Gripes with writing

2. Forcing a story to end unnaturally + flawless characters

All writers are guilty of this in one story or another.  Even I am. Ending a story prematurely before all plot lines could be explored, and all characters get a satisfying ending.  Leaving only half-hearted or disappointed readers when it ends at a time they're not satisfied with.

This usually happens from plot points exponentially speeding up, paving becoming way too fast, and things moving way too quickly.  This leaves readers thinking either "Well, that wasn't too big of a threat" or "Wait, that's it?"

Quick pacing is not always a bad thing, say during filler chapters.  But it'll always leave much to be desired.  These can either be caused by - what I believe to be - loss of motivation to continue writing, or simply just becoming lazy.  Laziness can be a huge ruiner of stories.

I remember a recent story where a guy was forcing his story to end prematurely, only making the story go on for longer by like 10 chapters if his readers gave him 1K dollars by the end of the day (dude did end up getting that, which eugh).

From the video I watched about it, one thing I came to agree with from the person covering it is to let the story reach its own natural conclusion, never force an ending.  It might just leave you and your own readers disappointed.

An example I know of is an old one.  I was left disappointed with the ending of a Naruto fanfiction where the main character got turned into a dragon.  Neat concept, and it was a fun read.  But the ending was so unexpected and quick. Like a huge whiplash.  And all for it to end with just the mc disappearing without a trace for no explanation of why they ended up there in the first place or how.  No explanation for why they even were a dragon.

If I remember correctly, it gave heavy "it was just a dream" vibes.  And that was the more bare bones ending I've ever read.

And I can only guess the ending came out like that because they wanted to force it along to work on other stories.

And no, do not seek out this story to just complain about that.  It honestly might not even be on this platform anymore.

This leads onto my next rant about characters themselves. They always are so..  bland.  Following the same character traits as others to make them as perfect as possible.  Always things like.

-very kind
-loyal
-innocent (it goes to impossible standards- especially with their age and the internet being in mind)
-doesn't like their friends being hurt
-stutters / shy

It's something a lot of say - reader inserts have.  It makes all the stories blend together and have similar backgrounds.  Nothing else.  Even the dialogue can be the same.  These traits in a character can work- but only if they have: reason and it's not their only traits

(I mainly see these in stories like the x reader stories of hunterxhunter and MHA. Though there's probably others I just never could find)

Characters without flaws are just a Mary Sue.  Flaws are what are able to make a character likable.  It gives them room to grow and room for other characters to shine. 

This issue was brought up by another youtuber who talked about the female lead tropes of reincarnation/ revenge stories.  Where the female lead exists to do everything correctly, and the male lead exists with no persinality and be like a prop to the FL.  To the point where the villains are more fleshed out and likable than the main cast. 
Not because they're good, but because they're human.  Or, well, feel more human than the blank slate characters.

And no, flaws alone don't make a character either.  Do not make that mistake. Add cheesy shit to your character if you wanna do that!  Make them edgy if you want!  Develop them into something you can be proud to call a character.  Just remember, don't make them like a robot that exists only for the story.

Make them human.  And even humans have flaws.

And for the love of all that is great: don't make them talented in everything.  That is one surefire way to make a character more unrealistic than a cartoon drawing.

Okay, I'm done with my rant now.  Yes, I did edit this just to add another part I realized I wanted to rant about.

Bye-bye!