#Storytelling Tips

[greenplumbboblover]

Not-a-tutorial - Lighting (Basics)

I really loved @nocturnalazure Storytelling tips, and figured I'd add one more chapter that I, personally, feel can be helpful to add the mood or maybe a bit more 🌶 to your pictures! (with or without reshade ;))

But first, go check out these tips by Nocturnalazure!

Camera Shots

Dialogues Part I

Dialogues Part II

Things to note before beginning:

This technique can be used with and without reshade/gshade/sweetfx or even editing images. (but I would recommend it!)

Make sure you're playing with at least "Lighting and Shadows" to highest settings. Otherwise this won't work.

All of the images in this post have been taken without being edited/haven't used reshade/gshade for them. (So, just the good ol' C button 😉)

A lighting mod can already go a long way! So, if you haven't yet, go find one before reading!

All Base Game compatible! No EPs/SPs needed

I'm in no way a colourist! But it may be cool to check the science behind it if you want to go more advanced on this :)

And with that said... let's get to it!

What do we need?

1. "Wall Area Light 1x1", (since it's simpler for sims)

You can find it under BuyDebug on (But first make sure you have Testingcheatsenabled true on!).

Pssst! I would recommend adding it to a catalogue! I made a "story" catalogue and added it so it's much easier to find it!

How to use lighting, the very basics:

Here we have Lolita Goth, outside with no lighting except for the world's.

Not to bad, eh? Well. there are a few reasons why we want to add lights to this scene.

Lolita's face is quite dark.

The reader will be very focused on the background AND the sim. (I personally keep looking at the bench, and less at Lolita right now.)

It's interesting, partially because of the lighting mod installed, but we can make it even more appealing.

NOTE: These techniques will work no matter if your sim is facing the sun or facing away from the sun! The results will always be the same with the lights.

Setup:

The basic setup is simple! You'll need 3 lights. One behind your sim(s), one sideways and one in front.

Back light = used for darker colours (blue, red, green, purple, orange)

Sub light = Used as helper colour for Back light. Can remove if not necessary. (helper in the sense of: Backlight is blue, adding purple can help being more interesting).

Front light = always white, flame, orange.

An example with the 3 lights used.

Setup:

Backlight = Red

Sub-light = Orange

Front Light = White

Why can't I just use the front light?

While it's not a bad approach in certain scenes, often the result is a bit too... tense:

(Left is with backlighting, right is with only front-light).

Personally I find the left image much more appealing, and more interesting to look at. But if trhe right picture is more your cup of tea, the feel free to use it!

Here's an example with the same principle but at night:

(Left is with backlighting, right is with only front-light).

Here, I think it shows it even more, how nice backlights can make something more captivating!

Now that we know about the basics of setting up our scenes... Let's get into the details a bit more!

How to use lighting for nighttime (Outdoors):

Here we got a scene with Lolita and Gunther Goth in a dark spooky graveyard, having a gothic-y picnick. In-game, this is the lighting setup as of right now:

It's lit up enough, right? While in regular gameplay this is definetly true, in a story setup we can actually make this much more interesting! But before that, here's our scene image:

The thing though is... while there is light, currently the eyes aren't drawn to Lolita's face at all:

So... how do we fix this?

There are a few ways. But all require our Wall Area Light!

Setup 1:

One light can go a long way! In this instance, I added only one light, and used "Dimmed" so it still shows as if they're in the dark. (To select different light settings, use Shift + Click to see them ;))

There are scenes where this would be enough (though, having 2 facing from different directions would work better), it dosn't really in this instance.

The problem, however, is that it almost feels like there's a spotlight that is facing them. The scene may have got a bit more interesting (as we are more focused on Lolita's face), but just isn't there yet.

Setup 2:

By adding in a blue colour, facing the back and a little bit the front of our subject(s) we get a much more "fake" nightlight representation.

Though, a few thoughts here:

While in this scene I personally liked making the back colours blue, we can always experiment a little and change one of the blue into purple!

