Line #129 SoYouWantTo/WriteAStory


1	%%
2	%%This page will eventually hold all the tropes and writing advice that apply no matter ''which'' genre you're trying to write.
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4
5	!'''Principle Number One'''
6
7	'''''When you write a story, don't make it boring.'''''
8
9	The rest of this article addresses how to accomplish that.
10
11	!'''Necessary {{Trope}}s'''
12
13	Most stories have:
14	* One or more characters.
15	* A setting.
16	* {{Conflict}} or change.
17	* {{Plot}}.
18
19	Whether you want it or not, your story will also have structure, [[CentralTheme theme/premise]], mood/tone, and style. These become especially important if your story has no conflict, or if the plot is related in non-chronological order, or if you've otherwise decided to subvert one of the most basic assumptions about how stories work. If you are a beginning writer, you'll want to regard this kind of subversion as a learning exercise, rather than expecting that your character-less novel will be a bestseller and a classic for the ages.
20
21	You'll want to [[SoYouWantTo/MakeInterestingCharacters Make Interesting Characters]], [[SoYouWantTo/DevelopCharacterPersonality develop their personalities]], and consider their roles in the story (CharacterizationTropes, CharactersAsDevice).
22
23	Your {{Settings}} may be based on [[SoYouWantTo/AvoidTheThemeParkVersion your research]] or [[SoYouWantTo/BuildYourOwnFictionalWorld completely made up]]. In general, you want your setting to be LikeRealityUnlessNoted, for two reasons: it helps the reader ground themselves and feel comfortable in the setting; and it's less work for you. However, for the ways in which your setting is ''different'' from reality, you should spend some time thinking about how those differences affect everyday life.
24
25	[[{{Plots}} A plot is a sequence of events that ensue]] when there is conflict. Most stories have conflict:
26
27	# A character, usually TheProtagonist...
28	# ...[[MotivationIndex wants something]] ''badly''...
29	# ...and is having trouble getting it.
30
31	Typically, TheProtagonist is opposed by an [[TheAntagonist antagonistic character]], or else to achieve their goal they must struggle against society, an object, a natural disaster, etc.
32
33	! '''The Author'''
34	Now, most stories actually need one more thing: someone who writes or tells them. The person who creates them. The author. If you are reading this article, it is presumable that you want to be that author. Well, read on! Here's some tips on how to author.
35
36	!!'''Execution'''
37	There are story ideas, story kernels, plot bunnies, that fill a person with excitement. "This is a really cool idea!," the consumer exclaims, "a story about having to ScrewDestiny after you're cursed with an unjust fate by a callous and uncaring system!" And then there are stories that sound, well, boring and pedestrian: "Once upon a time, a man and a woman fell in love, but the boat they were on sunk and the man died. The end." Which of those ideas, do you think, was a staggering financial success? Well, the first one is ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', one of the worst-reviewed games in its franchise; the other was the first film to ever gross more than $1 billion at the box office: ''Film/Titanic1997''. How could this be? It seems like a no-brainer that the first story would blow past expectations, while the second... well, it's so ''pedestrian''. Where's the action? Where's the adventure? Where's the excitement? ''It's a love story on a boat!''
38
39	The answer lies in ''how'' the stories were told. The answer lies in ''execution''. The answer lies in the fact that, to a certain extent, ''how'' you tell a story is more important than what that story actually is.
40
41	The extent is not large. The RomanceArc is fundamentally interesting to most human beings, because romantic love is something most human beings can relate to. Now, a fight against an unjust system is also interesting... but at that point, a lot depends on the nature of the system being fought ''against'', and ''[=FF13=]'' had some problems following ShowDontTell with regards to those details. It failed to make its story compelling because it failed to make its conflict into something players could empathize with. Both had good stories to tell, but one work just did a better job of telling it.
42
43	The point here is simply to say that, as a beginning author, you should not worry if the idea for your story seems mundane. You're not here to sell an idea; you're here to tell a ''story''. And the way you tell it can make all the difference. ItsTheJourneyThatCounts.
44
45	!!'''Perseverance'''
46	No story ever springs from the writer's pen (or in this day and age, writer's word processor), fully formed and in perfect condition. '''''Do not let that stop you.''''' You're gonna start with stupid ideas, shallow characters, pointless conversations, and in general the kind of writing you would give your eyes and teeth to make sure no one ever sees. That's fine; the truth is that every published author, every titan of literature, even the "geniuses", started this way. (And succeeded at making sure nobody ever saw their early crap, too!)
