Coincidence - your readers accept that one big coincidence that's part of your story's premise. Your protagonist just happened to be at Location X when Antagonist Y did Event Z.
Okay, cool.
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Okay, cool.
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That gets things rolling. That's why you have a story. But other coincidences that you MUST have to make your story work, those will annoy the hell out of your readers.
"Oh, Iron Man needs to repair his suit. The first building he checks has a fully equipped garage!"
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"Oh, Iron Man needs to repair his suit. The first building he checks has a fully equipped garage!"
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"Oh, there just happened to be a steel-cutting saw in a kitchen drawer."
"Oh, she just happened to overhear a vitally important conversation."
"Oh, he just happened to have a friend that can hack into FBI computers."
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"Oh, she just happened to overhear a vitally important conversation."
"Oh, he just happened to have a friend that can hack into FBI computers."
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Not a term I like, but most of this is lazy writing. A short cut to creating the story you want to tell. So take the time. Get away from the keyboard. Give your brain some time and space to solve the problem.
And thank you for coming to my Ted Tweets.
#writingtips
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And thank you for coming to my Ted Tweets.
#writingtips
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@threadreaderapp, please unroll this thread for me. Thanks!
@threadreaderapp Let me add one more thing. All of those tiny little coincidences that everyday life, those are fine. Often, they are even great. Nothing like exposing Life when it's conspiring against us with cruel ironies. But don't rescue your hero with a cheap coincidence.
