14 Plot Pitfalls You Need to Avoid

• Twist endings
• Telling the backstory
• Cookie cutter story
• Stalling as approaching crucial event
• Packing peanuts 
• Bait-and-switch
• Subjective tension
• Histrionic exit
• Reader cheating
• Inappropriate mystery to create suspense
• Too many subplots
• Literary dream
• Runaround error in story
• Schizophrenic story 
• BONUS: "I don’t praise plots as accurate representations of life, but as ways of keeping readers reading." 

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.