47
48	What is the most important skill a good writer has? Ability to read. A lot. And more. Figure out what genre the story you're telling is, then go read what successful authors in that genre wrote. Then see if you can figure out how they did that and what they did. How did they explain things? How did they create characters? What were the characters' motivations? What was the plot? etc. Then try to learn to do that. Then figure out how you can do it differently. With (lots of) practice in writing, you'll get as good, perhaps even better. You'll have to have written potentially hundreds of pages to get good at it. Once you've gotten reasonably good at it, then you'll actually be proud of your work and be willing (and probably eager) to have others read it.
49
50	If you keep at it, you'll inevitably start to work out the kinks until it becomes something worth reading, and then keep going until it becomes something worth telling other people to read. Again, every published author started this way. ''Every'' author was bad when they started. And what's more, they all admit this. The successful ones just kept doing it anyway -- reading everything they could get their hands on, writing whatever struck their fancy, experimenting with this outlandish thing or that -- until one day they woke up and discovered that, somewhere along the ''thousands'' of hours they had sunk into this hobby, they had gained enough ExperiencePoints to stop being bad.
51
52	The same is true of individual stories, not just an overall body of work. ''Keep writing'', even if it feels like you're going nowhere. It's much easier to polish a turd than it is to polish nothing at all; and, believe it or not, there is much to be learned from turd-polishing.
53
54	Perseverance is far more important than perfection.
55
56	But don't take our word for it: ''WebAnimation/ExtraCredits'' has some inspirational thoughts for you right over [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDjrOaoHz9s here]].
57
58	!!'''Confidence'''
59	This concept moves a little more into metafiction than anything else, but bears discussing, because it has a huge impact on whether The Reader will give your story a chance. It gets down to a simple question: ''Does The Reader trust you?''
60
61	To quote Webcomic/ThreePanelSoul, "Storytelling is a lot like a trapeze act. You throw someone on a journey at the beginning... [[http://www.threepanelsoul.com/comic/on-storytelling And they're really angry if you don't catch them at the end]]." Judging by the timestamp, this strip was a reaction to the famous ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' ending... but that doesn't make it any less truthful or timeless. In fact, the strip is 100% accurate.
62
63	When The Reader starts reading your story -- when The Consumer starts consuming your story, via whatever medium it's being told in (television, VisualNovel, movie, video game, etc) -- they are looking for a number of things. Solid CharacterizationTropes; consistent world-building and BackStory; a limited level of AuthorFilibuster; proper {{Foreshadowing}}; avoiding UnfortunateNames; even technical things like avoidance of WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma and RougeAnglesOfSatin. They are using all these things to make one simple judgment: "Does this author know what they are doing? They're about to throw me on a journey that will probably take hours; do I trust them to catch me at the end? Is this story a waste of my time?" The need to answer this question -- to make accurate judgments about the quality of a work of fiction, without doing it the hard way (IE consuming it) -- is why we have reviewers and critics like Creator/RogerEbert. It's literally the foundation of an entire ''industry'', ranging from book reviews in magazines and newspapers to podcasts streamed over the internet.
64
65	Now, there's no accounting for taste. One person's IntrepidReporter is another person's MarySue. (Look at how the main characters of ''Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy'' were written after a ReplacementGoldfish picked up the series following the author's death.) But whatever you're doing, as an author, you have to be good at it. You have to give signals that your story will be about something, and then follow through on that promise. You have to demonstrate that you know enough about the world to be worth listening to. If you don't... well, there's a lot of other stories in the sea for your would-be consumers to consume instead. Better figure out how to have what those stories do.
66
67
68	!! '''"Talent"'''
69	We have built a myth, in Western culture, about creativity. You see it applied not just to fiction but to all artistic endeavours: musicianship, painting, sculpting, dancing, etc. The myth is this: "A {{True Art}}ist is BornLucky enough to have TheGift." All the great Creators in human history, from Creator/WilliamShakespeare to Creator/VincentVanGogh to Music/TheBeatles to Music/LudwigVanBeethoven to Creator/StevenSpielberg to Music/ArethaFranklin to Creator/MerylStreep to Creator/BabeRuth to WebVideo/PewDiePie, are treated the same way by this myth: They have something we {{muggles}} don't. And, perhaps more importantly, they have something we muggles ''can't have''. Either you have TheGift or you don't, because it cannot be obtained by any means. Either you have it or you are going to amount to nothing in your chosen field.
70
71	Do you agree with this attitude? Because the truth is, '''''It is bullshit.'''''
72
73	If you want to learn how to write, the truth is that ''you can''. How do you do it? As mentioned under Perseverance, it's simply about just doing it over, and over, and over again, and spending time being bad at it until you stop being bad at it. As mentioned under Perseverance, every person who ever got successful at what they do -- including all of the above Creators -- spent time being bad at what they did; the only difference is that they didn't give up just because they were bad, the way -- if we're employing BrutalHonesty -- most of us do. And the truth is that Perseverance is the second-most most important indicator of success. How do you get good? ''By getting good'' -- by putting your nose to the grindstone and doing the goddamn ''work''.
