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I've started using FreeMind to create a mind map of my world. I have Families of characters, the world mapped out, all the plot points (even stuff that happens behind the scenes that just affect the world) This is so much better than writing a lovely super short story about the world for my story.
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May 15, 2015 05:29
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In the future there will be no fantasy novels only mind maps.
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May 17, 2015 01:15
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patriarch im sorry for ending all your plot threads in the most generic way imaginable  im terrified of judgement tomorrow
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May 18, 2015 04:46
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spectres of autism posted:patriarch im sorry for ending all your plot threads in the most generic way imaginable Hopefully this week of people pissing on things other people worked hard on starts some brawls.
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May 18, 2015 04:50
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newtestleper posted:Hopefully this week of people pissing on things other people worked hard on starts some brawls.
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May 18, 2015 04:58
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Hi, I'm new to this thread and new to writing original fiction. Trying to write a fantasy story based on some characters I drew ages ago. The worldbuilding part is coming along nicely, but I'm struggling coming up with a good reason for the characters to form a gang. They all have to be from a different school because each one is tied to a key story element (they are griffin riders, and each school raises a different breed from a different region of the world), but it just doesn't make sense. The big problem is that each one is from a separate "school", and they are all on iffy terms at best (they all think their method of teaching/culture is the best, and a couple have rivalries towards each other). So why would one representative of each school team up to stop the big bad? It seems like every reason for them to get together is cheesy. Even if the schools were buddy-buddy instead, there still needs to be a reason for the protagonist to go with this group from different schools. They couldn't possibly pal around together if they were isolated within their own schools and culture for years. I'm stuck. Some possibilities: -Each one is a "chosen one" of their race/school due to their potential or hidden magic bullshit or something -Since they are new students, they aren't embroiled in the bullshit politics that older/better-trained soldiers would be -Tackling the Big Bad as a unifited group with a 'diplomat' from each school would prevent future infighting from the schools, since the big bad is from one of the major schools as well Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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May 23, 2015 19:02
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the main way to make people come together is to give them a common goal to work toward. (this is in real life too, hence all those stupid team building exercises), but it's also part of why military squads are so cohesive. the higher the stakes, the stronger the bond. so you need to come up with some bad thing that happens when they're all together, that each team member contributes to solving/overcoming, and then they'll be friends for life. maybe they're at some griffon convention when the main bad guy attacks, or whatever.
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May 23, 2015 19:08
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Or maybe each one of them has some sort of grudge against the main villain and they're unified through a mutual goal of vengance  An alliance of convenience is a great way to present drama if each individual would normally be against eachother if not against this single person.
Benny the Snake fucked around with this message at 22:27 on May 23, 2015 |
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May 23, 2015 19:30
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secret griffin sex cult
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May 23, 2015 19:37
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Megazver posted:secret griffin sex cult What does my band have to do with this
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May 23, 2015 19:38
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Yeah, the big bad is going to be the main reason they get together and the plan was to have them slowly, begrudgingly tolerate each other until the ~*power of friendship*~ kicks in. A convention of sorts could work - maybe students/new grads only, organized by the elders just to pretend they're trying to get along, when the big bad crashes the party in an attempt to wipe out the new generation. I originally wanted the villain to kind of be more subtle, slowly loving up things here and there while the kids go undercover to find out more before he goes batshit and declares war, but him being HAHA I'M THE BAD GUY might be the only reasonable way to make the group "wake up" and unify together at once. Megazver posted:secret griffin sex cult I will be the most popular writer on Yiffme.com
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May 23, 2015 19:44
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just have it be the big bad's minions that leave trails to the big bad. he doesn't have to do it himself. in a life or death fight doesn't really matter WHO is holding the gun to your head at the moment, it's going to team build all the same.
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May 23, 2015 19:58
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That's a great idea, thanks! Is it possible to post a sample excerpt for you guys to tear a new rear end in a top hat? Also, what is a good average chapter length? I'm so new at this 
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May 23, 2015 20:03
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post a new thread for it, link it in here. chapters are how long you need them to be. 3-7k is what most of mind end up as.
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May 23, 2015 20:13
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Thanks. I'll clean it up a bit and post it.
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May 23, 2015 20:32
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I think a good way to bring a bunch of people together is to lump them into smaller groups first. So like, maybe two people from the same region share one smaller goal. Lets say the villain's minions are doing fuckery in Region A, so a couple characters bump into each other and decide grudgingly to work together. Meanwhile, another pair or group comes together in region B for similar reasons. And so on. Then, you can have them sort of have them naturally progress toward meeting up as a big group for the Main Quest. If this is a story with a fairly large cast, it might be a good idea to give them some time in smaller groups so you have room to characterize them.
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May 23, 2015 21:00
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What I've written so far: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3721919 Sitting Here posted:I think a good way to bring a bunch of people together is to lump them into smaller groups first. So like, maybe two people from the same region share one smaller goal. Lets say the villain's minions are doing fuckery in Region A, so a couple characters bump into each other and decide grudgingly to work together. Meanwhile, another pair or group comes together in region B for similar reasons. And so on. Then, you can have them sort of have them naturally progress toward meeting up as a big group for the Main Quest. I was also thinking about that. The main characters are a cast of 5.
