 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Author |
Message |
HalfEmptyHero
Headmaster of the Academy
Joined: 16 Feb 2009
Topics: 33
Posts: 342
Location: Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound
Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems
|
 Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:01 am Post subject: What's your style? |
 |
|
| I was just a little curious to see how people create the plot for their stories. Do you plan out every little detail before you write and then put it together into a story, or do you plan as little as possible and simply write. I'm gonna put up a pole with a scale value 1-5, 1 meaning you plan practically nothing, 5 meaning you plan everything.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| Author |
Message |
Reasoner
Resident
Joined: 05 Jun 2008
Topics: 3
Posts: 56
Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 4:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Its always good to have the general idea where a story is going and whats going to happen in the end. You have to decide what the problem is, the crisis point, and climax before you write, then build up to it. If you write with no rhyme or reason, you rarely get far, but there are exceptions, though few. And remember, even after decision points you can always 'force' where the story is going as subtly as possible of course.
So there you have it, my opinion on how to write, though here at IF, you never know what's going to happen to a story if you don't control it properly.
_________________
Depression is a state of mind where help just makes it worse. I'm depressed, so @#$% off.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Author |
Message |
DeadManWalking
Duke of the Mostly Dead
Joined: 24 May 2006
Topics: 30
Posts: 1005
Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 4:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
my style of writing comes to me through rather vivid scenes or characters; my sgames usually come from some extension of that original inspiration. Thus my stories tend to be rather linear in that there are certain scenes i know are going to take place, or certain facts that will always be true even if the reader doesn't yet know them. However, the path the readers take to get to those scenes or to find out those facts are comparatively flexible.
_________________
When the dead walk, the living run.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Author |
Message |
Alegria
Honored Citizen
Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Topics: 76
Posts: 1199
Location: On the beaches with Dr. Suess' Sneeches. Only the star-bellied ones, of course.
Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:45 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I get one thing in my head for a chapter. It can be a scene, a line, a character, anything. Then I just sit down and start to write, and it just flows out. No planning or anything. I know about how I want each chapter to end, but I really don't plan. I don't even edit, usually.
_________________
A writer doesn't solve problems. He allows them to emerge.
-Friedrich Dürrenmatt
 
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Author |
Message |
Chinaren
Hallowed IFian
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Topics: 340
Posts: 8882
Location: https://www.NeilHartleyBooks.com
Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I didn't vote, 'cos it differs with different stories for me. When I wrote Tired of Death for example, I just started writing with no idea how it would turn out.
Yet others I have a basic plot sorted before I start.
So we need a 1 to 5 option on the poll. 
_________________
Neil Hartley Books.
My Amazon page.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Author |
Message |
The Meaning Of Fear
Respected Citizen
Joined: 06 May 2006
Topics: 13
Posts: 980
Location: In a deep, dark corner of the universe, plotting.
Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:29 am Post subject: |
|
|
The first SG I tried (I am happy most people would not remember the horrible little thing) was pretty much completely off the top of my head, and that stopped reeeaaaallly quickly.
I ran a bit of planning on the next attempt, but it wasn't much, and that ended quickly too.
My latest attempt doesn't have planning on paper either, but I run through the general direction of it in my mind once in a while and make adjustments as necessary. Hopefully it goes on well this time. 
_________________
Cherish all your memories, even the bad ones, for they are what makes you who you are.
Doors to the truth, an SG where a boy is propelled into worlds he is unfamiliar with. He crosses many worlds, and sees many things that force him to throw away his innocence, once, and for all. Fourth Chapter, out for viewing!
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Author |
Message |
Crunchyfrog
Honorable IFian
Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Topics: 168
Posts: 3998
Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:13 am Post subject: |
|
|
The only elements in my SG that are planned are the antagonists' goal, the protagonist's dream, and the laws of physics that govern the world they live in.
I have 3 major locations, and about 20 or so characters, each doing their own thing, but their actions are affected entirely by the DP suggestions and votes.
The players guide the main character, but everything he does affects events and characters in all the locations, although our main character only ever see a small part of this. Indeed, even after 34 chapters there are characters that our hero has not even met - and may never meet.
I have a loose idea of the end of the story, but the players control the fates of all the characters, and they determine how it will end.
It's not just the DPs and voting that have shaped my SG - it is also critiques and observations, the most notable one coming from a player very early on who suggested I give a supporting character the lead role.
I voted a 3.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Author |
Message |
Reiso
Respected Citizen
Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Topics: 17
Posts: 917
Location: Western North America
Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 2:32 am Post subject: |
|
|
I only wrote like 1.5 Storygames, But I think depending on how motivated I felt during a particular chapter, or how much the characters were "speaking" to me, I wildly fluctuated between both extremes. So I think I'll vote a 3 smack dab in the middle.
_________________
Sector 17 -- Rebuilding... ... ...
In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter--bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter
And because it is my heart." -- Stephen Crane
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| What you do? |
| 1 |
|
26% |
[ 4 ] |
| 2 |
|
20% |
[ 3 ] |
| 3 |
|
33% |
[ 5 ] |
| 4 |
|
20% |
[ 3 ] |
| 5 |
|
0% |
[ 0 ] |
|
| Total Votes : 15 |
| Who Voted: Alegria, Black Hawk, Crunchyfrog, Cyberworm, DeadManWalking, Drizzt, HalfEmptyHero, Novelest_Ninjagirl, Phang, Phantomfan, PopeAlessandrosXVIII, Reasoner, Reiso, Smee, The Meaning Of Fear |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
