A few final words on SETUP.
Why is it so important to have a clearly established setup?
Think of it this way: When you are building a house, you begin with the foundation, and then erect the walls, and finally add the roof.
Your SETUP is like your FOUNDATION.
If the foundation isn’t strong, level and square, your walls are going to be shaky. Subsequently, by the time you get to your roof, the whole house will be pretty unstable. The house may collapse before you can put up the lovely siding, and add some nice paint and landscaping touches, and make your neighbors green with envy.
The storytelling equivalent to a house collapsing is that the reader, well, stops reading.
The best and most beautiful exterior treatment is useless if your house falls down! So too, a Byzantine, boring or self-indulgent narrative might stop people from reading before they get to the ingenious twist ending.
To some degree, storytelling is about clear communication. If that communication breaks down, the reader drops your comic and picks up one by Dan Slott. Your clever ideas, and well-defined characters won’t carry the day if your narrative is clunky. As you gain experience, you may begin to play around with this structure, but you must learn it first.
Build a solid foundation!
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