Obliveon
Founder
Creature of the Night
Posts: 149
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Post by Obliveon on May 25, 2014 18:38:30 GMT -7
Need help with part of your story? Looking for a specific word or phrase? Just want somewhere to write down your ideas? Post your questions and ideas here!
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Obliveon
Founder
Creature of the Night
Posts: 149
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Post by Obliveon on May 25, 2014 19:11:31 GMT -7
Plots
Why are Plots important?
Why indeed? Chances are if you jump into a story blindly, you stand a greater chance of running out of ideas before you’re done, and the story will add itself to the ever-growing mound of unfinished stories out there. Furthermore, plotting and planning out even the bare bones of a story gives you a better idea of what the story looks like and may help you catch some potential plot holes or problems earlier rather than later. Also, it tends to be easier to fix problems in the planning stage rather than when you’re halfway through, realizing you’ll have to either change your idea or go back and edit.
How to Come Up with the Plot
The first step in making a story is considering what the story is about – what characters, what happens, and so forth – but the first problem is coming up with those things in the first place, and how to do that. The first thing you should consider is not to rush your plotting – it's important to think things through carefully. When you think of a detail or event to use, take the time to consider the implications of it. As for finding inspiration or ideas to use, there isn’t any sure-fire way that guarantees a good idea. Every person is different. Maybe listening to music helps you think, or going for a quiet walk. Try different things and find what works best for you.
A good approach to begin is to go for the top-down method. In other words, start from the big picture, the general idea itself, and work from there to figure out the smaller details of the story. The problem with trying to start with a small idea or point is that it’s harder to build a small moment or event into something big. However, if you do think up a character or event that interests you, but you're not sure how to use it, then make a note of it! Write it down in a document or notebook and save it for future reference and maybe even use.
The Plot Itself – Consider the fine details!
After you have the general structure fleshed out, reconsider the smaller details to see if they make sense and how they'll add to the story and work together. Basically, you've laid down the framework for the story, now you've got to check out the fine details to make sure you haven't made a possibly hilarious, but devastating mistake.
For instance, the idea may be ‘Halfway through Character E’s adventure, she encounters a Legendary Pokémon and catches it!’ On the surface, it seems pretty exciting, adventure, Legendaries, stuff is going to happen later.
However, it’s not going to be as simple as that for the reader to take in. How likely is catching a super-rare one/few-of-a-kind Pokémon going to be? Why would the Legendary not just run away instead of letting itself get caught? Why did they meet in the first place, fate, chance? How would that affect the rest of the story – how would other characters react to the character having a Legendary? How long would this story be? By considering these things you can build on the idea, flesh it out, as well as figure out for yourself if it’d really make for a good idea or not.
Overall there are a lot of points to consider, even if the idea seems simple. Breaking it down into parts is best:
•The Genre and Style
Generally, the genre means what is the type/category the story falls under. Figuring out what your story is going to be like and what type of story it will be is something better done early on. No point trying to plan a story if you don't know if you want a comedy or tragedy. Consider what genre it would be, and from there decide what features in your story make it that genre, and then write to it.
•How believable is the story?
This is a rather important point to consider. How believable is the idea going to be for the reader? How likely are the events in the story? Generally the more exaggerated and unlikely the events the less believable a story will be, for example: The protagonist finding a Pidgey in Kanto is far more likely than a shiny, abandoned Fennekin that knows Hyper Beam and Sacred Fire.
•Story length and format
You want to figure out how the story will be written and how long it may end up being. Is it a one shot, or a full chaptered story? What point-of-view will it be written from? 1st Person (I) or 3rd (He/she/they)? Maybe it’d be better written in a diary form? Whatever the choice it will impact the delivery of the story. Remember however that a story should be as long as it has to be to tell the story. Don't cut it short!
•What characters are involved?
Basically, consider who will be in the story. Are they OCs/self-inserts/etc., or canon characters? In the case of the latter appearing also consider how they act in your story and if this is in line with how they act in canon. Having a smoking, swearing, sword-wielding Professor may be an awesome thought, but not if this is what you call Professor Oak. It’ll undermine the believability part and just look silly!
•Fine Tuning – Character reactions, consequences, etc.
Once you have the general concept down and you are generally satisfied with it, you can work on the fine details. Keep a clear idea of what you’ve thought of so far, and consider how characters' reactions to events would go, how the events are portrayed and how they affect everything relevant in the story. This is a very important step. Adding a bit of humor in a reaction here and indignance there will keep the reader hooked an will make them come to love and hate the characters you want them to.
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Obliveon
Founder
Creature of the Night
Posts: 149
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Post by Obliveon on May 25, 2014 21:46:28 GMT -7
Helpful Resources
Welcome to the Resources Thread! This is exactly what it sounds like. This is a list of useful links to all things writing. If you have a link that you find useful for writing, go right ahead and post it and we’ll add it.
Pokemon Related:
www.serebii.net/index2.shtml - This is the first website I go to when needing Pokemon information since it’s quick, reliable and navigable (not including times when it’s as slow as hell).
bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page - My second Pokemon resource, this site is useful when I need to know anime stuff, like what an attack looks like and things that Serebii doesn’t have.
veekun.com/dex - Another Pokedex.
www.psypokes.com/dex/index.php - And another Pokedex. You can never have too many of them.
www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=140933 - This is a guide on OT fics. More specifically, how not to write them. Everyone who writes or wants to write an OT fic better check this out, because not only is it useful as heck, but entertainingto read.
