A Guide to Story Making

[Anagonia]

No. Just; no. You do not, you do not tell people how to write or tell a story. You do not. It is the individual flare and style of each and every writer and author that makes every story telling unique and special. This conformity is immoral and wrong.

I have a feeling you didn't actually read the entire topic, or the spoilers at the top. This entire Guide was disclaimed as being used for any purpose, not dictating the purpose. In fact, through out the entire article it states almost every time that the reader is encouraged to do what he or she wants and take what he or she wants from it. Perhaps another review of it will reveal better results?

Either way, thank you very much for your opinion. Perhaps I did come off as a tad bit pushy in my topic, which I must ask forgiveness but I cannot see where. If you can provide relevant quotes to these statements that proclaims that I am forcing or making someone do things my way, or dictating such, I will be happy to review it. I cannot for the life of me find these statements, so I require your assistance on this matter. Perhaps when I review your relevant pickings and we discuss them, either here or over Telegram, I can add the findings and corrections to my next guide so I won't make the next mistake.

Every bit of critic helps, whether it is positive or negative. I must admit that I do find this critic puzzling as it doesn't exactly reference the Guides purpose, or stated purpose. However perhaps you are seeing something I am not, or perhaps you are simply posting without looking, or perhaps many other excuses. In any case, I'll be happy to work with you. Your opinion matters a lot!

Thank you again for your reply and I do hope you enjoy your time on Nationstates!

[Estainia]

I think it's the style you wrote it in, that has her thrown off. I personally think it's a wonderful guide, if not a bit odd in the way you word things(not structurally or grammar, I mean actual sentence wording.)

All in all I think this could be insightful to newer writers; forgo the latter title as roleplayer, this is far more helpful from the single sided writing perspective than anything else. I think it's brilliant; well done Anagonia, hopefully this'll help a lot of new comers to be the daring multipage writers of the future.

[Anagonia]

I think it's the style you wrote it in, that has her thrown off. I personally think it's a wonderful guide, if not a bit odd in the way you word things(not structurally or grammar, I mean actual sentence wording.)

Ah, well I guess that explains things. I only do formal writing when I draft documents or stuff for my RP Nation or in letters. Other than that with this Guide as an example, I write with a more humorous and open intent. So yea, I guess I can see that, but still I'd like her/him/the player to point to me where they found me dictating "this is how you should do this". Lol.

All in all I think this could be insightful to newer writers; forgo the latter title as roleplayer, this is far more helpful from the single sided writing perspective than anything else. I think it's brilliant; well done Anagonia, hopefully this'll help a lot of new comers to be the daring multipage writers of the future.

Thank you very much for that very kind compliment! I did try to write it with a sense of purpose. Obviously I went very deep in examples so people could visualize along with the work what exactly I was referring to. I think it seemed to have worked. Like stated before, I added the humor into the sentences to give a more...personal touch to it. So that it didn't seem way far off to the reader and they could instantly dive in and feel comfortable. I truly does it helps the newer players grasp a new sense of purpose when writing. I love to see people write these wonderful worlds in whatever fashion they see fit. It inspires me to continue.

Obviously there is a slight hint towards the role playing aspect of writing, but I didn't dive too deep in that other than mentioning common sense laws and protocols that were applied by Mods, Admins and groups of players to provide an enjoyable experience. After that was out of the way, I basically threw down the cards and told the reader to go about it whichever way they wanted. Keeping to the rules is one easy aspect of role playing, so it isn't insofar important as it would be to applying it to a universe. Therefore what I stated being the most important aspect was how the reader, role player or writer dictates how his or story is to be written. You know?

Thank you again, Estainia, for the compliments and review. I appreciate it so much.

[Kagetora]

While I thoroughly believe this guide is useful, I must say that I didn't enjoy the tone and mood of the piece. I felt it was inappropriate for something that should be explaining something, and some of the helpful intent was lost with the comedic turns of phrase and offshoots.

But personal opinion aside, well done.

[Anagonia]

While I thoroughly believe this guide is useful, I must say that I didn't enjoy the tone and mood of the piece. I felt it was inappropriate for something that should be explaining something, and some of the helpful intent was lost with the comedic turns of phrase and offshoots.

But personal opinion aside, well done.

Thank you very much for your critic and compliments.

