I feel like this is the thing writers get most tripped up on, and what I receive comments on most frequently. I hear a lot of things like, "There's no way I could ever write something like that!" As well as, "Your so creative with your characters and storylines. I could never come up with something like that." Don't take that the wrong way, I love when you guys give me compliments. But the first one especially makes me sad, because anyone can write an amazing book. Creativity is not something that is measured on a scale of good to bad, like many people think. We all have a voice, a vision, an idea, or something we want to work with. The issue is not a lack of creativity, but rather a lack of knowledge on how to express that creativity. Plot drives a story, it is the reason the protagonist makes the choices they make. It is the reason the antagonist is so determined to stop them from making these choices.

A book is like a tree, the trunk being the beginning of the book. It is strong and sturdy, the introduction to everything that will be going on as the tree goes up. That trunk is the start of your plot, it has characters set into place that the reader will eventually be following through the book as they work their way up the tree. That trunk will eventually break off into branches. These branches will become the different plot points as new characters are introduced and the story progresses.

One of my favorite examples of this is Garnet from Steven Universe, when she explains this concept in her example of rivers, lakes, and waterfalls. (See YouTube video above)

These branches are your protagonist's choices, the paths they can choose to take. And each path will have a different outcome which will lead to more paths. Every book, whether we realize it or not, is like a choose your own adventure book. Only the author is the one making the choices. It's important to remember your book is your story, even if it's a fan-fiction of someone else's universe. You are in control, so you must steer the story in the most logical direction for story development. This goes for both positive and negative outcomes. It's important to remember that the world isn't perfect, and decisions have consequences. Every action, has an equal and opposite reaction.

Like in the video, when Steven asks Garnet what is the most possible future if he says hi to Sadie and Lars. With Sadie, the most likely outcome was she would say hi back, which she did. In Lars' case however, Steven almost got burned with coffee. Both of these outcomes were logical when you think about the personalities of the characters involved and how they would react to a certain situation. A character's actions could lead to something a minor conflict, or something as major as another character's death. It's important to remember this when having character's make important and risky decisions. The story should always be going somewhere, with the characters' different actions always having some sort of purpose that helps push the story along. This helps to avoid things like writer's block. Since we're on the topic of Steven Universe, let's take this example from a scene in my Lapidot fanfic Worth Protecting.

Now for some context to those who haven't read it, Lapis is part of gang called the Diamond Authority. And in the previous chapter she tried to carjack Peridot and even held a gun to her head.

- X -

Example:
I just gonna go on with my life like that didn't happen? Should I have called the cops? I did see her face but- "BARK BARK" Pumpkin starts going off knocking me out of my thoughts. "Pumpkin cut it out!" I yell. I suddenly hear a loud scream but assume it was in the music video. "BARK" Really Pumpkin?! "Pumpkin shut up!" I yell again. Then again, another cry, I take my ear bud out and look around. Pumpkin pulls the leash out of my hand and runs into an alley. "Pumpkin!" Great, alleyway at night. I run after him and see him leaning against someone sitting against the building, there's something on their shirt. Blood. I start to panic as I kneel next to them, a car drives by giving a small bit of light for a brief second. I see a flash of blue and grey, that girl. I take out my phone flashlight on and see she has a stab wound in her stomach. "Oh my god!" I yell. I put her arm over my shoulder and lift her to her feet. I feel her grab my wrist. "D-Don't take me to the hospital." She whimpers out. What?! "You're bleeding out! You're gonna die!" I yell. "They'll a-arrest me. I don't wanna go to jail." She whispers. I debate it for a minute, ugh this is the dumbest thing I've ever done. "Cmon." I say picking her up all the way. "Lets go pumpkin!" I say as I run back to the house.

- X -

Peridot is walking her dog, the scene being that of a normal afternoon. She then comes across the girl who nearly killed her and stole her car. The girl is injured and in desperate need of help. This is where Peridot comes to that branch I was talking about, she has plenty of options here. She could call the cops, she could leave her there to bleed out, or she can take the option she took which was to help her despite the danger that she was a gang member.

Now all of these options would've had an outcome, but for our sake let's look at the outcomes of Peridot's choice. Lapis could've killed her when they got home, she could've simply ran off and Peridot would've never seen her again. In this case Lapis chose to stay and Peridot's decision created the outcome that Peridot had gained Lapis' trust. This then sets the plot up for their romance further in the book. It all builds off of itself as the book progresses.

My biggest pet peeve when I'm reading a story is lack of tension and lack of plot. This brings me to a topic I know we all can agree sucks in both movies and books, plot convenience. The "Hi, I'm the attractive new girl at school! You're super cute! And since I'm your love interest! I'm gonna flirt with you right away and act into you!" Type energy. This is boring. This also applies to stuff like, "I love you too! Even though we just met I am madly in love with you!"

These characters had no tension, no build up. Sure, a book doesn't always need to be a slow burn style, but this wasn't even a one-shot. This was the climax of the story occurs three sentences in type energy. There was absolutely nothing to establish these characters and make the reader connect with them, much more even want these two together romantically. But because the author wanted to see their couple get together so bad, they rushed it. And in turn destroyed their book for plot convenience. This is a very huge mistake that a writer can make. Don't rush! No matter how badly you want to reach a certain scene or idea you had in mind. When you rush a book, a reader can tell.

Here are some tips on how to counter this; have a proof reader. Having a friend read your stuff before you post it will allow them to catch the things you probably don't see. This includes spelling errors, rushed points, incorrect characters, etc. and it will improve your book dramatically. Also, if you have a great idea for later in the story, write it down somewhere else. This way you don't forget it, and you can build up to it when you have a better starting plot established. It's better to build up to the big plot points than just jump to them for the sake of getting to them. It always gets worse before it gets better. You need to trust the process. Conflict and establishing scenes can make those amazing ideas you had in mind feel all the more satisfying when the reader finally reaches them. This will not only drive your plot to where it needs to be, but it can also help your readers to build their connection to your character with their sympathy or even better, empathy.