This index holds the various pages of the So You Want to namespace. Go to Write a Story and Be Original for basic advice that transcends genre boundaries.
If You Want to Suggest a Page. There is a rather large section at the tail end of the article. It is separated into the same sections as the rest of the article—as shown by order of appearance—though not labeled. Feel free to add suggestions using the existing format, and please look there first if you wish to write up a page.
To Write Up a Suggested Page: Make the title into a link (get rid of the spaces, and stick a slash between the So You Want to and the name of the page, like this: SoYouWantTo/SeeHowToDoThis). Move it onto its own line somewhere in the appropriate section.
To Start a New (Unsuggested) Page: Just create a bulleted link at the end of the appropriate section, then click on it, click the Edit Page button, and start editing.
To Expand an Existing Page. There are a few pages that need expanding. If you see one and you feel like you're up to it, please do so.
To Get the Template: Head over to See a Template, open it for editing, and copy the template at the bottom of the page. Then come back here, click on the link for the page you want to create, open it for editing, paste in the template, and start filling in the sections. There you go!
Compare TV Tropes "How to" Guides. Contrast Things You Are Not Allowed to Do. See also So You Want to.Make a Joke About the So You Want to Namespace
The Basics
This article covers advice for all writers, regardless of genre or medium; it's the stuff that would go on every page, but instead we put it on this one page and just point you over here:
- Write a Story
- Be Original
- Make Interesting Characters
- Develop Character Personality
- Write Dialogue (needs expansion)
- Limit the Hero's Choices
- Build Your Own Fictional World
- Be a Long-Runner
- Recap
- Name a Character
- Name a Work (Needs expansion)
- Write a Good Summary
- Write an Ending
- See a Templatenote
See also Story Structure Architect and The Hollywood Formula.
Visual and Literary Genres
The tropes that make the genre:
- Write an Abridged Series (Could use expansion)
- Write an Action Movie
- Write an Adventure Story (Needs expansion)
- Write an Aesop
- Write an Alien Invasion Story
- Write an Alternate Continuity (Needs expansion)
- Write an Alternate History
- Write a Black Comedy
- Write a Conspiracy Theory
- Write a Cosmic Horror Story (Needs expansion)
- Write a Creepypasta (under construction, please expand)
- Write a Crossover
- Write a Cyberpunk Story
- Write a Dark Fantasy
- Write a Detective Novel
- Write a Diesel Punk Story
- Write a Dom Com
- Write a Dystopia
- Write a Film Noir
- Write a Folk Song
- Write a Furry Comic
- Write a Game Anime
- Write a Gaming Comic
- Write a Good Yaoi
- Write a Gothic Story (needs plot ideas and candidates for epic fails)
- Write a Hard Science-Fiction Story with Space Travel
- Write a Harem Anime
- Write a Heroic Fantasy
- Write a High Fantasy
- Write a Horror Comedy
- Write a Horror Story (could use expansion)
- Write a Humongous Mecha Anime
- Write a Kid Novel
- Write a Korean Drama (Needs expansion)
- Write a Lit RPG (Under construction)
- Write a Love Story
- Write a Magical Girl Series
- Write a Magical Girlfriend Series
- Write a Mon Series
- Write a Police Procedural
- Write a Romantic Comedy
- Write a Science-Fiction Story
- Write a Screwball Comedy
- Write a Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll Story
- Write a Shonen Series
- Write a Shoujo Series (Needs help. Maybe not a total rewrite, though.)
- Write a Sitcom
- Write a Slasher Horror Story
- Write a Space Opera (Under construction)
- Write a Steampunk Story
- Write a Superhero Comic
- Write a Teen Drama
- Write a Time-Travel Story (NEEDS expansion, more details)
- Write an Urban Fantasy
- Write a Vampire Novel
- Write a Very Special Episode (NEEDS expansion)
- Write a War Story
- Write a Young Adult Fantasy (Under construction)
- Write a Yuri Manga
- Write a Zombie Apocalypse
- Write Scheme and Scansion (needs a better description but probably not a total rewrite.)
