The Predictability Problem

Writing a book is a delicate balance. So many things have to be in the right place for the story to work. But one of the trickiest things to balance is predictability. Too predictable and readers get bored because they know what's coming. Try to be too surprising and readers get upset because it wasn't even close to what they were expecting. Today we'll be talking about how to balance that and how to avoid both extremes.

Extreme 1: Predictable

No one wants to see those dreaded words used in a review about their book (or I hope not). "It was predictable." "I saw the plot twists coming from a mile away." "I totally knew how it was going to end and I was right."

Sometimes, being too predictable is a sign of being too cliche or using tropes in an unoriginal manner. Other times, it's just bad writing. Either way, no one wants to be predictable. So how do we keep that from happening in our novels?

One way is to think about what is unexpected. If it's expected the guy is going to get in the girl in the end, what if he doesn't? If it's expected that the little kid that escaped from the Pit is Bane, what if it's actually the bad guy's daughter? If it's expected that the prophesy is about one person, what if it's made up?

You can also avoid cliches and tropes, or take them and make them original. Cliche princess that hates dresses and loves killing? How about a princess that *gasp* loves pretty clothes, hates killing, and is good at diplomacy? There are so many ways to shake things up, don't just settle with the easy option A. Go for broke and pick the harder option B. Or K. Or ZZ. Whatever.

Extreme 2: Not at all predictable

But Rachel, you may be saying, isn't not at all predictable what we want? Yes, but only to a certain point. I've read books where literally nothing I expected happened, and that's the other extreme. (I don't remember what those books were now, or I would list them.)

When people try to be too original or use the unexpected choice too much, it's frustrating. There are times when we want the main characters to get together or the bad guy to come to a well deserved death. When nothing happens like we thought it would, or hoped it would, we don't want to keep reading because it's no fun.

So don't go overboard with the unexpected options. Decide which things do need to happen and which ones you can surprise readers with so there's a nice balance. Give readers what they want once in a while and they will be happy.

Same goes for plot twists. Don't take the most out there reveal and expect people to believe it. You have to convince us before you reveal it that it could happen or it won't work. You can do an extreme plot twist, but only once in a while. Not every time. In fact, plot twists should be saved only for certain occasions.

Balance is necessary

Like all things, if you balance your story between these two extremes, it will be better for everyone. Your readers will be more happy with your story if you use a mix of both expected and unexpected events.

Think of it like white and brown sugar in chocolate chip cookies. If you go for all brown sugar, the cookie comes out soft (or predictable). If you use all white sugar, it comes out harder (or not easy to follow). But if you use an equal amount of both sugars, then you have a cookie that's right between soft and hard, the perfect cookie in my opinion. (Not to say that you can't like soft or hard cookies. I just needed an example)

I hope this post gave you some ideas about how to use predictability in your novel. Mix well and it will all come out great (as long as everything else in your story is perfect, of course).

Let's talk! Which do you hate more, extreme one or two? Have you ever been frustrated by a book being too unpredictable? How do you find balance in your novels? Tell me in the comments.

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