74
75	Of course, that opens up a question: does "talent" even exist? And the answer is that it does... but its role in the creative process is misunderstood. "Talent" is perhaps best understood as "natural aptitude". If you and Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart were put in a room, side by side, allowed to touch a harpsichord for the first time, and given an hour to explore, it is safe to say that, at the end of the hour, both of you would have gained some ExperiencePoints and would be better at playing harpsichord than you were before. But ''how much'' better? That's where talent comes in. Mozart has more talent at music than you, so he'll get better, faster... Assuming he doesn't get distracted by [[ManChild a bunch of toy soldiers]] -- which, history tell us, he was ''quite'' wont to do. If he gets SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer this way, it's actually entirely possible that he'll end the hour ''worse'' at the harpsichord than you! Talent is a ''ScoreMultiplier''. Do you want the best multiplier you can get? Yes, absolutely... but it's only meaningful if there's any underlying points for it to multiply. It's only meaningful, in other words, if you put your nose to the grindstone and do the goddamn ''work''.
76
77	Now, this does raise a second question: "If I don't have as much talent as Mozart or whoever, is it ''worth the effort'' to get as good as he did? -- seeing as how it'll take me three, four, five times longer to do so (and at that point I have quite possibly exceeded the limits of my own natural lifespan)." And the answer to that is that, well, ItsUpToYou. Here are the facts: Despite what the United States of America would have us believe, all people are ''not'' created equal; each of us has talents in different areas. Is it better for you to focus on the things you have more talent in? Arguably, yes. It'd certainly be more efficient. But here are more facts: You also don't have to be The Greatest Of All Time for it to be worth the effort. If it makes you happy, then it's worth doing. End of story.
78
79	Remember how Perseverance is the second-most important indicator of success? The first is that ''you love doing what you do''. Every author who ever got published? They started writing because ''they like writing''. They enjoy the heady thrill of spinning out plot threads and crafting fun characters and setting up mysteries and devising intriguing settings and even (if you're Creator/FScottFitzgerald) the business of finding the ''exact'' right words to put on the page. Every author who ever got published would still be writing today even if they hadn't.
80
81	Do you love writing? Are you willing to keep doing it until you're good at it? Do you love doing it more than it annoys you? Congratulations: you have ''everything'' you need to become a published author. Talent is only a MagicFeather.
82
83	But if you really need some more encouragement, let's go to Creator/NeilPatrickHarris, from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SQfsBsMFls opening]] to the 67th Tony Awards written by Creator/LinManuelMiranda -- so of course there's [[SignatureStyle a rap]]:
84
85	-->"At the end of the day we are gathered together to honor [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct the best and the brightest]]\
86	And tomorrow the [[TheFashionista fashion police]] will report on your dress and [[{{Stripperiffic}} who wore it the tightest]]\
87	If you win, have the time of your life; tell your manager, dad and your mom, “Thanks!”\
88	Hi to your kids and your husband or wife, maybe ([[CutawayGag just for the hell of it]]) Creator/TomHanks.\
89	Nothing is bigger and better than seeing a veteran get an ovation, or\
90	Seeing a brilliant beginner freak out when they win on their first nomination. There's a\
91	Kid in the middle of nowhere who’s sitting there living for Tony performances, singing and\
92	Flipping along with the Theatre/{{Pippin}}s and Theatre/{{Wicked}}s and [[Film/KinkyBoots Kinkys]], Theatre/{{Matilda}}s and [[Theatre/TheBookOfMormon Mormonses]].\
93	So we might reassure that kid\
94	And do something to spur that kid\
95	‘cuz I promise you: All of us up here to-\
96	night? '''''We were that kid.'''''
97
98	!'''Choices, Choices'''
99	The qualities of your story as mentioned above -- characters, setting, motivation, conflict, plot, resolution -- are perhaps best described as the "contents" of your story. What we are now going to consider is the "''tone''" of your story. If the contents are what you tell, the tone is ''how'' you tell it. This is more important than it sounds.
100
101	Let's take an example. Let's say you have a heroic man who is good at what he does, but wants to be more. Additionally, he's blind to his own limitations. So he bulls his way into a position of power he's not ready for and ends up ruining everything. Does this plot belong in a blood-soaked {{tragedy}} or a farcical {{comedy}}?
