Hello again chaps.
I'm back with another interactive BBS project, once again focusing on user contribution. Unlike my other story threads however, you'll all be able to play as big of a part in this one as the next person. As the title implies, it's a story thread where anyone can ask to post a section! The details will be explained shortly, but first I want to state that this is not a thread for absolute novice writers. If you have problems with spelling, grammar, punctuation etc, or just generally suck at writing, then I'm sorry, but this isn't the thread for you.
The basic idea is that we all introduce characters, and have a time limit to post a section of the story about a set of characters we specify beforehand.
And on that note, on with the rules:
To enter:
Post saying that you wish to do so, and introduce 1-2 main characters of your own. For the moment each player will be limited to two characters, just to keep things from getting out of control, but if you prove to be a real asset to the thread then I'll be more than happy to allow more.
When you introduce a character then post a bio for them (this can be as detailed as you want, but keep it no longer than one post - we don't need a life story) describing their personality, occupation, background and appearance etc.
Once you have a bio finished then you'll also be required to write an opening for your character(s). Bear in mind that this is no more than an opening - something for the other writers to work with. No overblown plotlines or dramas please. In total all of this information should take at the very maximum two posts, although I'd expect most people to get it easily done in one.
To play:
Writing
Ok, this is where it starts getting a little more complicated - so bear with me.
At any time you can post asking to write a section of the story. All you need do is state which of the characters from our player-pool you wish to use. If the specified characters are available for use you will have a maximum of two days within which to produce a section of the story involving them. This should be a decent length - 500 words absolute minimum. This time there is no limit on how much you write, even if it goes on for thousands upon thousands of words. Remember though that quantity is not reflective of quality.
When you write a section you must carry on the story from whoever used the characters last. Keep up the continuity, this is a biggie.
Character availibility
To keep this thing running smoothly, but without damaging the continuity of the storyline, only one person may write about a specific character at a time. That is to say, once you post saying which characters are going to be involved in your section, during your two day window for writing it no one else will be allowed to write about the characters you are using. As long as we're all using different characters though, we can have as many people writing new secitons at the same time as we want.
If you exceed the two day time limit without posting then the characters you selected will be up for grabs by anyone else who wants to continue their story. If you really need an extra day or so to write then you're free to make your case - depending on how good it is you may or may not be allowed extra time.
The writer's world
In order to preserve coherence in the story this needs to be fixed I'm afraid.
The world our story takes place in will be basically the same as our own, however you are allowed to take liberties with the geography where you see fit. So I'm ok with you making up ficitonal cities and places to suit the story, as long as Earth doesn't grow an extra moon or something similarly extreme.
The time period will be relatively flexible. It's going to have pretty much present day workings, but if you want to add in wacky future futuristic features that's also fine (within reason - intelligent robots are about as far as I'm willing to go, but ray-guns and spaceships are right out). So the time period can be defined as some way in the future - but that doesn't mean it has to be sci-fi.
The genre is going to be the most flexible part of this. Ideally I'd like it to span as many genres as possible (over time), from paranormal horror to noir, it's all good. Again though, nothing too extreme. In terms of bending reality (as you might need to do for things like the paranormal horror I just mentioned), try to keep it subtle. I'm thinking Stephen King style, the odd demon or vampire is alright, as long as we don't have stuff like Satan ravaging the Earth with his hordes of the damned.
Bear this all in mind when you write, and also consider that if there has to be a genre for this whole thing, then it would be adventure. That can span drama, action, romance, sci-fi and a multitude of other themes. One thing I'll have to say a definite no to is outright comedy. I'm sure a lot of you won't be happy with that, but it has to be done.
Lighthearted jokes are fine, winged golden penises from Neverland are not.
Failgrounds.
Rules
This is where you're going to have to listen up.
The story is supposed to make sense and generally work well, and there's no way a group of writers can do that effectively unless they're coordinated in some way. This is why we need rules, some of which you might not like, but they need to be here all the same.
1) Do not deviate from the context explained previously.
2) Continuity! This should be the word playing over and over in your head as you write. Whatever you do, do not come into this thread trying to write your own individual story. If you follow up every other person's post with "...but then they decided to go off and do this other thing" just to fit how you personally want the plot to go then you will be politely told to fuck off. This goes for characters as well. Don't make any grand plans for your own creations - they can be manipulated freely by all the other players, leading me on to the next rule.
