I recently stumbled across a post on Tumblr claiming that it is possible to write up a complex plot in a single day.

So can you?

Short answer. No.

A truly complex and layered plot is not something you can whip up in a day of brainstorming. What you can come up with is a premise and basic plot arc. Notice I said basic.

So what makes a plot complex? Adding more characters? Adding more events? More conflict? More themes?

Yes. All of the above. You cannot just throw one element at a plot in multitudes and expect the plot to suddenly seem complex. More than likely it will just be confusing. A truly complex plot is a careful balance of theme, character, subplot, subtext, narrative arc and premise. A truly complex plot has layers and those layers can’t just lay on top of each other, they have to…