Vault101s guide to writing awsome storys!

[major_chaos]

oohh being cynical and angry are we? I'll bite:
Happy endings: Happy endings are BORING and "cliche" and for GIRLS and you should NEVER HAVE ONE, instead the protagonist and his/her loved ones must be dead AND/OR miserable, if you can swing it kill the entire cast for TRUE ART.

 

[Kurt Cristal]

Brought a tear to my eye. Utter genius. My stories have improved twentyfold! Bravo, Vault!

<img src=http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq2u0cmb2s1qii6tmo1_500.gif>

 

[Vault101]

oohh being cynical and angry are we?.

nope

just having a laugh

 

[Thaluikhain]

I hate to say it, but a lot of the advice on what not to do...well, lots of very lucrative writing is based on them.

 

[major_chaos]

oohh being cynical and angry are we?.

nope

just having a laugh

Oh. Well now I look stupid cuz I was being angry >_< but then again "cynical and angry" seems to be my default state these days. The "happy endings are cliche" crowd just gets on my nerves, partly because I'm a sucker for a good happy ending and partly because I find it easier to list recent games with sad/bittersweet endings than ones with happy endings.

 

[Vault101]

Oh. Well now I look stupid cuz I was being angry >_< but then again "cynical and angry" seems to be my default state these days. The "happy endings are cliche" crowd just gets on my nerves, partly because I'm a sucker for a good happy ending and partly because I find it easier to list recent games with sad/bittersweet endings than ones with happy endings.

I dont get why you'd think I was angry..I was just bored and decided to write a spoof

I do agree about the ending thing...especially this Idea that happy endings are somehow not "deep" or "artistic" enough, that wanting one makes you niave and unable to understand what makes GREAT story's (particuly in regards to the ME3 incident)

I hate to say it, but a lot of the advice on what not to do...well, lots of very lucrative writing is based on them.

I don;t think aiming to write the next twilight is a good plan for ones writing

 

[Thaluikhain]

I don;t think aiming to write the next twilight is a good plan for ones writing

Well, you might think differently if you were rolling in money.

Anyway, I didn't just mean Twilight.

So, there's this girl. She's tragically orphaned and richer than anyone on the planet. Every guy she meets falls in love with her, but in between torrid romances she rejects them all because she dedicated to what is Pure and Good. She has genius level intellect, Olympic-athelete level athletic ability and incredible good looks. She is consumed by terrible angst, but this only makes guys want her more. She has no superhuman abilities, yet she is more competent than her superhuman friends and defeats superhumans with ease. She has unshakably loyal friends and allies, despite the fact she treats them pretty badly. They fear and respect her, and defer to her orders. Everyone is obsessed with her, even her enemies are attracted to her. She can plan ahead for anything and she's generally right with any conclusion she makes. People who defy her are inevitably wrong.

On the one hand, that sounds like a Mary Sue character, covering many of the things people have expressly said not to do. On the other hand, (excepting gender), that's one of the most well-loved 20th century characters in western culture.

 

[Vault101]

Well, you might think differently if you were rolling in money.

mabye riding trends can have financial benefits...but I'd wager its Stephanie myer that's rolling in cash...not her knock offs (thats not including books that [i/]happen[/i] to be similar and get caught up in the trend)

you can ride trends but you can't "make" a twilight happen, it just does

[quote/]Anyway, I didn't just mean Twilight.

So, there's this girl. She's tragically orphaned and richer than anyone on the planet. Every guy she meets falls in love with her, but in between torrid romances she rejects them all because she dedicated to what is Pure and Good. She has genius level intellect, Olympic-athelete level athletic ability and incredible good looks. She is consumed by terrible angst, but this only makes guys want her more. She has no superhuman abilities, yet she is more competent than her superhuman friends and defeats superhumans with ease. She has unshakably loyal friends and allies, despite the fact she treats them pretty badly. They fear and respect her, and defer to her orders. Everyone is obsessed with her, even her enemies are attracted to her. She can plan ahead for anything and she's generally right with any conclusion she makes. People who defy her are inevitably wrong.

