So, I didn’t sleep much, and when I don’t sleep much, my creative side goes into hyperdrive, if not exactly focused on anything.

The tracks are the world in the story. They should feel like they’ve always been there, whether there’s a train on it or not. The world has to feel bigger than the story for the most part.

The engines of the train not only have to carry something like all the cars behind him, they have to provide the forward momentum. The bigger the story, the more engines needed.

Each car is each scene, and each scene has to carry one part of the story from the departure point to the destination.

The modern train doesn’t have a caboose, it has an engine that can both provide push the train along as needed, but also points in a different direction to take the sequel elsewhere.

And bonus: The microtension in your game is like pegging points in crib. You can get as many, if not more points by how you play than just hoping for a good hand and boot.

It’s not a perfect metaphor, you shouldn’t start by inching along, but if you go too fast or don’t pay attention driving the story you can wreck havoc. Also, trains have killed both Jumbo the elephant and the world’s smallest lady, both while in Canada. Coincidence?