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Who says it’s too complicated, with too many characters? Would you tell that to Tolstoy or Tolkien or Martin? Either way, what’s the absolutely basic outline? “Boy meets girl” sounds too extreme f...
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#3: Attribution notice added
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/35949 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
Who says it’s too complicated, with too many characters? Would you tell that to Tolstoy or Tolkien or Martin? Either way, what’s the absolutely basic outline? “Boy meets girl” sounds too extreme for me but “there’s this character, who does that thing, which leads to this outcome…” When “does that thing” is “goes on a quest” then at this level, that’s enough. The quest might involve three or 27 adventures; that’s irrelevant detail. Assuming you’re working towards an outcome - else, no story - how is that measured against your starting conditions? What changes; how does it change and why? Look more obviously at _Arabian Nights_ or more obscurely at _Ancient Evenings_ and notice how easily irrelevant side-lines cab be woven into any story… and how, just as easily, they could be cut out.