Now, the part of Lolita's face that isn't blue, we do want a non-blue colour. For this, I like to cycle through the following colours:

White

Flame

Orange

(Rarely! But sometimes red).

See result here:

This all depends on your preference, and if you want a deeper colour. Or maybe, to even set a certain dramatic effect! (this is where red may be nicer).

Make sure to also play around with the intensity settings of each light! This can really change things up!

Currently, I've set up the intensities like so:

Blue 1 = Bright

Blue 2 = Bright

Orange/white/flame/red = Dim

Though, if Blue 2 is purple for you, I'd recommend setting this one to normal or even dim.

How to use lighting for Daylight (Outdoors):

This one is much easier, and more straightforward! While backlighting is important here as well, it's less of a necessity in this setting.

Okay! So you've posed all the characters, set up objects, etc... and now we're ready for the lighting! Here's what I currently have:

Not bad, not bad at all without any lights... but what if we add them!

Here I added a White-dimmed light.

Better! In fact, if this is the kind of lighting you want in your scene, then feel free to leave it here!

What about a little more complicated lighting... sort of what we did with our night scene?

Here the left light is a white-dimmed light, and on the right we got a orange dimmed light.

it's not much, but it definitely added a nice shade to the scene! :)

Let's get to how we do this same thing, but indoors!

[thewriteblrlibrary]

A Step-by-Step Marketing Guide so we can spite traditional publishers (and make people cry).

~ This is a guide specific for fiction/writeblr. All of this is for free and there is little social media posting/ads involved (unless you want to venture into that). ~

Within the writeblr spheres, there's this underlying hope that our stories will find their audience. Perhaps we'll have a fandom full of fanart and video essays, or maybe we'll be an instant classic and sit on collectors' beloved bookshelves. Our stories could sit within the deepest corners of someone's heart and maybe they never tell a soul about what's so special to them. Maybe our stories become those 'underrated masterpieces'.

Or we just want to see people ugly cry over our writing.

Whatever your hope may be, marketing is an important path to venture on (especially because traditional publishers are rejecting diverse books in favor of ones that are already famous + the whole sub-par machine thing they seem obsessed with.)

And thus, my childhood marketing obsession will hopefully be of use to you. This is all for free (unless you want to spend money) and you don't need to figure out social media platforms (unless you want to, and this guide works if you decide to take that route too.)

Step One: Characters

Marketing spheres will define these fictious people as 'avatars' or 'the target audience'. You could also call them characters. Because that's what they are: fictional people.

For this step, you shall create characters that would love your story.

And here's some great news: You've already done this.

Perhaps you wrote your story to comfort a prior version of yourself. Perhaps each character in your story holds an aspect of your personality. Perhaps you were ridiculously self-indulgent and made the story you would've loved to read. These are all possible characters you can reuse for marketing.

Write down 2-4 quick archetypes for these characters. You'll chose an aspect of your story (characters, themes, or the younger-self that you wrote it for) and write a thumbnail sketch. (Main issue, fears, wants, personality traits if they relate to the main issue.)

I'll do it for my story (the Land of the Fallen Fairies) down below:

Anuli-like (my MC): Overthinking and aloof. Wants a happy ending but thinks their current personality/character isn't good enough for one. The present stales in comparison to the past/the childhood they lost. The 'gifted theater kids'. Kamari-like (side character): Postpones happiness in favor of creating a perfect schedule/getting accomplishments. Heavy masking. Creative but doesn't create anymore. Promises themself they'll enjoy themselves later, when they've earned it. Workaholics. My younger self: Wanting a fantasy escapism to embody the traits they wish they had in real life. Dissatisfied and worried about reality. Perfectionists. Self-indulgent: People who love plants and forests and fantasy worlds far away from reality/humanity.

Great! Now it's time to find these characters.

Step Two: Setting.

(Let's assume you're using the internet for your marketing. But a similar method works for real life too.)

Where do the characters live?

In order to figure that out, we need to discover the characters' interests, what they watch to solve their problems, and who they find #relatable.

(You can do this for each character or for all the characters at once.)

