Story Writing - Tutorial By: XcuMaSoft "TLE"

[BunnyKinx]

- Story Writing Tutorial v1 -

" Story Outline & Implementation "

The History

Your game/story needs a good history, Without this its just a bunch of events that will not blend as well as they could. In the history make sure that you include reasons, for why things are how they are. I'm not saying that you need to ever show the history to the reader/gamer, but it will allow the development to flow smoothly and quickly. Think of this history as a foundation and a set of rules to base your story/game around, Working like this should ensure a solid base for the story/game.

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[/FONT][/FONT] The Style

Don't you just hate reading/playing a story when you cannot get engaged into it. This is mostly down to changes in style during the story. To avoid this you should look into setting a basic style for the whole game to follow. With these rules and some creative twist you should keep the reader/player engaged to the point they wanna get to the end.

[/FONT][/FONT]Here Are Some Pointers

- Know your target audience before you start -
[/FONT][/FONT]- Set rules for each character to follow -
[/FONT][/FONT]- Ask people what they would do in a certain situation -
[/FONT][/FONT]- Think what you would really do if you was a character -
[/FONT][/FONT]- Base the characters on people you know with the same attitude -
[/FONT][/FONT]- If its a game, Set the graphical style now -

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[/FONT][/FONT] The Characters

Before you even think about writing the events your story will portray get your characters down on paper. People can tell if you have done this the other way around cause the characters personality will not stay constant. Without knowing your characters I don't think you you will be able to get a feel for them.

[/FONT][/FONT]Here Is An Example
"The Lost Element"

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Spoiler: Seven - Example Bio.

Seven

- Female - 19 - Sevia - Fighter/Miner -
"Defined By My Genes"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/ ... ropped.jpg[/IMG]
Bio

Seven is a strong and resourceful girl. She was born in a small mining town, even living as a miner herself, until one day she was exiled from the town for making an accidental discovery. Not long after, Seven joined a group of rebels in a mission to get revenge against the World Leaders and learn the truth of a mysterious relic that she discovered.
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Special Thanks to Linkin_T + Hima + OS + OceanRay

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[/FONT][/FONT]The Plot

What is going to happen? If you don't really know you should not be writing a story. If you have not decided, This is where to start. As this is just the plot of the story, you don't really need to much detail. This is also the one section no amount of reading tutorials, Ideas are in your head, Only you can find the. This is also where you decide the start begging and end.

[/FONT][/FONT]Here Is An Example
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-= History > Introduction [/FONT][/FONT]>[/FONT][/FONT] Meet Friends [/FONT][/FONT]>[/FONT][/FONT] Witness Crime [/FONT][/FONT]>[/FONT][/FONT] Hunt Criminal [/FONT][/FONT]>[/FONT][/FONT]Find Criminal [/FONT][/FONT]>[/FONT][/FONT] Kill Criminal [/FONT][/FONT]>[/FONT][/FONT] End =-

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[/FONT][/FONT]The Story
-Finally-

To tell the truth I think that this is the easiest part. Really all you do in this section is compile all the info you have already made. Personally I think the most difficult part of this section is stretching out the story without it all being a boring "Filler". Also having sections that are similar to other stories does not have to be a negative. The chances are the reason its been done is cause its a good idea.

[/FONT][/FONT]Whilst you are writing the main story, Be sure to keep checking back on the things we have already spoke about. Stories have a habit of running away. I have over they years seen so many films and played so many games that start of well and then lose their way. I don't want to be nasty towards other games but Fable was one of them. Also its very hard to pull off a deep twist, The ideas is simple but you need to think about what the player/reader will think about it.

[/FONT][/FONT]Here Is An Example
[/FONT][/FONT] "The Lost Element"

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Spoiler: Story Synopsis - Example

Welcome to Tretsia, The perfect world. Times are good; there has not a single war in over 400 years. People are happy but curious about their ancestors who fought in the Elemental war. The problem is that the Kings, Queens and politicians spanning the five continents send Censorship Troops deep undercover into the towns and villages. The troops have just one simple mission; erase all evidence, be it fact or fiction, that the "Elemental Wars" ever happened. But why? Does perfection really exist, or do even the most innocent visions of bliss have a much darker side? [/FONT][/FONT]

On ground level even talking about the war is illegal. The Censorship Troops have a zero tolerance policy on anything to do with the war. This fact alone has tempted hundreds of historians and other academics to go underground and study the few last reminders of the mysterious war. Many people are being sucked into the conspiracy theories. Small factions of humans are becoming divided by their opinions. But now, one faction is ready to make a stand for their beliefs![/FONT]
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[/FONT][/FONT]The Drafts

The more you rewrite the same story the more ideas you seem to come up with. Drafts help you sort these out. Every time you do a draft save it on your computer and leave it for a about 5 days. After 5 days go back and read it, I believe only after some time away from it will you read it for what it really is.

