The Anti-Guide

How do you try to improve your writing?

I try to avoid old, stupid things.	17.5%	[ 2370 ]
I add new things.	14.7%	[ 1993 ]
A combination of both (if one more than the other, pick it).	67.8%	[ 9169 ]
Total Votes:			[ 13532 ]

[I_Write_Ivre]

Hunter-gathers have the most leisure in the world. They don't need to do any work and just sit around being pretty and making native jewelry.

[Maltese_Falcon91]

Misuki Marishima

When writing a story for a video game, make sure that the NPC's are soulless. This way the player will understand that 'ordinary people' (aka those who aren't the game hero) really aren't important. As a matter of fact, they are not allowed to say anything that won't help the hero on their quest.

Precisely. You should also be careful about giving them some what different sprites. That'll just confuse and frighten the player, towns should look like they're populated entirely by clones. Of course, NEVER make a town where they actually are clones. Science fiction RPGs, are totally lame. Make an anime inspired fantasy game and you'll be rolling in Misaos in no time.

Also, it's not like you need to update their dialogue once in awhile. It makes perfect sense for them to not-so-subtly nudge the player to the water cave hours after they've down that. So what if the demon prince's army has returned after a thousand years and has been burning villages left and right? It's not lazy game design, it's just providing the player with a sense of consistency.

[I_Write_Ivre]

Who wants to read about a character who intends to bring justice to the land? Those are boring.

What people rally want to read about is someone with no motivation other than to have sex with whoever and whatever they find, rushes into things with thinking, examines pointless objects, steals from the dead without considering what they are doing, seeks out sidequests irrelevant to the plot and even makes their own, plus does anything else meaningless for attention, despite already being a main character.

[marshmallowcreampie]

When writing a story about a magical world that is hidden from ours, don't give an explanation other than "they'll dissect you!". Because humans only want to cut things up, they won't have ANY other reaction to the existence of fairies, mermaids, and magic.

And when writing such a story, make sure the magical beings and world NEVER get revealed to our world. Cause NOBODY wants to read a story that explores the implications that the sudden existence of magic and mermaids would have on our world.

[Misuki Marishima]

If magic is an everyday part of the world, however, people must not use it for mundane things such as shaving, showering, or cooking.

Magic must only be used in combat, so it can be flashy.

[I_Write_Ivre]

Misuki Marishima

If magic is an everyday part of the world, however, people must not use it for mundane things such as shaving, showering, or cooking.

Magic must only be used in combat, so it can be flashy.

Only people who dress flashy can use it.

[marshmallowcreampie]

I_Write_Ivre

Hunter-gathers have the most leisure in the world. They don't need to do any work and just sit around being pretty and making native jewelry.

It's not like agriculture was the thing that allowed humans to have more free time.

[I_Write_Ivre]

marshmallowcreampie

I_Write_Ivre

Hunter-gathers have the most leisure in the world. They don't need to do any work and just sit around being pretty and making native jewelry.

It's not like agriculture was the thing that allowed humans to have more free time.

Same with cooking. Who really needs that?

[marshmallowcreampie]

I_Write_Ivre

marshmallowcreampie

I_Write_Ivre

Hunter-gathers have the most leisure in the world. They don't need to do any work and just sit around being pretty and making native jewelry.

It's not like agriculture was the thing that allowed humans to have more free time.

Same with cooking. Who really needs that?

Hunting and gathering is easy cause there are ALWAYS large game animals around, and fruits and veggies are always abundant. Hunter-gatherer societies never travel to follow the herds or anything.

[I_Write_Ivre]

marshmallowcreampie

I_Write_Ivre

marshmallowcreampie

I_Write_Ivre

Hunter-gathers have the most leisure in the world. They don't need to do any work and just sit around being pretty and making native jewelry.

It's not like agriculture was the thing that allowed humans to have more free time.

Same with cooking. Who really needs that?

Hunting and gathering is easy cause there are ALWAYS large game animals around, and fruits and veggies are always abundant. Hunter-gatherer societies never travel to follow the herds or anything.

They also have no laws, which makes their culture paradise.

[marshmallowcreampie]

I_Write_Ivre

They also have no laws, which makes their culture paradise.

Cause mean people always get kicked out, but that's not considered a type of law enforcement.

[I_Write_Ivre]

Do not use adverbs. Readers don't like to know when or where something happened or any description of how it happened.

[marshmallowcreampie]

Domestication and taming are the exact same thing. Take a wolf, tiger, dinosaur, or any other creature while it's still young, raise it among humans and treat it like a pet, it'll TOTALLY act like any dog.

[1upMushroomCloud]

marshmallowcreampie

Domestication and taming are the exact same thing. Take a wolf, tiger, dinosaur, or any other creature while it's still young, raise it among humans and treat it like a pet, it'll TOTALLY act like any dog.

And so will its offspring, which of course you will have no problem making because you can just pluck another youngun from the same bush that all animals apparently abandon their young in. Maternal instincts be damned.

Or you can just breed it with animals you already have domesticated. It's not like hybrids would be sterile or prone to terrible and tragic genetic problems like blindness, deafness, weak bone structure, disease, cancer, or just plain mutations and malformations.

[1upMushroomCloud]

I_Write_Ivre

Do not use adverbs. Readers don't like to know when or where something happened or any description of how it happened.

In fact, if you know what an adverb IS, throw that knowledge out of your mind deftly. Adverbs are hardly used anymore. People rarely know what one is anyways; even if they see it plainly! So definitely remember that adverbs are totally silly.