When writing, there is an old saying that says, “If you’re bored, then your reader was bored 10 pages ago.”
This principle is generally true, but this isn’t necessarily always the case.
If you’ve spent an inordinate amount of time with one story, then it’s likely that the story becomes boring and seems dull. However, if you give your story to a new reader, then they may find it titillating.
Something is often exciting when it’s new.
This means that your story isn’t actually boring, and maybe all you need to do is put it down for a while. Give yourself a break, and then continue your writing. Unfortunately, the only way to know if this is the case is to give it to someone else to read.
However, if you’re feeling bored, though, it’s probably far more likely that your story actually is boring, and there are a number of reasons why this could be the case.
Too Much Exposition Can Make Your Story Boring
First, over-explanation, or using too much exposition, can make your story feel boring.
This is why many people don’t like to read Tolkien. These people are wrong, of course, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t parts of The Lord of the Rings that feel slow and boring, and Tolkien’s style with his exposition is the reason for that.
It’s easy to fall into that trap of dumping exposition everywhere on the page because you’re describing what you see in your imagination as you write.
Description is an easy crutch because it allows you to put words on the page and feel like you’ve moved your story forward.
I get it. Sometimes you just have to see words on a page, but words on a page doesn’t inherently mean that you’ve written something meaningful for your story.
In my opinion, this is the reason why exposition can sometimes make your story feel boring: because you’re not writing something that is exciting and pushing your plot forward.
Talking Head Syndrome
Another common source of over-exposition is called talking head syndrome.
Talking head syndrome is exposition through the eyes of your POV character.
Now, exposition through your POV character is actually an important part of a good story. You have to have it, but when it becomes too excessive, it gets boring.
But just because it’s boring doesn’t mean it isn’t understandable—it’s an easy crutch.
I find that it comes out in my writing when I don’t have a clear direction for my story or for my characters. I think that having a plan for what you’re writing will generally eliminate this.
Unless, of course, that’s your natural proclivity even with a plan. In this case, just know that if you do it too much, it’ll probably be boring.
Too Little Exposition Can Also Be Boring
Oddly enough, another source of boredom for writers and readers is also a lack of exposition and explanation.
Description of what’s going on around a character adds to the immersion of the reader and will help it become more real for you as a writer.
To do this correctly, it’s important to bring in all forms of sensory input into your description. It shouldn’t be just what your character sees, but also what they smell and taste.
It’s really a good idea to bring all five senses to the party, which is often something I frequently forget.
Tie Sensory Details to the Plot
Another thing you can do to fight boredom is to tie the sensory details to the plot.
Nobody cares that the air felt musty against his skin if there isn’t a reason for the musty air.
Now, that reason could be implied. Maybe they’re in a dark cavern or something. In this case, the reader would expect the air to feel different.
But sometimes the description can go against an implication and be unique to your story or your world.
Maybe your characters are in a dark cavern, but the air feels normal.
This would cut against expectations and could lead to an ominous feeling.
Unique descriptions like this will make your story more memorable and go a long way toward fighting the boredom that can set in for both the reader and you, the writer.
Your Story Needs a Plan
Earlier, I talked about having a plan to help pull your characters in a meaningful direction.
But this plan should revolve around things that bring interest to your story.
If your plan sucks, then your writing will still be pretty boring.
This is true even if your characters are headed in meaningful directions, which is the point of a plan in my opinion.
So let’s go over some ideas that will help you craft a plan that doesn’t suck.
Now, when I say plan, I don’t necessarily mean an outline—though I do love a good outline. You don’t need one to write an interesting story.
But you do need a plan.
And I’m using the word plan here pretty broadly and loosely. It can be something as simple as an interesting question that’s pulling you as the writer forward.
Maybe you just don’t quite understand your character yet. Maybe they haven’t told you who they are yet.
The question of who is this character, really? is an interesting question for a writer.
Use Tension and Conflict
Your plan could be an idea for tension and conflict.
Without tension, you definitely will have a boring story.
Tension and conflict are the building blocks of interest.
So sometimes a plan is just an idea for how the scene you’re going to write today is going to provide tension and conflict.
It’s a pretty simple formula, actually.
What do your characters want, and what’s standing in their way?
As a writer, it’s important that you put obstacles that separate your characters’ wants from what they currently have.
Put Your Characters in Interesting Situations
Another loose plan is an idea for putting your character into an interesting spot.
I love to think of weird or awkward positions that I could stick my characters in. And what makes these positions strange could be a whole variety of reasons, and it truly depends on the character.
If you have a character that is quiet, it’s interesting to put them in a situation where they have to speak or suffer the consequences for staying silent.
Or you could take a selfish character and put them in a situation where they are forced to serve others.
Putting characters in situations that go against their nature is one of my favorite ways to fight off the boredom of writing.
Get to the Inciting Incident
Another fairly common difficulty that can make your story seem boring is the time between the first word of your book and the inciting incident.
There is no set amount of words or pages in which the inciting incident must happen, but generally, the sooner it happens, the better.
The longer it takes to get into the story, the more boring your story becomes.
One way to get around this is to write as much as you want, and then throw out your first chapter or two.
Give Your Characters Goals
Probably the most common reason that your story feels boring is that your characters have a lack of goals and direction.
If your characters don’t have clear goals, it kind of reminds me of a forty-year-old who lives with his parents and doesn’t have a job.
Now imagine trying to write a character like that. It would be pretty exhausting to have a character that didn’t have a proactive bone in their body.
Your characters need development, and they need growth and change.
The Middle of Your Story Can Be Boring
Now there are parts of a story that are inherently boring.
The middle is notoriously hard to write through because that’s typically when a story slows down.
It slows down because there is a lot of time between the beginning hook and the climax of the story.
The middle can seem especially boring for any and all of the reasons that I’ve already talked about.
But let me know in the comments below what you find challenging or makes you bored in the middle of your story.
Your Story Needs to Keep Your Interest
I think it’s pretty safe to say that your book must keep your interest if you have any hope of completing it.
If you’re bored with your story, don’t immediately assume that your story is bad. Sometimes you’ve simply spent too much time with it and need to step away.
But if the boredom sticks around, it’s worth taking a closer look.
Are you over-explaining? Are you under-explaining? Do your characters have clear goals? Is there enough tension and conflict? Are you putting your characters in interesting situations?
And perhaps most importantly, are you giving yourself something interesting to write?
Because if you’re bored, there’s a pretty good chance your readers will be too.
