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Q&A Is it possible that my short novel will be boring to my readers because it only has two characters and the location doesn't change?

These things have no bearing on whether the story is boring A boring story is boring if it fails to capture the imagination of the reader. A complex plot with dozens of characters and a detailed e...

posted 5y ago by linksassin‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-20T00:53:24Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42638
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T01:32:18Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42638
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T01:32:17Z (over 4 years ago)
# These things have no bearing on whether the story is boring

A boring story is boring if it fails to capture the imagination of the reader. A complex plot with dozens of characters and a detailed expansive world won't prevent a story from being boring. Neither will a lack of these things make a story boring.

# Objects and exhibits become sudo-characters

Set within a museum there will be plenty of opportunity to introduce interesting objects or exhibits. These objects will have their own backstory and meaning to the main character. Show the interactions between the MC and these objects, demonstrate their importance and value. Do this well and the object becomes a sudo-character with a story arc all of its own.

### Example in fiction

_The Slow Regard of Silent Things_ is a novella by Patrick Rothfuss set within his Kingkiller Chronicles universe. It follows the life of a single isolated character in their private world beneath the city. We only ever see things from this characters perspective, there are no other living creatures in the story. Instead we are shown the world as the character sees it, her attachment to inanimate objects and her feelings toward the various rooms she visits. As readers we develop an emotional attachment to her possessions such that the loss of one is akin to the death of a character in any other story.

This story is enhanced rather than hindered by a lack of characters and locations. By limiting the scale of the world we are forced to examine things on another level, enabling a unique and fascinating tale. I see no reason the story you are writing couldn't evoke the same feeling.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-02-26T03:44:36Z (about 5 years ago)
Original score: 1