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[/FONT][/FONT] The Details

All that you have done so far will be rewarded or destroyed with how well you do this section. Its all good having a good Idea and basic storyline, But that means nothing if you don't pay attention to the details. Why? you may ask. Simply because without details your story is just a big block of text. The details are what makes your story stand out from the rest. For this section I cannot really give an example. This is 100% down to the writer. So.. Good luck.

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[/FONT][/FONT]The Fix

If you was to tell me that your story was perfect first time, I would call you a liar. This just does not happen, If it did we would all be award winning authors. In this section all you need to do is read the whole story again and again until you get to the point you read it and don't make a single change. Simple!

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[/FONT][/FONT]The End

Tutorial by: BunnyKinx
XcuMaSoft@Hotmail.co.uk



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[Terru16389]

Very good tutorial. I especially found the 'Drafts' section pretty useful. I also find that a story must be re-read from time to time, just to see if there's any loose ends you have to tie up in the game, or things you have to change in the game to better fit the story, or remove parts of the story, period.

 

[BunnyKinx]

thanks alot :P its good to head coming from someone that left my project cause I am a RMXP newbie :P

lol its cool nice to see you again.. and hope schools going well.

 

[Twin Matrix]

Nice tutorial, Xcu. I love the lay-out you made for this, also. It's not a big blob of beginners blabber.

 

[BunnyKinx]

Hey that means a lot coming from someone in the writing academy, I have bad problems with my writing, I do it all on tape and then listen before I go to bed. :D

I do it the same way as this tut but with sound instead of reading

 

[Elijah von Bose]

- Think what you would really do if you was a character -

Grammar mistake - small.
And, where on earth is Seven's other leg? It disappeared!

Anyways, about the tutorial - it's a good base. I seem to follow a similar structure. Of course, just because I use a similar method, doesn't make it the best - but I know no better.

Good job,
Eiji Shinsoto

 

[BunnyKinx]

I understand...

Seven is from my game... in the game we only show characters up to there waste so it does not matter about that leg :D
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As it says in the title this tut is just the first one of many. Im planning to go A LOT deeper into each section :D

 

[darkace77450]

Good tutorial. Of great importance to a coherent game I'd recomend that a game maker do every single thing in the tutorial on paper (typed, hand written, stone carvings, whatever method you prefer) before you begin to put then into your actual game. This allows you to get a vision of the final product you are shooting for and allows you to see the path to get to that final product. It also makes it much easier to make changes/revisions along the way (its much easier to change a paragraph of plot in Word than editing events).

darkace77450

 

[OS]

Great work, Bunnykinx! I see several grammatical errors, but otherwise it is perfectly logical and wonderfully explained. Peace!

~OS

 

[BunnyKinx]

Thanks people :D I should be adding to this quite soon :D so please keep your eyes on it :D

 

[Terru16389]

Will do, there's not enough good story writing tutorials out there... lol

 

[The Cry of Fallen Angels]

Well, I'm going to name a few pointers myself;

"Style", you barely define it. If you're so set on reasons, do give the topic "style" much more back-up.

This guide is obviously aimed at beginning writers. Know your audience, put it on top.

There are many pointers that are blatantly ignored by myself when working. They CAN be usefull depending on the person.

Why the graphical style in a story-guide? The story may be backed up by graphics, but as far as I'm concerned that's "designing" and not "story writing". So mention that.

Your bio is very, very, VERY limited. It barely tells me anything about Seven. I usually have around a page or 2 full of text. A bit on the long side maybe, but 3 lines cannot possibly be a base. Especially if you're so fond of constant characters with depth.

You're lacking "world". I can't stress this enough, a place is potentially more important than characters. ENVIROMENTS SHAPE PEOPLE! Especially beginning writers should be aware of this, even if their world is the most basic form of medieval fantasy or sci-fi.
In your example of the "Storyline" you do use the "world", so why isn't it there seperately? Not to mention I can hardly call it a storyline, more like a background story.

Draft, more like outline. I also miss a lot about "keep asking yourself; why that certain thing happens there and to that person". It saves you a lot of rewriting. A bit more advanced would be; "what purpose does this part of the story have?", building up tension to name an easy one. Also ask yourself what everything contributes, it's not neccesary to erase everything that doesn't directly contribute to the story, it could be a bit of humour to lighten up, or background info on a character to understand it a bit better.

