well ive scrapped about 3 or 4 ideas for stories so far. mostly because of what i had written so far had no theme or point to it, and i figured that the reader wouldn't be to interested in it, or the theme was "not so good" to put at the least.

Now i am sitting in front of my laptop, faced with the task of writing a 5-10 page work by tomorrow, double spaced. and if i can get some really awesome ideas flowing, i could get that done by tomorrow easily. thing is though, i don't know every single element that makes a short story good. i know theres like plot, theme, characters etc. but what i was planning on doing was listing all of those elements(plot, theme, etc.) into a list onto word like plot- (whatever the plot is) theme- (whatever the theme is) and once im done with that taking the story from there. maybe adding an outline of the stories events in there too.

basically, what i'm trying to ask is what works for you guys? i was planning on writing a fan-fiction work for morrowind, but i don't know exactly what is going to happen yet, or who the characters are going to be, etc. should i try playing the game and roleplaying a character for a while and see what kind of story comes out of that (take notes on what happens as i play) or something like that?
could i get a list or something of those "elements" that make up a short story? i dont by any means want any of you to do my homework for me, but ive done brainstorming and can't quite come up with a plot of what happens. just asking you guys to share your methods of storymaking.

help from you all is greatly appreciated!

I'm not a writer, so I would not really be able to help you much.

http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showforum=31 section of the forums is purely dedicated to fan fiction, so you might want to ask them seeing as they specialize in fan fiction.

Well, I have this thing I call raw-thought that I ended up using during NaNoWriMo. It's like a combination of brain storming and rough drafting where I open a simple Notepad, type "Idea:" and then let it rip. Words, phrases, half-formed ideas, stupid ideas. Think and type at the same time, cut yourself off to type a different idea as it comes, leave it in the dust and keep going. If you've had an idea for the plot, just write it down like you were telling it to somebody so you can see for yourself, then grab the first spark you can based on that and keep typing.

Then after you get a few lines, you kind of take whatever is in your head after that, and make a new "Idea:" under it, or a "Setting:" if you start to feel like a place, or "Character:" if you've got one cooking.

It's a nice way to get new ideas, but a better way to just sort of warm up before you tackle a blank page, or kind of stir up your mind if you get stuck after a few paragraphs in your story.

I don't look at a blank page until I have a scene in my head all mapped out. I usually start off my stories with an "event", and use that event to introduce my characters.

One of my very first stories (the first one I actually finished) came out of an imaginary scene where my character is in a stagecoach being attacked by Indians. That's just how I started the story, with that dramatic scene. I spent one paragraph or so setting the stage, then went right into the action. The story just took off from there.

Another one has my character getting off a steam train, walking across the street to a fancy hotel, and having lunch. By switching POV's, I was able to create what I hope (and my friends assure me) was an interesting character and an interesting setting.

Speaking of POV's, that's important, too. I'm used to writing third-person POV, and have done it with one character throughout the story, with two or (most challenging) three POV's through the story, switching between them. I have found it helps me to keep the story moving if I switch POV's after so many pages/words. It forces me to keep going. I have a greater tendency to get bogged down when it's just one POV.

However, in the story I'm currently working on, I'm trying first-person POV for the first time, and so far it seems to be going okay.

Short stories are fun, but challenging, since you have so little room to develop your character, setting, etc. Use the action/dialog to do the work for you, don't waste words on setting up the scene.

Good luck, and have fun!

thanks guys for all of your help! you have some really good methods that i could really use. i might post what i have after the first page or so.

When I write short stories I write the opening sentence, and I dont allow myself to stop typing untile I finish a paragraph or two. It keeps me on my toes.

My stories usually come as one of three things: something from lore, an in game element that I expand upon (usually a quest), or an original idea that strikes me one day. Either way, I always write down the idea the minute I have it, and then expand upon it later. If it ends up no good I put it in a separate folder, never delete it, and then keep the process going until I reach an idea I absolutely love. After expanding upon it sufficiently (a loose plot, a setting, some characters, and a few random ideas), I make a rough outline of the first few chapters, centering usually around a focal scene, usually something dramatic. Then I write the first one, and keep going, planning a few chapters ahead of my writing, until I find myself with a thirty thousand word story

As far as more specific details on how I find my ideas, I find it helpful to search for inspiration in fellow fan fictions, lore books, other fantasy novels, etc. Some of the best stories have been one person's take on the main quest of a game, while some other stories are great without having anything to do with the Oblivion crisis or the Nerevarine.

If you're still searching for an idea, pick your absolute favorite part of the games and expand on it. For me, that would probably be either the Dark Brotherhood or Vivec. You could like the Mage's guild, Daggerfall, the Shivering Isles, or Umbra, to name a few interesting places, people, and factions.

Good luck :goodjob:

Everyone has their own style to writing. My stories are character-driven, so I need to have a very strong impression of my main character in my head before I write. Who they are, where they come from, what their goals are, how they think, etc... Then I need to know what the plot is. What is it that this person wants/needs to do? what is in their way? and how does it all come out? (note that these three acts- character introduction, conflict, and resolution, has been the basic framework for storytelling since the ancient Greeks). So I do a lot of work brainstorming and laying a foundation before I start writing the actual story.

Ah the writers block the blight of every writer. As a cartoon/comic book writer I've had these hit me from time to time. I find it best to take a break from writing for a while let my mind enter a state of daydreaming and let my ideas cycle through most of the day. If the story is based on Morrowind I'd would play the game (you don't have to do any quest, just explore) for a while and try to see what ideas I could use and go with that :read: .