Landmarks vs Guard Rails

There are many different ways to develop the plot of a story. Today, I’d like to talk about two different approaches: the landmark approach and the guard rail approach.

The easiest way to think about the landmark approach is to imagine you’re navigating through the wilderness without a compass or other equipment. How are you supposed to stay on track? Well, assuming you can’t rely on the stars for help, the easiest way is to navigate using landmarks. For example, you might start off by...