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Must one OUTroduce a character if one INtroduced one?

Posted: Feb 07, 2017 5:57 am
by adambein
!. If one creates a character & introduces that character into the story, must one/should one dismiss the character? If I INtroduce the captain of the ferry boat must I OUTroduce the captain of the ferry boat too?

2. At what level OF outroducing/dismissal must occur-the same level, or close, or not close, to the introduction? What factors drive the amount?! Theme? Genre? Genre I'm sure. What else?

3. IS dismissal/dismissing outroducing/the opposite of introducing?

Asking for a friend. Ok, no I'm not.

Re: Must one OUTroduce a character if one INtroduced one?

Posted: Feb 14, 2017 2:18 pm
by Chris Huntley
A dismissal is the 'OUTroduce' you referenced. Since the 'rule of threes', intro-interaction-dismissal, is a storytelling convention, they are guidelines not truly rules. If you introduce something but don't use it, it has no story purpose and sets up an unrealized potential in your audience. Character traits, on the other hand, must be explored in all four OS Signposts. Whether they appear to be dismissed it indicates that the characteristic, as a potential solution to the OS problem, has been ruled ineffective/inappropriate to resolving the inequity.