3) Cultivate the characters. At first you should base their acitons on the bio they have, hopefully as the story progresses we can then develop the personalities further.
To put it bluntly - don't make them do anything they wouldn't do normally.
4) Major events - from all the rules I've been laying down you might think you aren't left with much to work with in terms of creating a dynamic story, but this isn't so.
Dramatic happenings are great, as long as there isn't one every couple of posts. As the story progresses naturally there should come moments when a big event is required by the plot. This also extends to killing off characters - it's not prohibited, but should be pretty rare, and never done without good reason.
Enforcing the rules
I'm still waiting for confirmation from a couple of these people, but as it stands, along with myself, MystWilliams, gumOnShoe, Tri-Nitro-Toluene and tigerkitty have said they'll be willing to assist with the running of this project. They'll monitor which characters are doing what (I'm hoping for frequent posts listing where each character is in the storyline and if they're currently availible), and keep an up-to-date archive of the story so far. Our duties will also include moderating what goes on. We can't ban you, and I want to avoid as much elitist fuckery as possible, but there will be a degree to which we say what you can and can't do.
Right, that's enough for now. I know it seems like there are a lot of restrictions being placed on you, but they're all in the interests of just making a bloody good story.
Above all, bear in mind that this is a group effort, and remember that the most important rule is to enjoy yourself!
If you have any questions then feel free to ask either here, or in the Writer's Guild thread in C&C
Failgrounds.
At 6/23/06 07:04 PM, -TheDoctor- wrote: We can't ban you, and I want to avoid as much elitist fuckery as possible, but there will be a degree to which we say what you can and can't do.
As a side note, if you continue to fuck with the story, by either fucking over other people's good work, and/or intentionally destroying characters by making them do things uncharacteristic of them, or making them do things that make absolutely no sense in regards to plot, and the moderators of the story deem it that you're doing stuff, I have absolutely no qualms about using my ability to delete the sections of story that you've crapped up, and/or ban you if it continues.
(Not trying to step on any toes, just telling you that your rules will be enforced if necessary)
Still a world famous superstar.
I'm a skilled writer and I would be honored to start it off. Is that alright?
I dont know if I should post my characters in this post, so I'll ask first.
Yeah I've decided that I'm definately in, and I fully agree with the rules you've posted and stuff. Anyways, I'm not exactly good at coming up with characters, so I'm going to wait until I see a couple of other bios so I can get an idea of what to include, then I'll probably come up with one. For now I'd just like to confirm that I am in. ^_^
"In the house with the laughing windows, we're spilling blood like a cheap innuendo."
Writer - Music Addict - StarF68
Its cool dobio. That would probably help anyway. As it is we have decided to host the story off site in place where we can pull the entire thing togeather that way people don't have to jump from page one to three to ninety four. Of course all the writing and everything is staying here. This is merely so the writers can refernce whats been said before in an easy to read version. Keeping this thread clean is just as important.
I'll try to get a bio done by the end of the weekend... among everything else that I have to do... :/
At 6/23/06 07:21 PM, gumOnShoe wrote: Its cool dobio. That would probably help anyway.
That drives me bonkers when people intentionally sabotague people, especially when it comes to stories such as this one.
Anyway, I'll try to create some characters today or tomorrow...it's just hard when I don't have a setting or a theme or anything. :P
Still a world famous superstar.
Well I've come up with some characters.
The first is a 27 year old by the name of Seth. Seth resides in Newark, New Jersey and is an architecht. Seth lives alone, and his closest family member lives in California. Seth's job is located about 20 minutes away from his apartment. Seth does not have a women in his life, and his last girl friend cheated on him, and he has since avoided relationships. Seth is a shy person, and he is most definately passive. Seth is about 6'1, 180 lbs. He has Brown hair and Brown eyes.
The other character is Dan. Dan is best friends with Seth. Dan resides in Newark, New Jersey and is also an architect. Dan is single, and lives alone in an apartment located about 10 minutes from his job. Dan is very outgoing, and is always the center of attention. Dan met Seth in High School and they have been best friends ever since. Dan is about 5'11, 175 lbs. He has Brown hair and Hazel eyes.
