The sure sign of any really well-written story is that it is consistent and cohesive. Those who write crap novels and movie scripts and video game stories, etc., are those who don't pay attention to details and don't try to make everything work well together. The more cohesive and consistent the story is, the more real it feels and the more people can connect with it.
Boy, do we disagree about this!
Audiences connect with characters, not the internal consistency of the setting. The depth of motivations, desires and decisions make a story real. Focusing on the world-building is missing the point. The end of Titanic is about the sacrifice Jack makes for Rose, not the physics of the buoyancy of wooden panels.
There are plenty of great stories whose setting makes zero sense. Harry Potter has a great evil one kept secret from muggles, even though there are billions of us and we have drones. Batman would be found out in zero seconds if anyone cared to investigate. The story of Hamlet happens because he sees a ghost in a setting where ghosts don't exist. The Little Prince is all about the absurdity of the world. Waiting for Godot happens nowhere in particular. But the characters! The characters are so great they feel tangible. The audience identifies with the characters even if the backround details are a little fuzzy.
I'd argue those who write crap stories don't pay attention to their characters. There have been a bunch of movies lately that were made to set up multi-picture franchises. They
stunk. Why? Because they wanted to build a world first and tell a story about interesting characters second. But stories are nothing without characters. They drive the story with their flaws, desires, actions - in a word : their humanity. Remember that act breaks are defined by character actions - the very structure of stories is built around what characters do.
Interesting characters are the mark of a good story. I was so surprised that you thought otherwise, GM4Him, that I read some of your fan fiction. I have notes, if you want to hear them.
OK. Quick point of correction. Yes. I 100% agree. Characters ultimately are the core of any story. You are correct there. But, at the end of the day, if things don't make sense in the story, it leaves readers feeling kinda like, "What the heck was that? Why did they do that? That felt like it was just the author making the characters say or do something just to further the plot, not because THEY chose to do it."
Ultimately, characters need to drive the story. But this is really not the point I was trying to make. The point I was trying to make is that it is sloppy story-telling to have a map showing clearly what north-south-east-west is but then having every document and dialogue that mentions directions saying that south is west and east is north. That's inconsistent and sloppy and it is senseless and shows shoddy workmanship.
It's like two painters who are trying to replicate a landscape on canvas. There is a path right down the center that is winding along. One painter messes up the path, and it isn't quite center nor is it bending at all the right places. There's still a path, but it's not quite an accurate depiction of the picture.
The other painter, however, gets the path just right. It lines up with the landscape, AND the quality of both paintings is comparable. Which work of art is better? The painter who drew the accurate painting of the path and everything. Why? Because he made sure all the details lined up with what he was trying to replicate.
All I'm saying is that the best stories are those that pay attention to the details. Yes, there are incredible stories with huge gaping plot holes. There are stories with details that don't align. However, stories are better if they ALSO pay attention to details, crafting the story based on characters YES, but also making sure they pay attention to the details too.
