Don’t Make this Common Writing Mistake!

We’re a couple of months into 2025. If you’re like most people, you started this new year off with a list of goals. And I’d bet that a writing goal of some sort made it onto list.

I’ve got goals, too. And I’ve got plans to meet those goals, from daily word counts to benchmarks on how far I want to be on my new writing project and when. I’ll stumble at some point; I always do. Most writers do, though, so I’ll be in good company. You can read more about that in my latest Substack.

It will all come down to the choices I make. When I’m feeling tired, or uninspired, or frustrated, will I sit back and wait for a better writing day to come along? Or will I still sit down and write anyway?

The first is a passive choice. You’re waiting for inspiration to strike, for motivation to appear, for a moment when all the stars align and you will finally write your book.

The second is an active choice. There is no waiting involved. You write anyway. Even when you’re tired, uninspired, or frustrated.

Which choice do you think leads to a finished manuscript?

I know, I KNOW. It’s just so hard sometimes, right? But making the active choice is going to put you on the path to a finished manuscript.

It just so happens that this question of passive versus active plays a huge role in your story, too. And getting it right can be the difference between a story that’s struggling and a story that works.

Passive Versus Active Protagonist

One of the most common mistakes that I see in my editing and coaching practice is a story with a passive protagonist.

Like a writer deciding to wait for the perfect writing day, passive protagonists sit back and wait for the story to happen to them.

But readers lose interest in passive protagonists pretty quickly.

Why?

Because they aren’t actively involved in their own story. They’re just reacting to what’s happening.

To make matters worse, this often leads to the dreaded And Then That story structure. In this set-up, nothing is connected. First, something happens to the character. And Then That happens. And Then That happens, and so on.

In an And Then That-driven story, there’s no energy. There’s nothing driving us forward. No trigger for the action. No clear reason what’s causing these things to happen, or why it matters. And the protagonist’s reaction to the events of the story have no weight to them, because they have no impact on the plot.

Active protagonists, on the other hand, are making choices, then experiencing the consequences of their choices. And, crucially, the need to deal with these consequences drives their next choice, thereby driving the next plot point.

This leads to the desired Because of That story structure. In this set-up, each plot point drives to the next one. First, your protagonist makes a choice. Because of That, now this happens. Because of That, this next thing happens, and so on.

In a Because of That-driven story, scenes are linked together into a cause-and-effect trajectory that keeps readers turning pages to find out what will happen next.

There’s powerful energy here, and a clear reason why something is happening, a clear trigger for the action. Because the protagonist is making these choices through their flawed worldview and sense of what matters to them, what’s happening in the story now matters. There are now stakes. The story is now building to a climax and resolution.

Don’t make the mistake of writing a passive protagonist! Pull them out of the backseat and into the driver’s seat of the story by having them make choices that trigger what happens next. Your story will have more energy, more purpose, and more readers.

Write this reminder down on a post-it and stick it somewhere visible while you write: An active protagonist drives the story. A passive protagonist is driven by the story.

And just like an active protagonist making choices that drive their story forward, an active writer making the choice to sit down and write, even when they’re tired or uninspired or frustrated, drives their story forward. All the way to The End.

A passive writer might wait forever for the perfect day to write. And wait. And wait.

Making the choice to show up for your story, to sit down and begin, may be the hardest choice you make all day. But chances are good that as you drag yourself through those first few painful sentences, your mind will relax into the task and you will make some meaningful progress, even if it’s just a few solid paragraphs.

Next time you’re contemplating a slide into the passive, take heart from this quote from Madeleine L’Engle, who knows exactly how you feel on those days when you’re tired, uninspired, and frustrated…

“Ulitmately, you have to sit down and start to write. And even if all you do is type out ‘I can’t write this morning; I can’t write this morning; oh bother, I can’t write this morning,’ that will sometimes prime the pump and get it started.”(Madeleine L’Engle Herself, 2001)

Till next time…

Happy writing!

Erin