I just came up with this concept today when deciding whether or not to leave a group of people out of my story, as I was unsure what role they served. The way this method works (at least for me) is mentally rewriting the story, leaving the thing in question out. Next, I think of the thing most affected by the absence of the original idea. How much would their role be changed and what would happen to the story if I removed them too? Personally, I made a chart to see what would be affected, and then continued from there. See what is linked to the concepts, places and history involving the second idea, and so on. I found it to be a great way for me to see what really mattered in my story and what didn't. I named this the Food Chain Method, because i find it similar to removing an animal or food source out of the enviroment of your book, and seeing how much it affects the other aspects or events of your own "wildlife". If the concept you're originally thinking about removing doesn't affect the others that much, it's probaly safe to cut it. This way of thinking made me realize how linked everything is and I think it might help other writers to have more cohesive storylines or fictional worlds as well.
Tell me what you think of this method, I'd appreciate some feedback!
Gender:
Points: 2200
Reviews: 18