Interactive Media
- Make a Collectible Card Game
- Play a Console RPG
- Write a Meta Game
- Write a Tabletop RPG
- Write A High Fantasy Tabletop RPG
- Write A Low Fantasy Tabletop RPG
- Write A Dark Fantasy Tabletop RPG
- Write A Modern Day Tabletop RPG
- Write A Supers Tabletop RPG
- Write A Post Apocalyptic Tabletop RPG
- Write A Historic Tabletop RPG
- Write An Alternate History Tabletop RPG
- Write A Science Fiction Tabletop Rpg
- Write A Space Opera Tabletop RPG
- Write A Steampunk Tabletop RPG
- Write A Horror Tabletop RPG
- Write A Niche Tabletop RPG
- Write a Video Game
- Write an Adventure Game
- Write a Dating Sim
- Write a Fighting Game (Needs expansion)
- Write a First-Person Shooter
- Write a Major MMORPG
- Make a Metroidvania
- Write a Minor MMORPG
- Write a Real-Time Strategy
- Write a Romance Sidequest
- Write an RPG
- Write a Survival Horror Game
- Make a Visual Novel
- Write a Western RPG
Medium
This section is for certain media:
- Make a Music Video (needs expansion)
- Write a Fanfic
- Write a Trailer
- Write a Webcomic
Settings, Location
This section is for certain settings and locations in a story
Story Aspects, Scenes and Large Ideas
This section covers things that are either not big enough to be an entire genre or too big to be only for one genre (but are still not all encompassing enough to go to the basics section).
- Bring A Character Back To Life (under construction)
- Create a Conlang (under construction)
- Create a Mythopoeia (could be expanded)
- Create a Rogues Gallery
- Create Believable Aliens
- Deconstruct a Trope (under construction, please expand)
- Design an Alien Mind
- Kill a Character
- Make the Narrator a Character
- Make Urban Legends True
- Mind Screw the Audience
- Player Punch the Audience
- Reconstruct a Trope (under construction, please expand)
- Use Some Phlebotinum
- Write a Believable Masquerade
- Write a Character of the Opposite Gender
- Write an Excuse Plot (under construction, please expand)
- Write a Fight Scene (under construction, please expand)
- Write a Functional Magic System
- Write a Kid-Friendly Series
- Write Loads and Loads of Characters
- Write a Sex Scene
- Write the Squad
Groundbreaking Works
An overview of how these works rose to the top of the food chain, and how you might duplicate their success:
- Write the Next "Danganronpa" (under construction, please expand)
- Write the Next "Doctor Who"
- Write the Next "Fate/stay night"
- Write the Next "Gundam" (under construction, please expand)
- Write the Next "Harry Potter"
- Write the Next "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality"
- Write the Next "Kamen Rider" (expansion needed)
- Write the Next "Life is Strange"
- Write the Next "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic"
- Write the Next "Sonic the Hedgehog" (under construction, please expand)
- Write the Next "Star Trek"
- Write the Next "Super Robot Wars" (under construction, please expand)
- Write the Next "Super Sentai"
- Write the Next "TMNT"
- Write the Next "X/1999"
- Write the Next "X-Files"
Major Authors
These are for advice on what to study to improve your craft, given your target genres, demographics, and mediums:
- Be the Next Grant Morrison
- Be the Next H.P. Lovecraft
- Be the Next J. R. R. Tolkien
- Be the Next Shinichiro Watanabe (under construction, please expand)
- Be the Next Stan Lee
- Be the Next Stephen King
- Be the Next William Shakespeare
Individual Characters
Writing a story is hard but writing believable characters, the core of any good story, is even harder at times.
We need tropers to create new pages of these standard characters, and start giving advice on how to craft them! In the meantime, you can visit 45 Master Characters and The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes & Heroines for some basic character templates.
- Avoid Writing a Mary Sue — also a Troublesome Trope
- Write an Action Girl
- Write a Badass (could use expansion)
- Write a Cloudcuckoolander
- Write a Complete Monster
- Write an Expy
- Write a Five-Man Band
- Write a Four-Temperament Ensemble
- Write a Harem Hero
- Write a Lawyer-Friendly Cameo
- Write a Magnificent Bastard
- Write the Squad
- Write a Villain
- Write a Villainous Breakdown (could use expansion)
- Write a Woobie
- Write a Yandere (needs expansion)
Creator Jobs
Writing a story is important, but writers aren't the only ones doing work. Most creative mediums are collaborative, and many people help to make a quality product. This section is for those who want a specific job in any of the creative industries or want to do a specific creative aspect for a work. Pages should detail some of the finer points about such jobs and if possible give proven ways to get into such careers.
- Be an Animator (Needs expansion)
- Be a Booker
- Be a Caustic Critic
- Be a Voice Actor (Needs expansion)
- Become a Visual Kei Musician
- Design a Film Poster
Troublesome Tropes
We all know that Tropes Are Tools. But some of them tend to be useful only in the hands of a Master Craftsman. So here are some pages to help you avoid those tropes... at least until you know what the heck you're doing.
