Cramming too much into a plot?

Hey, I was wondering if anyone else has noticed this but: a lot of writers cram too much into a plot. It makes the whole story confusing and... it's just over egging the pudding.

I used to do that a lot, but I now keep a concious mind not to do so, but anyone have any tips for reminding themselves?

BTW if this topic is against the rules, I'm sorry, I've read the rules but I'm new here so not familiar with them.

 

as long as the author can do it in a way that the reader won't be confused, i dont see anything with having a long and complex plot. the different plot points just need to be firmly connected to each other so the reader can easily follow, consciously or not.

i just sit back and ask myself, "are there clear, visible strands between all this crazy stuff?"

 

I see this in long fantasy series often. I think if you know that your series is going to be Wheel-of-Time long, you need to have a very good idea of where it's going. Use an outline or a plan or something. Otherwise, you get a lot of disappointed and confused readers. But second Unknown--if you can pull if off be as complex as you need to be.

 

I try to make sure whether a scene actually is revealing anything about the characters. Sure, if a scene has "action" and "suspense" or what not, it's great, but unless it has something to do with your characters - the people whom your reader is interested in - it's just plain old boring action and suspense. I try to make sure that every scene is useful in the sense that it reveals information about the characters or the main conflict, or at least it leaves more questions in the readers' mind.

 

Game of Thrones. That is all.

 

A lot of it depends on your target audience - Most people aren't going to want much more than a simple plot in an action novel, but somebody reading an epic space opera might love one more character whizzing around the place and complicating matters. Particularly "crammed" plots can always have short reminders or recaps to the reader where necessary, but at that point you risk annoying or losing them depending on their focus. A good rule of thumb in any case might be asking yourself if complicating the plot here a) still connects and concludes logically within the story world and themes b) is important or powerful enough that it warrants the reader's attention.