Those are the two characters I have come up with. I am ready to begin my story, I'm just going to wait for a heads up :]
I would definitely like to join in. I love writing and I'm quite good at coming up with characters.
Well when the Doctor comes back he can give me a thumbs up, and I will start my story tommorow afternoon? I have to leave now, but I have some great ideas.
Ciao.
I will try to make a character on the spot...
Sid is a retired professional wrestler who has been forgotten by the majority of the wrestling community. His last match was a small Pay-Per-View event with a company that was closing it's doors at any time. During the match Sid snapped his leg in half whilst jumping from the second rope in an attemp to kick his opponent. Sid has now filed for bankruptcy and is an alcoholic. He is also depressed over the fact that his wife of nine years has recently left him for his best friend. Sid is about 6'5" and is 220 lbs. (though he is constantly gaining weight from depression). He is in his early 40's.
Real and fictional accounts mixed
Obama wins at life.
That seems like a nice project. Here's my character :
Nelson Vanatta
Nelson is a 48 y.o. man. He's very tall, but his age is gaining up on him. He's very bitter about life, especially about younger people. After losing his job at an auto parts warehouse where he had worked for 30 years, he can't seem to find a new job and he blames the young people for it. He lives alone and has lost contact with his family after beating up his brother for undisclosed reasons. Basically, Nelson is a cold-hearted loner who's just waiting for death to do its job.
I'd like to join please, if you don't mind. I'd be willing to write anything, but I'm best with comedy or action, and I'm dreadful with horror.
As for the character:
Victor Ray: Victor Ray is a aging, cynical CIA agent. He's one of the best agents the organization has to offer, but is starting to have serious doubts about his career and loyalties. Greatest among these doubts is that Victor has reason to believe that the CIA is responsible for the death of his only son. He's currently using the web of contacts he's built over his career to investigate his suspicions. He tends to be sarcastic and overconfident, but is also very sympathetic to the problems of others. The latest rumor around the workplace is that his latest mission involves extraterrestrials.
Mercedes: The seventeen year old Mercedes is the latest musical sensation to hit the U.S airwaves. Her supporters regard her as revolutionary, and her detractors see her as everything wrong with our generation. As in most cases, the truth lies in the middle. While many of her songs fall under the usual drivel that can be found in the hip-hop genre, Mercedes is famous for her occasional blitzing socail commentaries and merciless criticism of the government. It's gotten to the point where rumors are spreading of her planned assassination. Many who work with Mercedes describe her as spoiled and irritable.
At 6/23/06 07:11 PM, Dobio wrote:
(Not trying to step on any toes, just telling you that your rules will be enforced if necessary)
And rightly so!
<3
At 6/23/06 07:27 PM, Allaire wrote:Those are the two characters I have come up with. I am ready to begin my story, I'm just going to wait for a heads up :]
You're good to go. You can start off with an intro for your characters as mentioned in my first post.
I'll be out most of tomorrow, but I'll probably come in with a couple of characters of my own Saturday evening. Until then, keep posting your character bios and intros (and indeed continuing on from other people's).
Failgrounds.
i love writing short stories and i'm pretty good at it too. i think there should be at least 1 female character in the story so if i can be a part of it you can use my idea. now i'm going to makeup a character on the spot *ahem* lilium is a university school student always looking on the dark sides of things she is friends with what you might call "goths" but she calls friends. she is 6 foot 2 150 pounds and has an A average even though she has such a high average she can sometimes be thoughtless to those who are not like her in terms of personality. that's my on the spot character hope you like it i'll check back to see wether or not you have agreed to let me in.
Alright. I'll start tommorow. Then the next person can follow up.
Eighteen-year-old Renee has just moved out of her house and is trying to find an apartment in New York. As of now, she's living in her car and buying cheap fast food. Her parents are too bitter to bring her back home, and her car could break down any minute. She is desperately trying to find a modeling job while she is in New York. Renee has long blonde hair and blue eyes.
At 6/23/06 07:47 PM, Allaire wrote: Alright. I'll start tommorow. Then the next person can follow up.
Just to clarify - we don't do this in a set order. There can be as many different threads of story being written at a time as we like, just as long as they don't all involve the same characters. So it won't always be everyone waiting in line for the previous guy to finish.