- Avoid Breaking Your Aesops
- Avoid Filler in Your Writing
- Avoid the Theme Park Version
- Avoid Unfortunate Implications
- Avoid Writing a Designated Hero or Villain
- Avoid Writing a Mary Sue
Suggested Pages
- Write A Breather Episode
- Write A Grand Finale
- Write A Hate Sink
- Write A Distant Finale
- Write A Miniseries
- Kill The Big Bad
- Write A Final Battle
- Be Descriptive
- Write A Synopsis
- Write A Back Story
- Write An Establishing Character Moment Or An Establishing Series Moment
- Break The Cutie
- Get Crap Past The Radar
- Write Current Events Commentary In A Work
- Avoid Post Modernism
- Write A Doorstopper
- Start A Play By Post Game
- Properly Foreshadow
- Write A School Slice Of Life
- Write An Inn Between The Worlds
- Write An I Know Youre In There Somewhere Fight
- Write A Will They Or Wont They
- Write An RPG Horror Game
- Pitch ATV Show
- Write A Crapsaccharine World
- Write A Child Character
- Rescue A Character From The Scrappy Heap
- Write The Virus
- Portray Rape Accurately
- Make A Character Customizer
- Make A Fanvid
- Write A Romantic Relationship
- Write A Disabled Character
- Write A Web Serial
- Portray Depression Accurately
- Write Narm
So You Want to Write a Genre
- Write A Surreal Horror Story
- Write A Cloning Story
- Write A Cozy Mystery
- Write A Disaster Movie
- Write A Dramedy
- Write A Fantasy Americana
- Write A Fantasy Kitchen Sink
- Write Folklore
- Write A Humanity Ensues Story
- Write A Horror
- Write A Kaiju Story
- Write A Low Fantasy
- Write A Medical Drama
- Write A Military Science Fiction Story
- Write A Mystery
- Write A Murder Mystery
- Write A Myth Punk Story
- Write Oscar Bait
- Write A Picaresque Story
- Write A Portal Fantasy
- Write A Post Apocalyptic Story
- Write A Road Trip Movie
- Write A Satire
- Write A Saturday Morning Cartoon
- Write A Science Fantasy Story
- Write A Self Insert Fic
- Write A Self Parody
- Write A Short Story
- Write A Slice Of Life
- Write A Soap Opera
- Write A Space Western
- Write A Spectacle Fighter
- Write A Speculative Fiction Story
- Write A Sports Story
- Write A Spy Fiction Story
- Write A Supernatural Romance
- Write A Sung Through Musical
- Write A Telenovela
- Write Tokusatsu
- Write A Tragedy
- Write An Urban Fiction Story
- Write An Urban Legend
- Write A Variety Show
- Write A Video Review Show
- Write A Western
- Write A Weird West
- Write A Xenofiction
So You Want to Stand Out in a Medium
- Make A Mobile Game
- Make A Pinball Machine
- Make A Point And Click Adventure Game
- Write A Dungeons And Dragons Campaign Setting
So You Want to Write the Next Great Work
- Write The Next Ace Attorney
- Write The Next Adventure Time
- Write The Next Artemis Fowl
- Write The Next Avatar The Last Airbender
- Write The Next Bambi
- Write The Next Ben 10
- Write The Next Bionicle
- Write The Next Bleach
- Write The Next Bo Jack Horseman
- Write The Next Breaking Bad
- Write The Next Calvin And Hobbes
- Write The Next Coco
- Write The Next Cucumber Quest
- Write The Next Death Note
- Write The Next Doki Doki Literature Club
- Write The Next Dragon Quest
- Write The Next Fallout Equestria
- Write The Next Fifty Shades Of Grey
- Write The Next Final Fantasy
- Write The Next Fire Emblem
- Write The Next Freaks And Geeks
- Write The Next Frollo Show
- Write The Next Frozen
- Write The Next Fullmetal Alchemist
- Write The Next Glee
- Write The Next Gravity Falls
- Write The Next Hamilton
- Write The Next Harvest Moon
- Write The Next Home Movies
- Write The Next Homestar Runner
- Write The Next Homestuck
- Write The Next Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure
- Write The Next Lazy Town
- Write The Next Legendof Zelda
- Write The Next Lion King
- Write The Next Little Witch Academia
- Write The Next Love Live
- Write The Next Looney Tunes
- Write The Next Lord Of The Rings
- Write The Next Metal Gear Solid
- Write The Next My Hero Academia
