Where stories go wrong can be down to a number of factors but I list what I think are the most important points below.

1.  Character not strong enough.
By this I mean the character does not grab the reader's attention.  There is not enough in the character to make the reader want to have their attention grabbed!  A reader needs to either identify with the character and so follow the story to see if all works out in the end, or be very happy to see your character get their comeuppance and again follow the story through to find out if they do!  (I remember wanting to cheer when Molly Weasley in Harry Potter "dealt with" Bellatrix Lestrange - and sorry but I refuse to accept that's a plot spoiler now!  The point is the characters or Molly and Bellatrix grabbed my attention.  One I wanted to succeed, the other not to and so I was hooked).

2.  Story not strong enough.
There isn't enough conflict or drama to warrant there being a story!  Things have got to happen in a story and sometimes those things are not necessarily dramatic but they are everything to your characters.  The reader needs to find out how your people will react if things do or don't turn out well in the end.  Is there enough in your story to make readers want to find out what happens next?  It can be a good test to step aside from your work for a bit and come back to it as a reader would.  Is your story the kind you would eagerly pick up from a book shop because its opening lines and its blurb grip you?

3.  Characters not distinguishable from each other.
Each major character has to have their own voice.  A reader should be able to tell who is who.  If they can't confusion sets in and nobody will read a story like that.

My Chandler's Ford Today post this week is called Three Wishes and asks what would you choose if your fairy godmother turned up and granted you the customary three wishes?  Naturally, there are ground rules but check the post out and have fun picking yours!

For this post, I thought I'd look at what your characters would wish for.  Okay a lot is going to depend on your story, genre, etc but some general pointers I think would cross all of that and be true for most of them.  These then are:-

1.  To be well thought out before my writer puts me to paper or screen
I've found outlining a character to be a useful tool.  I don't put down every single thing but I need to know their major traits, what might send them "over the edge", what drives them etc. By the time I've thought about all of that, I can hear the voice of that character and once I've got that, I can write them into existence!  I've found that time spent initially in thinking about what I need to know here has saved me time later in editing and not having weaknesses in characterisation and/or the plot.  The lovely thing here is each writer can decide what they need to know.  It will vary from writer to writer.  It can vary from story to story too.  For example if you know you are going to write a humorous tale, you can ask what would your character dread happening to them because they'd be so embarrassed?  There would be a lot of humour potential there!

2.  To give me dialogue I can actually speak and which doesn't sound like "authorese".
This is where reading your work out loud pays off.  You can literally hear if the words flow or not.  If you stumble over dialogue, a reader will too.  Time to edit then! Speech itself, as well as speech patterns of characters, must seem natural.  You want to convey that this is something a "real" person in these circumstances might actually say (even if the setting is fantastical).

3.  For the writer to know what they are doing!
We're back to outlining again.  Your characters need to have a function to justify their place in your story.  So you really do need to know what they are doing in your story and, as importantly, why.  Once you know that, you can write with confidence (and it does show through). 

Storytelling is one of our oldest traditions of course.  You can understand the appeal of fairytales especially when it comes to the oral storytelling tradition.  A simple plot, a structure that works, a clear goodie and baddie, and a happy ever after ending.  Perfect way to end the day!

Now, of course, we expect our characters to be more nuanced.  There is no such thing as the perfect hero.  Villains have to have good (and understandable) reasons for acting the way they are (and that can include the fact they simply enjoy being evil. To them, that is reason enough!).

What I love about stories is that there is no one perfect format.  I love books in all their forms but totally understand why audiobooks work for some, whereas the print format doesn't.  Our focus as writers is to come up with stories that can work in several formats.  Our focus is to entertain.  I've never understood why some look down on escapism.  The world is sad and bad enough to make a wish to escape understandable.  After all why did our cavemen ancestors tell stories?  To remember what was important.  To bring the community closer together.  To escape the cares of their day and the ones to come for a while.

So as a writer then I want my characters to appeal to readers.  I also want to drop my characters right in it whenever I can.  I want my books to engage people.  It's a good thing to aim for:  to improve your storytelling as much as possible.  You discover better ways of expressing things, learn what works and what doesn't.  Enjoy your storytelling and relish every moment of it.

I hope you had a lovely Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year.  I enjoyed the break but am glad to be back writing again. 

In your stories, what would count as welcome breaks for the general populace?  Do they have holidays and how are they celebrated?  Are visitors welcome to join in or are they kept out?  I look at Winter Traditions in my Chandler's Ford Today post this week - what would these be in the world you're creating?  Is there such a thing as winter?  (I suspect we often wish there wasn't but it is necessary, honestly!).

Is everyone in your world celebrating a special holiday or is that the privilege of the ruling classes? What makes the holiday different from what we know here?  What are the similarities?  Does everyone enjoy the break?

Now there's some story ideas there for you!  Happy writing!