Writing Tips and Reviews

How To Deal With Contradictions

Contradictions in stories is normal. It's bound to happen because that's how story writing works. But if your story contradicts itself so many times, it basically is a train rolling off a cliff.

"Matthew is a warrior who fought for his people. He died in the war and went to the afterlife, but people acknowledge his unwavering bravery to protect his people. However, the dead soldiers have become wraiths, haunting the land they once protected. And Matthew, who was cursed with immortality, wanders the earth to try to help them."

How do we fix this?

Well, we have to define if Matthew is immortal or dead. Was he brought back to life in an immortal body? Or is he just a soul, which is believed to be immortal in many mythologies. Unfortunately, the two are opposites by nature, so you do have to choose one.

If he's dead and gone to the afterlife, he could be summoned as a ghost.

If he's immortal and still wandering the world, that's all.

"Amelia is a girl born with the special ability to see cursed spirits and ghosts. She believes it's possible to save them if she discovers the source of their pain and anger so they can move on. However, cursed spirits and ghosts are constantly haunting others and they are hated for their appearances in every calamity known to the town."

If Amelia is the only one able to see curse spirits and ghosts, then how are they able to be seen by normal people to the point those people gained a hatred for them?

Are they also born with that special ability? Do the people blame the cursed spirits and ghosts despite not knowing the cause? Is the area giving people that special ability? Without a real explanation, this is a contradiction.

"Lacey has an unwavering belief in coexistence between humans and demons. She is the only one with this belief and it puts her at odds with others. As no one else in the world, not even the humans and demons have it. This is why she lives in a hidden zone where humans and demons coexist peacefully."

If Lacey is the only one who has this belief in the entire world, and she fights everyone for it, why is there suddenly a hidden zone of people who believe in it?

Maybe it would be better to say that she has this belief because she was born in this zone. While that wouldn't put her as an underdog in a world against her, it would make sense. Or just don't have the zone at all. Maybe have it somewhere she doesn't know about, so she when she finds it, she feels like she was right the whole time.

This is a short round with some examples of contradictions I've made up. There are many possibilities for how to smoothen out your contradictions. But the point is to keep consistency in your story. You should not say one thing and contradict it in the next sentence without something else happening.

Matthew died in the war and is immortal. Maybe he died but his soul is trapped and souls are immortal.

Amelia is the only one who can see cursed spirits and ghosts but so can everyone else. Maybe she's sharing her power or she only thinks she's the only one.

Lacey believes in peaceful coexistence between humans and demons and is the sole person in the world who does, but she lives in a town that believes it too. Maybe she thinks she's the only one and doesn't know about others.

As long as you put a little thought into what you're writing, you can find a solution. Unless you want to end up like High Guardian Spice. That's fine too.