The complexities of a story are in how much detail you can offer without making it long and boring. I guess that's my version of story complexity. Maybe it is really how long, boring and dense the characters or situation are that makes complexity. But if the reader doesn't keep following it, why keep telling them? If no one is listening, what is the point? I guess I just threw The World According To Garp under the bus, even though I didn't intend to.
I am settling on a story complexity, but it may take too long to tell. And I don't want to the middle section to go off the rails and bore the reader before the big finish. Yes, that happens. You can be so invested in your characters, your situation of storyline that you can kill the actual fun or pleasure of reading the story. Characters make choices. The storyline is a reflection of those choices. If not, if the choices aren't made or invested, what exactly is the point?
The follow-up to Crunk has a lot of complexity.
But I'm going to shave it down, let a few of things blend down until they are good enough for the readers.
You have to come to terms with the fact that story is not absolute. You can cut the fat. Even the stuff that you liked which made you want to write the damn story in the first place, maybe that needs to go to improve the overall storyline function.
Hard choices.
There are characters who make choices which seem write in draft two, that maybe should be written out of the story by draft seven.
Tough, ain't it? At least, that's my take.
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