Question: I don't know if I understand this right. When I looked up one Web page it said the first thing you do is create a branch from **master** called **development** :

<https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/reganmusic.wordpress.com/2016/07/19/branching-in-tortoise-git/amp/?client=safari>

But here:

<http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/>

It implies that **development** is *parallel* to master. It doesn't show **how** to create such a branch.

To me they describe different branches. One is parallel and one is a child.

Am I over complicating this?

Answer: 
Creating a parallel branch is like creating a normal branch, there is no difference. It just becomes parallel when it has the "same" starting poing and you start committing (on one of the branches).

In general a branch is just a label for a commit including its history. That's why a commit can also "have" several branches.

Imagine you have a `master` branch. When you want to have a parallel branch, just create a new branch based on `master`. For this go to TortoiseGit log, open the context menu on the `master` branch and create a new branch. Switch to it and start committing -> it's parallel.
Often u do have a master branch which is a stable Version, where you can create a build and fix things fast.

Parallel to that branch ther should be a dev or "developement branch" which is the developing Version of your software.

After successful developing of a new version the developing branch is merged into the master.