Overall, I think you miss a lot in this tutorial. Seems to many people write tutorials before they're ready. Confidence is fine, but overconfidence, well, it has the tendency of leading people reading those tutorials in the wrong direction.

 

[BunnyKinx]

I see all your points. What i am doing with the v1, is just setting the basics. and on a weekly basis im going to be going through each section until its got all the details there. Im busy on my project at the moment so im taking it slow here :D

thanks Fallen Angels you are right at all your points but i think you should come back when its complete :P lol

ps. In the history lesson thats where the world comes to life

ALSO this is the 3rd draft of sevens FULL bio

Spoiler: Sevens FULL bio - Concept

Seven was born in 462 AEB. Her father was a miner with a penchant for gambling. Seven months before she was born, Seven’s father had a particularly lucky night and walked away with a ring inlaid with a precious stone, reputedly from the Elemental Wars, and perhaps even older. Having no use for it himself, he mustered up the courage to give it to the object of his affection, a merchant’s daughter. He had loved her from afar for some time, and the acquisition of the ring made up his mind for him. He proposed and she accepted, giving her the ring for their engagement. They both loved each other dearly, but as the pregnancy progressed the mother’s health steadily worsened. The girl was born a large, healthy baby, and the overjoyed mother named her Seven, after ???. Sadly, the birth took a terrible toll on her mother, and she died a few weeks later.

While Seven had great intelligence, she didn’t enjoy the cramped classroom environment, and by the time she was eleven she was committed to become a full-time miner, partly out of love for her father, and partly to supplement their constantly fluctuating income (Avid gambler, remember?) . She was born with unnatural strength and despite ridicule and/or even outright loathing from the other miners, in a few years she was competing with the best of them. Her subconscious drive to be accepted led her to dig deeper and farther than any other miner, often taking unnecessary risks for a chance at a particularly rich vein of ore. While this was a disaster waiting to happen, she was aided by her Sartuk *. While all miners followed the movements of the wild Sartuk much as miners of old used canaries, only Seven had the benefit of a Sartuk which she had domesticated as a pet. Thus, she was able to take bigger risks and by the age of seventeen was the most successful miner in all the [rocky] mountains. Her success only served to fuel the other miner’s hatred, however. Many were indifferent to her, some were outright malicious, and virtually none respected her.

One day, whilst digging deeper than even she had ever dug before, she accidentally opened up an existing shaft, but one unfamiliar to her. Its sides had been smoothly carved out, rather than roughly hewn out of the rock like the other mining tunnels, and went on for far too long to be the result of some freak accident or chance. Upon sounding out the tunnels sides she found that it had been carved out of the hardest and oldest rock, the kind so difficult to chisel away at that it was almost never done, even if it housed the most valuable deposits; and, even stranger, she found that there were no such deposits anywhere down the shaft. What, then, had been the point of the shaft, and who had tunneled it out?

She explored deeper down the shaft, and upon reaching what she thought was the end found it went further, but was blocked by rubble and dirt. Her curiosity fully piqued, she dug like mad to clear it out. Finally she broke through, and couldn't help herself from gasping at what she saw.

The shaft opened up into a circular room big enough to fit her house inside of. She could make out the vague opening of tunnels like the one she had uncovered all around the room, but they were all filled in. There were chests of a strange material stacked all over the room, and knocked over shelves scattering the floor. There were spots in the ceilings that had cracked, letting loose earth fall to the ground below, and cracks and ripples running through the floor, but on the whole the room seemed remarkably well preserved. In the very center of the room she noticed there was a sort of pedestal. Ignoring the other things in the room, she cautiously approached it.


Upon further examination she found encrusted in rock a single canister, the likes of which she had never seen. The canister itself was perfectly smooth, inherently cold to the touch, and was emblazoned all ‘round with a strange symbol consisting of three triangles with rounded bases, all pointing towards a central point. The tips of the triangles were cut off, and in the space where there tips would intersect there was instead a small circle (here). It also was covered with many strange scribbles and scrawls which Seven could make no sense of. Despite never having seen one before, she instinctively knew that this was a Relic, such as the ones that were used to power the village’s running water system, which was itself a Relic. Those were only obtained from the traders who came a few times a year, though, and at steep cost. She had certainly never heard of mining them from the earth, but here one was.