On the one hand, that sounds like a Mary Sue character, covering many of the things people have expressly said not to do. On the other hand, (excepting gender), that's one of the most well-loved 20th century characters in western culture.[/quote]
who is that charachter? how old is the work from which she came? and whats the tone of said work? doesn it play itself stright or is there a level of self awareness? all factors to consider

these things aren't all bad...its just they can get tiring at times

Take Indiana Jones, each new installment (except the fourth) there's a new female character brought out for indie to romance, (I'll admit in the thrid one the nazy ladies role is a bit more..involved..but still) now that may have been charming at the time and mabye even part of the series roots in older works, but now days if I series did that it would just be....eye roll inducing

its a similar thing with uncharted...thankfully they don't go to those lengths but they still don;t know how to handle drakes "romance" in any other state other than snarky "will they or wont they" so they just pull a "we broke up in between the seaquels" fucking TWICE, honestly its lazy

 

[Zhukov]

So, there's this girl. She's tragically orphaned and richer than anyone on the planet. Every guy she meets falls in love with her, but in between torrid romances she rejects them all because she dedicated to what is Pure and Good. She has genius level intellect, Olympic-athelete level athletic ability and incredible good looks. She is consumed by terrible angst, but this only makes guys want her more. She has no superhuman abilities, yet she is more competent than her superhuman friends and defeats superhumans with ease. She has unshakably loyal friends and allies, despite the fact she treats them pretty badly. They fear and respect her, and defer to her orders. Everyone is obsessed with her, even her enemies are attracted to her. She can plan ahead for anything and she's generally right with any conclusion she makes. People who defy her are inevitably wrong.

On the one hand, that sounds like a Mary Sue character, covering many of the things people have expressly said not to do. On the other hand, (excepting gender), that's one of the most well-loved 20th century characters in western culture.

who is that charachter? how old is the work from which she came? and whats the tone of said work? doesn it play itself stright or is there a level of self awareness?

I'm pretty sure that's a gender-switched Batman.

(Incidentally, it's also a list of reason I really don't like Batman.)

 

[Vault101]

I'm pretty sure that's a gender-switched Batman.

(Incidentally, it's also a list of reason I really don't like Batman.)

ah...good call (kind of obvious now)

to be fair in that case batman is a character who is VERY old and long running, so of coarse thease things build up over time...and there has been I guess some deconstruction as well

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Well, you might think differently if you were rolling in money.

mabye riding trends can have financial benefits...but I'd wager its Stephanie myer that's rolling in cash...not her knock offs (thats not including books that [i/]happen[/i] to be similar and get caught up in the trend)

you can ride trends but you can't "make" a twilight happen, it just does

[quote/]Anyway, I didn't just mean Twilight.

So, there's this girl. She's tragically orphaned and richer than anyone on the planet. Every guy she meets falls in love with her, but in between torrid romances she rejects them all because she dedicated to what is Pure and Good. She has genius level intellect, Olympic-athelete level athletic ability and incredible good looks. She is consumed by terrible angst, but this only makes guys want her more. She has no superhuman abilities, yet she is more competent than her superhuman friends and defeats superhumans with ease. She has unshakably loyal friends and allies, despite the fact she treats them pretty badly. They fear and respect her, and defer to her orders. Everyone is obsessed with her, even her enemies are attracted to her. She can plan ahead for anything and she's generally right with any conclusion she makes. People who defy her are inevitably wrong.

On the one hand, that sounds like a Mary Sue character, covering many of the things people have expressly said not to do. On the other hand, (excepting gender), that's one of the most well-loved 20th century characters in western culture.

who is that charachter? how old is the work from which she came? and whats the tone of said work? doesn it play itself stright or is there a level of self awareness? all factors to consider

these things aren't all bad...its just they can get tiring at times

Take Indiana Jones, each new installment (except the fourth) there's a new female character brought out for indie to romance, (I'll admit in the thrid one the nazy ladies role is a bit more..involved..but still) now that may have been charming at the time and mabye even part of the series roots in older works, but now days if I series did that it would just be....eye roll inducing

its a similar thing with uncharted...thankfully they don't go to those lengths but they still don;t know how to handle drakes "romance" in any other state other than snarky "will they or wont they" so they just pull a "we broke up in between the seaquels" fucking TWICE, honestly its lazy[/quote]

I was thinking it was either Bella Swan or Batgirl.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Well, you might think differently if you were rolling in money.

mabye riding trends can have financial benefits...but I'd wager its Stephanie myer that's rolling in cash...not her knock offs (thats not including books that [i/]happen[/i] to be similar and get caught up in the trend)

you can ride trends but you can't "make" a twilight happen, it just does

A fair point, though there's a lot of similar complaints about books that get published and presumably bought by someone.

to be fair in that case batman is a character who is VERY old and long running, so of coarse thease things build up over time...and there has been I guess some deconstruction as well

True, there is of course more to Batman than that. Even so, that sort of wish fulfillment character is popular, it just has to be done right (or happen to appeal to the reader).