102
103	The answer is that it literally depends on whether you have a LaughTrack or not. The plot just described is the story of a ''lot'' of sitcoms (''Series/TheOfficeUS'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', about half the episodes of ''Series/{{Frasier}}'')... and is also a very accurate, if somewhat generalized, summary of two of the greatest tragedies of all time, Creator/WilliamShakespeare[='s=] ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' and ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''. (In the former, the out-of-place man is TheProtagonist; in the latter, he's the BigBad.) The only difference -- the ''only'' difference -- is whether the audience is supposed to laugh at it or not. The only difference is in how the story is meant to be perceived. The only difference is tone.
104
105	So let's take a look at what you might decide about your tone, and how to implement that decision.
106
107	!!! The SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism
108	Do you wish to portray a world in which karma works in favor of the virtuous, and villains get their comeuppance? You might choose this path to inspire your readers to do good in the world, or simply because it feels good to read a happy ending.
109
110	Or would you prefer to portray a world in which random chance harms the good and helps the evil, all without any rhyme or reason -- where it's better to be self-centered or even evil, because the good don't get rewarded for their goodness?
111
112	You can place your story anywhere between the two extremes. Maybe some good characters get hurt or die despite their virtue, and some villains go KarmaHoudini in the end, but most of the characters get what's coming to them, one way or the other.
113
114	In fact, you can also make the story ''look'' like it's idealistic, but ends with cynicism (suddenly the good characters die and the villains escape). Or, make it ''look'' cynical, but end idealistically (the ending makes you look at all the bad events from a different point of view).
115
116	!!! The SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness
117	We started with this distinction between Comedy and Drama, and nowadays some of the strongest series are Dramedies -- drama with a strong sense of comedy, the two forces working together, waxing and waning as appropriate to the story of the moment. Still, it's a good idea to know which one of them you plan to focus on, especially since you can exaggerate either of them, from absurd surrealism to unrelenting {{grimdark}} bleakness. Which one is the default for your story?
118
119	!!! The Sliding Scale of Scope
120	How many characters do you want? How many locations do you want? The sky is the limit -- except for how we have stories set in outer space now, so, no, the sky is no longer the limit.
121
122	Some of the greatest classics have drummed up a cast of dozens, even hundreds of characters, and ranged over a world almost as intricate and detailed as RealLife. That said: Don't bite off more than you can chew. It's best, in the beginning, to work with only a few major characters - perhaps half a dozen mains, half a dozen minors. By choosing a judicious [[CastCalculus number of characters]] that suits a (compact) plot, you can avoid a scattered tale with a dozen dangling plots that never seems to tie down all the loose ends, something even experienced authors have trouble with.
123
124	Similarly, save the globe-trotting for a time when you've already proven you can write. For now, stick to a few [[EnvironmentalSymbolism relevant locales]].
125
126	!!! The Sliding Scale of Comfort vs Challenge
127	There are two main reasons that human beings engage with fiction.
128	# They want to be taught and challenged. This can be as benign as having AnAesop at the end of the story, or as dramatic as attacking the status quo directly (Creator/UptonSinclair's ''Literature/TheJungle''). This sort of story exists to tell the consumer that they are wrong -- to get them to question their values and whether they are truly living the life they want to.
129	# They want to be comforted and reassured. This can be as benign as affirming RousseauWasRight or as dramatic as redefining a vice as a virtue (Creator/AynRand's ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'', some portions of Creator/TerryGoodkind's ''Literature/SwordOfTruth''). This sort of story exists to tell the consumer that they are ''right'' -- to reaffirm their values and congratulate them for making choices which (the author believes) are good.
130
131	Or, to rephrase using recent internet slang, what we are looking at is the Sliding Scape of Hopium Vs Copium.
132
133	We can actually take both of these straight back to one of the most famous and influential works ever written, Literature/TheBible. Check out the picture of ''Film/{{Dogma}}''[='s=] "Buddy Christ" on the JesusWasWayCool trope page -- "He didn't come here to give us the willies! He came here to help us out!" This is certainly a valid interpretation of what Jesus says he set out to do. But then in Matthew, the first of Literature/TheFourGospels, we have that immortal line, "[[GoodIsNotNice I come not to bring peace, but a sword]]," implying that Jesus' mission is less about spreading comfort and more about upsetting the status quo -- which, again, is a valid interpretation of what Jesus says he set out to do, and was backed up by action (confronting parties who held political power, spending lots of time with people who those parties discriminated against, criticizing the rich, reinterpreting religious law, etc).
134
135	And what ''that'' tells us is that it isn't really a Sliding Scale; the two are actually independent. A story can be both comforting ''and'' challenging, and some of history's greatest works have in fact accomplished both. (''Literature/HarryPotter'', for instance, contains both the comforting moral that love is stronger than death, but also the frightening reminder that choices matter.) Likewise, a story can do ''neither'', if it's written poorly enough (the infamous trainwreck of a FanFic ''FanFic/MyImmortal'' being a good example).
