Complex plots

Beyer

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I am not sure if this is where it goes so please move it if I am wrong.

To all you out there who have or currently are writing a story, have you ever feared that your story is too complex? Have you ever worried that the reader would be like...WTF?:confused:
I feel like I have a very complex story and I worry that I may, or might, cross the line between ingenious complexity and being too complex.

Thoughts?
 
Depends on what you mean by complexity. So long as there's enough exposition to clarify things for the reader and no plot wholes then it should be fine. Then again that's the case with all plots.

EDIT: I sound like captain fucking obvious here lol
 
Depends on what you mean by complexity. So long as there's enough exposition to clarify things for the reader and no plot wholes then it should be fine. Then again that's the case with all plots.

EDIT: I sound like captain fucking obvious here lol
Yeah but its true...as long as the average reader can understand what your talking about there should be no problem.
If things are made clear then it should be fine
 
Hmm, yes. I am just fearing it being a bit like FF13 which I have had many complaints about it being too hard to understand yet I had no trouble and I have blamed complexity for that. I guess it was just story telling then.

Extra focus will go into explaining everything then!
Thanks heaps!
 
Complexity always begins in the setting history. The characters are often dropped into the middle of something that's been going on for a long, long time and have a very skewed or utterly wrong view of things. The complexity comes only when the characters find something aberrant to their former world-view. Then they realize things aren't what they thought and explore deeper into these things and the complexity slowly reveals itself as the story goes on.


If you have you characters constantly finding more and more and more complex reasons and history and how this happened and that happened without getting closer to solving the whole picture -- then you've got too much complexity. With each revelation, things should come closer to revealing the big picture. If each revelation only makes what they've already found harder to understand.... then you should seriously think about simplifying it a lot.
 
I know for a fact that my story is complex. There are many twists, side-stories, secret stories and finally the main story that ties all of the others together. I had a long time trying to decide from who's point of view I should write, or should I go third person. It's even more difficult writing from the very beginning, because it stretches so far back. I still haven't gone past the first chapter and it's been months. I know the basic plot, and it has so many different plots inside the main plot :gonk: I did get rid of some which I thought were unimportant but the majority of them are essential.

It's a long journey to follow but it always clearls out in the end, and that is the bright side of life in general.
 
I know for a fact that my story is complex. There are many twists, side-stories, secret stories and finally the main story that ties all of the others together. I had a long time trying to decide from who's point of view I should write, or should I go third person. It's even more difficult writing from the very beginning, because it stretches so far back. I still haven't gone past the first chapter and it's been months. I know the basic plot, and it has so many different plots inside the main plot :gonk: I did get rid of some which I thought were unimportant but the majority of them are essential.

It's a long journey to follow but it always clearls out in the end, and that is the bright side of life in general.
woah, did you just like.,..steal that DIRECTLY from my head?
That is exactly how I am feeling. I am, actually considering writing a story with two POVs, one of the main character and one of the 'villain' because I really want the reader to feel for him as well as the main character.

As for the post above ^that one which I forgetfully forgot to multi-quote, that was very helpful. I need to make sure each revelation leads to the big one for that would give it better flow right? Thanks heaps.
 
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