Make sure to explain to yourself exactly how each character knew & set up what they did, so you avoid breaking Willing Suspension of Disbelief with Xanatos Roulettes.
If I'm asking for advice on a story idea, don't tell me it can't be done.
You need to foreshadow plenty.
And at the very least, you should keep notes about what resources each character has for intelligence. Chessmaster-types rely on disseminating information from as many sources as possible and controlling its accuracy. At the same time, they need to be able to discover intel leaks and feed misinformation.
Also, Xanatos Gambits work best when something seemingly minor and inconsequential turns out to be a major game breaker. The person who loses the Xanatos Speed Chess is going to miss something, and that minor mistake is going to cost them.
Away on the wind~
I have all the Gambits worked out, that's not an issue. I know everybody's motive, what they know, what they don't, their resorces, what they acquire, etc. Basically everything I need to know about that aspect.
Im more concerned about the reader's side of it. Becase remember; midway through, they don't have all this info.
There are too many toasters in my chimney!
Well, people who hang around the Character Sharing and Advice Thread already know a little about this; this is the story featuring Kate and Veritas, for those of you in the know.
Essentially, this story is me playing with the idea of Xanatoses. Xanatos Roulettes, Xanatos Gambits, Thirty Xanatos Pileups, Xanatos Speed Chess. Hell, even Batman Gambits show up a few times.
The two main characters:
Kate: An Archangel. Her whole life, she's seen demons bring nothing but pain and misery to everyone around her. Eventually, the demons grew too bold, and killed Kate's half-demons sister while her sister was trying to heal her, and Kate went a rampage of revenge. However, her sister placed a geass on her; she cannot kill any demon she does not believe has dark intentions.
Veritas: The half-witch daughter of a Fiend. She has been trained in the arts of assassination since she was ten, and has been learning how to manipulate people for even longer than this. She was sent to hunt down Kate after one of her father's friends Xanatos Gambits failed. She has plenty of reason to want Kate dead, too; Kate nearly killed her boyfriend, is the major one.
We have far too many people running Xanatos Gambits here. Michael, Veritas' father, Zephyr post-mortem, Veritas' father's friends, Jess, some local demon lords, Veritas' boyfriend... Hell, Veritas herself is running one. Kate is a master of Xanatos Speed Chess and Batman Gambits, but that's not really quite as much use, when compared to the incredibly complex Xanatos Gambits going on around her.
There's a whole load of things going on. 30 Xanatos Pileups, Spanner in the Works, all that sorta thing. Luckily, Im not going to force the reader to try and track whats going on with anyones plans but Kte and Veritas'.
However, the details of the various plans will be released online, as an All There in the Manual thing. You can keep up if you wantl it's just not required.
But... I forgot why I started this topic, except to ask; are there any particular pitfalls I shold remember to avoid?
There are too many toasters in my chimney!