Nolafus

Aspiring something

Age 27
Male
Lost in thought... again
Seen March 3rd, 2018
Posted March 11th, 2017
5,722 posts
10.9 Years
Before I begin, I would just like to thank everyone for expressing their interest in this. Being completely honest, I'm quite nervous about this. I was looking through the sign up thread and thinking, "Oh crap, these people actually want to learn something." So, this is basically going to be a test run. I'd love your honest feedback about this, if you have any, so don't be afraid to message me about stuff. This is for you after all, and if there's any way I can improve, let me know.

This week is meant to just be an introduction, so I'm teaching a possible new way to look at things, rather than something completely new. Don't worry, I'll get to more stuff starting next week, but for now, here's an introduction!

What is a story?

Today, I’ll be covering what a story exactly is. From character backgrounds, to figuring out which words to use, there’s a lot more that’s going on in stories than meets the eye. As a writer, you’re going to have to face all of these things. Knowing what a story is will help lay the foundation down, so that I can help you build off of that in the next few weeks. We’ll start off with the literal translation, since that’s probably the easiest.

Every story that has ever been written is a bunch of scenes strung together in a timeline that’s supposed to form some kind of plot. That’s it, just a bunch of events strung together. It’s your job as the storyteller to write this. It sounds simple, but deceivingly so. The hard part comes with forming the events themselves. Which characters shall I use? What shall I put them through? What will this add to the overall plot? What’s the goal of this scene?

Those are some basic questions you should be able to answer for each scene. Sometimes the answers come easy, and sometimes the answers can be hard to reach. Either way, they must be answered. Those questions can apply to other things as well, such as the entire story. The entire story is an event in itself. Think of a fractal. You know, those complicated shapes we learned about in geometry that have a never ending, repeating pattern. For the sake of an example, let’s think of a tree. The entire story is the trunk, the part of the tree that is condensed into one big branch. As we travel up the tree, or deeper into the story, we see that the big branch splits off into more branches, just like how the big story can be broken up into two, maybe three, big events. As we travel farther up, we see that the branches split off again, and again, and again. Hopefully you’re starting to get the picture. Each event can be broken down into more events, and then those events can be broken down further.

The point I’m trying to make is that, as the writer, it’s your job to make these. You’re creating this fractal of events, and you have to bring them down into one idea, the trunk of your story. It’s actually quite an amazing process. You don’t really realize you’re doing it until you take a moment to step back and really look at what your work. In other words, it’s a natural part of writing a story. The part you have to think about is what events actually make it into your story, and how you’re going to link them together. That’s the job of the writer. It might seem like an overwhelming task once you start picking events, but that just leads into our next section, the meaning.

Just like with events, every story has a meaning. Harry Potter taught us that if there’s a will, there’s a way. It may not be obvious at first, but once you start writing out an idea and starting to flesh it out, it should become apparent. Now, not every story has some deep, philosophical meaning behind it. Some stories are just meant to entertain people, and that’s fine. It might seem like your story is one of those, but if you really think about it, I guarantee that those types of stories are in the minority.

Once you start tossing around an idea, events will pop up in your mind. In fact, you’ll most likely think up of a lot more events than you could possibly use. A lot of these events will contradict each other. So, it’s your job as the writer to decide which one you will use. If you want your story to work, you have to decide on a meaning, or theme, you’re constantly trying to get at. Once you have that meaning down, it’s a lot easier to filter out the events that don’t promote that.

I say you want to find a meaning, because it will help your story stay on a linear path. Writing a story is a lot of hard work, and can quickly become overwhelming if you just start writing willy nilly. I speak from personal experience that it’s a lot easier to write something out if you have a plan and don’t have to hold a bunch of themes down and tie them together with an ending that probably won’t make much sense.

So, I just took the long route of saying all a story is, is a string of events that follow a certain theme. No matter how long a story is, or how complicated it may seem, it can always be broken down into different events, with a main message running throughout. Try taking a moment and reflect back on a book you have read. What do you think the message was? What were some of the events, and what are some of the events that made up that event?

As a homework assignment (optional, of course), I would like you to think of a story idea, and possibly identify a message the story is trying to get across. Since the story will be a concept at this point, there’s not much to critique, so I don’t really need to see these. Instead, why not post your idea in the comments and see what other people have come up with? I would really recommend thinking of a story as later on, I’ll be asking you to create characters, make scenes, and various things that would be so much easier if you already had a way to tie them together. Plus, it would be pretty cool to come out of this with a story idea that’s pretty much fleshed out already.

