What do you look for in a Story Hour?

[alsih2o]

Updates written from the villain's point of view seem to be really popular now and then. I think its refreshing to read them, because it gives insight into how the DM is planning.

Beale Knight is loggin our campaign and has a story hour of it, but this idea has intrigued me. I think I woudl enjoy writing some form the abd guys perspective.

A couple of paragraphs on the giant spiders that were their first open country encounter strikes me as oddly writable.

I am also considering telling the last campaign I was in from the perspective of my characters familiar.

 

[megamania]

"Writing that shows, not tells..... ?

Do you mean referring to the six sences? smell, touch, taste, feel, see and sense?

Just looking at your list and I think cover everything but maybe the grammar bit.


If you don't believe me then check out my Storyhours (always looking for feedback)

 

[Shemeska]

Updates written from the villain's point of view seem to be really popular now and then. I think its refreshing to read them, because it gives insight into how the DM is planning.

While it wasn't from their point of view necessarily, I've had fairly lengthy stretches of material focused on what various antagonists were doing at the same time the PCs were doing their own thing. It's allowed me to detail both sides of the plot that was going on at the time, from both the PCs and the fiends' perspectives. It's been amusing to show it from their end from time to time, get inside their heads and give their thoughts and reactions to the events the PCs were reacting to at the same time.

I've bounced from dialogue between yugoloths and political intrigue in Gehenna, then over to the PCs within one of the mazes of The Lady of Pain, and then back to the seige of Khin-Oin and the loss of a layer of Elysium. Currently I've moved more to focus on the PCs within Sigil, though when appropriate I'll swing back to the fiends.

 

[Piratecat]

"Writing that shows, not tells..... ?

Do you mean referring to the six sences?

*blink* SIX senses? Waitaminnit. . . Nope, although that is important as well. I think the best way to explain what I'm referring to is to give an example:

Telling:

Jeff was smarter than Roger. Roger hated him as a result.

Showing:

"It's quite simple," Jeff said. "You just take the net present value of the discounted cash flow, and it tells you exactly how much your investment is worth now. What's so difficult to understand?" His hand flew across the blackboard as he sketched symbols.

Roger ground his teeth loudly enough to be heard over the scratching of the chalk. "You're dead, jackass," he muttered.

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing, what?"

"Nothing, Sir."

If you show something, you let the reader draw their own conclusions based on what you show them. It's a lot more effective than just telling them that Amy is mad, or Peter is fat, or what have you. Steven King's book On Writing discusses this very effectively.

 

[Stone Angel]

I tend to like story hours that continue usually I won't start reading one untill it has a couple pages, that way I don't read one update decide that I really like it and then them never update it again.


The Seraph of Earth and Stone

 

[Piratecat]

Conversation I just had with my wife:

"There's an interesting thread titled 'What do you look for in story hours.'"

"Porn."

"Porn?"

"Porn."

"I don't think. . ."

"Porn. And short paragraphs. I hate really long paragraphs."

"But the Grandma rule. . ."

"Porn. And short paragraphs. And no endless conversations that never get to the point."

(deep breath) "Right. I'll let them know. Does this mean that if I'm looking at porn, I'm actually writing my story hour?"

"I'm writing my story hour RIGHT NOW, if you know what I mean, and I think you do."

"Okay, I think we're done here."

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Porn?

...okay, well, two of the characters in my SH are technically married. And there are at least two fades to black. Does that get a new reader?

 

[Shemeska]

I've had one scene near the start of the storyhour where I have no description, but left the dialogue intact for such a red light scene. I've got another one about 3 plot arcs down the road that I'd love to do the same except that it's probably too pr0ny even then, under any reasonable circumstance to actually post past the setup. Not that it stopped me from writing it the first time, but it'll prevent me from posting it here.

 

[Rel]

"I'm writing my story hour RIGHT NOW, if you know what I mean, and I think you do."

"Okay, I think we're done here."

It's hard to find good women like that, PC. You need to hang on to her.

 

[Piratecat]

She was kidding, gang.