In which I make an extended bread metaphor to talk about villains

If you mix flour and water, you get glue.

If you add some salt and yeast to that slurry, your glue suddenly becomes bread dough.

Writing is similar to bread-baking in that way. There are just a few basic ingredients but infinite flavor and texture possibilities. And, also like baking bread, if you miss out on one of those ingredients, or the ingredients aren’t included in just the right ratio, the whole thing can fall apart.