U is for Unconvincing, Unfinished, Uninspired and Unique

Sometimes my WIPS (works in progress) come across UNCONVINCINGto contest judges and/or editors. I take that to mean they aren’t buying into the plot, the conflict, that the entire story is flimsy or implausible or just downright lame. Most of the time I tell myself, that’s just their opinion but I have to admit their comments affect me–probably way too much. I end upwith an UNFINISHED partial manuscript because I’ve become UNINSPIRED. My writing is suddenly bland, dull and uncreative to me. I doubt myself because of something they’ve said. Just like you, I’m sure, I long to write a novel that’s UNIQUE. Yeah, I know, there’s nothing unique in this world, but there are books that are distinctive, exceptional in their own way, extraordinary compared to a lot of other books.

Flipping through my Flip Dictionary, a book for when you know what you want to say but can’t think of the word, I’ve listed words that we can use instead of Unconvincing, Unfinished, Uninspired and Unique. I’ve used some of them above.

Unconvincing: flimsy, implausible, lame, questionable, suspect, unbelievable, weak.

Unfinished: crude, immature, imperfect, incomplete, raw, rough, rude, sketchy, unassembled, undeveloped, undone, unfulfilled, unpainted, unpolished, unstained.

Uninspired: bland, boring, dull, lack-luster, stodgy, uncreative, unimpressed, uninteresting, unmoved, unoriginal.

Unique: Alone, distinctive, exceptional, extraordinary, incomparable, individual,

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How do you revise if you have a storyline that comes across UNCONVINCING?

How many UNFINISHED manuscripts do you have on your hard drive or in a desk drawer?

What do you do when you feel UNINSPIRED?

Have you read a book with a really UNIQUE plotline lately? Share!

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