For example:

Anuli-like -

interests: Stories. Analysis videos. Fantasy escapism. Things that remind them of their childhood. (so nature, warmth, comfort, play, imagination and the times they would actually enjoy learning.)

Places to look: Nature quotes, ambience videos, children's shows and fairytales (comfort shows). Fandom culture - fanfic video essays, fan art.

Solving problems (the problem being wanting a 'happy ending' but feeling that their personality/lifestyle/characteristics aren't right for one): Mindfulness things. Self-healing. Quotes and meditations and candles galore. Slow living. Nature vlogs. Self care. All that 'live in the moment' culture.

Places to look: Slow living. Nature vlogs. The 'softer self-help' (spirituality stuff. Magic/ overnight answers). Witchcraft. 'aesthetic nature' places. Guided meditations.

#relatable: Burnt out gifted kids. People who think so much that their life passes them by. Storytellers and creative who create to make sense of the world. People who like dark, gory things in spite of who they want to be. People who don't like reality.

Places to look: Those 'learn better and remember everything' places. (The 'burnt-out gifted kid' recovery places.) Stop overthinking spots. Those quotes on Pinterest from poetic people who think too much /aff. Storyteller places. Dark academia. Classical music. One off quotes/ poetry.

Okie dokie. Once you have this, find channels, social media accounts, blogs, songs, books, etc. that fit with the categories you wrote down. (They should appeal to the characters) You can search up some of the terms you listed into searches and see who pops up. Bonus points if you find people that overlap with multiple sections.

I know I didn't include booktube or booktok in here. You can if you want too. But those can be a bit... 'consume these 500 books'. You also want to find other places where people who would like you story live, even if they don't follow booktube or booktok.

Congrats! Now you know where your characters live!

Step Three: the scary part

Take everyone you found on your search for the settings and write them down a list. Make sure you get an email/contact info. (they usually list them somewhere under 'for business inquires') Also feel free to watch their content and get to know what attributes these settings have.

And now... we talk to them. about our stories. You can do it. I believe in you.

This called 'pitching your product' in marketing spheres. But you can be informal about it.

I know it can be difficult to talk about your work, so here's a tone to have:

'I made this thing I like and I think you'll like it too'.

What you'll do is send an email (or dm) that goes like this (inspired by Creative Hive on youtube):

Hi [name],

[Genuine compliment]

[Quick sentence or two about your story. Include the themes and who it appeals to. If you have a logline/sentence summary, include that. But I find that the underlying themes and 'who's it's for' is more engaging.

For my story, I might say something like.

I've written a story you might enjoy, since you like [interest]. It's called the Land of the Fallen Fairies. It's a nature-themed commentary on the pursuit of happiness and fixing yourself to deserve that happiness, told by an overthinking, unreliable, houseplant narrator. It was supposed to comfort me when I got frustrated with myself and my happiness chasing, and I hope it can comfort others too.

(That's probably a bit long and I can trim it down a bit.)

You can phrase it like a gift if you want too.]

[Call to action.

'If you like it, I'd appreciate a mention on your [platform].

I know this part may be difficult to mention (imposter syndrome is not fun.) But I promise that if they do like it, they'll be happy to mention it.]

If they don't respond within... four-ish days? (A week at most). then you can include a follow up. For this you can include a template with info about your story. This way it's easy for them to talk about your story.

The template:

title

genre

blurb

Author

where to find the book

Bonus points if you have an additional, physical thing to send them.

Congrats! Now do this pitching process a few times until you've covered most of your bases. (Pitch to as many people as you can. It will get more comfortable as you do it. Play your favorite song and don't let yourself think too hard about it.)

----------

The benefits of this process are that you find people that are already interested in the themes and vibes of your story (in comparison to to ads, which get shoved in everyone's faces.). Someone your audience already trusts will talk about it, which means you don't need to do all this trial and error to find your audience and make content for them.

It's basically a bunch of people talking about something they like!

AND you diversify your audience across niches, but with an underlying theme/interests. Booktok/booktube must appeal to everyone, so it's a hit or miss for recommendations. (Unless there is someone that specifically does one genre/type of story.)

