What Writing Unstable Taught Me About Craft

Every book teaches you something—even the ones that make you want to tear your outlines in half. Unstable was a masterclass in writing tension, character depth, and emotional unpredictability.

Here are the biggest lessons it forced me to learn:

1. Characters Can’t Be “Fixed”—and That’s Okay

I kept trying to make certain characters more stable, more reasonable, more “likable.” The story fought me. Eventually, I realized: their instability is the point. Readers don’t want perfect. They want honest.

2. Tension Comes From What Characters Don’t Say

Some of the most powerful scenes in Unstable aren’t explosive—they’re quiet. A look held too long. A sentence cut short. A moment of hesitation that reveals everything.

3. You Can’t Force the Ending

I had an ending planned. The characters disagreed. So I followed them—and it was better. Sometimes the story knows more than you do.

4. Writing Dark Emotion Requires Light to Contrast

You can’t keep a reader submerged in turmoil forever. So I added softness. Small joys. Humor. A hand on a shaking shoulder. The darkness hits harder when there’s something worth losing.

Unstable shaped me as much as I shaped it, and I’m a better writer because of it.