ESSENTIAL RULES FOR A GOOD STORY – BY LAUREN RIVERS
Every character receiving ‘star billing’ must be indispensable.
Lead character must face problems they cannot easily solve nor avoid.
Rules must be consistent.
Characters must behave according to their established patterns and histories.
Antagonists should be a genuine threat to the hero’s goals.
Significant time jumps MUST be acknowledged.
Anything outside of conventional science MUST be explained, at least insofar as to establish it's nature and scale.
Avoid the ‘hero shield’.
Antagonists MUST be competent.
Conversions MUST be of the appropriate amount of time for the characters histories and personality.
Do not change rules out of convenience. Think things through first.
For a while I hesitating posting this, however, after giving it some significant thought, I am convinced that what I have said is logical, my honest opinion (to which you are free to disagree and discuss), and that nothing I have written was done with any intent other than establishing what I believe to be the benchmarks to what I consider 'quality' writing, regardless of skill level, medium, or purpose, including 'for fun' works and professional writing.
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Garuger
Thank for the info much appreciated