136
137	Where you want to fall on this scale -- on either scale -- is really up to you. There is no "right" way to write a story; ''Series/GameOfThrones'' is one of the most popular works of fiction in recent memory because it challenges its audience, but shed a sizeable population of viewers who weren't looking for anything more than {{escapism}}. ''Film/Transformers2007'' is one of the most lucrative works of fiction in recent memory, but shed a sizeable population of viewers who found its ''excessive'' escapism boring and unstimulating. ''There is no right answer to this question''. There is only the right answer for ''you'', the kind of story ''you'' want to write. Figure it out, and tailor your tone accordingly.
138
139	!'''Pitfalls'''
140
141	Most people don't care to read about {{Flat Character}}s. They want to read about characters who seem like people. People have desires and fears, strengths and flaws; they are sometimes unpredictable, sometimes act on whim, but they ''usually'' have reasons for everything they do, consciously or unconsciously.
142
143	Now, this does not mean your character needs to ''evolve''. CharacterDevelopment is useful, but it's not the only way to run a story; [[StructuralArchetypes sometimes]] the Protagonist is the [[BlitheSpirit only character]] who does ''not'' grow. So it's perfectly okay to have a StaticCharacter - as long as that character is ''not flat'' (and not [[MediaNotes/{{Pettanko}} in the way you're thinking, either]]).
144
145	Also, you may hear that TrueArt is [[TrueArtIsAngsty angsty]], [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible incomprehensible]], offensive and such. Take this with a pinch of salt. Whilst it is true that great stories have been told in ways that can be painful, complex or challenging to our core beliefs, true art often cannot be summed up so simplistically, and it is often a sign of a certain degree of pretentiousness when people insist that art is 'only' one thing or another. Great art can just as often be optimistic, simple and inoffensive - and the greatest works of art generally tend to acknowledge both sides.
146
147	Keep in mind that tight plotting and plot twists are only part of the story. Lisa Cron put it best: "The events by themselves mean nothing; it's what those events ''mean'' to someone that has us compulsively turning pages." Even more than that, by adhering to ShowDontTell and making the emotional stakes a thing that The Reader ''experiences'' rather than hearing about later, The Reader develops empathy for the characters. The events are not just happening to some random stranger; the events are happening to ''The Reader'', and mean something to that Reader. This is why something as mundane as a love story -- which 99.9% of humans have experienced personally and scarcely need a secondhand account of -- can nonetheless be so effective.
148
149	Be aware of your themes. Some authors believe you don't need them; Dan Benioff, co-showrunner of the hit HBO series ''Series/GameOfThrones'', once remarked, "[[https://grantland.com/features/the-return-hbo-game-thrones/ Themes are for eighth-grade book reports]]." The part he overlooked is that almost all works ''have'' themes. The story's "subject" is what its plot and character revolves around: The Protagonist wants something and has trouble getting it. The story's ''theme'' lies in what you, The Author, ''think'' about the subject. And this happens almost inevitably, because most stories end up being about some of the biggest questions of human life: [[Literature/PrideAndPrejudice How much is romantic love worth]]? [[ComicBook/XMen Who counts as human, and why]]? [[Film/CitizenKane Can money buy happiness]]? [[Series/TheSopranos How do we handle the world moving on without us]]? Because you are a normal human, you probably have opinions on these questions. Because you are a normal human, some of those opinions will inevitably seep into the story. You are writing a theme into the story ''whether you intend to or not''. With that in mind, you'll probably want to do it consciously. If not, you can end up with something like... the ending of ''Game of Thrones'', where the themes that had been built up for eight years were ignored, and which was lambasted by critics and audiences alike for that very reason.
150
151	Finally, remember that list from up above? The 1) [[TheProtagonist protagonist]] who 2) [[MotivationIndex wants something]] and 3) [[{{Conflict}} can't get it]]? That's a great structure. But in [[https://youtu.be/Aj7NcdDh-WM?t=1232 an episode]] of ''WebVideo/{{Tabletop}}'', Creator/JohnRogers listed it this way: 1) Who [[MotivationIndex wants what]], 2) [[{{Conflict}} why can't they have it]], and 3) ''why do I give a [PrecisionFStrike]?'' We have plenty of tropes on the idea that the audience simply won't hook into your story, from the EightDeadlyWords to the AudienceAlienatingPremise, and it might be a good idea to review them. You could be the finest writer in history, but that won't help you if your audience gives up after the first paragraph because what you're writing about is objectionable, poorly communicated or irrelevant. The idea cannot be interesting to only you; it has to be made interesting to ''everyone''.
