How can you tell if a story has no plot or if it is just bad writing?

Keys to Moving Your Plot Forward - C. S. Lakin

... to know exactly where in the story that scene will occur. Instead ... have an ally try to stop your character from making a bad decision.

Plot vs. Story - The Common

Also, places where I know an awful lot but don't use it very well. ... I saw that beginning the Story at the writers' conference was almost right.

How to Avoid Writing a Contrived Plot - Almost An Author

... story from outside the character, visiting terrible tragedy on them. I was blessed to have a mentor who helped me understand that the ...

Does a story or novel have to have an antagonist?

An antagonist is a specific entity that continually stands in opposition to the protagonist or main character. Not all works of fiction include ...

Character-Driven Vs. Plot Driven: Which is Best | NY Book Editors

Many writers make the mistake of elevating characterization over plot, but one is not better than the other. An awesome character with nothing to do and no ...

How to Pants – Successfully Write a Novel Without an Outline

Pantsers typically get a bad rap for winging their stories and not have a strict outline, but when you know and develop your characters, discover your story's ...

What Makes a Good Plot? | The Writer's Cookbook

I was so bad for not including enough conflict in my stories when I was younger. ... But if you don't do this, you have to know the rest of ...

A Premise Isn't a Plot. But it's a Good Start. - Writers In The Storm

Here's the easiest way to test for a premise novel: ... Describe the novel in one sentence (even a bad sentence) using the standard "protagonist ...

The Plot: Story-Borrowing or Story-Stealing? - Carol Newman Cronin

... when it still happened, but somehow it wasn't. Somehow it made him feel awful. But really, didn't everything?” The best scene of all takes ...

What Defines Our Story? Drive vs. Focus - Jami Gold

We're going to talk about one aspect of our story that can make the best-intentioned advice in the world a bad fit, and it has to do with plots, characters, ...

The problem with plot points - The Darling Axe

... story, but to write a story that readers will connect with and enjoy. ... The main conflict goes from bad to worse. Think of the midpoint ...

How to Tell if a Piece of Fiction Has Literary Merit - Medium

Great style enchances a good story; bad style detracts from it. ... After a horrible saga with Xavi's departure, former Bayern and Germany ...

How to Write a Story Without a Plot (and Why You Shouldn't)

I might have written a few stories with terrible plots, but they were never plot-less. A “story” without a plot is just a description, at least ...

How to Tell a Story With Just One Character - The Write Practice

I was just taking a quick peek at Eve, that's all. A little unethical I admit but evil, No! I tried to talk to Adam and that's when it got very bad. “You ...

How to know if your pacing is too fast/slow - How to Write a Book Now

Although, extraneous info and exposition are not always necessarily bad, as ... If someone says your book/writing needs more detail and you have no ...

Basic Plots: Vonnegut's From Bad to Worse | Story Empire

The From Bad to Worse story type is one that we don't see often and is exactly as it sounds. Things start off bad and get progressively worse.

Putting An End To Plot Conveniences - LitReactor

... just have a bad relationship.” In reality, I knew I'd invested no ... Scenes occur not as organic parts of the story but simply because the author ...

How to Make Your Story Logical - Storylosopher

On the other hand, lack of consistency and coherence is the sign of bad writing. ... story that has (some) consistency but lacks overall coherence ...

Just Another Day: Writing the "Slice of Life" Novel - Fiction University

The ones where the focus is more on a character's journey through a period of time, and not so much about that one big bad problem that needs to be resolved.

Guest Post: How to Know if You Have a Story or a Topic - Well-Storied.

Books like No Plot? No Problem! exist to help writers take their idea from topic to story. That transition requires the construction of a plot, ...