Now that we have laid the foundation down for creative writing, we’re ready for the next lesson. Unfortunately, I’m not, so be sure to come back next Monday for lesson number two, and be sure to contribute to the discussion below, you never know what else you might learn!
PairPC sister

starseed galaxy auticorn

PC's Resident Auticorn

Age 34
she/he/they
the land of magical unicorns
Seen 1 Week Ago
Posted 1 Week Ago
6,648 posts
18.9 Years
Here's my story idea for the homework. It's an older story idea of mine, but I really like it and decided to use it for these classes. :3

Edit: I decided to change my story ideas.

Basically, I want to write a story about a princess who's overweight. Everyone always pictures princesses to be slim and beautiful. No one ever notices the girls who are overweight and don't always feel like a princess because of their weight. Basically, my story is about a girl named Savannah who is overweight and becomes a princess later on. I haven't yet sorted out the ideas, but I'm hoping these classes will be able to help me.

Legendary Silke

You like dragons?

Seen December 23rd, 2021
Posted April 22nd, 2020
5,925 posts
12.5 Years
I've always been a fan of exploring strange things with my imagination, so here goes.

A person suddenly finds himself a monster (and not of the cute variety) and now has to deal with handling his life after that point. (Yep.) (Ever considered what makes us human?)

(Not of the cute variety because if it were, well... I think... Maybe I should entertain both.)

Nathan

Blade of Justice

Age 25
Male
Earth
Seen January 1st, 2023
Posted September 23rd, 2022
4,066 posts
10.9 Years
I've always had this in the back of my head. Keep in mind I'm a fan of apocalyptic settings and demons.

The world was overtaken by demons from the underworld. Some teens were gifted amazing powers and decided to rise and fight for what can still be saved.
|| ||

Fenris

Seen 2 Days Ago
Posted December 20th, 2018
98 posts
12.9 Years
I have three ideas I'm mulling around; two are fanfics though, so I'll probably just toss in the that isn't

So basically, a tag outcast is abducted suddenly by aliens while trying to find things that were stolen from him by bullies. He's sold to an extraterrestrial princess in a galaxy far from our own, and has to somehow communicate with her and a cast of others to make his way back. Along the way however, an even bigger problem presents itself, and he has to make a choice.

I'll post up the fanfic ideas as well if anyone wants, if they're relevant/allowed for this that is.

Chocolate™

Awesome Dragon

Male
PC.
Seen May 16th, 2019
Posted June 6th, 2015
666 posts
11.3 Years
Well I did have an idea about a fantasy world with it's whole history and that kind of thing. I've been planning this for a long time. So here it goes:

Spoiler:
Behind our own world there are many dimensions. Each dimension has it's own characteristic features such as mythological creatures, elements, minerals and that kind of people. There is an international peace-keeping organization called <insert name here> who maintain peace between the dimensions. Then there are all these myths about somebody named (at the moment) Rythian who managed to unify all the dimensions and set up the peace keeping organization.

About ten thousand years later an Indo-American guy named Steve joins the school for training and slowly realizes that he is special. He's able to handle the sword that belongs to Rythian which has special properties and has remained dormant for the past ten thousand years. He then has to fight some dark lord who is rising and that kind of stuff.


The stories still pretty basic. I know the plot sound really typical but I'm planning to add a lot of twists and turns in the story. Any comments or suggestions?
Male
Seen July 21st, 2017
Posted June 14th, 2017
1,333 posts
11 Years
Spoiler:
Everyone thought that the [some surname here] family was perfect. The parents maintained a blissful and a pleasant relationship while the kids were doing successful on their respective endeavors. They were an idol, a perfect example of the ideal family every family strives to be. But how will a certain incident quickly change this family forever?


This story was inspired by a certain dysfunctional family from a video game. This family, though, will have a completely different setup from said family. I started forming this idea a few months back, and I didn't have the motivation to write the story then. Aaand, as you can see, I haven't thought of a surname for this family yet. Haha.

there is no fire like passion

Vincent

Often moronically charismatic

Male
Slatesville
Seen November 5th, 2021
Posted June 23rd, 2017
230 posts
9.5 Years
I've always been a big fan of Urban Fantasies. Mostly all of the things I write and stocked on my writing folder are urban fantasies.. That aside my story is this...
Spoiler:

What if you were kidnapped? Bound, gagged and thrown into a secluded underground location merely known as the "Site". You wake up,a scar imprinted on your wrist,and finding out you were chosen as a "representative" for a higher power whose existence is a mystery to all. You were tasked to fight to the death with other "representatives" whom have some kind of power. What will you do? Fight? Like you have any other choice. Escape is impossible. The only escape you know is death.


I hope it's not that too mediocre >_<

countryemo

Kicking against the earth!

