What are plot snails? Well, snails are slow, so obviously…anything that slows down the plot, or anything that drags down the pace of your story. I created this list to serve as a reminder at all times to keep everything moving and avoid unnecessary, irrelevant moments that will cause the readers to lose interest. So here goes: 6 slow-moving, slow-smiling plot snails that can’t wait to slow down the day.
1. ProloguesÂ
Prologues are generally annoying. Unless they are absolutely necessary and relevant to the story, don’t put it there. Begin at the beginning of the story, avoid spoonfeeding the readers ith details and obscure sequences that are meant to establish context, but end up confusing and boring the readers. Most of the time they have nothing to do with the actual story at all, and it’s such a waste of time and space–not to mention readers might lose interest before deciding to continue with the book. This is a fat, unhealthy plot snail that might cost you potential readers and must be avoided at all times.
2. Dream Sequences and Flash Backs
Dream sequences, when done well, can reveal more and strengthen both plot and character. Most of the time, though, it’s just really confusing to get through. A “realistic” dream sequence is bound to be confusing, chaotic and difficult to understand because the nature of a dreams is confusing, chaotic and difficult to understand. It disturbs the flow of the plot, interrupts the narration, and might just turn into a structural black hole that stumps the readers. Unnecessary flash backs or back stories are like plastic shopping bags that get stuck to your feet when you’re trying to walk.
3. Daily Routines and Action Fillers
Repetitive teeth brushing, climbing stairs, getting to a car and fumbling for car keys, walking down the street, eating and chewing on some food during a middle of an internal monologue…the incessant, everyday details can and should be left out. What has teeth-brushing got to do with your story? Unless your story is about teeth-brushing, and the consequences of the particular action of teeth-brushing. Maybe using the wrong tooth brush has brought your protagonist an incurable disease or something. Otherwise, don’t describe the useless actions in between scenes or in between actions. Write what’s important and relevant; eliminate the tiny snail army trying to squeeze through.
4. Lengthy Conversations and Won’t-Shut-Uppers
It’s easy to get carried away when writing dialogue. Every single word in a story should mean something, let along the words that come out of the character’s mouth. Don’t allow your characters to talk themselves into a different space-time, also known as the kingdom of boredom. There is nothing worse than reading a neverending cascade of dialogue that goes around and into itself–which means the dialogue reveals nothing new about the plot or the characters, offers no new insights about the story, and fails to move the story forward. When conversations get out of hand, the overflowing of words will only do you ill. Therefore, stop those tiny snail chatters!!
5. Epic Descriptions of Scenery Supreme
Nobody cares about how beautiful that meadow or that mountain or that tree looks–well, we should all appreciate beauty, but two something pages of a gigantic literary and metaphorical adjective inflation produce nothing but headaches. Interest is rooted in action. Use more verbs than adjective/adverbs. Unless you are trying to illustrate a particular relationship between the landscape and the character, don’t go there. Honestly, don’t.
6. Snail Language
Building on that “inflation of language” idea–sometimes a narrative can become overly cluttered with lyrical and poetic language. Using too much lyrical and poetic devices create a sense of unreality–you can’t construct a world or tell a story without solid ground to stand on. You need actions: people doing things, people doing things to or at a landscape–tangible actions and events that can be measured, pictured, and grasped. A lyrical whirlpool, as crafty and beautiful as it is, can end up suffocating and strangling the poor readers.
Got snails in your story?
The Writing Cauldron 