Remember guys, refer to my initial posts for informaiton on this stuff.
Failgrounds.
At 6/23/06 07:47 PM, Allaire wrote: Alright. I'll start tommorow. Then the next person can follow up.
Could I do my introductions after Allaire?
At 6/23/06 07:50 PM, -TheDoctor- wrote: Just to clarify - we don't do this in a set order. There can be as many different threads of story being written at a time as we like, just as long as they don't all involve the same characters. So it won't always be everyone waiting in line for the previous guy to finish.
Oh, whoops. I feel a bit silly now. I'll start working on mine.
I would like to enter, and *bump*
Can someone PM me please :)
I may get involved, but as of right now, I must get some sleep.
I've been refurbished and reissued, prepackaged and precooked, decontaminated and deloused, but I still smell, sound, look and feel like shit.
New to the video game forums?
"Rob the aging hobo operative"
Rob is forty years old and is in the field for the last time before his scheduled retirement party, operating under the guise of a homeless man. Rob is cynical and direct, never underestimating his "prey". Although able to function independent of supervisors and other hierarchical aspects of the CIA, he never forgets his due to the agency he swore allegiance to and in the end, most decisions made by him stem from his loyalty to that agency.
At 6/24/06 06:02 AM, jellofan7 wrote: Rob is forty years old and is in the field for the last time before his scheduled retirement party,
sorry about that. change his age to 58
looks good Doctor. I'll be posting my character some time soon. Maybe late tonight, or sometime tomorrow... as today is my only day off work in weeks... and im taking advantage of it. haha.
At 6/24/06 10:39 AM, imacow wrote: here are my characters.....
ninja cow: : cowy:
i'm pretty sure we both know you fail... and thus, i will not even take the privelage i have to ask you to leave but instead respond impulsively...
i think you have down-syndrome.
your characters too.
thus, i hate to inform you, they are cut from the story.
I hope you're all working on openings for your characters.
I'll post up one of mine now, might have a proper opening done by the evening.
Character:
Jackson Wright, a thirty-four year old English-born psychologist working in the US. He emigrated after leaving university to work somewhere with more mad people, and subsequently more money in his line of work. Jack lives alone, in a house far too big for a single man, but often finds ways to fill it up with friends and colleagues when the situation calls for it.
Due to his professional boredom, he engages in occasional cocaine use, and while he certainly wouldn't clasify himself as an addict, there might be problems if someone parted him from his stash.
Jack's personality would best be described as detached in most situations, mainly due to his slight paranoia of strangers, which leads to him attempting to fully analyse their personality before engaging in a friendship. Other than this however, he is regarded by many as a pleasant individual, generally moving within academic middle-class circles. Under stress he is liable to make snap-judgements - which often lead to negative outcomes for all those involved.
Mr. Wright's appearance consists mainly of brown suits, and a lot of hair spray to tame his otherwise unprofessionally long brown locks. Medium build, medium height, well-chiseled features, and an abundance of executive-swish.
Failgrounds.
I looked at this and I was immediately interested. I decided to make up a character, but I'm not sure how far it will go. Keep in mind this is very spontaneous...
Dean Morca (Bio)
Residing somewhere in a villiage near Norwich, England, 20 year old Dean leads a relatively simple life and has left home 3 years ago. He keeps contact with parents and family, although this is uncommon. His only particular friends are the ones who work with him at a supermarket. He talks to them when he has the chance, but he has realised that he has too much time on his hands.
As a result, he has been trying to find ways to spend it. He has tried getting more involved with his friends, taken up gym classes and sports, and bought games consoles to keep him occupied. In the end, he has stopped doing all of these things because he felt they were not for him but more importantly, he is very worried about his money. He can be seen as a loner. despite his good nature, he is also rather cowardly and keen to move away from trouble. He has been wondering if an abroad vacation could solve his problems, so he has worked hard for the extra money and his tolerance with many things is beginning to waiver.
Appearance-wise, he is rather thin, and just under 6 feet tall. He has a rather secure mental being, and as a result is very confident in anything he has thought through appropriately. He cares little about what he wears. As long as it is a plain shirt and trousers or his work clothes, he doesn't really mind.
How's that? And I might not start an opening until I get a good idea about what to write.
