Instructions for Writing Your Own Gamebook
By Steven Taylor
After reading Chris Lawson’s instructions, I thought it would be beneficial to people interested in writing their own to hear my alternative approach. It differs from how Chris does his, so people can read both and decide what is best for them.
First let me say this: writing an adventure can be a long and tiresome process. Don’t expect it to be easily knocked up in no time, its not that easy. But I encourage anyone interested to go ahead, because it seems the best way for Fighting Fantasy to live on is through us, the fans, writing and sharing adventures on the web. So have a go, write one for fellow fans, its been a while since we have got anything new.
Currently I am writing up a 150 reference mini adventure called "Rebels of the Dark Chasms" (working title, may change). This is the process I have used in writing it:
1. Brainstorming. Before anything, write down all your ideas of monsters, items and other encounters down. It helps to write down more than you need, in case later on you find you have lots of empty references to fill.
2. Plot. From your basic ideas, decide which ones will be necessary and in what order.
3. Chart It. This is where my method differs from that of Chris. Instead of using maps, I lay out the entire adventure in a massive flow chart. Put details of every reference in a circle with lines leading from it showing possible options. It will be large and spill over a number of pages (Rebels of the Dark Chasms covered 6 pages in total), so make sure you make it easy to find where everything links up. Also note how many references are on each page at the top, so you can keep an idea of your overall tally. Also, when charting, complete the right path first, then put the options around it.
4. Check It. Make sure every reference is covered and there are no options leading nowhere. Charts can become very cluttered and hard to read at times, and you might miss an option. Do a final count to check you have the right number of references. Edit if you need to.
5. Distribute Numbers. Write all the numbers on a piece of paper (ie. 1-150). On your chart distribute numbers to references, crossing the numbers off the list as you go. Again check it, so two options are not too close to each other. Now you should have a chart to follow as you write it.
6. Write. Before I started writing the references I filled a word document with the numbers 1 to 150 on separate lines. I then wrote the references in the order you would follow if reading it (ie. I wrote 1, then 32, 98 etc.) from the chart (I marked everyone as I wrote it). This method helped make each one follow on better from the last. Slowly you will fill all the references, and you adventure is ready for people to engage in.
The final tip I can give you is be patient, it will take a long time to finish. Don’t try to write it all at once, you’ll get sick of it pretty quick. Instead, write it over time, say a couple of hours a week. It will take longer this way, but breaks from it will mean you won’t tire of it so soon.
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Добавил через 2 минут 14 секунд:
Instructions for Writing Your Own Gamebook
By Nathanael Page
I’m just finishing my third FF gamebook now (the first one I ever did is unpublishable), and thought I’d add to the confusion that is this section of "The Scrolls of Titan" by suggesting a third, radically different approach to writing your onw gamebook. I completely agree with Steven’s comments- more people should write their own books (give us all new adventures to play!), but it does take a lot of dedication. I write about 10 sections every hour. A 400 paragraph book therefore takes around 40 hours of work for the first draft, and this does not include diagrams, pictures, proof-reading, (some) formatting, play-testing. These extras can easily double how long the book takes to write. I determine, in advance, how many paragraphs I am going to write each day, and (more importantly) STICK TO IT. This way, you don’t get so discouraged ("Ah, well, I’ll take a break from it tonight). I also try to write the book as quickly as I possibly can – the fewer paragraphs you write at each sitting, the longer it takes to work out where you were each time. However, now on to the specific.
1. Have an idea. There’s little point in writing the book (other than for your own amusement) if there’s isn’t a good idea behind it. Both my books started with me thinking "I wonder what led up to xxxxx" (where "xxxxx" is one of the official books). This instantly gave me a book setting, and some idea of what would happen. I also found that it was a lot easier to write in a setting which had already been created, rather than trying to invent a whole new world from scratch. Call me lazy.
2. I decided how many paragraphs the book would be (400, 500), and created an html document with all the paragraph number in order, formatted (including name tags). This allowed me to use Steven’s approach – to write the paragraphs in game order, rather than number order, for exactly the same reasons he put forward.
3. I then created an Excel workbook to help maintain the paragraphs. This consisted of two spreadsheets. The first had a series of columns on it: paragraph number; whether the paragraph had been written; the sections that that paragraph linked to; the sections that that paragraph linked from.
This enabled me to see which paragraphs I still had to write, and where they fit into the book as a whole. The second spreadsheet (updated automatically, taking informaion from the first) showed AT A GLANCE which paragraphs I had already allocated the numbers for. Whenever I needed to generate a new number to link to, I could find a free section straight away from this spreadsheet. I also maintained a counter on the workbook to show how many paragraphs I had already allocated (and therefore, how far through writing the book I was).
4. I then start wrote the instructions and background information to the book, including the spell lists, special character attributes (Magic, Dexterity, and in my new book, Shifting). This is important to do before you start writing the book for obvious reasons.
