The principle of singularity is there can be only ONE of each story element.
Quick story….
A while back, I was at a book marketing conference watching a speech by Terri Langhans, a marketing expert. She was closing her presentation by talking about the importance of focused marketing.
In each hand, she held up a square piece of wood, about an inch thick and 5” a side. In her right hand, the square had 50 nails driven through it, the points sticking out. It looked like a bed of nails used by Indian yogis for meditation. In her left hand, the same 5″ square with ONE nail sticking out.
Just before Langhans said her last few sentences, she casually, almost absentmindedly, placed both squares on the floor in front of a chair, the bed of nails to her right and the single nail to the left, then stood on the chair, repeated her main point about the importance of focus, said thank you very much, and as the audience begain applauding, she stepped off the chair TO THE LEFT.
The audience gasped as she stepped just wide of the single nail.
CUT TO
Standing ovation.
One is the most powerful number when it comes to storytelling. One compass heading allows you to walk in the optimal direction. One dream inspires you the most. One nail has the most impact.
In a story, there’s one hero, one irresistible force, and one immoveable object. Not a bunch of people doing a bunch of stuff despite another bunch of stuff.