I completely understand your point of view. When I first started writing this Guide I started it out as formal, educational and following in the lead of everyone else. To conform and to appease the establishment and all that jazz. However, two paragraphs into it I realized something. I was loosing my motivation due to strict rules and guidelines that, while not in stone, were pressed down on others. I realized then that I had to do it my way, the open way. Basically allow people a chance to see it for themselves and take what they will instead of forcing something down their throats in a formal fashion. Formality can be extremely intimidating, especially to newer role players. That was something I wanted to avoid.

Thus the finished piece you read is what came out. It's way out of line, not formal, goes against everything everyone tried so hard to set in stone and essentially mocks the established way of thinking. This wasn't my intent, mind you, however it is how I believe it came out. It allows the reader, like yourself, to take what they will and be on their merry way. It does not force things that more formal documents do into their brains, making them believe it is the only way to do it. It essentially expresses time and again that the only true way to do it is how you want to do it.

Let me be clear. I'm not stating this in a fashion that forms what I think your critic means. By no means do I mean for this to state that. What I did by expressing this was reveal the first intent of writing it and the end result. The humor was fashioned to ease tension and allow readers to be less intimidated, to relate to it. I perfectly understand the opinion that Guides must be written formally to be accepted or understood. Trust me, I had no intention or belief for this Guide to be recognized as much as it has been. To tell you the truth, I'm as surprised as you possibly are!

In ending I can only express my heartfelt gratitude for your opinion. While I must admit I cannot go against my beliefs of open expression and make my works more formal, I can say that I will try in the future to help it relate to the older crowd of Players. Obviously it seems a shun to them, which wasn't intended. Therefore that is something I'll need to correct.

Once again, thank you for your critic and thank you for your compliments!

[Kagetora]

Gonna be short because I'm on a phone.

I think the guidelines exist for a reason, but I still believe they are guidelines. They don't have to be followed. As to my opinion I wonder how much of it comes from my more serious writing style (which I'm told reads like a newspaper) that can be seen in the articles I've written, and being what I consider one of the "Old Guard."

[Czardas]

I think that, in informative writing, a highly casual or informal tone will often come across as patronising or "talking down". The implication is that you're trying to address an audience of kindergarteners, complete with fake smile and exaggerated speech contours. Those of us who are not kindergarteners will not appreciate it.

Ideally, informative prose should be as clear, concise and readable as possible. No huge walls of text, no concatenations of sesquipedalian ostentatiousness, and no homely rambling asides or pure silliness. You don't have to avoid the first person (as high school english teachers will often advise) and you can be as creative and humorous as you want, but the purpose of informative writing is ultimately to teach. The styles mentioned above might be appropriate to other kinds of writing. When used to inform, however, they will be read as dry, pretentious and condescending respectively.

I'm sure there are those with much more tolerance for that kind of thing than I, though. And I appreciate your efforts on behalf of the community.

[Anagonia]

Thank you both for your responses! I appreciate the effort in pointing out your opinions and I highly value them. Now, to address these separately.

Gonna be short because I'm on a phone.

I think the guidelines exist for a reason, but I still believe they are guidelines. They don't have to be followed. As to my opinion I wonder how much of it comes from my more serious writing style (which I'm told reads like a newspaper) that can be seen in the articles I've written, and being what I consider one of the "Old Guard."

Excellent observation. Your opinion is highly valued by me and I completely understand. However only during Role Plays do I bring up the "Old Guard" card. When I'm instructing someone, or telling them my opinion on something, I'm very open and humorous as was when I wrote this Guide. I hope this clears up any confusion!

Once again, thank you!

I think that, in informative writing, a highly casual or informal tone will often come across as patronising or "talking down". The implication is that you're trying to address an audience of kindergarteners, complete with fake smile and exaggerated speech contours. Those of us who are not kindergarteners will not appreciate it.

Ideally, informative prose should be as clear, concise and readable as possible. No huge walls of text, no concatenations of sesquipedalian ostentatiousness, and no homely rambling asides or pure silliness. You don't have to avoid the first person (as high school english teachers will often advise) and you can be as creative and humorous as you want, but the purpose of informative writing is ultimately to teach. The styles mentioned above might be appropriate to other kinds of writing. When used to inform, however, they will be read as dry, pretentious and condescending respectively.

I'm sure there are those with much more tolerance for that kind of thing than I, though. And I appreciate your efforts on behalf of the community.