5. I then launch straight into writing the book with no further planning, no mapping, no item lists, no specific plot outlines. Basically, I create my books purely "on the fly" (and sometimes, I admit, this really does let me down…). Of course, I will have a basic idea of what I am trying to achieve with the book before I start, but everything is open to change. This means that the book is as fresh to me, as I am writing it, as it is to a player when they first pick it up. This makes it a lot more interesting to write! The same approach is used for items. There are some items which I "need" to achieve what I want (for example, the glass jar in "Craggen Rock"). However, many of the others I create as I write the paragraph – I think of a use (or not) for these items later inthe book. The originally threw in the green jewel in "Craggen Rock" purely as an item to sell in Willow. It was only later in the book, when I realised I needed another jewel, that I saw that I could create a situation where either jewel could
be used… adding a (slightly) more complex decision for the player.
6. I try to allocate a certain number of paragraphs for each broad "section" of the book. For example, it when writing "Craggen Rock", I had intended to have 100 sections for the story up to the end of Willow, a 30 section "maze", a 30 section "confrontation with Dire", a 40 section "Black
Tower", and a 200 section cavern system. This gave me some control over myself that I might lose if I followed a completely off the cuff method, as shown above in 5. Of course, I was unable to stick rigidly to these numbers (All the paragraphs up until the point where you leave Willow, for example, total exactly 150.)
I realise that some people will strongly disagree with this approach. Meticulous planning probalby produces a better book in the end. However, I know that if I tried that approach, I would never have completed either of my books. I would have been bored out of my head. This is, however, only true for me. Other people might have greater discipline than me.
Добавил через 2 минут 40 секунд:
Instructions for Writing Your Own Gamebook
By Chris McCready
I have currently written two full-length (400 para) gamebooks – Legacy of the Vampire (The events in Mortvania after the death of Heydrich) and Ratcatcher (An adventure set in the world of the Fang secret police) – and numerous 100 and 200 para stories. I am currently working on "The Battle For Titan" – the working title of a 6-Part climatic ending to the FF series starring favourite characters from published FF books, my own favourite creations from previous stories and a whole host of new guys, but have taken some time off to add my own views on writing a game book for yourself.
1) The Idea – Previous writers have claimed that the most important point of writing an adventure gamebook is to have the idea that will eventually lead to the final plot. Obviously it would be pointless to try to argue with the essence of this advice, but the idea should not necessarily bear any relevance on the finished product. The important point is to write and see where it goes. The eventual story of Legacy sprang from two totally unconected ideas:
i) Why do you never get to play the bad guy in FF? (An idea I first had when I was probably about 10 and realised that the baddies were always more important, more dramatic and more humorous and with more reason to do what they’re doing than there opponents in the vast majority of books)
ii) A follow-up book bringing back a favourite enemy.
These two ideas put together became a story originally called "Touch of Evil" in which you were a chaos sorcerer attempting to thwart the resurrected Balthus Dire. As I wrote however I realised that my view of Allansia was always too bright (even in cave locations) because of the illustrations, but the Old World had an atmosphere more suited to the story and so Balthus Dire Became the Archmage. Then I disliked the magic-system I had, so the chaos sorcerer became a vampire and eventually for some reason (probably when I was drunk) the action moved to Mauristatia and Legacy as it is now, in which the young adventurer, sceptical of the power of vampires until he becomes one, tracks down the new leader of the Mortvanian vampires in order to return himself to human status, was born.
Okay, so I had two very rough ideas for a story but it was only by beginning to write that the story developed. So just write with the gem of an idea in your head, choose a location and an enemy (perhaps favourite ones from previous FF stories – after all Livingstone wrote three series about his favourite places and characters – #2 and 14; #6, 21 and 36; and #1, 50 and 54)
2) References – Another point on which the previous writers seem to agree is the need to carefully plan out which references lead to which before you actually begin, and to decide how many references you are going to write. Don’t. By the time you’ve done all this you’ll be so bored that you’ll wonder why you ever wanted to write a FF book in the first place. Again I advise just to get stuck in and write the thing. Write the background and para 1, and keep any notes about special rules on handy pieces of paper (although try not to lose them as I always seem to). When you need to put in the "turn to"s do them numerically. If you have three options at the end of para 1 make them 2, 3 and 4. These can be sorted out once the story is finished, a time consuming process but you at least know that you’ve finished the book and it’s all worth while. Do make a careful note about which references you have written, but do this on a sheet of paper with three columns: The first being the number as it is written, crossed off with a single line to show that you have started writing it and then with another line to make an X when you have finished it. The other two columns are to help you sort out the order later, the first to show which reference leads to it and the second for the reference that it will have to become in the story itself (for example a para about a ring with number 25 stamped on it has to be para 25 in the finished story so you write 25 in the third column).
3) Special Rules – One way of making an average story seem much better is by careful use of special rules, these can make all the difference. Although many great FF books had no special rules where would Sorcery! or Citadel be without the magic? What would Moonrunner or Midnight Rogue be if you didn’t have carefully learned skills? Special rules are by no way essential and the solution of the adventure should be possible without them but they certainly add certain extra possibilities to a script.
