How to write a story: S&T tricks and tips

[Dhoomstriker]

Some stories are less conducive to receiving spam-like messages than others. While I am not saying that you should go out of your way to author spam in the other stories, you should get a feel for the author and their tolerance for spam-like messages before posting borderline off-topic (or even blatantly off-topic) messages in their threads. If an author has been updating reasonably regularly and has not been drawn into very many side conversations, then take it as a very blatant clue that such a thread is not a good one to post off-topic messages in.

As a corollary, if the author joins in on a conversation, it automatically becomes on-topic. Therefore, what seemed like an off-topic message can actually be quite on-topic in a thread where the author likes to participate in side conversations, particularly when the author has the ulterior motive of drawing attention away from the fact that they haven't updated the story in a while (sometimes in a very long while).

 

[NinjaCow64]

NINJA’S TERRIFIC TIPS OF TERRIBLY TIPPY TIPPING!!!

+Update your stories once a century, just like me! Seriously, try to update your stories constantly. I understand that you don’t have enough time or you are simply not in the mood. But do try to make the effort. This is a bit of a case of do-what-I-say-not-what-I-do.
+ dUnderstand that when people go “GIVE ME AN UPDATE I WANT AN UPADTE OR I WILL FIRE MY LAZER BAAAAAAAAAAH!” they are just expressing how much they enjoy your story and how they don’t want to see it die.
+ DON’T BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW! Most of these tips are semi-silly, but this one is very important. If you don’t think you have time to start a Realpolitik, don’t. Stories are very time consuming and interactive AARs are even more time consuming. If you don’t want to be stressed, then don’t bite off more than you can chew.
+ Take screenshots. Please take screenshots. It doesn’t have to be screenshot heavy, but at least put a world map in every now and again. It makes the story much more visually appealing. Also, Mac users have to take screenshots a different way. You have to press Command-Shift-3 all at once. Remember to take a few different screenshots, because this method isn’t 100% reliable and you don’t want your story to have nice pictures of landscapes without any cities, improvements or people.
+ Keep Off-Topic talk to a minimum. It’s all nice and fun until someone gets an infraction or loses an eye. I know it gets tempting to talk about politics in some threads, but then it turns into something resembling the P-word Wars (shudder shudder). Also, if you think it is spam, don’t post it.

Anyway, all this tip giving has inspired me to write more of my story. I might give more tips later, but until then, see ya!

 

[trexeric]

Trexeric's Fun Tips for Storytelling!

#1 - RFC makes for good stories (RFC stories are really the only ones I read).
#2 - Don't be reluctant to give the viewers what they want - that is if that request is possible.
#3 - Stop any spamming after a while. Let the people have a little fun in the beginning though.
#4 - It's fun to make up a history about your current situation!
#5 - Have fun with the story! Don't let it become a burden. If it does, cancel it (like I did with my Arabia story).

 

[Mosher]

Trexeric's Fun Tips for Storytelling!

#1 - RFC makes for good stories (RFC stories are really the only ones I read).

I see how it is!

 

[Civ'ed]

Civ'ed tips, 3rd run!

• Have something such as a question or reward ready. Stops the spam in it's tracks.
• NEVER, EVER, EVER ASK WHAT ULM IS.
• Mods are in general funner to play than vanilla. Mods allow you to have more civs or better game mechanics and more interesting twists to your story!
• If you want to draw squiggly lines across your map as to resemble borders you have to use vanilla, however
• You do not have to end at victory or 2050 AD, Icaria909 went on with his Mongol story and only stopped when everything collapsed.
• Don't, please don't, get involved with a spam discussion, it won't be spam when that happens.
• Don't bother listening to the CANADA/AMERICA discussion.
• Suprise everyone! like this you can also cut spam.
• We Dutchmen have a great saying, "you can't see the forest because of the trees". Spam is the trees in this case, the story is the forest, everyone forgets what the thread's about. So try to get the story back in the foreground quickly if this happens.
• Don't listen to Yoshi's rambling about the Yoshi LH.

 

[SouthernKing]

-Use American English spelling. It really makes lots of people happy.
-Keep the crowd occupied with PROMISES of updates even when you dont have an update. This I have learned keeps the spam out.
-Listen to the suggestions of the crowd. They may have good ideas, also asking for suggestions keeps out the spam.
-RFC anything stories are always the most popular and also the most common. If you plan to do an RFC story, it may help to do something special in your story. Like Yoshi's Destruction of History stories, those have been fairly popular.
-If you plan an AAR, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE FREE TIME TO DO IT. AARs are time-consuming to GM.
-UPDATE REGULARLY. Yoshi, in the old days, often waited weeks, even a month, before updates. Some people now take 2-3 WEEKS to do an update.
-DONT DO TOO MANY STORIES AT ONCE. Yoshi had 4-5 stories AT THE SAME TIME at one time, it really didnt help his already slow updates.

 

[hoplitejoe]

-Use American English spelling. It really makes lots of people happy.

How dishonourable

 

[SouthernKing]

Lets not get started. The HONOR WAR took too many casualties back in the day

 

[Civ'ed]

Just put Hono(u)rable. Everyone's happy.

 

[Mosher]

Mosher's one and only tip -
Don't threads.

 

[Tlc2011]

P-word wars? What?....

Crap, i asked...

[sulks away trying to not be seen]

 

[Alexius08]

-If you plan an AAR, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE FREE TIME TO DO IT. AARs are time-consuming to GM.

Time constraints are keeping me from starting "In Soviet Russia, game plays you!", an RFC AAR with Russia.

 

[Tlc2011]

And now i remember what the p-- [is smacked with a parrotfish]ow...

Wars is.