Once again, excellent point. You are very correct, however I noted that you perhaps believe I am talking down to everyone. On the contrary! I am actually speaking as an equal to others, not as a teacher. As a matter of fact, the same way I wrote this Guide is exactly the same way I learn things. Even in serious conversations, humor and a subtle hue of knowledge is added by random people teaching me things. In this manner it helps you to be more open towards the individual and understand their point better. I did not, at any point, have any intent to talk down to anyone. I'm sorry you think that! If this is incorrect, forgive me for my assumption!

I apologize the Guide did not conform to your idea of how it should be. As I stated earlier to another fantastic critic, I do not express my opinions that way. I believe the best word I can describe it as is oppressive. When I am looking to enjoy something, I do not pick up a guide full of serious words and serious accusations to tell me how to do it. Especially when I'm not making money off of it! I want to write as a hobby, as an enjoyment! Therefore, I want someone to show me their method in a very informal fashion filled with humor so I can laugh a little and understand a bit more about their point of view. That way, regardless whether I take their method strictly or not, I don't come away scratching my head.

My opinion on "formal" articles is that they are delegated to things we make money off of. I can understand them being in manuals to operate machinery and for workplaces. However I can't understand for the life of me why anyone would try to be formal concerning a hobby. It's not that I curse anyone for doing it. On the contrary! I stated specifically that I don't blame them. I also stated if they were looking for such a thing, that this Guide probably wasn't for them. Instead I crafted a Guide from the heart to the reader. Expressing my view and method on writing and creating a story and not restricting the reader to any set ideal. I encouraged the reader to look elsewhere, to seek help and to not take my word for it. I believe these things were expressed many times in my Guide for people to understand the basis on why I wrote it.

You see, for many years on NS people wrote Guides strictly to the guidelines you stated. Some were okay, but they were bland and boring and way longer than mine. In contrast, I kept mine short and to the point to many others. I can't judge myself compared to the greats! It is impossible! After all, I stated clearly I never intended for this Guide to gain the amount of attention it has. What I did was write a piece of work from my mind and heart that was expressed and words and encouraged people to seek their own path while giving a piece of my own to help them along, if they wished to take some of it.

Thank you for your appreciation. I'm terribly sorry you feel the way you do about it, however I must restate that it was specifically mentioned this Guide was not the formal sort. I wish I could craft such a piece, to be considered canon in the policies never written in stone here, but I can't. I feel it would be wrong of me to do so. I can't dictate to someone how they should write, I can only give an example and encourage them to find their own way. This part of my belief was stated in the last Part. I could never dream of trying to give an example or force a world on someone. Instead, I simply gave a method.

Thank you again! I am truly humbled you replied and thank you very much Czardas.

P.S.

For people to learn proper writing, there are way more adequate guides here. It is assumed upon the writing of this Guide that people have a basic understanding of story writing, or at least a basic understanding taught in schools. The same I started out with. When concerning Writing as Work, I believe it is proper to be instructed by formal documents. Then again, some authors prefer the informal method, even in their works! It does operate both ways, in my opinion.

Thanks again for the critic!

P.P.S.

Also if any assumption concerning your post was incorrect, just state it and I will reword my response. It was what I took from it after sitting here reading it over and over. I do apologize, but obviously I don't catch onto things quickly!

[Yohannes]

Yet another wise word from Ana.

xoxoxo

[Anagonia]

Yet another wise word from Ana.

xoxoxo

Thanks again good friend! :3

[Yohannes]

Yet another wise word from Ana.

xoxoxo

Thanks again good friend! :3

ΘεΘ

[Kagetora]

Regarding my old guard comment I was more thinking along the lines of what Czardas said, in that being a player that has experience, part of the tone did feel a little like Czardas said, it could be interpreted as a little condescending, something I don't feel I deserve, even from someone who I consider easily at my level and exceeding it.

[Anagonia]

Regarding my old guard comment I was more thinking along the lines of what Czardas said, in that being a player that has experience, part of the tone did feel a little like Czardas said, it could be interpreted as a little condescending, something I don't feel I deserve, even from someone who I consider easily at my level and exceeding it.

Thank you, but like I told Czardas I did not write the Guide with such a tone present. If you feel it is there, I assure you it isn't. I have no earthly idea why anyone would consider that. I simply stated works of people and groups of players that seclude themselves based on some biased rules. I did not mention any names nor did I point anyone out. I strictly pointed out the ideal of these works and groups, not the individuals. I believe firmly that everyone has the best intentions at heart.