152
153	!'''Potential Subversions'''
154
155	Many themes and tropes can be subverted in interesting ways. One of the most common forms is the {{Deconstruction}}, which is about analyzing the themes and how they would play out if ''painfully'' realistic consequences were applied to them. Another good tool is to add HiddenDepths to seemingly archetypal characters.
156
157	The trickiest part of subversion is that it depends entirely on AudienceReactions. A successful subversion is not just something the audience didn't expect, it is something the audience ''didn't know they wanted''. This requires keen insight and a strong understanding of your audience. If you don't have those things, you're unlikely to subvert a trope effectively... And even if you do, you can still miss. This is why attempts at subversion can go over poorly with the audience.
158
159	----
160	!'''Writers' Lounge'''
161	!!'''Suggested Themes and Aesops'''
162	Okay, go back to the sliding scales. What do you really believe? Do you align yourself with RousseauWasRight, or are you on the side that thinks that HumansAreBastards? Once you define that, you can build the moral scale of your history.
163
164	!!'''Potential Motifs'''
165
166	There's a wide range of motifs to choose from when crafting a character, a story, a world. But you need to make the motif serve your story, not the other way around. If you find you're bending the characters to suit the motif, you're probably going to end up with something simple and flavorless, hardly standing out from its fellows. And readers who recognize the motifs are going to guess your plot twists a mile off.
167
168	But as far as potential motifs, there are, among others:
169
170	* '''[[AnimalStereotypes Animals]]:''' Each major character gets an animal "totem" that shows off the basic feel of the character. ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'' did this with Cutter, Leetah, Skywise, and Rayek: a bantam rooster, a cat, a fox, and a snake. But this was never the be-all and end-all of their characters; even Rayek, despite going fairly dark in many places, was never ''merely'' the "[[SmugSnake snake]]" of the series.
171	* '''[[ColorCodedCharacters Colors]]:''' Each character gets a color, which usually informs some aspect of their personality. White might indicate an AllLovingHero, yellow TheDitz, pink TheHeart or GirlyGirl (or perhaps [[RealMenWearPink a more macho type]]), [[ChromaticArrangement blue]] TheSmartGuy and red TheLancer, green or brown the guy who's close to nature, silver TheDragon, etc., etc., etc. There are plenty of ways to play with this (offhand: why is purple listed under villains or at best neutral?), so don't be tied down to what others have done just because others have done it.
172	* '''Moral Codes:''' ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' took a central thesis of (not at all [[TechnicalPacifist technical]]) pacifism and how it might work in a dangerous [[TheWildWest Wild West]] desert world -- the unwillingness to harm or kill others, even villains (though not to passively accept them hurting others either) -- and managed to pull off an entire series. The two male leads clashed on this topic, coming at it from completely different worldviews. When is it right to use force? When must we accept a less-than-ideal solution to the threat at hand? If you take care to avoid TheWarOnStraw, you can really make a series shine by assigning certain characters ethical stances that clash with those around them (even if it's just AllLovingHero vs. the guy who'll ShootTheDog).
173
174	!!'''Suggested Plots'''
175	In general there aren't really suggested plots in works outside "conventional genres". Just open your arms and let the plot come!
176
177	One way to find plots is listening to people. In the bus, in the subway, in the wall before the dentist, in the restroom, everywhere people talk, and chit-chat, and lament. Everybody believes their lives could make a book, or at least a good chapter of a SoapOpera. Of course, this is not true, but from anecdotes from strangers the embryo of a good story can born. Even from family you can get inspiration; there is fountain of inspiration on familiar anecdotes. Many authors have met fame and fortune writing disguised versions of their family exploits.
178
179	Aside from picking up plots at random, you can start with an archetypal plot and go from there. Christopher Booker's ''Literature/TheSevenBasicPlots'' outlines, well, seven archetypes, from TheQuest to classic monster-slaying to RagsToRiches to [[StartOfDarkness Tragedy]] and even Rebirth (the Tragedy plus a HeelFaceTurn in time for it to matter). There are others who classify the archetypal plots in [[MasterPlots different ways]] and with different numbers, from two (every story is about Love or Death) to 42 or even more.
180
181	Another tactic: Design your main character and center your story around what they do. Just remember: A plot happens when someone ''wants something badly'' and ''is having trouble getting it''. If Bob, your hero, wants a job at a nearby Pizza Hut, make him ''really'' want it, and let us in on the reason he does. Maybe he's desperate for money. Maybe the girl of his dreams works there too. Maybe he needs a job, any job, before his great-uncle shows up and drags him off to something worse (or his parents send him to That Camp). But if he really doesn't care whether or not he gets the job, we're not going to care either. And if he just walks in and applies, and they accept him on the spot, then maybe the job turns out to be [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor not all he dreamed of]]. Otherwise, if he gets his wishes immediately ... what was the story again?