Knowing she had discovered something of potentially enormous value, she decided to consult with her father before acting further. He immediately brought the issue up with the Lord of the village, who was extremely agitated at this revelation. He told Seven and her father to forget the matter, and as they were leaving his study she noticed a censorship troop apparently waiting in an adjoining room. Not understanding fully what was happening, she nevertheless knew something bad was afoot. As they left the Lord's estate she slipped away from her father and hastily headed back to the mines. Before she could make it to the tunnel she encountered a small group of unkempt strangers, also apparently headed towards the tunnel. Knowing the mines much better than they, and perceiving that they were warriors or mercenaries of some sort, Seven kept her distance and tailed them as they progressed deeper into the mine, trying to catch snippets of their conversation. She heard the canister mentioned several times, which they apparently referred to as a “containment unit”. She also heard the Censorship Troops referred to in a way that was almost certainly treason. Suddenly it dawned on her: these were the fugitive members of a rebellious faction!

She had heard vague rumors about a band of rebels who fought against the regime of those in power, but lately it had seemed like there was always a Censorship Troop or two around, and in their fearsome presence any treasonous rumors quickly evaporated. While she was reflecting on all this, however, she noticed that there seemed to be one less among their party than there was before…All of a sudden a pair of rough hands encircled her throat and pressed a thick cloth against her face. She tried to struggle, but found she couldn’t move at all. She could smell the faint trace of some strange poison, and as she began to black out a gruff voice seemed to be chuckling. “Silly girl, you really thought you could sneak up on Reapz?”

When she came to she found she had been dumped unceremoniously in a clump of bushes outside the village proper. She immediately knew something was wrong, as there was a huge crowd gathering in the village square. She saw that a podium had been set up, and that the Lord was reading from a scroll to the crowd. She also couldn’t help but notice the large number of censorship troops. She walked farther into the village, to here the Lord’s announcement.

“…been fully closed down for a matter of Imperial investigation, and Imperial inspectors have found the mining network as a whole to be unsafe for daily work.” At this there was a huge uproar, quickly silenced by menacing looks from the troops. The Lord, now clearly distressed, continued to read. “The mines will remain closed for all unauthorized personnel until the inspection is over. Anyone found trespassing will be…” Here the Lord had to stop and handed the scroll to a troop, apparently a captain, before slumping over on the edge of the podium. The captain looked at him with disgust before continuing to read. “Anyone found trespassing will be considered a traitor to the Imperial Crown and executed on sight. The entire village is now under martial law. There is a now a twilight curfew. Anyone found to have any connections with any suspected rebel activity will bring down retributions upon the village as a whole. Anyone with information on the rebels who does not report it immediately will be considered a traitor. That is all. Glory to Seavia!”

Seven felt like retching. This was horrible! They weren’t even trying to pretend that nothing was happening! She immediately headed home to talk things over with her father. However, when she arrived inside her home she found not only her father but the leaders of the miners, as well as the other village leaders waiting for her. Before she could say anything the Lord entered behind her.

“Seven, you have done a most terrible thing. You have brought the wrath of the king upon us, and now the village is ruined. We were one of the foremost mining towns in Seavia. Without mining, we'll be subservient dogs at their every beck and call, lest they cut off the rations which now must depend on! The troops have already shut down our water system, and now they’ve put us under martial law!” He seemed overcome for a second, but quickly resumed. “ But if history has told us one thing, it’s that we will survive. We’ll somehow bear with the fruits of your folly, and one day the King will lose interest in us, and the mines will reopen and we’ll flourish once more.” He paused, giving a nervous glance at Seven’s father, who nodded. He continued “But you will not be here to see that day. We’ve all agreed, even your father, that you shall be exiled now and forevermore from the village. It’s best this way; if you stayed, your life might be in danger.”

Wordlessly, Seven nodded in silent agreement, and walked, as if in a dream, out the door and away from the villager forever. She walked without purpose or direction for what seemed like days, but eventually her thoughts cleared and her feelings turned toward anger. She was consumed with a hatred, first for herself, then for the king, then the villagers, and finally for the rebels, for ruining her village and her life. Despite being a miner most her life she knew that tracking the rebels would be key, and that she could get a good head start on the troops, who would waste days and manpower locking down the village and fully inspecting the mines. She knew the rebels would be long gone by then, but if she acted quickly now she could catch them off guard. There was only one main road in and out of the village, but logically they’d avoid that. They had to have some knowledge of the village not to get lost in the mines, and it stood to reason they’d know of a smaller, less used path, and so she set down that one. She traveled for two days down the path, and sorely began to regret not taking some provisions before leaving the village, but the sound of the mocking rebel’s voice in her head kept her going onwards.

