In songwriting—as in all writing—events should follow a logical, believable sequence.
Early on in Inferno, our main character Dante stands with his guide Virgil at the edge of a cliff. The pair must find a way to descend safely to explore the next circle of Hell.
Suddenly, Dante reveals that he’s been wearing a cord around his middle (?) this whole time—now he unties it, and they drop it off the cliff’s edge. This arouses the curiosity of a flying demon that they need to ask for transportation.
The above scenario would work just fine—if the cord had been mentioned at any point before the moment it’s needed. The cord comes out of nowhere! If Dante’s been wearing something unusual and possibly symbolic and important to the plot, shouldn’t he have mentioned it before?
If something is important to the plot, give us at least a cursory glance of it early on. Otherwise, events will come off as more puzzling than satisfying.
See also: Chekhov’s gun.
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