If you feel the Guides tone has some negative meaning to you, I do apologize. I cannot fathom nor shall I attempt to fathom why. If you believe I may have issues with you, I assure you that anything that happened in the past (if at all which I highly doubt) is just that. The past. I wrote this Guide detailing the reasons that brought me to it. I cannot simply exclude catalyst elements out of the Guide or explanations as to why I would write it. I would be lying to myself I said no one played a part in it. However I am not a person who points people out in secret. If I had issues with you, I assure you that you would find out in a civil and polite manner by me personally if at all possible.

The only other reason I can think of anyone taking offense to this is that they firmly believe there is a set way to doing things. I assure you, I respect this opinion and belief. However I am not that holds that belief as I've demonstrated time and again on Nationstates. Sure, I've grown tired of going between arguments and I choose my moral battles more wisely now. That doesn't mean, however, that I should fall back and pretend to go along with the crowd. Rather it should encourage me in a more positive manner to continue the course and instead of being angry or grumpy about it, do something positive. Like what I did when I wrote this Guide.

I'll freely admit that I'm not the first one to suffer these issues. I will also freely admit that these issues are simply a factor of life. Therefore if I didn't add this more personal tone to the Guide, it wouldn't reach the right people. More so since I crafted the Guide mainly to a newer audience, to help them understand my struggle from my beginnings to now. It helps people relate. Furthermore, it causes healthy debates and discussions, such as this one now. I welcome it all and consider all opinions as valid and informative. I cannot express enough how appreciative I am of them.

Once again, I assure you, if you feel offended you need to be. Unless we have had issues and someone feels guilty about, I see no reason why on earth anyone would would in the first place. I state this perfectly clear because I move on from such pathetic squabbles and I come back stronger every time to apologize and continue forward in any way possible. I try not to hold grudges. Admittedly, I am only human, therefore sometimes it does fail. But at no point in writing this Guide did I wish to express any negative feelings. Simply I wished to open the door to why it was crafted and continue on with a very helpful and humor-filled Guide.

I believe my addition on Moderation and Administration supports my belief here. If I didn't include that, then yes, any argument stating this Guide was anything else but what you stated it seemed to be would be invalid and it would strictly appear as such. However since it is there and I stated clearly my belief that regulations and respect must be followed, I sincerely doubt I had any ill intentions and my argument considering the thread holds no such ill will is valid. I left my personal remarks in a spoiler so people may choose to read it, to gain that understanding. I also stated that it is not a necessary read, but that I simply encouraged it. I hope this clears up things.

Thanks for the clarification and comment! I hope my answer was adequate on a personal level to answer your concerns. I understand I was very blunt about it, but that's the only way I can express my opinions.

P.S. Concerning the Old Guard comment, I completely understand. However my opinion on stating such is allowing oneself to proclaim themselves superior in a situation. This is only directed at myself when explaining this. When I did it, I wasn't too good about it and even in good situations it made me look like a douche. This is not to say it made you looked anything related to a negative fashion. No way! I just bluntly stated my opinion on why I don't do it. Sorry for the misunderstanding!

Also concerning the previous remarks concerning the guides spoiler and introduction mentioning other players. I assure you that any disputes I have ever had with these vaguely mentioned individuals has been solved prior and the situations being explained were solved long ago. Therefore it is not something to open up old wounds, merely an educational background to how my opinions evolved to where it is today. I clearly state they are opinions and not to be considered a part of any interaction with individuals.

Also in the Guide when it mentions the Nationstates Forum rp'ers. I did not intend that to be a bash either. I simply stated it because, in all truth, the forum mentioned most of the time consists of great role players and therefore anyone new reading this Guide I specifically encouraged to use International Incidents first to get their feet wet. That was all based on opinion, not on any negative ill will. I also made clear it was a suggestion and through my explanations of how I do my story writing I showed just how well International Incidents can be used to train ones capabilities. In the end, middle and beginning of the Guide I stated many times that everything written was to be considered strictly as opinion and taken to hear only if the reader chose to. Therefore, despite appearances, instead of bashing the NS Forum I informed the reader if they were new that more time might be possibly needed considering my own personal opinion of the grade of role plays going on there. Once again, it was encouraged that the reader choose for themselves what path they should take.

[The Cookish States]

No. Just; no. You do not, you do not tell people how to write or tell a story. You do not. It is the individual flare and style of each and every writer and author that makes every story telling unique and special. This conformity is immoral and wrong.

Haters gon' hate, just like they've always hated.
As for the rest of us, this guide is much appreciated.

