Mobile Menu

  • Home
  • About Martha
  • Books
    • Creativity
    • Writing
    • Fiction
  • Blog
  • Media
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Email Sign Up

Sign-up for Martha’s Newsletter

  • Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

Sign-up for Martha’s Newsletter

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Martha Alderson

Plot Consultant

  • Home
  • About Martha
  • Books
    • Creativity
    • Writing
    • Fiction
  • Blog
  • Media
  • Contact

Trying Too Hard

March 1, 2007 By Martha Alderson

After today’s plot consultation, plotlines and subplots, flashbacks and time jumps still linger.

The writer is guilty what many of us are ~ he tried too hard.

At some point in every writers life, we ask ourselves ~ who would want to read this? And, why? In our fear of not measuing up or worried the story falls short, we add another subplot here, switch events around, change the point-of-view, and mess with the format.

I think this is part of the writer’s personal journey. Our egos keep our minds so filled with fear and uncertainty we trip over the story itself. Yes, the writer’s craft is to take what flows out on the page and craft it into a story. So long as we focus on the story, I think we get it right. It’s when the writer gets in the way that the process weighed down. Tricks and too many twists can pull the story under.

I hope when the writer sees his very own individual Plot Planner I created for him during the consultation and finessed with plot tips after, I hope he’ll reconnect with the core or heart of the story itself. When we try too hard, we tense up. The story tenses up, too. To trim and snip and cut isn’t always easy. I hope when he sees his story minus the words, he’ll see the story is worth the time and attention it is going to take to get it right.

Previous Post: « When the Writing Gets in the Way
Next Post: Archetypes — People Who Exhibit A Particular Trait Strongly »

Primary Sidebar

Search

Email Sign Up

Sign-up for Martha’s Newsletter


Shop for Books for Writers and Creatives

plot whisperer resources

Boundless Creativity Workbook

Faced with unprecedented challenges, now is a great time to escape 
into creativity and reconnect with your inner self

Follow Me!

Follow Me on FacebookFollow Me on YouTubeFollow Me on PinterestFollow Me on InstagramFollow Me on LinkedIn

Archives

Recent Posts

  • The Plot Whisperer Returns!
  • How to Create an Elegant Transition
  • Plot Planner as a Story Vision Board
  • 15 Tips to Create a Compelling Plot for Your Story

Footer

About Martha

Martha lives at the beach along the central coast of California and draws inspiration from the surrounding nature. When not at the beach, she writes women’s fiction and is exploring what it means to leave a lasting legacy. [Read More] about About Martha

Email Sign Up

Sign-up for Martha’s Newsletter


Follow Me!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on PinterestFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on LinkedIn

The secret to having what you want in life is to view all challenges and obstacles through the Universal Story.

Copyright © 2025 Martha Alderson | · Log in | Website by-Askmepc