 

[floppylobster]

A twist. You must have a twist! Don't think "The Butler did it". Stun audiences with, "The Butler didn't do it", and then blow their minds with the reveal that "The Butler is a ghost!"

Also, when introducing the butler, have him ride up on a motorcycle. And you think it's a guy but he takes his helmet off and - it's a girl! Mind blown! Then follow that up with a shoot out where the main character has a shoot out using two guns.

And have a creepy scene of the hero watching a video of his dead wife and/or child and reminiscing about the 'good old days' (do it before the shoot out).

Just be sure to make a portion of your royalty checks out to me.

 

[PuckFuppet]

No Background explained through increasingly vague/awesome/sex filled flashbacks?

Psh, amateur.

 

[Thaluikhain]

A twist. You must have a twist! Don't think "The Butler did it". Stun audiences with, "The Butler didn't do it", and then blow their minds with the reveal that "The Butler is a ghost!"

Also, when introducing the butler, have him ride up on a motorcycle. And you think it's a guy but he takes his helmet off and - it's a girl! Mind blown! Then follow that up with a shoot out where the main character has a shoot out using two guns.

And have a creepy scene of the hero watching a video of his dead wife and/or child and reminiscing about the 'good old days' (do it before the shoot out).

Just be sure to make a portion of your royalty checks out to me.

Yeah, and you have to advertise it as "a twist you'll never see coming", and don't add "because it makes no kind of sense".

 

[kailus13]

All anime has to include the basics: You can't have an anime without some sort of high school involved, right? Every protagonist has to be a male who's clueless and naive, right? Every female has to have nice breast sizes, even teens need the proper jiggle effect whenever they run, right? Who cares about realistic features of a human being, make them all skinny, excellently attractive, and have unique hair styles that fill in the rainbow! What, a female character who's independent and smart? Nah make her snobby or shy with incidents that lead her panties exposed, every male can't resist that crap, right?

Also make the girls extremely abusive towards males, because of girl power you know? Like, if a guy simply tries to justify something he may or may not of done.. have the girl(s) beat the shiznit out of his face and stomp him in the balls, which of course is hilarious to all right? Oh and have talking animals that perfectly understand humans and interact like a person would- no wait make them incredibly unique and have big cute eyes because screw anything nasty like a bat or say, an insect. Protagonists need a power, something to make them utterly cool and put everyone else in their place; don't you dare make them normal because normal people suck and chicks hate normal people like a nerd or chubby dude. Speaking of which, any male that is chubby or has glasses- make them a creeper that harasses women so the good looking, tough male can put him in his place!

... I can do this all day. Literally, anime has way to many cliche's even in good animes like One Piece, Ghost in the Shell, Bleach, Naruto, and some titles you may of not heard of.

You seem to have forgotten that there has to be a child-like tsundere girl who likes the main character because he was nice to her... once.

 

[zefiris]

Vault, I love this thread. You rock.

 

[Dansen]

You forgets the power of FRIENDSHIPS!

If anime is anything to go by, having friends is the villains kryptonite or something, seriously, Fairy Tail feeds off BS nakama power...

lol, that is only in shonen bro.

My sister is a huge fairy tail fan, and the first time she told me about the Nakama speeches I loled so hard.

PPpfttttt- Haahahaha!! Vault, you've made my night, thank you so much XD that was glorious if not sadly true about how most writer's go about their way with stories/games/movies/ect. I've also got something to add to this:



... I can do this all day. Literally, anime has way to many cliche's even in good animes like One Piece, Ghost in the Shell, Bleach, Naruto, and some titles you may of not heard of.

Wait, what? Ghost in the Shell is cliche? One Piece, Naruto and Bleach are "good" anime?
I ended up watching blue submarine number 7 because of your avatar, so I know you have some good tastes, but now I have to question you when you put GITS in the same league as the big three.