From here you can do fun little things to build up hype and make the book launch feel like this fun event. (I love it when that happens so here's my thoughts about trying to create an event with your story... although that may require another post entirely.)

preorder goals

charity goals

Arg's and puzzles

fund with side plushies and trinkets

Book blog tour

book boxes

as many memes as you can make

rewards (like bookmarks or posters or smth) that people can get for supporting

Talk about the process of creating your story. I know this one channel called 'Dead Sound' that creates 'making of' videos for his short films and they are some of the best videos on youtube.

Okay dear storyteller! Now go forth and share your story with the world!

Additional resources:

Creative Hive <-- a youtube channel that goes through the pitching process.

This video is also very good <-- Haven't watched the rest of the channel but I assume it's also good.

One of the best marketing channels on the internet (the videos are actually entertianing to watch.

Seth Goldin <-- I read his book and took the parts I liked and modified for storytelling marketing.

Dead Sound <-- propaganda to watch the short film series he has (he did the whole 2-d 3-d style wayyyy before spiderverse did... and he's one person making these. One person. It's amazing.

Glitch <--- If someone can figure out how The Amazing Digital Circus was marketed then I will pay you money. It seems to be a lot of memes and funny things.

[storiesbyjes2g]

Tip for gameplay-driven storytellers

I started doing something recently I think others will want to know about and start doing in their own saves and stories, especially if you're someone who struggles with what to do in your gameplay sessions. Whenever my sims are invited to a rabbit hole event, when they return home, I make the event real and play it out if possible. I invite the relevant sim(s) to a venue similar to where the invite said they were going and let the sims run wild. Free content! You can either use the event in your story or use it to learn more about your characters and stow the information away for later. This is especially helpful for teenagers since it seems all those invites are rabbit holes. Give it a try and see how it adds life to your stories.

[fallstaticexit]

Hello hello hello! I have a question. You've posted the first half of The Art of Being Seen in a quick succession, and I've noticed that these are /long/ scenes that you're working with with A+ editing. I was wondering, were many of these scenes already completed before you posted them onto tumblr? 🤔If so, how did you manage to hold back from previewing them? I feel my biggest problem as a story teller is that I rush to get the content out due to my excitement.

Hey hey hey ✨ I have to lock myself into a cage and toss the key across the room ��😭😭

No seriously, the short answer is yes! I’ll have the next two to three parts already completed by the time I post the first. At least for this story.

I think I’ve done a good job since I started storytelling with not spoiling my own story or rushing through it (even though I really really want to all the time) bc I know the pay off will be better appreciated in the long run. I also want to quickly get content out which is why I work on my stories all the time.

The best way for me to work on my story is that I never really shoot scenes in order. I always take care of the big ones first or the main focus of the update first and I’ll fill in the smaller parts later on. I’m also always a day or two head of when I post vs working on them in real time. So let’s say I’ll post part one on Monday morning , Monday night im already working on part three or four because I started working on part one last Thursday and part two last Sunday. That makes sense? 😭

I also do very little editing which allows me to post quickly! It’s mostly gshade pulling the heavy lifting. I use alot of in game objects to help with scenes that maybe someone would edit in photoshop. Here’s a sneak peek of such a scene where I used these lights bc I don’t have the skills atm to create in PS.

I also owe my heart and soul to builders who create breathtaking lots, because if I had to make even a third of the builds I used I’d post once a year. I’m an awful builder, so downloading the lots I need cuts time between post down soooo much.

TL DR: a firm talk with myself to behave and be patient and have a fairly decent posting schedule that’s ahead of when I actually release them into the wild. 😭🥹

[transformers0]

Newsflash to writers out there.

Just because your female hero has a temper and can insult and smash any opposition against her DOES NOT make her a true, strong female character.

Just a reminder: Might does not automatically make right.

To close off with a quote from Peter Cullen (in his humble honesty, who is quoting his late older brother Larry, a Vietnam War Veteran), "If you're gonna be a hero. Be a real hero. Don't be a Hollywood Hero type, with all the BS, and all the yelling and screaming and trying to be tough. Be strong enough to be gentle."