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May 23, 2015 21:03
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Sitting Here posted:I think a good way to bring a bunch of people together is to lump them into smaller groups first. So like, maybe two people from the same region share one smaller goal. Lets say the villain's minions are doing fuckery in Region A, so a couple characters bump into each other and decide grudgingly to work together. Meanwhile, another pair or group comes together in region B for similar reasons. And so on. Then, you can have them sort of have them naturally progress toward meeting up as a big group for the Main Quest. i find that juggling a group above 3 in writing is very difficult without having developed the characters first because its really difficult to block them otherwise. its also way less overwhelming to the reader, especially in dialogue. this is why i like small groups @ first because it gives you time to have a person go "okay this iw here they are and wht they do now i can imagine them in the back of my head".
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May 23, 2015 22:58
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Cuckoo posted:The big problem is that each one is from a separate "school", and they are all on iffy terms at best (they all think their method of teaching/culture is the best, and a couple have rivalries towards each other). So why would one representative of each school team up to stop the big bad? It seems like every reason for them to get together is cheesy. They all have to get together to represent their Griffon College Sports Team and poo poo get hosed up? Oh wait, I think that's a plot from Harry Potter.
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May 24, 2015 03:10
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Stuporstar posted:They all have to get together to represent their Griffon College Sports Team and poo poo get hosed up? I've actually never read Harry Potter, my ripoff-inspirations were Dragonriders of Pern and Animorphs v  vThe gryphon schools are more like breeding/training centers that also serve as the nation's central culture hubs. The rider students get their egg, raise it, and learn how to be productive members of fantasyland. If Harry Potter did that I'm gonna be pissed
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May 24, 2015 05:29
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Cuckoo posted:I've actually never read Harry Potter, my ripoff-inspirations were Dragonriders of Pern and Animorphs v Going to school to be productive members of fantasyland is pretty much the set up of Harry Potter, yes. Edit: Also, if you are writing YA fantasy, you should probably read some of the most popular recent series. Dr. Kloctopussy fucked around with this message at 06:17 on May 24, 2015 |
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May 24, 2015 05:54
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Cuckoo posted:I've actually never read Harry Potter, my ripoff-inspirations were Dragonriders of Pern and Animorphs v Being afraid of ripping something off is one of those dumb writers fears that has little basis in reality since anything you come up with is everything you've ever seen or heard filtered through you anyway. Don't avoid books because you're afraid they might be too close to your ideas. Instead seek them out because you can learn a lot, even if it's how not to do your idea. I actually find reading books like that a relief because they turn out not to be like what I was planning at all. I think the closest I ever came to going, "Aw, dammit." due to an author saying nearly everything I wanted to was Octavia Butler, but that still didn't stop me from wanting to write my story. So yeah, consider what I said a recommendation to read Harry Potter. I can't remember which book had all the wizarding schools get together for their championship thing though.
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May 24, 2015 06:40
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I avoided Harry Potter not out of worrying it would be close to my idea but because I honestly couldn't get into it, tried on multiple occasions. No idea why, because I first read it at the perfect age for its audience (12). It sounds like it would be worth a read just to see what is popular within the genre these days, but good god is it boring. Even watched 2 of the movies and felt the same way. Thanks for the heads up, though. I might thumb through it just to see how the author integrates her different school ideas in. Pern's worldbuilding got almost Silmarillion levels of complicated and that's probably not an accessible base for inspiration.
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May 24, 2015 06:56
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Cuckoo posted:I avoided Harry Potter not out of worrying it would be close to my idea but because I honestly couldn't get into it, tried on multiple occasions. No idea why, because I first read it at the perfect age for its audience (12). It sounds like it would be worth a read just to see what is popular within the genre these days, but good god is it boring. Even watched 2 of the movies and felt the same way.
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May 24, 2015 07:03
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Personally I enjoyed the earlier books more. Book 5 made me ragequit because it was not a fun read at all.
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May 24, 2015 07:21
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Cuckoo posted:I avoided Harry Potter not out of worrying it would be close to my idea but because I honestly couldn't get into it, tried on multiple occasions. No idea why, because I first read it at the perfect age for its audience (12). It sounds like it would be worth a read just to see what is popular within the genre these days, but good god is it boring. Even watched 2 of the movies and felt the same way. What YA Fantasy have you read other than Pern? (yeah yeah, most of pern isn't YA, whatever)
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May 24, 2015 08:00
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Megazver posted:secret griffin sex cult I'm still holding out on members for my High Fantasy Indie Band "Gryphons Drink Lattes"
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May 24, 2015 09:07
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Dr. Kloctopussy posted:What YA Fantasy have you read other than Pern? (yeah yeah, most of pern isn't YA, whatever) Two in the the fantasy genre off the top of my head are the Sword of Truth and Eragon series (do those count as YA )Is it easier for first timers to just stick to adult? I thought YA would be better due to the character's age.
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May 24, 2015 14:47
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Oh god my Thunderdome submission was sooo bad this week. Like I know what was bad with it (everything) but I don't know how I let it happen. I swear I'm better than that.
