Message Board Topic 11/3

[Comsie]

Sometimes, while writing a story or series at length, where more characters get introduced, and new plot twists develop...there can be a lot of new challenges that pop up for the author that's creating the events taking place.

 

Storylines become more complex, and characters increase in depth and personality, as the overall theme of the story is revealed. But what happens if things start to spin out of control in the writing?

 

What happens if suddenly a lot of unneccessary scenes and dialogue begin taking the story in strange directions, or certain plot points get lost or forgotten about, or if things just plain unravel as the author has a hard time keeping things together? Is there a way to somehow 'anchor' your thoughts down to one solid story instead of having it go all over the place? How does an author figure out what is important and what isn't? Have you ever read a story that, somehow, managed to just lose the 'point' somewhere along the way?

 

Let us know what you think! And if a story starts spiraling out of control...can it be saved through a few clever tricks to get it back on track?

[Emulated]

Yeah, there are times where I've been reading a story that's been beautifully written and completely original, but then the author makes the reader jump through hoops in the story and then you've lost me.

 

Don't get me wrong, there are many stories out there that work well with some complex and separate plots which come together in a really good way. These multiple plot lines really help the form and structure of the story and further facilitate the readers need for conclusion when they are tied up neatly.

 

There has been many times where an author has put too much dialog or too much information into scene which is irrelevant and further confuses the reader. - I have been guilty of the same thing. An anchor, (perhaps a compass) is needed to help the author stay on track and to remind them of what they have and what they want to do with it.

 

Do I think that a story can be saved with a few clever tricks? Absolutely. In much of the stuff that I've written, there comes a point where one paragraph, or even an extra story line can come and save the day. I remember reading some of your stories that have demonstrated similar traits.

 

That's what I think.