Excellent thread! Vaporman, I had no idea you were such a boss!

I have written some comic book scripts and novels, but like you said, as a visual person myself, it might not be the best medium. Also, novels are a tremendous undertaking that could easily soak up a year without a "return." I think when I return to writing I'm going to start off with short stories and some scholarly journals to get myself established.

As for writing tips, whether they were solicited or not, I'd recommend adding a brief description/introduction to your novels to give the reader a preview of what to expect. This can be especially helpful in the editing/peer review phase.

Also, I noticed that books like Hunger Games, Harry Pottter, and even Twilight excel because of one major commonality- relateable characters. One of the biggest mistakes that beginning writers make is that they create a world brick by brick in specific detail without devoting much effort to building character.

The caveat to this is that you should avoid creating a character that is too specific or personalized to the writer, you want to leave enough room for the reader to fill him/herself into that character. I can't tell you how much fan fiction I've read that goes like "Darak, the 19 year old purple haired dragon tamer from El'jaban is approx five foot ten, 160 pounds, with olive skin, a scar above his right eyes, and wears shorts with black boots and a iron chain around his neck." See what I mean?

Lastly, you want to make sure that your characters change as the result of the conflict, undergoing a character arc. A good place to start is to take a look at Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey." For example, maybe Darak wasn't always a dragon tamer. Maybe we started off as a musician who attracted a dragon's attention and then he rode the dragon into battle to save the princess from an evil army that took over the kingdom. See what I did there?

Hope that helps!

 

Hey echidna! Thanks for the tips. They are indeed helpful.

As far as the novelette goes, I basically tossed out the original version, and began approaching it from the perspective of a found "lost document". What I have actually completed of it is now written in the form of a transcript (with the intention of interspersing letters from one of the key characters to his son in between chapters).

The reason for doing this was because the writing felt so stiff and unnatural in the original version. Writing it this way, it is unlikely to be anything other than a personal endeavor, but it will read in a fun and unique way with natural conversation relaying the story to the reader.

I intend on making the story an integral part of the DigiChar "virtual pet" site. If I manage to complete it. :lo:

DigiChars.com is coming together. As a RetroDaze member, you can automatically log in to the site (no need to register) by clicking on DIGICHARS link on the home page.

As of right now, the main "fun" thing about the site is missing. That being the online board game. I have taken the "board game" concept I spoke of a year ago in this thread, and converted its design to work online instead. Now I have to find out what all that is going to cost me.

In the meantime, I'm piecing together a few smaller things. Tomorrow I will create a page you can visit there where you will be able to download a DigiChar "template" that you can customize in any paint program, and then send it to me.

I will then "convert" it into a form that will fit with the overall DigiChar look. This will be YOUR custom DigiChar. I will also need to know how you want to divide up your attribute points among the six attributes (these will play a key role in the "online board game"). You can also provide me the name, description, faction, and backstory for your DigiChar (be sure to read the "Their World" section to get familiar with the world they live in. This will help shape your DigiChar's story into something that blends well with the world. There will be a "Story of the DigiChars" page coming soon that will go more in depth, if you would like to wait for that page before completing a backstory for your DigiChar.

I will post more about all this tomorrow in a new thread, "DigiChars".

Does it freak anybody out that I had that idea for "virtual collectibles" (Digichars) and joked about how I'd be the only one interested in such a thing... and now NFT collectibles sell for millions?

i kinda wish there was a retrodaze card game similar to that of pok'emon or another battle card game.

take an iconic character from a show or cartoon of the past and have them battle another. like al bundy using the move "insult" and which would take off 80 HP to she-ra.

Well that is what All Star Nostalgia Battle was supposed to be, except digital. 

Benjanime wrote :

i kinda wish there was a retrodaze card game similar to that of pok'emon or another battle card game.

take an iconic character from a show or cartoon of the past and have them battle another. like al bundy using the move "insult" and which would take off 80 HP to she-ra.

-end quote

 

Why use nostalgic characters when you can simply use the members of this forum? Who wouldn't want a Rick Ace Rhodes trading card?

Vaporman87 wrote :

 Well that is what All Star Nostalgia Battle was supposed to be, except digital. 

-end quote

 

 

i may as well have a moveset similar to video games since i write mostly video game articles lol. gimme an NES zapper!

I know I would absolutely love to battle with my Rick Ace Rhodes and Benjanime cards!

 

Rick Ace Rhodes wrote :

 

Why use nostalgic characters when you can simply use the members of this forum? Who wouldn't want a Rick Ace Rhodes trading card?

-end quote

 

Benjanime wrote :

 

i may as well have a moveset similar to video games since i write mostly video game articles lol. gimme an NES zapper!

-end quote