What do you look for in a Story Hour?

[eris404]

For those of you who read the Story Hours here, what do you enjoy the most about them? Are there certain requirements or elements you look for when chosing a SH to read, whether in writing style, content, setting, etc.? Why do (or don't) you read them?

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I've been reading a good amount of them lately, and I find that its always the characters that gets me the most interested in the story. I don't care if its D&D, d20 Modern, Star Wars, or whatever. If the characters are good and I can get into the writing, I'll probably read it.

The only ones I generally don't read are the jounral based ones. Not really anything wrong with them, but I just prefer a more open style, especially with group based games.

 

[Piratecat]

When reading story hours, I prefer:

- good grammar, spelling, and formatting. The writing doesn't have to be perfect, but typos drive me nuts.
- shorter updates more frequently. Longer updates discourage new readers.
- ending on cliff-hangers.
- brief summaries ("Episode 3, in which heroes panic and trolls get fed")
- writing that shows, not tells.
- an indication that the author is having fun.

 

[eris404]

When reading story hours, I prefer:

- good grammar, spelling, and formatting. The writing doesn't have to be perfect, but typos drive me nuts.
- shorter updates more frequently. Longer updates discourage new readers.
- ending on cliff-hangers.
- brief summaries ("Episode 3, in which heroes panic and trolls get fed")
- writing that shows, not tells.
- an indication that the author is having fun.

That's great advice. Ever think of running a story hour work shop?

 

[eris404]

The only ones I generally don't read are the jounral based ones. Not really anything wrong with them, but I just prefer a more open style, especially with group based games.

When you say "open" do you mean that you like them to be more like a novel or short story or something else?

 

[maddman75]

Personally, I look for something written in a very narrative style. I want to know what the characters are saying and doing, not huge paragraphs of summarizations. I think that's what AMG is on about. And otherwise I agree with Piratecat - his is the only one I'm currently reading. Others that I enjoyed in the past are Wulf's Storyhour, which should be required reading for every D&D player, and (contact)'s ToEE.

Maybe I'll check out a new one. I need new ways to waste time at work.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

When you say "open" do you mean that you like them to be more like a novel or short story or something else?

Pretty much. I don't mind a single character point of view if it will shift here and there so you at least get everyone's ideas on things. Of course, this is harder to do if the SH is written by one of the players and not the DM...

 

[Piratecat]

We did one in a chat session a year or so ago, actually; it went really well. For me this is a lot like that old joke line, 'I don't know much about art, but I know what I like!' I try to write my own so that I'd enjoy reading it, and I edit anything that would annoy me if I was a reader. It seems to work okay.

In addition, I learn more about writing every time I read another person's story hour. It's probably obvious how many tricks I've borrowed from authors like Wulf, (contact), and Capellan to name a few. . . the actuall list is quite lengthy.

Here's some more advice that I couldn't do without: when writing dialogue, read it all out loud after you're finished. Anything clumsy or awkward is going to be immediately apparent.

Also, I often write with a thesaurus open. You can only say "he hit the monster" so many times before it gets boring.

I don't mind a single character point of view if it will shift here and there so you at least get everyone's ideas on things.

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.

 

[Capellan]

When reading story hours, I prefer:

- good grammar, spelling, and formatting. The writing doesn't have to be perfect, but typos drive me nuts.
- shorter updates more frequently. Longer updates discourage new readers.
- ending on cliff-hangers.
- brief summaries ("Episode 3, in which heroes panic and trolls get fed")
- writing that shows, not tells.
- an indication that the author is having fun.

Says it all, really. Though I'm not that bothered one way or the other on the summaries, they are a nice touch, if done well. Everything else is spot on

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

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.

Definitely. I've started doing that a bit more in my SH and love to see it in others. The players point of view is great, but sometimes its nice to get the more novel/movie point of view where you actually see what all is going on.