3 ms·
Someone already critiqued 19 so I'll speak against 16: Sure, stack the odds against the characters' success... But don't go overboard unless you're writing a tr
by luord 9y ago
Someone already critiqued 19 so I'll speak against 16: Sure, stack the odds against the characters' success... But don't go overboard unless you're writing a tragedy.
If the odds are too against the characters, the resolution is going to feel contrived, even if it makes sense and it's not really a Deus ex Machina.
- ozim 9y agoYou still have to have 'all is lost' moment to make win much bigger for the audience.
- HedgeSparrow 9y agoI think you can just escape contrivance if you make the success come at great personal cost. Of course, if the cost is too great it becomes a tragedy.
- philwelch 9y agoStacking the odds against a character can also tie into justifying the character and the story to begin with. Jackie Chan always has the odds stacked against him because if he just used his immense skills to beat people up for two hours, he wouldn’t be sympathetic or likeable and the movies wouldn’t be very much fun at all. You have to justify your hero or else your hero is just a bully.