Organizing Your Thoughts

 I have a great idea for a story and my characters need to slay the bad guy, come from humble beginnings and face all sorts of adversities.  

Well, that is a good start, but you need to lay out an idea of where to start, your characters, and how your characters are supposed to get to the end and what they have to overcome to reach their goal.

My suggestion is to take this in steps.

Step One: Discover both your protagonists and antagonists. I've read many books where the main character is well flushed out, but the bad guys are just flat.  It makes it hard to get excited about the story if you know the bad guys are just going to basically role over or be the stereotypical bad guy.  Put some time and thought into ALL your characters, (maybe even some side characters) before you go very far.  At the very least, this process may help you with your outline.

Step Two:  Make a basic outline.  Characters start here---This is their adventure---This is their adversities---This is how the over come and win.  Simple at this stage is better.

Step Three: Flush out your outline.  This is where you do those pesky outlines your High School English teacher always liked you to do.  Do the major points, with some sub-headings and ideas.  Then I would suggest going back and typing in more detailed ideas.  So, for example:

1.     Tarkil meets the other members of the party.
1. Tarkil comes back from a ride with his "friends" then wants to go to a bar to relax for the night.
2. Krom meets Guthlaf on the ship to Bloodhelm, then they go to a bar to find housing for the night.
3. Kenna escapes Five Roads and makes her way to Bloodhelm, finding Duncan on the way, and they end up the inn of Duncan's friend.
4. Elly finds herself in Bloodhelm and finds an inn to stay for the night.

From there, you can add in notes below each subheading, such as Tarkil is looking for a tumble, or Duncan's wagon is stuck on the side of the road.

Step Four: Write.  At this point, you should have a good enough outline to get moving.  And don't be afraid to change your outline.  It's just a guide and never set in stone.  Maybe you write something that says "hey, the party needs to do this instead of that".  It is more then fine.  It's your story and you want it to be the best.

And this works for roleplaying campaigns, as well.  People love to think you have taken a lot of time and effort to make things fun for them.  And just like your outline for a story, sometimes things go sideways.  Just go with it!

Happy Writing!

Borrowing From the World

 As a writer, there are many ideas that influence how you write.  From the way you grow up, to where you live, even the culture you are from.  It's unavoidable that your personal experiences would influence your writing style and the content of your story.  I mean, my father came from Oklahoma, where apparently they eat onions like apples, (I always thought my father was weird, but you have to love them, right?).  How you see the world will really depend on your life experiences.  Here are a few elements to take into consideration when you are writing.

1) You know you.  Don't be ashamed of who you are or where you come from.  The idea that an inner city person is going to perceive the world way different then me, a forest raised far from civilization person, is not unreasonable.  It's what makes all of us unique.  Its fun to see other people's perspectives.  Just bare his in mind, though, when you are writing.  Not all people in your audience are going to understand mass transit or crowded cities, nor are all people going to understand Forest Service roads and large tree stands.  Take a little time to explain such things, but not overtly.  Yes, you are explaining the obvious to you, but others may not see the obvious as well.

2) Don't be afraid to use ideas of the past.  In my stories I use the Roman Empire as a background for my Empire of Ariella.  The military, the leadership structure, even some of their beliefs on how things should be run.  It's not being lazy in your writing, it's incorporating ideas from our world. It is who we are and there is nothing wrong with blending it in to your stories.

3) Research what you don't know.  Like in the first idea, I really have no idea how mass transit works. (I grew up in the woods, mass transit was when the moms caravanned to town to do the monthly shopping, not buses and trollies.)  If I were going to use that in my story I would have need to look into how that works, like bus lines, times, routes, the whole nine yards.  Don't be afraid to admit you don't know.  If you don't know what a good tree for a forest would be in a certain climate, Google it.  Ask a friend.  Read a book.  In this day and age, the information is always at your finger tips!

Happy Writing

The Importance of Characters

 This should be a no brainer for a writer, but even though a solid plot is vital, characters that are loveable, or ones you just want to hate, are essential.  If you can't empathize with the characters, you won't enjoy even the best laid out plot.

I'd like to think I worked hard on my plots, but I think I've worked even harder on my characters, with a little help from those around me.  I have my main characters which I spend a lot of time molding and shaping, but I also make sure my side characters are just as well thought out.  Here is an example.

One side character I spend quite a bit of time on is Targon.  Yes, he's a god, but he's essential to the plot, even if he isn't a main character.  I make him humorous and almost "human" like to make the reader sympathize with him as he tries to save the world he loves through his rag-tag group of adventures.  He breaks rules, he manipulates his fellow gods and mortals alike, and he never apologizes for what he has to do.  I make sure he is embarrassed, helpful and God-like all in one breath, so a reader just can't forget him as they go about reading my story. 

These thoughts also work for NPCs in a campaign someone might be running.  Your players will enjoy the session much more if that barkeep who gives them a great nugget of information also tells a good story or listens to their worries.

My point is as a writer you can strengthen even the best plot, or prop up a small plot hole, with well thought out characters.  Take the time to make your characters memorable.  It will be worth it in the end.

Happy Writing!

My World of Martapa

 So lets talk about my world.

My world consists of two major continents and two major island groups.  At least at the moment.  There is some unexplored areas I could always use later if I have need to expand my universe. To give you a rough idea of what they are like lets start with Taina.

Taina is the northern continent and could be roughly equated to North America.  The west side of the continent is forest/farm land not unlike the west coast, (cough, cough, because that is what I know best), and the east would be more like the mid-west, with a little bit of coastal life on the east coast.  The northern part has harsh winters, the coasts are pretty mild, the interior of the west is fairly temperate and the east is hot and dry during the summer and cold and harsh during the winter.

Ariella is the southern continent could be equated to the African continent, with belts of lush growth and areas of arid deserts, with huge mountain ranges that seem to pop out of no where.

The Dwarven Islands could be best equated to Britain and Ireland, with highlands, bogs, and harsh landscapes.  This is a population which relies on fishing and herding of sheep and goats to feed the population, versus a lot of plant farming.

My last area is the Islands of Janesh.  I would picture these like Japan.  They have some gorgeous landscapes, but it is hard to eek out a living here, as well.  In the time of my stories, this is mostly destroyed and the remains yet to be discovered.

Happy writing!