History SoYouWantTo / WriteAStory

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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 BlackDahlia.

Whether you want it or not, your story will also have structure, [[{{Aesop}} 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.

Most of the works listed here as being DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible got there for a reason.[[hottip:*:Okay, [[HateDumb two reasons -- that page wasn't moved to the Darth Wiki for nothing.]] Read or watch one to get a good idea of what not to do.

* '''[[ColorCodedForYourConvenience Colors]]:''' Each character gets a color, which usually informs some aspect of their personality. White might indicate TheMessiah, yellow TheDitz, pink TheChick (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.
* '''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 TheMessiah vs. the guy who'll ShootTheDog).

* '''Moral Codes:''' {{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 TheMessiah vs. the guy who'll ShootTheDog).

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 TheDresdenFiles isn't real; neither is the LA in BlackDahlia.

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 adjectivation]], and then leave it alone. It's better if your readers have their own mental images. Let them ''be'' the Casting Director.

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 [[{{Pettanko}} in the way you're thinking, either]]).

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 TheDresdenFiles isn't real; neither is the LA in BlackDahlia.

Of course, if your story is set in a specific location, then you should ''know your setting''.

# 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.

* 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?

If you don't believe us, try writing down the highway ChaseScene from ''[[TheMatrix Matrix Reloaded]]'' 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.)

Most of the works listed here as being DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible got there for a reason.[[hottip:*:Okay, [[HateDumb two reasons]] -- that page wasn't moved to the DarthWiki for nothing.]] Read or watch one to get a good idea of what not to do.

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 laments. 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 author have met fame and fortune writing disguised versions of their family exploits.

* '''[[AnimalStereotypes Animals]]:''' Each major character gets an animal "totem" that shows off the basic feel of the character. ''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 "[[ReptilesAreAbhorrent snake]]" of the series.

You'll want to [[SoYouWantTo/MakeInterestingCharacters MakeInterestingCharacters]], [[SoYouWantTo/DevelopCharacterPersonality develop their personalities]], and consider their roles in the story (CharacterizationTropes, CharactersAsDevice).

Also, you may hear that TrueArt is [[TrueArtIsAngsty angsty]], [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible incomprehensible]], [[TrueArtIsOffensive 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.

All of the rest of this advice is suggestions for how to accomplish that.

The basic idea of a {{plot}}:

# [[TheProtagonist A character]]...

# ...wants something ''badly''...

This basic {{plot}} plays out as a Protagonist opposed by an Antagonist (which could be a character, or society, or an object, or a natural disaster, etc.), set in some location. So at minimum, you'll need CharacterizationTropes, [[{{Settings}} Place Tropes]], and [[{{Plots}} Plot Tropes]].

You ''can'' write a story without a {{plot}}, or without characters, or without any sense of place, but you'd have to be a genius to make it worth reading. Since you're probably not a genius yet, consider these {{trope}}s a ''necessity''.

* '''[[AnimalStereotypes Animals]]:''' Each major character gets an animal "totem" that shows off the basic feel of the character. ''ElfQuest'' did this with Cutter, Leetah, Skywise, and Rayek: a 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 "[[ReptilesAreAbhorrent snake]]" of the series.

Many amateur authors, usually females ones, 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.

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 Over do 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 [=~Chekhov's Gun~=] 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.

Most of the works listed here as being [[DarthWiki/{{Ptitlew9bltta3dv6n}} So Bad It's Horrible]] got there for a reason.[[hottip:*:Okay, [[HateDumb two reasons]] -- that page wasn't moved to the DarthWiki for nothing.]] Read or watch one to get a good idea of what not to do.
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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 WallBanger 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 into the-- well, you know.

If you don't believe us, try writing down the highway ChaseScene from ''[[TheMatrix Matrix Reloaded]]'' 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.)

!!'''The Epic Fails'''
Just see anything that has fallen into the DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible category.

* Falling in the old dichotomy Beauty=Good Vs Ugly=Evil in an attempt to subvert this.

!'''Necessary Tropes'''

The basic idea of a plot:

# A character...

This basic plot plays out as a Protagonist opposed by an Antagonist (which could be a character, or society, or an object, or a natural disaster, etc.), set in some location. So at minimum, you'll need CharacterizationTropes, [[{{Settings}} Place Tropes]], and [[{{Plots}} Plot Tropes]].

You ''can'' write a story without a plot, or without characters, or without any sense of place, but you'd have to be a genius to make it worth reading. Since you're probably not a genius yet, consider these tropes a ''necessity''.

Just see anything that has fallen into the SoBadItsHorrible category.

Any props that you use should be 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.

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 Over do 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 [[AllYourBaseBelongToUs storming the castle]], you may need the [=~Chekhov's Gun~=] 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.