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Q&A How can I make an in-universe random event feel like it was really random instead of just RNJesus' will?

There's a saying about writing fiction: You have a harder job than God. Because while coincidences and chance play a massive role in real life, in fiction, things generally need... a reason to hap...

posted 6y ago by Matthew Dave‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T09:33:33Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/38068
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Matthew Dave‭ · 2019-12-08T09:33:33Z (about 5 years ago)
There's a saying about writing fiction: You have a harder job than God.

Because while coincidences and chance play a _massive_ role in real life, in fiction, things generally need... a reason to happen. Things need to follow, things need to be foreshadowed.

Even if the incident that kicks off the plot is usually down to chance, at the very least you need to foreshadow or demonstrate that this is an in-universe possibility.

If not, then Chris has the right idea. Do not make the primary conflict of the story be _resolved_ by the chance event, but complicated/caused by it. A good story needs to be resolved by the active agent in the story, not by blind luck.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-08-03T14:34:34Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 5