The Law of Conservation of Detail: Difference between revisions

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Oh, sure, we can set up a [[Red Herring]] or two, but we had better expect the viewer to attach importance to any detail we let loose in the plot. Shame on us, if we later expect the viewer to be surprised by the importance of the detail we let slip.

Although conservation of detail tends to be particularly pronounced in a "compressed" medium like a weekly television show, it ''is'' a proper and useful tool for creating fiction in all media, filtering out irrelevant detail to make time for actual plot. There is a fine line between good [[World Building]], and rambling on about pointless crap. How come people on TV always find a [[Rock Star Parking|parking spot]] right outside their destination? This is why.

Although conservation of detail tends to be particularly pronounced in a "compressed" medium like a weekly television show, it ''is'' a proper and useful tool for creating fiction in all media, filtering out irrelevant detail to make time for actual plot. There is a fine line between good [[World Building]], and rambling on about pointless crap. How come people on TV always find a [[Rock Star Parking|parking spot]] right outside their destination (unless they need to [[Walk and Talk]])? This is why.

This trope has probably caused more [[Epileptic Trees]] than every other trope combined -- [[Dying Dream]] notwithstanding, as people ''expect'' things to have a reason.