4) Character – In most FF books you play a human adventurer. Why? Why not an orc, a dwarf, a lone bristle-beast battling against the horror of the world? Do not necessarily stick to the usual adventure. If your story would work, or be improved by making your character unique amongst FF heroes do it. You can always change it back again later if necessary, and it may actually help the plot.
5) Work – Most important of all is to continue to work on your adventure. Don’t force yourself to write when you don’t want to, but don’t let a good idea go to waste just because you can’t work out where the story is going. You have a beginning and end, whether or not these will bear any relation to the finished beginning and end, and all your really doing is filling in the middle. If you get stuck in an area where you just seem to be plodding along, fighting occasionally but with no real purpose, try fitting in a sub-plot, a bad-guy who has to be defeated before you reach your real target. It may change the story again, leading it away from the original idea, but it gets you writing again and you may work out a better solution while doing it. Just remember that nothing you write is set in stone, it can all be changed when you’ve finished. The most important part is to finish the first draft of your first story, it’s the most difficult thing that you’ll ever do when writing an FF book.
Most importantly, and it must be stressed again, just write. Sitting around thinking about writing doesn’t help. Once you have a sketchy idea try writing it, see where it goes. It’s an old cliche but the written word is alive, it will take you on towards the end of the story, just never sit looking at a blank piece of paper or computer screen.
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Кстати – в этих статья мелькает FF – Fighting Fantasy…
Добавил через 3 минут 13 секунд:
Instructions for Writing Your Own Gamebook
By Robert LaVallie
I know that some of you who are reading this have already cranked out your own, home-grown Fighting Fantasy adventures. Well, I, too, will soon join the ranks of those who have penned an action-packed novel. Before I begin, let me preface this by saying that my work will be different from any work that you have ever seen. Sure, sure. We’ve heard this one before. Been there, done that, you cry. Ah, well, seeing is believing. And come Christmas time, like Thomas, you will be able to put your fingers through my wrist, and your hand in my side.
Anyway, the reason [I am writing] is to provide some insight for those of you who are interested in taking up the mantel of Fighting Fantasy author. If you are, or if who have already written a novel, and may be looking for pointers (any writer worth his or her stuff is always looking to improve), here are my suggestions for writing a successful adventure.
1. BE COMMITTED. From my experience, an 400-reference novel will take you anywhere between 4-6 months to complete. I am factoring in a full-time job into this equation. Obviously, if you are not working, or if writing your adventure IS your full-time job, your time investment will be significantly less. However, you should be thinking about quality, not quantity. But, regardless, you will be spending a significant amount of time on your project. Be committed to completing it. Otherwise, you will be into your novel for three weeks, and then slack off.
2. BE ORGANIZED. I strongly recommend a map or an outline before you begin. There is nothing worse than writing a huge number of references, only to discover that they do not gel with your book. You should have a pretty clear picture of the beginning, middle, and end of your novel. I’d also make a list of the monsters the reader will encounter beforehand, so you can place them strategically. Also, if your adventure involves mazes, a schematic will be most useful for your organization.
3. BE CREATIVE. There is nothing worse than a boring adventure. I have read some Fighting Fantasy adventures (most notably, Star Strider), where, half way through, I was asking myself, "Why am I doing this?" Keep your readers intrigued at all times. If the charcater faces a death passage, have it be creative. The Stone Throw death scene in Beneath Nightmare Castle is brilliant. If the character fights villains, make them intriguing and original. For example, fighting a Medusa is passe. Giving the character the ability to transform its complexion from flesh to glass and having the reflection of the Medusa be cast within your persona back at the Medusa is rather interesting. Also, if you facing multiple characters, make the battle intriguing. For example, if you roll a double-six, you convince the monster you are fighting that an even-larger monster is behind him. He turns, and WHAM-O, he is decimated by you. Oldest trick in the book, but one never incorporated into FF.
4. BE SIMPLE. Do not give your character a "trans-mutation generator" as a weapon. This makes no sense to me, the writer, so why should it make sense to you, the reader. Realize that simple writing is most effective. If you think about it, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd have been around for nearly three quarters of a century. The concept is simple: a hunter chases a rabbit. However, the creativity and genuis portrayed is obvious.
5. BE CONSISTENT. Make sure all of your references are linked properly. Errors here can result in readers throwing down your book in justified frustration. If you give a problem, make sure an actual solution exists. I would suggest reading your own book, as if you were a first-time reader. Or, give it to others, let them peruse through it, and see what they say. Feedback (especially the negative kind) is vital to your book’s success.
One last note:
IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS ACCEPTING CRITICISM, GET OUT OF THE WRITING GAME, BECAUSE YOU WILL RECEIVE A LOT OF CRITICISM.
These are but five suggestions. There are tons more. I hope this helps.
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