Lines

You know how some stories have so many plotlines that it's hard to keep everything straight, and you end up getting really confused and not wanting to read it ever again?

We don't want to write those stories.

What we want to write are stories that are cohesive, that have plots and subplots, but aren't overly confusing.

You know what movie did that really well?

Inception

The question is, how did they do it so well?

1. Character development

Even though they had a lot of story going on, even though every level of the dream had something else going on to make it confusing, they made sure the characters were grounded in who they were, in what they were doing, and in what was going on.

If your characters understand what's going on and relay it properly, there's a better chance that your readers will understand it as well.

But all that comes from you being grounded enough in your story to know and understand every single plotline.

2. Humor

Every so often, the writers of Inception threw in something a little silly, something that would help the moviegoers to know exactly why things were the way they were (remember in the one dream where it's raining -- it's raining because the person who's dreaming needs to... erm... he has to pee).

Humor is memorable. People like things that are funny, and they more easily come to memory. So if you're struggling to make everything make sense, maybe you need a silly character who can sometimes state what's going on in a humorous sort of way.

3. Grounding information

Inception started with a dream. They let us know from the very beginning what the story was going to be about, and that we were going to need to pay attention if we were going to catch everything.

That's what you'll need to do, if you have so many plotlines. You'll need to let your reader know from the beginning that they're in for a ride, and that you're going to bring them out safe on the other side if they'll hold on tight enough.


That's what makes Inception so brilliant, because they did every one of these things to a masterful level. (In my opinion, so did The Matrix, but fewer people agree with me on that one)

What movies or books do you guys like that are written this way, with so many plots that it should be confusing, and yet it makes sense in the end?

Leave your answers in the comments!

[love]

{Rani D.}