How many subjects in the same story is "too many"? And is it too bad?
The story I'm currently writing is a framed story where a recurring-depression-suffering writer that lost his wife [killed] in a war tells his life story in a symbolical fantasy world. Throughout the story, he doesn't just show the sub-story protagonist having his wife killed, but also going into a journey to revive her, how was his relation to her since they met for the first time, along with a symbolically precise view of how the writer feels when with his depression. He would also have the option to go in another journey to either revenge his wife's death or just "take measures" in some way. It would also show the moments before, during and after the moment when the writer lost his wife (in the "real" world).
So the story has 5 big subjects in the same story: the writer's life, the writer's relation (romance) with his wife, the writer's wishes (the sub-story protagonist's two journeys), and the writer's depression, in which all five will be written in depth.
Now I ask: is a single story, having 5 deep subjects, "too crowded" or "too unfocused"? If yes, is it that bad? Because if I remove his romance, there wouldn't be a reason for the public to care for his wife; if I remove his life, the setting would be shallow; if I remove his depression symbolism, it would be a great opportunity lost and would yank a very good big content from the story; if I remove his wishes, the story would end just after he loses his wife.
So, in this case, what would you guys say about this?
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/26032. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
You can have as many subjects as you like; you can only have one story arc. Or, at least, you can only have one story arc per character. Do all of these aspects of the protagonist's life contribute to the story arc? Do they inform his desire or frustrate his achievement of his desire? If yes, do they do so in a fashion that builds the overall arc of tension? It's not about how many pieces you have, it is about how well they are coordinated to create a satisfying story arc.
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