Often we’ll find all three of these “sins” walking hand in hand, and if we can stamp out one of them, we can often kill all three.
In a classic novel, we find an excellent example of how the Three Mortal Sins can bring your story to a screeching halt. Halfway through this book, about prosaic country life in 19th-century Derbyshire, the author commits the first of her sins by interrupting her story with a chapter that first makes an apology and defense of a character she fears her readers will find “little better than a pagan,” then uses the opportunity to preach her views at the readers for a further ten pages.
Although modern readers are less likely to interrupt a story to directly address readers, the effect of this approach still offers some insights.
Whether individual readers agree with an author’s points or not is irrelevant, because very few will appreciate having their story interrupted by a sermon. The best—and, arguably, only—way to share moral, political, or social views with your readers is to allow your story to carry them organically.
Keep in mind this rule of thumb: The moment you interrupt your story to insert information that doesn’t directly move the plot forward is a moment in which you’re going to be trying your readers’ patience. Not only are they unlikely to be receptive to hearing your opinions, they’re also going to take some serious convincing to keep reading.
