This goes to anyone who has basically created a book, has a main plot laid out, and then completely disregards it later on in the story. It happens way more than writers would like to admit. And— it's fairly easy to get off topic in your books, so it's not just a "you" thing.
HOW TO AVOID GOING OFF TOPIC
(1.) Read your description or very first chapter again. If your drafts are going in the complete opposite direction of what you intended, fix it to your liking.
-With that, you have two options. You could either change up your description and edit your first chapter a bit. Or, you could go back to your draft and fix where it goes off from that.
(2.) Think about how you want your story to end. If the part of your story in your drafts is heading in the opposite direction of that, change it so it fits.
(3.) Ask yourself, "Is this part necessary?"
-Most of the time, if you just read over some of your own story, you realize what fits where and what doesn't. Do the same with earlier chapters in your book versus your drafts.
Now with that said; you do not have to delete everything. Just try and find what doesn't match with the overall theme of your story. This does not matter to 'plot-twists', because that is a completely different subject. This is specifically if you struggle with staying on topic, and you want to complete your book but find it difficult reaching that point.
YOU ARE READING
𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐒, writing tips
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