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Shoutout to the forum post that made me scrap my outline completely
I spent 3 days building this fantasy plot outline with 7 acts and a full magic system. Then I read a post here about how the best stories come from character decisions, not plot mechanics. It hit me that my protagonist was just reacting to events I set up. So I deleted the whole thing and started with just a character who wants something simple. Has anyone else trashed a bunch of work after a single insight from this community?
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nathanking16h ago
3 days of plotting and you just nuked it? That takes some serious guts, man. I've been there in a smaller way, where I spent a weekend mapping out a whole chapter and realized my character was just a puppet for my magic system. It hurt to hit delete, but you probably saved yourself a lot of future headaches. Usually when stuff is too neat and structured, the soul gets squeezed right out of it. Good for you for catching it early.
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