One of the skills a writer should be able to develop, if they’re not naturally good at it, is to be able to predict an outcome based on several circumstances. It’s crucial in order to get a story to flow naturally. Forcing an outcome that is not naturally dictated by events is disastrous; readers will know.
In an epic fantasy world, where there is magic and creatures and all sorts of wonderfully impossible things, it is still important to stick to certain rules. Water still flows downstream, unless there is a reason, people still find hunger uncomfortable, and love still feels good. The world–no matter how fantastic–should still be driven by the same patterns and mechanisms that exist in ours.
Characters should also limit outcomes, in that a shy maid could not easily be a general (at least, not without some major life events and possibly trauma pushing her all the while) and a power-hungry king will not easily back down just because he lost a couple of battles. This is one of the beauties of character-driven plots–by allowing the characters’ personalities to shine through, I can clearly see that the plot can only unfold a few which ways. In the world of meandering epic fantasy plots, this helps a LOT.
An exercise I like to indulge in is imagining how my life would be if a different set of circumstances had unfolded. I consider myself pretty lucky, with a good husband, wonderful friends, a nice home, etc., and this sometimes causes me anxiety because in my head that is full of possibilities, I can accept that in another place and time, I may not have these things.
For example, what if our application to Canada has been denied? I would still like the same things, so I would gravitate towards convincing my parents to settle away from the city and in the countryside, surrounded by trees and nature. If they decide to return to Manila anyway, I would probably finish college and then work towards making the move myself. The desire to have dogs and see them running around in a large backyard has always been a big enough motivator for me, and this would be enough to propel me through all my social anxieties, etc., to find a job and save money, regardless of the circumstances or the economy.
In that same way, my character would be enough to drive my plot, and the story might play out similarly. Life is unpredictable, but the rules more or less stay the same. It is, on occasion, a comforting thought.
