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How to create a Story.
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Started by MeNobody14
(2013-07-10 02:42:37)

MeNobody14 (2013-07-10 02:42:37)

First, Yes. I know there is a thread titled: "How to properly write a creepypasta." But this is not just for creepypastas. This is for stories in general. DoodleBob's thread has lots of great tips, so if you haven't read it yet, go do so now.

To begin, there are four main things you'll need:

1: A character.
2: A backstory.
3: A setting.

And the greatest tool at your disposal: Imaginiation.

Characters: I'm going to use DevinE's "The Killer" as an example.

In his story, a babysitter watches over a few kids while they play a game. One of them gets a note that they'll all die. When the babysitter sends them to bed, she gets an anonymous phone call to check on the kiddos, which, of course, she dismisses as a prank. The serial killer then slaughters the children, and later the babysitter, after the babysitter calls the police, though. And he gets hauled to jail, kicking and screaming.

Nice story, huh?

Wrong. You see, there are quite a few things missing, like:

Why is the serial killer going to kill them? How would he have known about a note from a childrens game? Who are the children? Why is the serial killer killing in the first place?

Heck. He didn't even give the babysitter a name. She is literally refered to as "Babysitter" throughout the entire creepypasta!

Why is this bad? Because there are no characters. No emotions. No detail. Just a random serial killer trying to slaughter as many people as possible. You can easily assume why the killer is killing, but that's no excuse to leave out detail.

Characters are the most important part of a story! The second, being character development. Once you have a character, you need to expand on said character. Give it more.. Oomph. I am not very skilled in this, so I cannot expound on it, but I know enough to say it's important.

Backstories:

A character, (like a villain, or something) Needs a backstory. Kind of like, Jeff. Or Jane. Otherwise, they can join the ranks of nameless murderers with knives and sadistic grins.

If you have no backstory, you have no character. If you have no character, you have no story. Now, you don't have to worry about giving that guy at the grocery store a backstory, or the girl in the crowd that yells "ILUV1D". Fear not, for they are simply extras.

The setting:

The "setting" is where a story takes place. In DevinE's story, the setting is obviously a house. But "Where" the house is and "What" it looks like are not said. Which, isn't always necessary. In slenderman, it is never said "Where" the forest is. (I think.) Which, adds to the level of scares. A setting can be used to give even more depth, especially if you go on an amazing journey like in "The Lord of the Rings.".

"When", is also a good thing to add. If you constantly add dates, it adds even more depth, and helps the reader know that this all didn't happen in hours. Simply saying things like; "Last night" and "Yesterday" are perfectly acceptable, as long as they are used correctly.

Imagination!:

Ah, my favorite part. This is the backbone of all creativity. Even if you have loads of inspiration, you still need Imagination to throw it all together.

As seen in DevinE's story above, it wasn't very original. I've noticed that Babysitters and Murderers are becoming a cliche. Originality comes from your imagination! You need a good one, to be able to write a decent story. Even if it's a fan-fiction, you need imagination! (Of course, if it's a FanFic, you already have the characters.)

Imagination is what brings a story to life. It takes both the Authors imagination and creativity, and the Readers Imagination and sitting power to make a story work. (The author's, to write the story, and the reader's, to imagine what it would look like.)

These are the three main things you'll need. There are others still, like correct Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation, Capitalization, and Spacing. But they are more like rules and you can find all those elsewhere.

If you use these three tools, (as well as the five other rules) your story is sure to be a good one!

Additions:

Spelling:

This is a must. If you type everything in "txt tlk", nobody will understand it. (Nobody, meaning everyone, not me. :troll

Proofread it before you post it. Or, if you write it in the notes, and then copy and paste, let someone else read it. Make sure everything is A-okay and such. Proper spelling and large words make you seem smarter, and shows your effort in trying to create a story.

Grammar:

"But Me, aren't spelling and grammar the exact same thing?"

No. They are not. Grammar is also referred to as "English". Grammar is phrasing words correctly, and adding punctuation, capitalization, using the correct words, and all those other fun details. Without grammar, It'll probably look like this:

me and bobby went too the store we buyed root-beer and went back two the house

You see how wrong that looks?

It should look like this:

Bobby and I went to the store, we bought root-beer, and went back to the House.

See the difference? It looks so much better now!

Capitalization:

Capitalization is important, for it helps show the difference between an ordinary object, and one that is important.

Bobby and I went to the store, we bought root-beer, and went back to the House.[i]

I've highlighted all the of the words that needed Capitalization.

Bobby: names need capitalization.
I: As in "Me" needs capitalization.
House: A place.

A person, place, or thing, needs capitalization. It says "Hey! I'm important!" Also, if it's the beginning of a sentence, it needs capitalization. And you [i]only capitalize the first letter.

Punctuation:

Punctuation is a must. If you don't have it, sentences might look like this:

Lets go eat Grampa

You don't want to look like a cannibal, do you? It should look like this:

"Let's go eat, Grampa."

"Quotation marks"

This tells you when a character is speaking. If you didn't have quotation marks, it would look like a narrator is telling the entire story.

Periods...:

Periods end a sentence, and induce thought. If you didn't have periods, it would look like this:

"Wow I need a drink" while I got a drink billy went to the bathroom and bobby burped wait whats that noise aghhhhhhh

It's extremely difficult to follw when you don't use periods.

Commas,,,,,,,,,,,,,:

These are what you put when your not quite finished with a sentence. Example:

"Hey mom can I have a donut?"

Take a breath, Kid! It should look like this:

"Hey Mom, can I have a donut?"

It's sort of like a pause. A stop to take a breath.

Exclamation marks!!!:

These are used for emphasis. Instead of using ALL CAPS AND LOOKING LIKE A NOOB, Simply use exclamation marks! Great for when someone is yelling!

Question marks???:

The name says it all. If there is a question being asked, put this in place of a period.

Apostrophes''''':

Some words use this before an "s", like in "It's". Also, you use it in names, like "Bob's". The apostrophe-S means it's that persons thing, like "It was Bob's toy."

UPDATE: