How to Flesh out a Country or Region in Your Fantasy RPG World - Edit Article Edited by Zach Haffey, Maluniu, Glutted, Nicole Willson and 5 others Hello game master/fantasy author. This is a guide to organizing and sorting out the finer details and aspects of a specific country or region of your world: a format for the living details that help you and your players delve in to the role-playing aspect of your game. Ad Steps 1Short Introductory Summary - Give a one or two paragraph overview of the region or country, highlighting something unique or unusual about it and where it is geographically in your world.Ad 2Life, Society and Culture - This section should detail the culture(s) of the people who populate the region. Tips And for other topics, your providing these details will inspire ideas for larger, overarching plot-lines and the workings of still other regions of your land. Warnings
25 Things You Should Know About Character - StumbleUpon Previous iterations of the “25 Things” series: 25 Things Every Writer Should Know 25 Things You Should Know About Storytelling And now… Here you’ll find the many things I believe — at this moment! 1. Without character, you have nothing. 2. A great character can be the line between narrative life and story death. 3. Don’t believe that all those other aspects are separate from the character. 4. The audience will do anything to spend time with a great character. 5. It is critical to know what a character wants from the start. 6. It doesn’t matter if we “like” your character, or in the parlance of junior high whether we even “like-like” your character. 7. It is critical to smack the audience in the crotchal region with an undeniable reason to give a fuck. 8. You must prove this thesis: “This character is worth the audience’s time.” 9. Don’t let the character be a dingleberry stuck to the ass of a toad as he floats downriver on a bumpy log. 10. 11. 12. 13. The law of threes. 15. 16. 17. 18.
Writing Meaningful Description To the reader? The world of your book is a black box. Devoid of all sensation—no sights, sounds, tastes, smells, or aural pleasantries beyond dialogue. It is up to you and your prowess of description to fill that world out—to let the reader experience it as you would have it experienced. Such power! If you do it right, you can grant readers the ultimate experience: the immersive feeling of actually being in another world. So—what goes into writing evocative descriptions? Show Don’t Tell I know, I know! For example: “The evil trees were scary and dumb looking.” While certainly opinionated, this description of trees somehow manages to avoid telling us anything about how the trees actually looked—it fails to paint even the smallest picture. So, what does one do? For example, “The trees were the dead white of bloodless flesh, with bark that cracked and split, like skin pulled tight over too much meat.” Metaphors, Similes, and Other Comparisons The trees were white as snow. Be Specific
Write to Done Arouse your creativity Electric flesh-arrows … traversing the body. A rainbow of color strikes the eyelids. A foam of music falls over the ears. It is the gong of the orgasm. ~ Anais Nin Creativity is like sex. I know, I know. The people I speak of are writers. Below, I’ve exposed some of their secret tips, methods, and techniques. Now, lie back, relax and take pleasure in these 201 provocative ways to arouse your creativity. Great hacks from Merlin Mann of 43 Folders 5 Ways To Add Sparkle To Your Writing Would You Like To Add Sparkle To Your Writing? Does your writing sometimes fall flat? You can’t figure out exactly why, but you know when it happens. There’s no chemistry, no sparkle to lift your writing and give it wings. There are practical ways to put that ‘je ne sais quoi’ back into your writing. All you have to do is to recognize and fix the five common errors that dull the sparkle of your writing. 1. They might not look like each other, but they often mimic one another’s movements and reactions. What do your characters do when they’re nervous? If you find it hard to come up with different, memorable gestures, create a database of them. If you see a quarrel at a cashier’s counter, watch the customers carefully. 2. If you read like a reader, you’ll see how important pacing is. Varying the length of your sentences gives the writing its own rhythm. “According to the current master of Roseland and everyone who worked for him, the source of the disturbing cry was a loon. 3. 4. 5.