[Anagonia]

Haters gon' hate, just like they've always hated.
As for the rest of us, this guide is much appreciated.

Thank you very much for your compliment and comment! I appreciate it very much.

Concerning the quote you linked in your post, I still get a chuckle out of it everytime I read it. It's a perfectly harmless chuckle, mind you.

[The Cookish States]

Haters gon' hate, just like they've always hated.
As for the rest of us, this guide is much appreciated.

Thank you very much for your compliment and comment! I appreciate it very much.

Concerning the quote you linked in your post, I still get a chuckle out of it everytime I read it. It's a perfectly harmless chuckle, mind you.

That's what i'm here for!

[Beldonia]

I especially like the section on character creation. I'm happy with my current characters, but it would have helped me when I was just starting.

[Anagonia]

I especially like the section on character creation. I'm happy with my current characters, but it would have helped me when I was just starting.

I'm glad you liked it!

That's the beauty of it, no way is perfect and if you created your characters YOUR way, well....hey....they're still perfect and awesome. Truth is you can assimilate whatever you learned and just use it, if you want to. It's not a set standard and it's not there to make you do it. Like you pointed out, it's just there to help.

I hope that whatever you garner from it helps you achieve greater things on NS. Just remember to have fun with it!

Thank you very much for that comment! It made my day.

[The Russian Republic]

Wonderful article, it's certainly helping me with some RP's I'm planning in the future. Spasibo.

[Anagonia]

Wonderful article, it's certainly helping me with some RP's I'm planning in the future. Spasibo.

Thank you very much for the compliment! I am extremely pleased that it is assisting you in this way. I hope whatever you endeavor to do has much great success! Thank you again!

[Johz]

That really was an awesome guide. Indeed, I think you should probably take it as a complement that I want to ask some questions.

Firstly, you talk about writing, but all writing has a reader. Who should I be writing for? Myself? My fellow RP'ers? A third party?

Secondly, your guide is quite clearly quite humourous, and I would just point out that I did enjoy reading it. How important do you think humour is in NS RP's? When should/n't it be used? Does it depend on the audience?

I think that's all. I'll reitterate - an extremely well-written and informative article that I'm quite glad to have read. Thank you for bothering to write it.

[Anagonia]

That really was an awesome guide. Indeed, I think you should probably take it as a complement that I want to ask some questions.

Sure! I'd be honored.

Firstly, you talk about writing, but all writing has a reader. Who should I be writing for? Myself? My fellow RP'ers? A third party?

You should (and this is advice now) be writing first and foremost for yourself. It all starts with you. If you share your work and gain just one fan of it, well you got an audience. Then you can expand, if you feel it necessary. However, any path you take always starts with you, the writer. The reader is the individual that informs you whether or not your work will survival in open fields. Your work can remain private and part of your personal collection, it doesn't need to be shared. Yet, if you want to share it, work with someone who encourages you and helps you maintain momentum and the path you take. That way it's still your work, but being made for a wider and open audience!

Secondly, your guide is quite clearly quite humourous, and I would just point out that I did enjoy reading it. How important do you think humour is in NS RP's? When should/n't it be used? Does it depend on the audience?

Sometimes, but in my opinion...no, not really. Unless you want to be included in some kind of strict group of individuals that only wants seriousness, then maybe humor doesn't work. For me, humor works because it lowers the barriers and helps me share to others that I'm just one of them. I don't want to be above anyone, I want them to enjoy what they read as much as I enjoyed writing it. Therefore I used humor to break the common barriers of misconception and opened the doorway for them to chuckle and laugh as they (if they chose to) learned a thing or two. If they didn't, well hey...I made someones day. That's what counts in my book.

Humor is critical in any NS RP. Adding it in adds a sense of normality, really. Now, if you're into a dramatic role play you have to carefully include it in, as in when you want to have an intermission in the drama, then that's fine. However if you overdo the humor in such serious situations, it really does tend to ruin the story, so be careful with that.

The only time I think, in my opinion, that you shouldn't use it is when you feel it doesn't need to be used. It's honestly up to you....or the Thread Originator who states in rules that he doesn't want it...either way, it's all up to you!

I think that's all. I'll reitterate - an extremely well-written and informative article that I'm quite glad to have read. Thank you for bothering to write it.

No, THANK YOU! You bothered to reply and asked questions! That not only surprised me, but made my day! I am humbled by your questions and compliments. Thank you VERY much for them! I hope my answers are satisfactory and help out!