My fantasy novel plot fell apart halfway through chapter 6

I spent 3 months building this whole world and then realized my main character had zero reason to leave their village. The whole conflict hinged on a letter that I forgot to actually write into the story. Has anyone else scrapped a project after realizing a basic plot hole?

3 comments

3 Comments

stellachen1d ago

Totally been there. That letter thing hurts.

carter.laura1d ago

Oh man, the classic "forgot to send the letter" plot hole. Been there, cried over it, and had to sneak it into a flashback like it was always there. But honestly, half the fun of writing is realizing you're basically a detective solving your own mystery after the fact.

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averymartin1d ago

Oh man, the missing letter trick. I've done that exact thing. Spent two weeks mapping out a trade route conflict and then realized I never actually showed the rival merchant delivering the inciting proposal. My fix was to just go back and plant the letter in an earlier chapter as a quick scene. Saved the whole thing. Sometimes you just gotta patch the hole instead of burning the house down.