Finally, as she neared the brink of exhaustion she came upon a lonely inn, and entered. Besides a group of about six or so in a corner it was empty. She approached the proprietor, an elderly man, an ordered a huge steaming plate of food. It was only when she had devoured half of it that she realized she had no money. Almost on cue a member of the party, a young man, stood up and approached her. “Need some help picking up the tab?” he asked. She laughed nervously, and he chuckled with her. She knew that chuckle…

She sprang up and landed a massive punch right on his nose, which immediately burst into a bleeding mess. She prepared to throw another but before she could land the blow Reapz struck her with full force in the jaw. Her head snapped to the side as she slumped forward, dazed. She distantly noticed the other rebels standing up, some drawing weapons. One (a woman? They still wore their cloaks and cowls) tried to restrain Reapz, but he shook her off and before Seven could react picked her up and tossed her outside into the street.

She made a feeble attempt to get up, but found herself still too groggy from the force of Reapz’ vicious strike. She lay there for what seemed like an eternity, cursing herself for being too weak to keep fighting and for ever discovering the container. Eventually though hunger became stronger than guilt or even anger, and when she was sure that she would starve to death, alone on this barren dirt road, the door to the inn opened. The woman who had tried to restrain Reapz before ( now minus her cowl) was the one who came out. She walked over to Seven, gave a gasp, and helped her to her feet. The woman withdrew from her cloak a tiny compress, which she applied to Seven’s rapidly swelling jaw. Whispering words of encouragements, she used herself as a crutch and helped Seven into the inn.

Seven sat down, and smiled gratefully at the plate of hot food before her, all of which, she noticed, required little or no chewing. She was about to try and thank the woman, when she saw Reapz coldy glaring at her from across the room. She attemped to spring up, and would have fallen if the woman had not caught her. She said:

“Easy there; you’re in no condition for sparring.” Seven tried to protest, but the woman cut her off. “I know you have no reason to feel sympathy for us, we who ruined your life and who…” She glared at Reapz “…outright attacked you, but before we let you go and attempt to continue this mockery of a fight, consider this: it was not us who sealed the mines. It was not us who declared martial law. Why hate us for the King’s deeds?” Seven was silent, and she continued. “Therefore, I want to make you a proposition. You have proven yourself resourceful in tracking us down, strong in your mining and,” She pointed to Reapz’ still bleeding nose” your fighting. You were the one to originally discover the canister, and you are an exile without a home. Surely you can harbor no love for the king, so my proposition is thus: Join us. Join the rebellion, and we’ll help you get revenge on the King, and right his wrongs. We’ll also fill you in on our greater purpose, one that very much involves the canister you unearthed. Well? What do you say? You can think it over, if you like. We’re staying the night here.”

Seven was overwhelmed. She tried to stay angry, but what the woman said had made perfect sense. She winced as she answered:
“I…I accept.”
“Great! Then let’s eat!”

 

[oceanray]

Wow, 2500 words/five pages! I had forgotten it was that long. I guess I was pretty exuberant at that stage.

Anyways, this is a fairly basic guide, and nothing should be set in stone, but overall it's a pretty nice tutorial for beginners (who are the target audience of tutorials anyways).

 

[Anglachel]

I always wonder if anyone actually needs a tutorial on how to write a story...

In any case I wish I hadn't lost the one I wrote.

 

[BunnyKinx]

lol..

BUMP!

does anyone want this updating?

 

[shannon]

Heres some advice; Presenting your own personal opinions on real world politics and religion as irrefutable facts in your story is a good way to alienate people. Unless you make sure everyone knows to expect that sort of thing before they immerse themselves into the story. But even then, that sort of approach is not a good idea for a work of fiction, especially fantasy. If you must infuse your story with your own personal opinions on controversial subjects then you should at least try to handle it in an way so the reader (or player) can make up thier own mind, not have ideas violenty forced on them.

Also having a character totally change personality halfway through the story is not a good thing either. Yuna from FFX is one example of this which comes to mind.

 

[PINEDAXP]

Yes, I'll have to agree, that hapened once at a topic called Cartoon Network Anime bla bla... an opinion was stated a fact very lame.

But, evolution of character's personality is always good, but not changing it completely... and the transition should be troughout the story, not sudden

 

[shannon]

Another good idea is not to write a lead character as an obnoxious jerk, unless somewhere in the story he gets run over by a bus.

 

[PINEDAXP]

Well, it's a matter of choice. Some people like them, some others don't... but that's another discussion.. the soft heartened guy who is a hero by loving everyone VS the tough, strong tempered and smart character that no matter what, is a hero...

Nevertheless, Xcuma, I see some interesting points on this, good job!