Age 29
Male
Littleroot Town
Seen February 9th, 2021
Posted September 10th, 2018
2,367 posts
13.5 Years
Hm a little Sci-Fi, kinda rough but its just an idea.

"Nymi was the paradise planet of Secter 49, full of life, until one day when the stars went out. The stars here were special, they provied the music of the galaxy, and here music was hope, love, and the source of life. Everyone lost their motivation and became hopeless for the future. Now its up to you, Dave Churchill, the one who lived without music to figure out why the starts went out and jumpstart life on Nymi once again."

I've always been a fan of exploring strange things with my imagination, so here goes.

A person suddenly finds himself a monster (and not of the cute variety) and now has to deal with handling his life after that point. (Yep.) (Ever considered what makes us human?)

(Not of the cute variety because if it were, well... I think... Maybe I should entertain both.)
What makes us human Twiggy??
Male
Seen January 1st, 2016
Posted October 24th, 2015
45 posts
9.4 Years
Spoiler:
While pantheons long ago fell out of favor to rationalism and religion in our world, elements of them survived even without belief. Like the embodiment of fate. Long drive insane by her near omnipresence but surprisingly limited powers, immortality, and the general pointlessness of the world around her, Fate has become impoverished and disaffected in the urban jungle. But when a random act of kindness and the threat of incarceration walk into her world, she begins to wonder if she could really change the world for the better and perhaps even find meaning in it.

Can't decide where on the line of heartwarming/existential it would need to fall. Probably closer to the latter because that's just how I write.
Vaira

I try to return reviews, but it might take me a while in bad weeks.

Mochika Rage

sickening, no?

Female
uk
Seen October 1st, 2017
Posted June 17th, 2017
76 posts
9.2 Years
My idea which I thought of right now, because all of my others are fanfiction ideas haha.

Death has overcome the world. The few people who remain are hiding in holes, waiting for their ultimate demise. They wait. And soon they realise that they aren't going to die, and they need to find out why.

I don't even.

bobandbill

one more time

Male
A cape
Seen 7 Hours Ago
Posted 22 Hours Ago
16,786 posts
15.2 Years
Hmm, I like the tree analogy that the main idea would be the trunk, and other ideas/subplots being the branches. I suppose the roots would be the basis the plot stands upon then? A bad base means the theme doesn't make sense, and the tree - or plot - can be uprooted, or just wither.

In other words, I feel that certainly having a main theme to the story makes good sense, but it also has to be thought out well. Don't just force the theme for the sake of it, take everything into account by doing so as well.

Now, not every story has some deep, philosophical meaning behind it. Some stories are just meant to entertain people, and that’s fine. It might seem like your story is one of those, but if you really think about it, I guarantee that those types of stories are in the minority.
Hmm, I initially supposed my first one would fit in that. I did have some smaller themes, subplots, etc added in, but my fic was a parody of a game, and so the only deep meaning it had running through was the one the game had to begin with. But then that probably amounts to the usual Pokémon story - friendship with Pokémon can overcome hardship, etc.

So in a way I guess even that did have a message, even if it wasn't really mine nor all that focused upon... more of a in-between case, maybe.


Story ideas, eh? Well, here's one that I have half-done already, I suppose, although it's been on the backburner for a good while.

Spoiler:
The story is about a gym trainer, starting a good while after she has joined the Gym. Her sole Pokémon however has a problem in being overly aggressive when encountering other Pokémon unless it already knows them very well already. Naturally, this is a problem for someone working in a Gym that regularly gets challenging trainers, and getting other Pokémon instead isn't a simple option either. The overlying theme is that she has to learn to further work with her Pokémon to overcome the problem... and thus become a better trainer as well, not just relying on the Gym Leader to tell her what to do. (But why is that? Oh, I'll never say!~)

It's also an excuse for me to play around with how gyms are run in the games. Can't say it's something I've really seen much focus on in fics either.

Staff Anime Villain Collab - Earl de Darkwood - Interstella 5555

Daily | Drabble Dex | A Change of the Season
The Retelling of Pokémon Colosseum
Paired to Sheep :>

Dansparce

The Unbeatable

Male
Dark Cave
Seen September 20th, 2016
Posted April 14th, 2016
457 posts
10.1 Years
Yes, it's late. But it's better done now than never.

Spoiler:
A modern/futuristic (I’m not too sure of the time period yet) retelling of the tale of Icarus. A teenage boy (not named Icarus) who had been abandoned by his father at a young age discovers that his father had been a great inventor. In particular, he discovers a pair of metallic wings, that to the boy’s surprise, actually seemed to work. After testing the wings out (to varying results), the boy decides to try help people with them under the alias, Icarus.