182
183	Finally, consider theme. Many stories have AnAesop, and are "about" something. (This is not necessarily a bad thing; Administrivia/TropesAreTools.) If your story has a theme, consider how your characters relate ''to'' that theme, and express that theme. Example: ''Film/AmericanBeauty'' is about people trying to find the freedom to [[BeYourself Be Themselves]] in an oppresive, cookie-cutter suburbia; therefore, every character in the film is in some stage of that struggle. An obvious choice, but it makes said theme easier to catch on to without resorting to [[{{Anvilicious}} heavy-handed morals]].
184
185	----
186	!'''Departments'''
187	!!'''Set Designer''' / '''Location Scout'''
188	This is never easy as you think. Besides the whole "created world" versus "some version of our world" choice, there's a bigger concern: putting the reader there.
189
190	The trip up is, of course, this is a balancing act. Under do it, and your readers will have no idea of setting at all. [[SceneryPorn Overdo it]], and other things suffer. And this balance is different depending on the story-- sometimes, simply saying your two characters are in a small room is enough. Other times, to properly set up a thwarted [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs storming the castle]], you may need the ChekhovsGun of the super cool defense set up in the first chapter. Then you need to decide how much of a surprise you want it to be.
191
192	Another issue is one a lot of writers miss. Even if you supposedly set your story in "our" world, [[RealityIsUnrealistic you often end up bending things]] to suit the narrative. You never truly set your story in reality. The Chicago in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' isn't real; neither is the LA in ''VideoGame/BlackDahlia''.
193
194	The issue, rather, is how to invoke your version of a place in the story. If it's a real place or one spawned in your head, the drive is the same. Put the reader there, and don't look foolish to those who've been there. If you set your story in Toronto, it's all well and good to mention Kensington Market and "The King of Kensington"-- but if you set your story in 1974, someone's going to realize Al Waxman didn't start playing the King until the year after.
195
196	With a whole-cloth setting, this is still true-- except the only resource you have to start is you. Meaning '''you''' are the only one to blame if a PlotHole related to the setting comes up. Contradict what you established on page one without setting up something properly for it, and you'll have the reader shouting "AssPull" and throwing the book against the wall.
197
198	The elements of setting aren't just maps and scenery, or even grand cultures (though those can help). The setting is revealed in something as simple as daily routine-- if you go to a well whenever you need water, you likely don't have indoor plumbing. And that says certain things about the technology of your setting. Likewise, if someone addresses the lone female in a group as if it's natural she'd be in charge, that says something, too. People and things are both products of and have an effect on how your setting is revealed to the reader/ viewer. Realize this. Use it.
199
200	Of course, if your story is set in a specific location, then you should ''know your setting''.
201	# Visit the place yourself. If your story is set in London, then you're more likely to be able to vividly, accurately and effectively recreate it if you have some experience of what it's like to be in London; not just where the famous landmarks are, but how the streets are planned, what the weather's like at particular times of the year, even what it smells like in certain regions. Most people have seen a picture of the Houses of Parliament, but if you actually visit it then you can get a sense of what the surrounding area is like, in order to describe it.
202	# If you can't directly visit the place yourself, then find other ways of experiencing it. If you live in Brisbane and your novel is set in London, then it might not be practical to visit London regularly; however, you can still access a large amount of literature and text about London -- read stories and watch films set in London, read travel guides and memoirs based on London, talk to people who have been to London, etc. This even applies to more fantastical realms; if your story is set in an alien jungle, then obviously you can't go to an alien planet but you ''can'' go to a nearby Botanical Gardens and visit the tropical plants house to get a sense of what it's like in that part of a biosystem.
203	# Base your settings closer to home. Walk the streets around your house, visit local places, get a feel for it. You can just as easily set your story in your hometown as anywhere else, or extrapolate a more fantastical setting based on your hometown.
204
205	!!'''Props Department'''
206	Any props that you use should be [[ChekhovsGun established as early as possible]]. If it's important for the climax of your work that the hero bests the villain in a sword fight, then you're going to want to give him a sword and experience in using it as early as possible; if he just produces a sword and the ability to use it [[AssPull out of nowhere]] at the end, the reader will feel cheated. That said, you don't have to be too obvious or clunky about it; try not to give away too much too soon.
