The Story Diagnosis Framework

Troubleshooting broken narratives. 50 common story problems organized by where they appear (act structure, character, pacing, theme, dialogue, scenes, world-building), with symptoms readers report, underlying causes, and specific fixes for each.

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The Core Principle

Reader feedback describes symptoms: "I was bored," "I didn't care," "it felt rushed." Your job is to diagnose the underlying cause. A single structural problem can create multiple symptoms downstream. Find the disease, not just the pain. Fix the source, and the symptoms resolve.

What This Resource Is

1 10 Diagnostic Categories

Problems organized by where they appear: Act One, Act Two, Act Three, Character, Pacing, Theme, Dialogue, Scene-Level, World-Building, and the Diagnosis Process itself.

2 50 Story Problems

Each problem includes the symptom readers report, the underlying cause, how to diagnose it, and 4-5 specific fixes you can implement.

3 Symptom → Cause → Fix

Translate vague feedback ("I was bored") into specific diagnoses (escalation failure) and actionable solutions (map tension curve, add complications).

4 Diagnosis Principles

6 principles for effective story diagnosis and 6 common pitfalls that lead to endless ineffective revision.

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