UltaFlame's Wondrous Guide To A Good Story Idea.

Started by Vell, August 30, 2010, 11:50:52 am

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Vell

Okay, so you want to make a story. Good for you! In fact, you've got an idea already! That's a good start.

:^_^': oh, but, it doesn't seem interesting?

8) NEVER FEAR. ULTAFLAME IS HERE. I always loved that line. You can replace Any Name in the third word there and it always works.

Okay, so, you're not satisfied with your previous work and you need some help. But alas, poor Yorick you, Ulta is not around. GASP! :wacko: And beyond that, NOBODY IS RESPONDING TO YOUR REQUEST IN THE SERVICE!  :huh: right? Well that's where this thread comes in!

I'm UltaFlame and for the next few minutes, I'm going to be your guide. Your guide, your WONDROUS guide into the world of MAKING A COMPELLING STORY! It's okay! You can do it  ;)  ;)  :naughty:

Innuendo aside, let's be moving on.

Step 1: The Basic Idea.

First thing to remember is that absolutely nobody wants to hear a story that's full of cliche story elements. That said, nothing you'll come up with is going to be original. Basically, you have to be a ninja :ninja: a STORY NINJA. No, not really. :shy: (That's you!) So, to get a basic idea, you'll need to listen to your inner gamer. Is the story something you'd find incredible to play and have revealed? No? Then drop it! You're a gamer, you're a player! You know what makes a good game. Get a good basis and then you're ready to move on. Here, I'll provide you an example. We'll be expanding on this idea as we go through this guide. MARCH ONWARDS TO VICTORY! An important thing to keep in mind is the genre you're going for. Go with what you enjoy and are comfortable with. I'm comfortable with fantasy.

Mr. Knight is a well-trained soldier in an army. However, one day he is taken captive, and less than a week later his empire falls and he must escape and save the people from the enemy.

Seems like a decent start, doesn't it? That's all you need. Somewhere to branch off from. Don't even need names - if you have names at this point, you might end up getting too attached to the character and making him or her a sue. I established the main character's gender, part of his backstory, and gave a clear idea to myself who the enemy faction is. These are clear - they're the biggest part of the plot. Everybody knows the small details makes it flavorful, but at the heart of a tale you need a compelling cast.

Okay, step 2.

Step 2: Expanding the idea: Creating history.

So you know your basic idea. Don't get too clever with the characters. You need a good backstory for the world so it feels real and people can relate to the world in which the plot takes. An important part of this phase is naming things. This is a pretty easy part of it, depending on your story idea. It also is dependent on how you work. Do you tend to go deep into the history for some arbitrary reason, or do you focus on the here and now? Either way, let's just give a simple idea, so you can grasp the concept in work and not just in words.

The Empire of Estalonia(I'm a big fan of the ridiculous notion of random syllables for names) is a place of commerce. Its people are generally kind, and the civil watch is well-trained. However, war is common in their history. Estalonia is placed on a fertile land, surrounded by oceans and sprawling mountain ranges. Due to its location near water, it has a bustling sea-industry, and some pirates are known to dock at Estalonia hoping not to get caught.

In addition, across the mountains is a highly war-ridden land where several warbands compete for dominance. Kings and Emperors rise and fall daily, and everyone claims to be the true leader of the Burned Lands, so named for the famous battle which began the series of wars. Said battle was known as the Fight of the Burning Brigades, which shattered the power of ever major nation in the area. It is one of these warlords that concocts a plot to take over Estalonia to get an upper hand on his enemies.

There. A basic overview of the history. Only just enough to give you a basic idea, and a lot can be added in for flavor lore, and indeed in many cases this history can hold more of an importance to the plot than would first seem. Carrying on.

Step 3: Expanding the idea: Creating the plot!

This is it; perhaps the most important part of the game. The plot. The villain, the heroes. The side characters. Everyone comes together under this banner and tells each other 'It's time to rock some socks!' So you've got your idea, and you now have your history. Now is when you take your history, and go into the future. You've gotten up to your present, now it's time to take your present beyond that. You need to decide what the initiating event is and what the rising action will be, and the climax - the biggest moment - and the falling action and your resolution - which should be as big as the climax. You don't want to be too epic. If people keep getting bombarded with action, exploded into new plot points and never has any idea what's going on, they're going to be at the end of the game and say 'fuck this.' But they don't want to be bored. Now let's get to that example!

Mr. Knight(still not named), lieutenant in Estalonia's army, is on a scouting run, a patrol, when a warband attacks, overwhelming his small group with numbers. Taken prisoner along with another few surviving knights, Mr. Knight watches as the group maneuvers through the peace-drunk land and cuts straight at the heart of Estalonia's power, crippling their army and easily taking the castle. During the confusion, he manages to escape, and abandons his armor, burying it, so as to be able to hide from the warlord's men. As he comes upon a village, he is found anyway, and as the villagers help hide him, he decides he can't remain in Estalonia.

Fleeing to the Burned Lands, he begins to uncover the brutal truth behind the fateful battle of the Burning Brigades when he meets a small Otherian, a creature from the second planes. Resembling some cross between a fairy and an imp, the Otherian joins the party as a caster-warrior type character with a relatively low hp stat. As Mr. Knight and the Otherian avoid getting involved in major battles at the Burned Lands, they come across a sinkhole into an underground Temple. Lit by an eerie light with no source, the two discover that The Fight of the Burning Brigades was so named because the Burned Lands were used by the Second Plane as the battleground of the last ascension of the Otheria Throne.

In the Temple, they meet a group of ten people, of varying ages, who keep the Temple repaired and who's family had been there for decades. The Otherian picks out a young woman, known as the Caster-chick for now because she is the group's combined black and white mage.

I'll finish this later - I have to go to work now. Yay, extra hours! Woohoo!