207
208	!!'''Costume Designer'''
209	Many amateur authors go to great lengths to describe what their characters are wearing. This can work better in some genres than in others, especially when the story is going to a visual medium, but in most cases an über-detailed description isn't needed. Especially when the time of the media leap/adaptation arrives and the director designates a costume designer with his or her own ideas.
210
211	If you don't give ''any'' description of clothing, then people will assume the character is clothed in a manner that makes sense for the time, place, and the reactions of those who interact with the character. (Don't worry, they won't assume he's naked unless he's at a nudist colony.) If your character is a caveman, a pioneer, a sailor, a pirate, an astronaut, a bank teller, a [[CorruptCorporateExecutive CEO]], a surgeon, a journalist, a harried mother... each of these carries with it some [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools stereotype]] that makes you think of a certain level of clothing. You probably saw the CEO in a business suit - that's good. But since we ''do'' make assumptions about the visuals, you as the writer have the chance to toy with us a bit, subverting our expectations in a fun or dramatic fashion.
212
213	If you decide that your characters' outfit must be described, or at least pointed out, you have to ask yourself the following questions before:
214
215	* Is it appropriate for the character? How can a real person in a similar situation move in this outfit?
216	* Can the attire in question be congruent with the historical period the story is placed? If not, is there a believable reason for that?
217	* Are the clothes really representative/appropriate/useful for my character, or am I just cramming any kind of AuthorAppeal into them?
218	* Do the clothes say something about the character? What, exactly?
219	* Does the description of the clothing contribute somehow to the characterization or the plot?
220	* Does the public ''really have to read/watch'' a paragraph/2 minutes of zooms and pan/a large 2-pages spread depicting the cute fashionable dress/the kickass armor my protagonist is wearing?
221
222	!!'''Casting Director'''
223	Because of the MarySue backlash and the rise of "more realistic" stories, there is an increasing amount of writing about average-looking people. While this is generally good and applauded, this could deviate in several ways:
224
225	* Falling in the old dichotomy BeautyEqualsGoodness Vs Ugly=Evil in an attempt to subvert this.
226	* Unleash the AntiSue.
227
228	Don't be ashamed to write about pretty people. Just don't indulge in endless [[SourGrapesTropes sour grapes]] {{wangst}}, and your public will forgive you. Mostly.
229
230	If you want to avoid these problems, the recommendation is not avoiding physical descriptions entirely, but instead characterize with few elements. In fiction, a character's actions and attitudes shape their appearance; if you have a character do an evil thing and then touch their facial hair, The Reader will automatically picture a Snidely-Whiplash mustachio or a BeardOfEvil. This goes for positive / good-guy characters too: you can have a character be a nice person and then let The Reader's imagination do the rest. Seriously, who's better at envisioning a character The Reader finds attractive: you? Or The Reader? So, give only the pertinent details, avoiding [[PurpleProse purpley]] [[HypocriticalHumor adjectivation]], and then leave it alone. It's better if your readers have their own mental images. Let them ''be'' the Casting Director.
231
232	!!'''Stunt Department'''
233	Be keenly aware of the medium you are writing for when putting stunts into your story. Many impressive physical feats only work in the movies (and other visual media) because describing them with words commonly ruins the timing and pace. One of the reasons is that most action scenes in the movies have several things happening at the same time:
234	* TheHero punches TheDragon, TheDragon dodges while countering with a hidden knife...
235	Notice how the time you need to read through that sentence is much longer than the actual actions it describes. A text is linear (you can only read one word at a time) while a motion picture is holistic (you notice or can notice many details at once), therefore, just like with the clothes and appearances, avoid describing in great detail each move that a character makes in your book, because it simply won't be as interesting as it is in the movies.
236
237	If you don't believe us, try writing down the highway ChaseScene from ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'' in literary language ''and'' maintaining the dramatic tension. If you succeed, you are either an experienced thriller novel writer or a literary genius, and either way this article can't help you -- you should be ''writing'' it, not reading it. (So get cracking! The Edit button's at the top of the page.)
238	----
239	!'''Extra Credit'''
240	!!'''The Greats'''
241	Just search any Literature Classics section in the bookstore/library, or ask the old man under the bridge who sells second-hand books. Read an awful lot. Read in your chosen genre, of course, but try to sample something from everywhere. Reread the books and stories you love best (or, if you like film, rewatch the films you love best) and spend some time figuring out ''why'' they work so well.
242
243	!!'''The Epic Fails'''
244	Most of the works listed here as being DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible got there for a reason.[[note]]Okay, [[HateDumb two reasons -- that page wasn't moved to the Darth Wiki for nothing.]][[/note]] Read or watch one to get a good idea of what not to do.
245	----
246	!'''Further Reading'''

Context SoYouWantTo / WriteAStory