posted
(reposted from the wrong forum) Hi, I'm new here, and already I need a little assistance if possible. I seem to have a knack for writing reasonable (very) short pieces (so I'm told), but am unnable to expand these 'encounters' into what I would consider a short story.
Normally this wouldn't actually bother me, after all only about three people (including me) ever read what I write.
However, I have recently started running a role-playing game (kinda like Dungeons & Dragons) online on a message board. This means that I not only need to brush up on writing skills, but my ability to extend a plot worth being involved in.
Answers on a postcard to .... (well OK here will do, or you can mail me at freeman82@btinternet.com)
posted
I know what that's like. I would say that perhaps you should try to go into [a little] more detail on parts. It is difficult to say, because each person writes differently. If you would be willing to share with me, perhaps I could help...
Posts: 101 | Registered: Dec 2002
|
posted
For the most part, at the moment, I'm just after pointers, although I will be asking for more 'content-related' assistance in the proper forum ...
Posts: 32 | Registered: Apr 2003
|
posted
I've never written a plan for a Dungeouns and Dragons game myself, so I don't know that my advice will be helpful.
But a story flows from an initial situation, the laws of reality, and the characters in that situation.
You're initial situation can be anything. The laws of reality then determine what is possible as a result. If I am not mistaken, since you are using an established system, coming up with the above shouldn't be hard.
So you are left with what the characters will be trying to accomplish within the context of what is and what might be. The player characters are not under your direct control, of course, but if you know them well, or at least know their motivations, you can predict the outcomes that they will attempt to achieve. Obviously, you control all the non-player characters, including all the villians. The villians want to thwart the players, I imagine. Or if they are not sentient, they exist to thwart the players.
posted
No story is too short. I've seen one-sentence stories proclaimed to be short stories. If the story has a beginning, middle, and ending, takes place in one setting and has enough characters for the scene to take place, then it qualifies as a short story.
Likewise, your D&D writeups can be as long or short as you like. You might consider writing up an outline first and then writing the story around said outline. Or you might consider writing up summaries of each game; some people would prefer the summary as they can quickly figure out what happened instead of taking a while to read the tale.
Of course, I'm not the best of people to ask on this as even my short stories read like novels. <wink>
Printer-friendly view of this topic