(And you know what? This isn't just applicable to female heroes, but also for male heroes as well.)

[ancientroyalblood]

Writing Across Genres: Blending Styles and Themes

When writers dare to venture into multiple genres within a single story, they open doors to creative freedom, unique storytelling experiences, and new ways to captivate readers. Writing across genres isn’t just about combining elements from two distinct categories, like romance and mystery, or science fiction and horror. It’s about weaving together themes, moods, and stylistic choices to form a…

[plotandelegy]

Accidental Transformations in Fiction: Pros and Cons to Consider

If you're considering including a supernatural transformation in your story, it can happen in several ways. One way is for your character to accidentally transform. Here are some positives and negatives to think about before you decide:

Positives: 

Adds unpredictability: Accidental transformation can add an element of surprise to your fiction. Readers may be more likely to wonder what happens next.

Creates chaos: A sudden transformation would likely throw your character's life into disarray, which can make things interesting. They might need to learn their new powers and adjust to life with new rules, disadvantages, or advantages. As a writer, you can explore how this upends your hero's life.

Feels natural: Sometimes accidental transformations feel natural and less contrived way of gaining supernatural abilities. It might make things a little more believable. 

Negatives:

Can feel contrived: In the same breath, accidental transformations can also give a coincidental tone. It can feel like an easy way out for the writer when giving characters supernatural powers. You might leave readers wondering if you're trying to move the story too quickly.

Lack of agency: The character didn't choose this. They have no control over it. Sometimes giving your character a choice to get themselves into trouble is a great way to create conflict. They got themselves into this mess now they need to get out. Accidental transformations can make it seem more like a character is a pawn in the story instead of a participant. 

Limits exploration: Random transformations limit the ability to explore themes like fate and destiny. 

Accidental supernatural transformations can be a great way to add unpredictability to a story. It can make it seem like a character is falling into a magical world, and the reader could too. Consider if it is a natural fit for your story and allows you to expand and express your story's plot. Happy writing!

[lnk-and-lnspiration]

Creating Tension and Suspense in Your Writing: Keeping Readers Hooked

Tension and suspense are crucial elements in storytelling that captivate readers, keep them engaged, and make them eagerly turn the pages. Whether you’re writing a thriller, mystery, or even a romance, effectively building tension and suspense can elevate your narrative and leave a lasting impact on your readers. In this article, we will explore techniques to help you create tension and suspense…

[iliaandhearts-blog]

Disney + movie shots

[hussein107]

digital stories PDF

download Bedtime stories for your child for each story 1 $

Bedtime stories PDF for your child each story 1$

[thewriteblrlibrary]

A Step-by-Step Guide to the Weirdest Mush of Storytelling Techniques Known to Human Beings (that works surprisingly well)

SPOILERS - basically you combine anime/manga storytelling with tumblr character obsessions.

Okie dokie human beings, let me just come out of the gate and say that I've been hyperfixated and doing obsessive researching on storytelling methods since I was ten. You hear it all when you deep dive into this:

'You need conflict to drive your story' (wrong... well, not always true. Conflict isn't required but you can use it for funsies)

'Your characters need to be flawed. Give them flaws so they aren't Mary Sues' (Wrong. Traits in and of themselves have both nice and not-so-nice aspects, depending on the situation.

Take 'loyalty' for example. Loyal people can be apologists for those they are loyal to/not be objective when they think about their friends. But they will also be there for their friends... does that mean they are a people pleaser and won't be as nice to themselves? Mary Sues are only there because they are cardboard cutouts and people aren't having fun with them. *See remakes and pointless cash grabs* When you're self-indulgent and ignore the 'don't make the characters too cool' rules, people can tell. You all will have the time of your lives.)

