Writing gimmicks are tricks authors use to distract readers from a bad text. We’ll be defining this in more detail in this post, but in this context a trick has nothing to do with reader manipulation.
Reader manipulation is a legitimate narrative technique. Writing gimmicks, on the other hand, are not techniques but fluff. Indeed, writing gimmicks often have nothing to do with the text itself and are more about extra-textual factors.
In this post we’ll see what writing gimmicks are, how to avoid them, and there’s also a bonus: What are reverse writing gimmicks, and how to take advantage of them. As an example, I’ll throw in a brief reference to a kick-ass Japanese rock band. Home for Fiction combines everything, you can’t complain!
