Why Are We Here?

There have been many times where I, the reader, have wondered: “Why are we here?” and then when I got the answer from the author (through the narrative) I found myself growing frustrated.

You’ve read the same books. Everything is going along well, the plot is barreling along, the characters are being three-dimensional and interesting, and then — bam! We veer off into a scene that has very little to do with the plot or character arc and everything to do with ‘vibes’, or fulfilling some sort of trope check list, or for reasons that remain opaque long after you finish the book.

Sure, you might appreciate the prose in this scene, or chuckle a little bit, or even think what’s happening is ‘cool’, but at the back of your mind you’re wondering “Why are we here?” and the story loses you a little bit.

Every avid reader has read a book or series that is heavy on the vibes and still well-written and tightly plotted. One of my favorites, the Mercy Thompson series, is heavy on the cool vibes, mixed in with a lot of zany found family shenanigans and some Alpha werewolf-ness that is just enough for me to stand. It’s fun and most of the books are fast reads because you just rocket along with Mercy as she and her friends and pack (remember, werewolves) solve mysteries and set things on fire (this happens a lot).

Like I said, this is a favorite, but even with a favorite I would question a sudden turn into a scene ‘just for the vibes’. One of the reasons I’m so drawn to this series are the tightly plotted mysteries.

Let’s be real: writing for the vibes has become really popular. It’s been a long-time part of fanfiction storytelling (and there, in my opinion, it’s appropriate) and has ruined many a good movie. You know what I mean. You’ve seen it in many films. Remember when The Fast and Furious franchise went to space? Yeah, that was just for the vibes, because there was no plot that would actually make that make sense. Which is not to say I didn’t get a kick out of it. But The Fast and Furious franchise is also one of the few places where I’m like, “I’ll allow it.” Too much, and I’m gone.

It also seems to have permeated the book space more now than ever.

When you write ‘for the vibes’ you're reaching for the ‘cool’ or ‘epic’ of it all, or maybe even the ‘slay girl’ or ‘boss bitch’ of it all, or whatever ‘vibe’ you’re going for. When you do that over the solid foundation of a scene (plot, characterization, etc.) the story falters in its momentum.

Some examples of writing for the vibes:

• Random sex scenes: we get it, your characters got together, but if they’re trying to bang each other mid-mission or in an inappropriate setting, it just makes them look irresponsible. Or maybe your characters are in a place where banging makes sense, but it’s in the wrong place in your novel. It interrupts the pacing of your novel for something that doesn’t have anything to do with the plot. Some genres lean more toward allowing this than others (romance and its various sub-genres, by which, I mean, this is more related to the actual plot) but if you keep inserting sex scenes just to have a sex scene, it’s going to become obvious to your readers. And that’s a turn off for some.

• Your character needs to seem cool: Whether it’s a random, unattached-to-the-plot action scene or your character suddenly growing a spine to tell someone off (with zero build-up or relevance to the plot) it always seems out of place when a scene is designed to just make a character look cool. One way to avoid this is to always make sure that every scene has either a) something to do with the plot, even if it doesn’t ‘move it forward’, and b) well, moves the plot forward. A sort of point b1) is that character growth should be seen on page. If you’re character becomes ‘cool’ over the course of the novel, we need to see that play out.

• You got lost: Your plot is a maze, and you got lost in it, so you insert a random scene until you get to the scene you really want to write. Here’s the thing: there shouldn’t be a scene in your novel you didn’t want to write. If you’re adding random scenes to help with pacing or to flesh out various things, it’s going to be obvious to the reader. Scenes shouldn’t be random in a final draft. First draft, yeah, that happens all the time, but final, published draft? No.

• Genre is not an aesthetic: A lot of times vibes and aesthetic coincides. Certainly, genres have their own aesthetics attached to them, but writing toward that often leads to a weak book. Yeah, I know ‘dark academia is cool’, but your descriptions sound like a dark academia Tumblr post circa 2018, and not in a good way. I’m almost surprised one of your character’s names isn’t Dementia Ravenway, or whatever that name was. Sure, the sci-fi aesthetic of the 50s, 60s, and 70s are cool, but is there a reason the dialogue sounds like an episode from The Love Boat, especially in the Year of Our Lord 3025, and the technology seems on the level of Flash Gordon, which is not even time period accurate with anything else in your novel? Yes, I know, it’s fiction, but if I the reader am distracted from your plot by a lot of gimmicks, guess what I’m going to criticize?

• What even is plot?: The entire story is just vibes, and then the author wonders why readers have lost interest. The main character is so ultra-cool-girl-miss-independent she’s insufferable, the love interest may as well be a face and a penis for all the personality he has, and the side characters flit in and out, bringing a catastrophic series of ‘vibes’ with them and nothing else. Sometimes there’s sex. Or it’s all doom and gloom, murder everywhere, everyone is a broody-but-hot-sad-boy/girl-with-attachment-issues and the jerk who gets murdered is such a heinous person not even the reader cares. Plot? What plot, get in loser, we’re doing murder. How to avoid this? Well, plot the story out, but also question why you’re writing this particular story, and if it’s just because you love the aesthetic or vibes, might I suggest fanfiction as an outlet, but also respect your own story and writing ability by going beyond the vibes. What are the character’s goals? What is the endgame for your story?

So, writing for the vibes, with zero connection to plot is going to lose your readers. Maybe they’ll pull through. Maybe they’ll ignore that one scene and realize that you got back on that horse and it’ll just be a little misstep in an otherwise great novel.

Do it too much, though, and you’ll lose a reader in the middle, and they won’t be coming back.

I did point out earlier that I appreciate the vibes in Mercy Thompson series, and I do. But the reason they’re good is because of everything except the vibes.

• Plot gives the vibes: Whether you’re writing an urban fantasy or an epic space opera, the plot is what’s going to give the vibes. The plot consists of narrative arc, setting, and characterization, usually following some sort of three act structure. Your characters move through the spaces you create much like they move through the plot. A lot of times, knowing your setting (worldbuilding) and how it relates to the plot is half the battle. A lot of steampunk novels successfully fulfill the vibes because of how the author sets up the premise and the world. From there, the characters are free to be their steampunk hero selves, with good direction from the author.

• Know your setting: There’s definitely a lot of advice about not overwhelming your readers with worldbuilding information, but there’s also a point where you don’t want your characters acting out the story in the middle of grey nothingness or four, featureless walls. Again, what needs to be described should be important to the plot. You may not need to describe a room because of the HGTV level decoration you put into it, but because the characters will be moving through it or entering and exiting it, and that’s important to know. The trick is to describe these things without sounding like a home design magazine. Same with how your social and political structures are set up. What’s important to the plot? That’s what the readers need to know. And a lot of vibes can be set up through a setting.

• Your Characters Are the Vibes: You can have the most delicately crafted setting imaginable, and all vibes will be bad with a mediocre character walking through it. Your characters should have goals, wants, needs, strengths, and weaknesses. They should have an active role in affecting and reacting to whatever happens in the novel, and, if you are working with an ensemble cast, you need to be clear about whose POV you’re working from. A character that is perfectly bad or completely good is a boring character, and gives little nuance, if any. Character can also be shown through voice, even in narrative in third person, as well as their actions and patterns of behavior. With a fully realized character, the vibes can definitely lean towards good.

If it came across that I am against vibes, that’s not true. I love a good vibe. What I’m against is writing towards the vibes and therefore losing the reason we’re all there in the first place: the story.

Author Note: Whenever I say ‘you’ in this piece, I am using the general ‘you’ or the imaginary ‘you’, as in, I’m not thinking of anyone in particular - Kendra

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