"Don't worry, Flapjack. I didn't make all my enemies all at once. It took me at least a couple of days."
~Captain K'nuckles, The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack
I have my character openings for both Dan and Seth.
On a cloudy afternoon in Newark, Seth Mitchell is just finishing up a project for his job, that he is scheduled to present tommorow morning. The day went by rather slow, and the only comfort Seth had, besides having weekends off, was that he didn't have to get up and go to work, he could just sit down and work, to him it seemed like a big difference. Seth was about to save his progress when he hears a knock at the door. Seth walks to his door and peers through the doorhole. Dan hardly looked recognizable in the new sports jacket he bought. Seth would have thought to compliment it, if it was only a team he was fond of. "Hey Seth, I've got some news" said Dan. "Alright lets hear it" replied Seth. Dan had a worried look on his face, like something he knew was going to happend, has happend. "The police came by the office yesterday, they were looking around" said Dan in a low voice. "Oh my god...what were they looking for...it couldn't be.." Seth was at a loss for words. "Yeah Seth, they must have traced something...they were there for over two hours, scouting the place out..I doubt they know WHO is doing it". Seth's face had become pale at this point, and his legs had turned into jellaton. "I can't believe it, how could they have traced it..I made sure...this isn't right" replied Seth, who was now sinking down slowly to the floor. "Listen, I don't know how this happend, but don't panic, hopefully they won't be there tommorow and if they are, just lay low and if they question you just make sure you don't crack...now I have to go.. I'll see you tommorow". With that, Dan was gone, leaving Seth a hysterical mess. For five years now Seth has been an underground computer hacker, and has infultrated millions of PC's across the entire country, and has made a fortune, being payed to destroy data. Seth has also been responsible for numerous harmful home-made viruses, that have plagued the country. For the past five years Seth has felt invincible, clearly that is not the case anymore.
Ok, I've got the opening for my character done as well, hopefully things can start to get underway fairly soon.
----------
When Jack Wright dreamt, he dreamt of his waking life. Always had done, and expected he would for the rest of his life. Sure, as a lad he'd had the odd nightmare about the boogeyman, or falling out of a tree and never hitting the ground, but who didn't? It was years since he'd experienced anything more exciting than making breakfast in the realm of his subconscious. Charlie from work was always trying to tell him that this was really, really bad, like it meant he'd become a schizophrenic before he hit fifty. But Charlie was into all that Neo-Freudian pshchodynamic shit. For Jack, his work was pure science. If you couldn't measure it, chances were it wasn't even there.
So when he awoke to the crackle of thunder in the early hours of Tuesday morning, Jack couldn't help but wonder if there might be something to be said for dream analysis after all.
In that thin curtain of sleep just prior to awakening, the place where dreams are born and die, the psychologist had imagined himself waking in the night (in almost exactly the same way as he would do minutes later) to the background murmur of a thunderstorm outside his window. In that muddled dream mindset, he had gotten out of bed, not questioning the how or why, not even bothering to get dressed. Jack walked to his window, slid the shutters aside, and stared out into the deluge of rain and sleet. Only when he noticed the lightning tearing it's way across the skyline did he start to question his new reality.
The bolts of light should have been an electric white-blue, only these ones were purple. And so were the clouds around them, thunder seeming to roll across the clouds in ripples as the storm raged on. There was something happening in the distance, something that he probably should have paid attention to in the waking world. Had it been a tornado forming? A plane perhaps?
And then the lightning flashed once more, slamming the door closed on Jack's dream world.
Now fully awake, he sat on the edge of his bed, hands cupped around his chin attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes. The dream kept playing over in his head, as dreams often do, but unlike most dreams this one was accompanied by a strange sense of... what exactly? It wasn't foreboding, not quite anxiety either, but something almost prophetic. In his own mind, Jack knew he would have laughed at himself in any other situation. Prophecies and spirits and psychic energies and boogymen were all products of the shit that fell through your own mental tea-strainer that worked to separate the sane from the insane. But Jack wasn't laughing now. And the thought that perhaps the boogeyman might just still be hiding in his closet after all would keep him awake for another two hours before sleep finally returned.
By the time he arrived at work the following day, Jack Wright had almost completely forgotten about the whole experience. Almost.
Failgrounds.
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