Complexity Overwhelms the Brain

Complexity is not a great starting point. Yet, the brain often sees the gestalt of everything together and then overwhelms the writer so that he cannot even begin. It's quite a challenge. But the almost impossibility of complexity is also pointed stick that is telling us to go in another direction.

Focus On The Simplest Element You Can

If you'll break each item into it's own component you'll find that you will be able to manage the story and then weave it together. However, if you try to do it all at once you'll probably get something similar to what you might get if you just threw it all in a bucket and mixed it up.

But, of course, you are thinking, "But how do I break it into components?"

How Do You Break It Into Components?

Here are some guidelines:

Sit quietly and imagine all your POV Characters and list them.
List what each character wants.
List the major conflict that each character will experience.

Conflict, More Conflict, With Conflict Sauce On Top

Are your characters in opposition to each other? Hopefully this is where the weaving begins. This will create specific conflicts and conflict is what the stories are all about.

If you find that your characters are not in conflict with anything then you do not have a story for that particular character.

Write In Scenes

Now, take one character at a time and write one scene.
Write a scene where :

The character wants a specific goal.
The character is opposed by someone or something that will not allow
her to get the goal.
By the end of the scene the reader must know what the character wants
and believe that the character must have it.
To create more conflict --- insure that by the time the scene ends
the character is further from his goal than when he started out. Write tough stuff. Get your character into the jelly and so stuck you wonder how you'll write him out. Don't be afraid, you'll figure it out and it'll make great reading.
Begin seeing that the various characters want things that will oppose
each other over the longer story. Get those subplots going. Make
sure you communicate that directly to your reader. Bob wants the
McGuffin!! He must have it. But so does Sarah. She will fight for
it!!

---

(0)

Login to post a comment!