Character Related:
www.mybirthcare.com/favorites/babynames.asp - A nice site for getting names when you can’t think of one.
www.behindthename.com/ - Another site for names, but this one has the history of the name and way more options to play around with.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue - The most comprehensive guide to Mary Sues, believe it or not. A definition of what they are in general, followed by the basic archetypes and examples.
fullcircle.comicgenesis.com/characterdevelopment.htm - Definitely something to look at if you want to know how to flesh out a character and make them feel like a real person.
www.poewar.com/get-ready-for-10-days-of-character-building/ - Ten articles on building and fleshing out a character. Includes questions and ideas to help you on this path.
www.gaminggeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/ - Ever wanted to find a good, obscure name for your character but other name sites aren’t giving you many option? Then lucky you, because this site is a dictionary of names from all over the world. Greek, Egyptian, European at all? Congrats, it’s in there… Somewhere. Warning: a big site, try not to get lost.
familyecho.com/#edit:START – Now this is something you might need for your fantasy verses. Now all your giant family needs can be met here, a site which creates a family tree for your family, complete with profiles and pictures if you want to add one. While it is primarily used for real world families, it certainly works well for my own sixty plus member fantasy family.
Plotting Related:
www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/ - Awesome site of awesomeness. It’s a great help for building fantasy worlds like you wouldn’t believe. Includes questions on geography, culture, history, magic-all that fun stuff.
www.writing-world.com/romance/starters.shtml - Ever have trouble thinking up a plot? Then here’s a list of ten ways to jump-start that epic plot waiting to be found! It’s sot of romance related, but it’s still has great advice, so check it out.
www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php - This is more for writing novels then fanfiction, but it can still be used. This is the ultimate plotting guide which will help you on the way to making a strong and structured story.
Writing Mechanics:
dictionary.reference.com/ - Exactly what is says (it even has a thesaurus!).
owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/ - A pretty thorough guide to grammar, complete with various exercises that help you develop your grammar-related skills.
www.grammarbook.com/english_rules.asp - Another guide that's just as thorough as the above. Includes detailed examples and more details about rules OWL's a bit fuzzy on. (This includes a list of commonly confused words, too.)
orangoo.com/spellcheck/ - Online spell checker.
www.uky.edu/AS/Classics/rhetoric.html - Goes over rhetoric terms (simile, metaphor, exc.) and lists examples.
www.usingenglish.com/glossary.html - Contains definitions and examples of all those terms you vaguely remember from your elementary school days.
www.studio-revolution.net/summary.php - Reviewing and You, everything you ever wanted to know about reviewing but were afraid to ask. (Includes a guide on how to get reviews as well as how to do the entire review exchange thing civilly.)
www.pgtc.com/~slmiller/fictiontips.htm - Contains articles on many sources of writing, including mechanics, characters, and other useful tips.
fychuckpalahniuk.tumblr.com/post/9285901274/thought-verbs-by-chuck-palahniuk - An article on showing versus telling.
Word Processing/Story Project Software and Websites:
Abiword - A much smaller program that is strictly a word processor but is also free and multi-platform. Not as sophisticated as Writer or Word, but if you want something fast and simple and don't need to make spreadsheets then it's a good option.
Celtx - More free, more multi-platform. It says it's for "media pre-production" and is really intended for things like screenplays or radio dramas, but it still works beautifully for plain-ol' fic writing. Chances are very, very high that you don't need something like this and will do just fine with a simple word processor, but if you are hopelessly disorganized like me then you may find its project-oriented structure helpful for your longer works.
yWriter - Similar to the above, but specifically geared toward novel (or longfic!) writing. Again, aids with structure and organization if you are beyond redemption in that area. Intended for Windows, though you can try running it on a Linux computer with some tweaking.
Google Docs - Yes, Google has a word processor. Sign up for an account and start creating documents; simplistic, but more than adequate for most fanfics. You can choose to share docs with collaborators, which could be useful if communicating with a beta reader. Doesn't require downloads but does need an internet connection.
Adobe Buzzword - Similar to Google Docs, but run by Adobe. I find it a little slower than GDocs, but it's fancier and is capable of more complex formatting should you need it.
WriteRoom - A simple program for what is called "distraction-free writing"--it removes all of the bells, whistles and buttons of standard word processors and often hides most of your computer screen so that you can focus on what you're writing and only on what you're writing. It sounds primitive (and is) but is actually incredibly useful. WriteRoom itself is Mac and iPhone only, but this page on their wiki lists similar options for people who have different platforms or need slightly different features.
Write or Die - An online or desktop program for people who need to get some writing done Or Else. It not only removes distracting interfaces but introduces the added condition that it will punish you if you do not write constantly. You can choose punishments that range from annoying beeps to Hanson songs to deleting what you just wrote, so it's great motivation when you're having trouble getting stuff out. For rough drafts only; you will also need to make sure you have an actual word processor to save your work in, whether it's Word or GDocs.
Storybook - A program designed to help with novel-writing. Helps organize plot lines, characters, chapters, and whatever else one tends to lose track of while writing long novels.
General:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page - It may not be that reliable, I suppose, but it’s good for a quick fact.
www.nanowrimo.org/eng/forum - You can find anything here and the forum comes with its own resources thread that includes information on medicine, police stuff, geography, history, and so many other things.
community.livejournal.com/little_details/ - A LJ community geared specifically towards helping writers do their research by answering their questions. It's already an impressive community filled with information (sorted by the tags) that you can't find practically anywhere else. PC writers with LJ accounts can also sign up for the community and ask away if they can't find the answer they need in the archives.
www.google.com - Best search engine in the world and your first stop before trying to tear your hair out over not finding things in Wikipedia first.
www.rainymood.com/ – Some people, like me, need noise to write properly but regular songs and music is too distracting. Therefore, I turn to this site, which gives you a loop of thirty minutes of the sound of rain (plus some thunder). It’s very useful and very refreshing.
thewritersarchive.tumblr.com/post/51965789306 - A handy archive list of various resources for all your writing needs!
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