Category: The Story

[The Story] Freedom Writing Whatever

Whenever I find myself approaching any degree of writer’s block, I would say that fundamentally it’s because I haven’t had enough freedom to write about whatever I wanted. I always felt confined to particularities. After a night’s rest and reassessment with coffee, I can usually readjust my focus. By the time I write “The Story,” ideally, I would like to have all of these sorts of lessons learned learned, so I can write the novel/series.

Spoilers?: Minor [thinking about thinking]
WANNA CONSIDER HOW WRITER’S BLOCK IS JUST ANOTHER PHRASE FOR NOT ADDRESSING THE ROOT CAUSE OF WHAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR HEAD? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[Media Meandry] Preparation Versus Scenarios

When it comes to storytelling, how much of a character should be prepared/meditated on versus learned about through seeing how they react to scenarios? Through my recent sessions in Pokémon LeafGreen, I’ve focused on progressing through the game, rather than assessing the movesets of each Pokémon to see what would work best for them or which I want to use against the Elite 4. Similarly, when I wrote Novel 01, I could have assessed and prepared more…

WANNA CONSIDER WHICH CAME FIRST? THE CHICKEN/PREPARATION OR THE EGG/SCENARIO? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[Media Meandry] Meditative, Competitive, Narrative

This entry in my playthrough of Pokémon LeafGreen will be less directly related to character building/discovery and more metaphorical, exploring what interests me about Pokémon and other media along with their relation to what I want to create. The way I see it, all media are tools to teach or entertain, but it’s a matter of finding that which teaches or entertains what is relevant to you. You can do that with defining and refining.

Novel Spoilers?: Minor [Interests directing novel’s path]
Game Spoilers? None

WANNA CONSIDER THAT ONCE YOU DEFINE AND REFINE THE ELEMENTS OF MEDIA YOU LIKE, YOU CAN THEN EITHER FIND OR BUILD YOUR OWN MEDIA THAT SPEAKS TO THOSE ELEMENTS? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Handsomest Boy Imaginable

In the first part of our two-parter, I explored why John would think Trishna was the prettiest girl imaginable in “The Story.” Now it’s John’s turn. He could be pretty, but let’s use the masculine equivalent for convenience. I’ve always like how hermoso and hermosa have one letter difference in Spanish might mean handsome and pretty respectively. There are many desirable traits that are neither gendered nor strictly romantic, but they are the main couple.

Spoilers?: Minor [exploring character motivations]
WANNA CONSIDER HOW NOT EVERYTHING RELATED TO YOUR ATTRACTION IS BASED ON YOUR LOOKS? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Prettiest Girl Imaginable

In this first of a two-parter looking at the main characters of “The Story,” let’s explore the question of what makes Trishna the prettiest girl imaginable to John. I don’t think it’s exactly because of physical appearance, because they talk over instant messaging for probably over five years before actually meeting in person. The attraction goes deeper than that, into how she inspires him to feel, both during his highest highs and his lowest lows.

Spoilers?: Minor [exploring character motivations]
WANNA CONSIDER HOW NOT EVERYTHING RELATED TO YOUR ATTRACTION IS BASED ON YOUR LOOKS? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[Media Meandry] Generic Character List

While I haven’t done the degree of character design I had brainstormed out in “Incidents Build Characters,” during this play session of Pokémon LeafGreen, I realized that I was overthinking things. I can start simply then build out the characters that need building out. When I came across the need to name three new characters around a central theme, I decided to build out a Generic Character List for Novel 02 based on material from Novel 01.

Novel Spoilers?: Minor [Planning out new/old characters]
Game Spoilers? None

WANNA CONSIDER HOW BUILDING FOUNDATIONAL CHARACTER MATERIALS CAN HELP BUILD CHARACTERS MORE THOROUGHLY? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[Media Meandry] Incidents Build Characters

As I continue along toward completing my playthrough of Pokémon LeafGreen, I’ve wondered about the benefits of playing this game from not just a relaxation/escapist perspective, but from a narrative perspective. In “Inconsequentially Building Characters,” I have wondered whether having the names alone would be enough to help me brainstorm character ideas? I decided no, overall. Organic, non-contrived storytelling is usually better, in my opinion.

Novel Spoilers?: Minor [Are characters created? Discovered?]
Game Spoilers? None

WANNA CONSIDER HOW CRAMMING UNRELATED THINGS INTO YOUR WORKS CAN FEEL WEIRD FOR MYRIAD REASONS? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[Media Meandry] Inconsequentially Building Characters

When I introduce new characters into my fiction, as I did with characters in my first novel, I started off with a batch of characters that the main character, Sammohini, would interact with throughout the novel. I’ve been using my playthrough of Pokémon LeafGreen to brainstorm character attributes. While I decided on one new character during this session, I don’t think anymore that tangental character naming is an effective tool of deciding on new characters.

Novel Spoilers?: Minor [just naming names, processes]
Game Spoilers? None

WANNA CONSIDER HOW YOU CAN BRAINSTORM NEW CHARACTERS BY BRINGING YOUR CHARACTERS INTO NEW WORLDS? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Riding In Elevators

My physical therapists have an office on the second floor of an otherwise empty building. When you leave their office, if your back remains facing the door, you’ll see an elevator to your left. Ahead will be a view overlooking more than a parking lot. I’ve always taken the stairs to the right, but after leaving PT the other day, physically sore, I was reminded of how many scenes in “The Story” will involve elevators.

Spoilers?: Minor [worldbuilding as character-building]
WANNA PRACTICE TAKING YOUR CHARACTERS WITH YOU WHERE YOU GO BY SEEING HOW I DO THIS? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Playing Videogames Together

John and Trishna in “The Story” bond online over their shared interests in videogames, so once they have the opportunity to meet in person, videogames will be a hobby they share. I’ve imagined they primarily play long-form RPGs or other less competitive games, but what kinds specifically, and why? Would they be realistically based on real-world games or would they be imaginarily based on anything? Would they create their own small, amateur games as well?

Spoilers?: Minor [background character development]
WANNA CONSIDER HOW VIDEOGAMES REPRESENT A VALID STORYTELLING MEDIA? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!