Then you have... the discourse. As a storyteller, reading those made me so insecure about writing characters because I was worried I would anger someone. This method won't assure avoiding all discourse, but it makes the characters more believable and fun to watch. Everyone else can avoid the story. (It isn't for them anyways)

Anywhosies, after years of researching, I've finally, finally found a storytelling methodology that is structured yet insanely flexible, works for any story you're telling (watching tv will never be the same), and is pretty much the exact opposite of trashy Hollywood blockbusters.

So basically, it's: exploring a facet of existence through complex characters and an easy-to-follow plot.

So yea, I've talked in the land of general for too long. This is my modified method from the resources down below. Have fun!

Step One: Characters Concepts.

This will help you a lot when you make characters. Let's go through an existential crisis!

What concept about "how life works/philosophy/the unknown/viewpoint/question" do you want to explore?  This will be the aspect of life that the story attempts to make sense of and give the reader some new understanding or comfort about it. It will be the groundwork and foundation for your story going forward, so feel free to explore as many aspects of this topic as you wish. 

Specific memories can help with this. For example, I used the memory of crying over unfinished crafting projects to write my main WIP. (I was supposed to make this doll dress with my mom and we did part of it, had a lot of fun, then never finished it. A few months later, child-me sat beside the bed and waited for my mom to come out of the bathroom so I could ask her something. In the meantime, I looked underneath the bed and found that unfinished crafting project. I started bawling.)

This memory led me to make my concept: Happiness chasing. Those who want that happy ending so bad so they can have their childhood happiness back. Mostly because they are filled with regret over all the happiness they didn't have when they were little (the 'smart and didn't like to play because they wanted to read books' children... anyone else do this? And regret how little time they spent with other people?)

The second aspect of this concept that came up was the 'avoiding being happy right now because you need to earn it for a happy future' also the 'happiness needs to be perfect... but what exactly does happiness feel like?' and the 'happiness is overrated. I'm satisfied as an observer wandering around the world'

So yea, explore a concept and see where it takes you! It's okay if it's abstract, you can refine it in the next step:

Step Two: characters

~Here we go~

Here we are picking a dynamic, an internal conflict, 'the two wolves'.

Aka: desire vs fear.

And these will be in direct opposition. The character will want something, but the fear will stop them from getting it. Because to get what they want, they have to face what they fear. They cannot exist at the same time.

This took me the longest time to figure out... mostly because no one else spelled it out for me. But it works! Very well! Probably the fastest way to create a complex character!

So you'll take an aspect of your concept. Like: 'trying to replicate the happiness you had when you were little because you are full of regret about not being happy'. Then create a duality/ warring desire and fear off of it.

(Feel free to include all the extra character trait funsies here... just don't get too carried away. That becomes overwhelming fast. We'll talk about that more in the next step)

Here's an example from my WIP:

Anuli the dryad wants to have faer happy ending that fae wanted when fae was little. (I get very specific here because I wrote backstory, feel free to write a very specific image about what a 'perfect world' would look like to the character. What will having that perfect situation mean to them?)

Anuli the dryad fears being happy. Fae thinks that by being happy, fae will make a mistake and ruin others' happy endings. Then fae will be left with nothing but regret. It's wrong for faer to be faerself. (There's a misbelief about the world here. Typically, fears are rooted in false worldviews. So, you can write an opposing viewpoint and create a 'worst case scenario' based off of that.)

Ta da! Now you have a dynamic where the character has a conflicted view of the world and themself. Perfect for angst, fluff, whatever your story needs are! (Why does this sound like an old car salesperson?)

Step three: First meeting

My major issue when writing a new character is how to translate their unique prose style and convey their internal conflict, whilst also trying to figure out plotlines.

This step is entirely my own, and has been SO EXTREMELY helpful. (I'm proud of myself.)

What you'll do is some random writing of your character's internal monologue/how they see the world. Go through your writing from the previous steps and try translating that into prose. Play around with it until you are comfortable. It does not have to be perfect, it just has to be comfortable. If you're having trouble, pick a mini-topic to write about (perhaps something that's been on your mind lately) and see how your character would react to that. Or you can change the style of writing (more parenthesis? be ridiculous? stream of coconsciousness? Third person? Poetic? Change it up until you enjoy writing this character.)

