Young writers; Tattoo this on the backs of your eyelids and look at it every night before you sleep:
A NOVEL IS NOT A VIDEO GAME.
Novels and video games are very different media, and they use very different techniques to create emotions in people. So if you use a plotline that works for a video game in your novel, no matter how exciting a video game it would make, you run the risk that it will leave readers flat. Continue reading “A Novel Is Not a Video Game”