Themes & Things To Keep In Mind When Writing Fantasy Stories and Adventures » Daily Encounter This list is far from complete. It’s not even trying to be complete. It knows better than that. It just wants to be helpful and provide some inspiration here and there; you know, offer little suggestions that might lead to bigger ideas. (Especially by using the words offered as Wikipedia searches!) Feel free to make suggestions in the comments! Weather Natural: sunlight, rain, snow, hail, fog, humidity, moonlight, wind, smoke, clouds, shadows, overcast skies, clear skies, lightning, hurricanes, tornadoes, moon in sky during daytimeFantastic: summoned weather, unnatural coloration (eg. green fog) Terrain Changes Landmarks Natural: stone outcropping, lightening struck trees, large boulders, waterfallsArtificial: lone buildings (eg. towers, houses, barns), statues, signs/markers, border wallsFantastic: large skeletons (eg. dragons, giants) After-Effects of Events Tricks Cultures Mysticism Events Unfolding Harsh Situations fatigue, hunger, thirst, extreme temperaturesenemy territories (invading?
How To Lead A Creative Life [Infographic] | Fast Company [Close Window] By Jason Feifer Our complete guide to making your inner genius your greatest on-the-job asset. Back to article >> Infographic by Pop Chart Lab McSweeney&s Internet Tendency: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do. Writing is a muscle. Smaller than a hamstring and slightly bigger than a bicep, and it needs to be exercised to get stronger. Think of your words as reps, your paragraphs as sets, your pages as daily workouts. Procrastination is an alluring siren taunting you to google the country where Balki from Perfect Strangers was from, and to arrange sticky notes on your dog in the shape of hilarious dog shorts. The blank white page. Mark Twain once said, “Show, don’t tell.” Finding a really good muse these days isn’t easy, so plan on going through quite a few before landing on a winner. There are two things more difficult than writing. It’s so easy to hide in your little bubble, typing your little words with your little fingers on your little laptop from the comfort of your tiny chair in your miniature little house. It’s no secret that great writers are great readers, and that if you can’t read, your writing will often suffer. Available in print withThe Best of McSweeney’s Internet Tendency
The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations is a descriptive list which was created by Georges Polti to categorize every dramatic situation that might occur in a story or performance. To do this Polti analyzed classical Greek texts, plus classical and contemporaneous French works. He also analyzed a handful of non-French authors. In his introduction, Polti claims to be continuing the work of Carlo Gozzi, who also identified 36 situations. Publication history[edit] “Gozzi maintained that there can be but thirty-six tragic situations. This list was published in a book of the same name, which contains extended explanations and examples. The list is popularized as an aid for writers, but it is also used by dramatists, storytellers and many others. The 36 situations[edit] Each situation is stated, then followed by the necessary elements for each situation and a brief description. See also[edit] References[edit] External links[edit]
How to Use Commonly Misused Words Steps Method 1 of 17: "Affect" and "Effect" 1Use “effect” as instructed."Effect" is a noun referring to something that happens as a result of something else. E.g., "The antibiotic had little effect on the illness."" 2Use “affect” as instructed.The verb "affect" means to change something in some way. Method 2 of 17: "Anxious" and "Eager" 1Use "anxious” as instructed.When followed by a gerund (the "–ing" verb form), anxiousness refers to anxiety, not pleasant feelings such as enthusiasm or excitement. 2Use “eager” as instructed.Eagerness conveys enthusiasm and is followed with an infinitive.Ex. Method 3 of 17: "Convince" and "Persuade" 1Use “convince” as instructed.Convince a person of the truth or validity of an idea.Follow “convince” with "that" or "of." 2Use “persuade” as instructed.Persuade a person to take action.Follow "persuade" with an infinitive (“to” and the verb).Ex. Method 4 of 17: "Could of" and "Could have" 1Use “could” with “have.” Method 5 of 17: "Decimate" and "Devastate" Tips Ad
Tension Hook Your Readers With Tension By Laura Backes, Write4Kids.com Tension. Without it, life would be—let's face it—boring. So would fiction. Tension works with conflict to raise the emotional level of the text to a boiling point. It forces the reader to become invested in the story. "Tension" is a loaded word, and can be misleading. Tension is what hooks readers of any age and keeps them turning the pages. * The ticking clock. * Dialogue. * Pacing. * Sentence structure. Each story requires a different kind of tension. Laura Backes is the author of Best Books for Kids Who (Think They) Hate to Read from Prima/Random House. Copyright © 2002, Children's Book Insider, LLC