Here's an example from my writing (this is my second WIP and it's a biology fanfiction.). I'm including it all because I messed around a bit and tried different things. I ended up setting for an informal semi-stream of consciousness style (partially to offset the complexity of biology and partially because that's who Cassiah wanted to be):

(It is... long. So scroll and skim, this is a messy example.) <3

I ended up going for first person instead of third. And I always go for past tense...plus a poetic style is a bit.. much for a biology fanfiction... and I wanted Cassiah to be a nervous mess on the inside while keeping up a 'full of themself' exterior. Therefore:

Feel free to include notes for yourself! This is a great place to refine and edit the writing you did in the previous steps! You can also do some exploring about worldbuilding (I may make another post for that) and congrats! A lot of what you are writing here becomes the character's behaviors that they've gotten from their internal conflict. These are a lot more specifc (and a lot more helpful) than character traits like 'loyal'.

Okie dokie, you can always come back to this for some writing relaxation, and now we go towards everyone's favorite part:

Step four: the plot the tragic backstory:

Note that this doesn't necessarily have to be tragic. All this has to do is showcase the exact moment where the character got their internal conflict. You can do this with the desire, with the fear, or both! (Although typically you'll see the fear backstory... unless it's a Disney movie or Haikyuu)

'But wait!' You ask. 'Plotting is hard! And I need to have this backstory be perfec-'

So the method I followed had this thing where you would write one backstory scene where the fear came from, then three more backstory scenes where the character chose to follow the fear instead of the want and became more conflicted. You can do that if you wish (I'll give you a resource to help with plotting in a bit.)

What I like doing is... having fun? I rewrote my backstory scenes so much and got so stressed with it. (My main WIP has been my writing project since I was ten and I worked on it nonstop... but it JUST got a full backstory written.)

My method for writing backstory changes for each character I write. For that main WIP, I started trying to write the backstory for the backstory, and tried stopping myself from doing that. Which was a mistake. Nowadays I'll write pre-backstory for fluff, and how the fear complicates things after a twist. (Usually I get this specfic aspect of my concept that I want to explore through storytelling and I'll write a snippet about it), and my MC just gets more ridiculous every time I write faer.

All in all... you can just use the plotting method discussed in the next step for the backstory: kishotenketsu. If you do this, then I recommend that you use ki and sho for the 'want' portion. (some fluffy childhood goals if you will.). Then use ten and ketsu for the fear that complicates things and the aftermath.

But overall I recommend (for all scenes that you write) that you always connect whatever is happening to the character's internal dynamic. This is what gives weight to your story. And you've already practiced writing your character's internal monologue, so now it's time to relax, be ridiculous, write some bad stuff, and find the exact moments where the character's internal conflict came from.

I haven't gotten to this point with my biology fanfiction yet (been executive dysfunctioning until recently... the stars have aligned or smth.) but here's my initial prose-sketch:

From here, I'll write a more specific backstory (I tend to get bored of long scenes though, so I imagine I'll do my 'tiny section prose snippet style') to depict how Cassiah got their fear, then I'll write a bit showcasing how they started envying others and their confidence (the desire). Afterwards it'll be Cassiah being internally conflicted hijinks until they inevitably get themself in a ton of trouble.

Okie dokie everyone... now it's time for the plot present-day character explorations.

Step Something-or-other: Keep doing what you're doing, but technically this is the start of the story.

So there's this whole 'inciting incident' and blah blah blah.

Start your story when it becomes impossible for the character to avoid their fear anymore, which causes them to chase after their desire.

...I'm going to include a video for kishotenketsu because... I've been typing... for hours.... and I'll do an overview but video.

So kishotenketsu is the overall plot structure that anime and manga uses. Very flexible, very nice. I keep it in the back of my mind when I'm writing, making sure to connect everything back to the character's internal conflict (make sure they react to things and make decisions.)

Here's a scene card to help you with 'smaller scale' plotting:

So instead of the plot part I use kishotenketsu. And usually I'll write actual prose for the character's monologue (like we did for the freewriting) for the 'why it matters'. (What is the plot causing them to think and feel like? And what do they want to do to fix things?)

