You’ve worked your tail off
writing a book. After weeks or months of fine tuning, you get it right where
you like it. You dive in for that final read-through, expecting to find nothing
more than a few wayward commas or duplicated words, and there it is, glaring
you in the face, laughing.
You have a plot hole, and now you must go back and add, rearrange, and often
change your perfect story to accommodate this nuisance.
Maybe some writers can pen a
clean story with no hiccups, but I’m not one of them. Since I am a “pantser”
and write without an outline, I’m often confronted by a plot hole (or holes) by
the end. Some are simple to fix; others, not so much.
Though a pain in the patootie
and a blow to our author ego, plot holes are not always a bad thing. In my last
book, the plot hole led me to a far superior explanation for the murder motive.
And if nothing else, you can
always fill your plot hole with a cat.
*In fiction, a plot hole, plothole or plot error is a gap
or inconsistency in a storyline that goes against the flow of logic established
by the story's plot. Such inconsistencies include such things as illogical or
impossible events, and statements or events that contradict earlier events in
the storyline.
Plot hole - Wikipedia
Check out more blogs by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer at:
Happy
reading!
Author note: I still am unable
to answer comments. Sometimes I can but most often they just fall into a black
hole. I do read all comments and hope someday to figure out the problem and get
it fixed. If anyone has any suggestions or wants to contact me directly, email
MollieHuntCatWriter@gmail.com.
Yes, I say we fill those plot holes with cats, tigers, and even a hippopotamus or two. LOL
ReplyDeleteI am a plotter. I map out scene by scene what's going to happen next before I write. But even a plotter runs into last minute problems and epiphanies long about round 3 on final edits. Sometimes the plot I laid down turns out to be too weak and not enough to motivate my characters to move in any particular direction. I have to fix them to make the characters desperate. I love when I get a last minute epiphany. I'd be happy to rewrite an entire chapter if I got a bright and beautiful new idea during the final run.
Your post speaks to most every writer regardless whether they are panster or plotter. Well done, Mollie.
Thanks, Sarah. It happens to all of us, despite our best intentions.
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