tell it with finesse. Number Six (6): Your characters are two-dimensional. It's not
interesting to follow characters who don't feel like real people. Even the shallowest people have
layers and personality. They have strengths and weaknesses, they have fears and vulnerabilities.
Your characters need to be more than one or two notes. Characters are another one of the
most common reasons stated when claiming a book is boring, because characters drive the story
forward. And for a lot of readers, including myself, we are reading for the characters
first and foremost. So if you can sum up your character's personality or role in one or two
descriptors, that's a bad sign. Number Seven (7): Your characters don't develop. Not all characters
need to develop throughout a novel, because not all people develop through their circumstances.
But a good chunk of your characters need to have some kind of arc, or at least a reaction to the
plot's events. Depending on the genre, if all your characters remain static, it can be pretty boring.
It's also unrealistic, especially if you're writing a high stakes novel with life and death
consequences. Yes, not everyone develops over time. Some people are stuck in their ways. But
almost dying is probably gonna change people, I'm just sayin'. Pay attention to your characters. How
do they change throughout the story, if at all? If they don't change, does it make sense to the
circumstances, their background, or your thematic statements? Analyzing this will go a long way in
making sure your story feels fresh and engaging. Number Eight (8): You're too self-indulgent.
It's great to be self-indulgent...to a point. Gluttony is a sin, God damn it! In this case,
I'm talking about self-indulgence when it comes to your prose. Flowery prose has a place in fiction,
but there's a difference between artful poetry and stroking your ego. If it's taking five sentences
to describe a simple, unimportant action, you're not being artistic, you're jerkin' yourself off!
"Look at all the big, fancy words I pulled out of my smart brain!" An example of this could be,
"He stared at her through crystalline orbs the color and depth of the ocean, and just as the
waves crashed with a cacophonous fury, so, too did the contemplative vehemence of his gaze."
This is too damn much! Some of it can be salvaged, but crystalline orbs? They're eyeballs, for God's
sake! It's fine to be poetic if it enhances the story, but not at the expense of clarity. Number
Nine (9): You've deviated from the plot. Filler is content that doesn't drive your plot or subplot
forward. It's just kind of there. Usually, writers cling to their filler saying that it's there
to help develop your characters. However, your characters are supposed to develop through the
plot and subplots. That's the entire point. I've read books where the conflict at the start of the
story gets completely abandoned halfway through, and suddenly, we're reading an entirely new book.
What? I've also read books where a conflict is introduced at the beginning, we spend the next
75% of the book meandering, and then suddenly we get to the climax and the conflict is again
addressed and resolved immediately. Remember, your book blurb gives a promise to the reader.
It lets them know what to expect. If you deviate far from that promise, readers are gonna be
pissed. Pro Tip: if you're not sure if you're deviating too far from your plot, go through every
chapter of your book. Does each chapter move the plot of your story forward in some way? If not,
back to the drawing board. And Number Ten (10): Your readers are DNF-ing.
This is the most obvious way to tell if your book is boring, yet it's the one thing most writers
ignore. This is exactly why the critique partner and beta reader stage of the writing process is SO
important. If a CP or a beta can't finish reading your book, that's feedback itself. Now, sometimes
people can't finish your book due to extenuating circumstances, so if a handful of betas DNF,
I wouldn't be too concerned. But if a BIG chunk of readers disappear into the night, your book is
boring. Yes, it would be a whole lot more helpful if these people told you that they're not going to
finish your book because it didn't capture their attention, but human beings are flawed. And in
this case, a little cowardly. Pay attention to the number of critique partners and beta readers who
can't finish your book. If close to half of them are DNF-ing, it's time to reassess some things.
Your manuscript may be kinda dull, and you gotta fix that! So that's all I got for you today! Thank
you so much to NovelPad for sponsoring today's video! If you want to check out a software that
is specifically geared toward novelists, I HIGHLY recommend NovelPad. It's straightforward, it's
intuitive, and it's SUPER easy to use! You can get a free 14-day trial RIGHT NOW by clicking the link
below! You don't have to enter in a credit card, so it is risk-free. Definitely check it out! The link
is in the description. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel! I post new videos on Wednesdays,
and if you want to be alerted as SOON as I upload, ring that bell! The Savior's Sister is available
in audiobook right now! It is a number one bestseller! It is a dark fantasy romance.
So if you like stabby-stab, and kissy-kiss, and magical goodness, this is the book for you! Check
it out on Audible now! And be sure to follow me on social media! I'm on Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook,
and BookBub. And of course, you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!
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I would be EVER so grateful! Go on and subscribe. I'll be waiting for you once you've finished.