'And So?' is usually a decision that effects the plot moving forward. You can also just have a change in perception. Just something new to give the scene meaning.

Whoopdedoo so I'll do a quick overview of kishotenketsu, and then I'll list my resources if you want to do any further digging. My advice in general is to make up your own methodology for writing, and figure out what works best for you.

Kishotenketsu:

Ki - introduction: introduce the characters, their world, where they are at, what matters to them, and most importantly - their internal conflict/what aspect of your concept they represent.

Sho - development: The plot develops toward the twist later. You can use the scene cards for this part, it should have some cause and effect and it should develop and explore the character's internal world.

Ten - twist: this is where an obstacle occurs. Bonus points if it relates to the fear/desire. The character now has to change their perspective and deal with the aftermath of the twist.

Ketsu: I forget what this stands for - the aftermath. How do they deal with the effects of the twist?

Okie dokie fellow storytellers! Now go forth! And Remember! I SPENT WAY TO LONG WRITING THIS IT"S SO LONG WTFUDSICLE ICEPOPS IS THIS LENGTH IT"S TOO LONG

Resources:

Books: Story Genius (where I got the scene card from.)

Videos on kishotenketsu: First one. Second one.

Someone rewrote twilight and it was so helpful for my writing

And... funny story... my brother got viruses on his computer and now I can't pirate anime see 'restricted videos' on youtube because of ristricted mode.

So the Hannah person that rewrote Twilight? Search for 'physic distance' Very helpful.

Also look up. 'Zoe Bee poetry.' the basics of poetry are extremely helpful.

Things you should watch (the gifs)

Rise of the Teenage mutant ninja turtles

The promised neverland

Your Name

A silent Voice

Hilda

Avatar: the last airbender

Wolfwalkers

Song of the Sea

Amphibia

The Girl from the other side

Haikyuu (how did something get me to like a sport this is insanity)

Good Omens (I can't actually watch it because homophobic parents but I've seen all the clip compilations.)

[artofthechristianninja]

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[stephobrien]

I've had to come to terms with the fact that some of the twists in my latest novel will probably be relatively easy to foresee for observant readers, because the alternative is to withhold information to a jarringly artificial degree. Sometimes, the solidity of the story - and the satisfaction of the readers who get to say "I DID guess right!" - have to come before the shock value. And sometimes storytellers need to remember that surprise is not the most important emotion for their story to invoke.

I see posts go by periodically about how modern audiences are impatient or unwilling to trust the creator. And I agree that that's true. What the posts almost never mention, though, is that this didn't happen in a vacuum. Audiences have had their patience and trust beaten out of them by the popular media of the past few decades.

J J Abrams is famous for making stories that raise questions he never figures out how to answer. He's also the guy with some weird story about a present he never opened and how that's better than presents you open--failing to see that there's a difference between choosing not to open a present and being forbidden from opening one.

You've got lengthy media franchises where installments undo character development or satisfying resolutions from previous installments. Worse, there are media franchises with "trilogies" that are weird slap fights between the makers of each installment.

You've got wildly popular TV shows that end so poorly and unsatisfyingly that no one speaks of them again.

On top of that, a lot of the media actively punishes people for engaging thoughtfully with it. Creators panic and change their stories if the audience properly reacts to foreshadowing. Emotional parts of storytelling are trampled by jokes. Shocking the audience has become the go to, rather than providing a solid story.

Of course audiences have gotten cynical and untrusting! Of course they're unwilling to form their own expectations of what's coming! Of course they make the worst assumptions based on what's in front of them! The media they've been consuming has trained them well.

[strategichannah]

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[howdoesone]

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Telling a campfire story is an art. It’s about weaving a narrative that captivates the audience, evokes emotions, and leaves a lasting impression. When the story involves a unique and personal element like “My dad was Donor 456,” it offers a rich tapestry of intrigue, humor, and heartfelt moments to create a memorable tale. Here’s how to transform this unique aspect of your life into an epic…