- Write The Next Natasha Pierre And The Great Comet Of 1812
- Write The Next Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Write The Next One Piece
- Write The Next Peanuts
- Write The Next Phineas And Ferb
- Write The Next Pitch Perfect
- Write The Next Popeye
- Write The Next Powerpuff Girls
- Write The Next Pretty Cure
- Write The Next Puzzle And Dragons
- Write The Next Ratatouille
- Write The Next Regular Show
- Write The Next Rick And Morty
- Write The Next Rocky And Bullwinkle
- Write The Next Sailor Moon
- Write The Next Samurai Jack
- Write The Next Scooby Doo
- Write The Next Sesame Street
- Write The Next Simpsons
- Write The Next Sponge Bob Square Pants
- Write The Next Stand Still Stay Silent
- Write The Next Star Vs The Forces Of Evil
- Write The Next Star Wars
- Write The Next Steven Universe
- Write The Next Stranger Things
- Write The Next Tales Series
- Write The Next Team Fortress 2
- Write The Next Transformers
- Write The Next Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Write The Next Undertale
- Write The Next Watchmen
- Write The Next Welcome To Night Vale
- Write The Next Wicked
- Write The Next Zero Escape
- Write The Next Zootopia
So You Want to Be the Next Creator
- Avoid Being the Next Dan Brown
- Avoid Being the Next J. J. Abrams
- Avoid Being the Next Michael Bay
- Be the Next Agatha Christie
- Be the Next Alex Hirsch
- Be the Next Andrew Hussie
- Be the Next Beatles
- Be the Next Bill Nye
- Be the Next David Lynch
- Be the Next Frank Welker
- Be the Next George Lucas
- Be the Next George R. R. Martin
- Be the Next Go Nagai
- Be the Next Hayao Miyazaki
- Be the Next Hideo Kojima
- Be the Next Hirohiko Araki
- Be the Next Big Indie Game Developer/Daisuke Amaya/Notch/Scott Cawthon
- Be the Next Jim Henson
- Be the Next Joss Whedon
- Be the Next Judd Apatow
- Be the Next Kurt Vonnegut
- Be the Next M. Night Shyamalan
- Avoid Being the Next M. Night Shyamalan
- Be the Next Philip K. Dick
- Be the Next Pixar
- Be the Next Robert Ludlum
- Be the Next Dwayne McDuffie
- Be the Next Scott The Woz
- Be the Next Shigeru Miyamoto
- Be the next Sierra/LucasArts
- Be the Next Stanley Kubrick
- Be the Next Terry Pratchett
- Be the Next Toby Fox
- Be the Next Tom Clancy
- Be the Next Walt Disney
- Be the Next Yoshiyuki Tomino
- Be the Next ZUN
So You Want to Write a Character Type
- Write an Author Avatar
- Write a Chessmaster
- Write a Diabolical Mastermind
- Write an Evil Counterpart
- Write an Evil Overlord
- Write a Four-Philosophy Ensemble
- Write a Goth (any sort)
- Write a Guile Hero
- Write The Hero
- Write a Heroic Comedic Sociopath
- Write a High-School Hustler
- Write a Insufferable Genius
- Write a Keet
- Write a Love Interest
- Write a Manic Pixie Dream Girl
- Write an Ordinary High-School Student
- Write a Phantom Thief
- Write a Plucky Comic Relief
- Write a Silent Protagonist
- Write a Tsundere
- Write an Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist
- Write a Villain Protagonist
- Write a Yandere
So You Want to Be a Profession
- Be a Game Master
- Cast a Hollywood Blockbuster
- Pick a Filming Location
So You Want to Avoid Pitfalls
- Avoid Creating an Allegedly Free Game
- Avoid Being Anvilicious
- Avoid Arc Fatigue
- Avoid Author Tract
- Avoid Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy
- Avoid Flanderization
- Avoid Glurge
- Avoid Misaimed Fandom
- Avoid Narm
- Avoid Padding
- Avoid Plagiarism
- Avoid Plot Holes
- Avoid Poe's Law
- Avoid a Relationship Writing Fumble
- Avoid Turning A Genius Bonus Into Viewers Are Geniuses
- Avoid Wangst
- Avoid Writing a Cliché Storm
- Avoid Writing a Scrappy Or Creator's Pet
- Avoid Writing an Idiot Plot or a What an Idiot! moment
- Avoid Writing a Romantic Plot Tumor or Strangled by the Red String plot
- Avoid Making Adults Useless
- Avoid Accidental Innuendo (and possibly other "unintentional sexiness" like Ho Yay and unintentional UST)