Ever had that moment when you’re breezing through a book and, like screeching tyres, it occurs to you a critical item, character, or event has cropped up in a way that’s either impossible or suggests you must have missed an earlier clue somewhere? Me too.
As a writer, it is highly frowned upon by readers and writing coaches alike to pull your reader out of the story and send them flicking back through the story to play catch-ups—unless, of course, it’s a brilliant plot twist they want to revisit. Worse: what if they cannot find the missing clue BECAUSE YOU FORGOT TO PUT IT IN?! Imagine this as an author. Gulp.
I’ve not had a MAJOR gap in my novels that I’m aware of 😬, but after releasing Immortal Mistake I noticed something right at the end that bugged me. It’s not an error, perse, but it is a bit of a, ‘Hang on, how did they get that back?’ question. (Feel free to try figure it out and let me know what you think this is. 😉) But like every writer, I’ve come across plenty of gaps during manuscript development.
This funny Insta reel depicts well how it feels when you think you’ve done the hard work getting your manuscript in shape and you have all those ends tied up so neat, but then … da-dom—plot hole!!!!!
Have you ever felt like life has thrown up a story gap? Those, ‘How did I get here again?’ or maybe, ‘There’s something I’m missing,’ moments. Maybe it’s not a gap, but a series of little choices leading to what feels like a major deviation from your life “plan” or intended goal. Maybe you took a risk [business, life, relationship etc] and there was a critical piece of information or backstory you didn’t factor in or were not provided, and now you’re at an unsolvable impasse.
As a writer hitting these barriers, it can really put you on your tail as you try and figure out a solution. ‘What now?’ blares in ugly mocking tones. Sometimes it can derail your creative flow or make you want to crawl in a hole for a while to nurse your ‘I thought it was working so well’ lament. But often it isn’t as bad as it first seems.
Sometimes there may be unforeseen benefits for the story that come from the plot-hole wrestling process. Other times, at the perfect moment, you might be provided information that flips the whole thing on its head in the most brilliant way. Love those type of solutions!
The point is, an ‘impossible’ roadblock or crushing disappointment doesn’t have to result in the entire story being thrown away. Get the life parallel? We might just need a good sleep [a good cry??] and a bit of perspective. As goes the hero’s journey, we might need to rally the troops [call in some help] and start changing those decisions that have led us down that bumpy path of disappointment. I’ve even had situations where change comes through the most impossible solutions, as if hand delivered by divine appointment. And then there is the dawning realisation that, in some circumstances, this is where we needed to be all along.
If you feel like you’ve got some story gaps, are facing unexpected roadblocks, or other disappointment, take heart. No part of a story is wasted. With a little help or purposeful adjustment, a new path can be forged, even in unexpected ways—because the story to come is so worth pressing through those moments.