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May 25, 2015 03:56
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just do better next time and quit belly achin
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May 25, 2015 05:05
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SkaAndScreenplays posted:Oh god my Thunderdome submission was sooo bad this week. You'll probably get DQ'd for going over the word limit anyway so don't worry. I almost think you did it on purpose just to gently caress with people. Seriously, ONE WORD OVER??
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May 25, 2015 05:49
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Can Scrivener do the yWriter thing of letting you use a temporary tag in place of a character name, so I can write with <MAINPERSON>, <ANOTHERPERSON> until I figure out what the hell people call each other?
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May 25, 2015 08:07
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Omi no Kami posted:Can Scrivener do the yWriter thing of letting you use a temporary tag in place of a character name, so I can write with <MAINPERSON>, <ANOTHERPERSON> until I figure out what the hell people call each other? Even Word can do this as long as the tag is unique. Just find/replace when you're ready to change it.
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May 25, 2015 14:44
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notepad can do that
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May 25, 2015 15:27
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Cuckoo posted:Two in the the fantasy genre off the top of my head are the Sword of Truth and Eragon series (do those count as YA There's no easy or correct kind of book to begin with. Begin with whatever you want to write. Though there is some value in beginning with shorter works, so that you can practice things like story arcs and character development over a smaller scale, and actually complete some things so you can examine finished works to see how you did. But my point has to do with reading. You are writing YA fantasy, but you have only read a few books in the genre, and apparently none that have come out in the last decade, according your own short list. Why write in a genre you don't (apparently) enjoy reading? It seems to be because you think it is somehow "easier," which is pretty absurd. Reading is one of the top two ways you learn how to write. The second is writing. You have a question like "how do I bring a group of disparate people together?" You will find that question answered in many different ways in many different books. Read and learn. And I don't mean copy. You see how other authors have accomplished something, and use that information to create your own way that works for your characters. Asking people on an internet forum is going to be a lot less helpful because a) probably not many of us have written that situation or been in it personally, and 2) we have no loving clue about your story, and 3) even if we did have a clue about your story, it's still your job to figure out how to make it work, though we can (and obviously will) throw out some suggestions. Seriously. Read. More. And especially read more YA fantasy if that's what you want to write. Some other YA fiction books that have similar situations of teaming-up: Harry Potter: mostly everyone goes to same school, but they have an inter-school competition and so characters from other schools become part of the story The Clockwork Scarab: Two independent teenage detectives are recruited by the same person to solve a mystery (I didn't particularly like this book, fwiw) Heroes of Olympus Series: The "leaders" from two different schools magically have their memories stripped and are sent to the opposite school to try to survive and gather a combined team for challenges to come (the students of each school don't know of the other's existence) The Selection Series: A "random" selection of girls are put into a competition to become the next princess (sounds totally different, but in fact it brings together characters who would never naturally "meet" in the normal world of the series, so fits) Academe's Fury: Another one where the "investigators" are selected by a mentoring adult Seraphina: Two characters investigating the same incident keep running into each other as they pursue their independent investigations Other than Harry Potter, all those examples are from books I read this year. Other examples of the Bonded with Animals theme, although with varying degrees of similarity to your concept: Codex Alera: everyone but the protag is bound with invisible magical beings associated with various elements Sea of Shadows: Magical twins bonded with magical animals The Two Pearls of Wisdom (aka Eon: Dragoneye Reborn): protag is girl-disguised-as-boy, training to bond with fire dragon, but who instead bonds to the most powerful dragon, who has lain dormant for decades There are a lot more of these, too, probably with stories a lot closer to your plan. But it's not a theme I've particularly pursued, so I'm not familiar with many of them. Not even going to try to make a list of all the ones that have to do with magical training schools. Dr. Kloctopussy fucked around with this message at 00:12 on May 26, 2015 |
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May 26, 2015 00:03
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Code Name Verity is a straight-up good book and it does happen to be YA.
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May 26, 2015 00:58
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General Battuta posted:Code Name Verity is a straight-up good book and it does happen to be YA. Seriously. I really liked it. The books I mentioned above weren't really recommendations -- they aren't my favorites at all. They are just ones dealing with subjects similar to what Cuckoo is writing.
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May 26, 2015 01:03
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Some of Terry Pratchett's stuff is YA (Diggers, Truckers, Wings, The Carpet People, Nation, Dodger, the Tiffany Aching books, probably a bunch of others) and he's a good author that people should read IMO.
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May 26, 2015 04:13
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Chairchucker posted:Some of Terry Pratchett's stuff is YA (Diggers, Truckers, Wings, The Carpet People, Nation, Dodger, the Tiffany Aching books, probably a bunch of others) and he's a good author that people should read IMO. The second two Johnny trilogy books are GREAT.
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May 26, 2015 04:16
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Chairchucker posted:[...] he's a good author that people should listen to his audiobooks because Nigel Planer has an amazing voice IMO Fixed that for you. I'm listening to the Discworld books and Nigel Planer makes those books come alive, especially when he's doing the voice for Death, ironically enough. Reaper Man and Mort were amazing reads.
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May 26, 2015 04:19
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