The Writers and Translators of Skyrim

[Boombro]

Organizing your ideas is important but not essential. It depends a lot on the person itself and what you are about to write. As you say, quests and dialogs, probably don't need if you have good control over your mind, to have premade texts; but even if you were a genius, some other kind of problems NEED some previous work. For example, right now I am in a mid-lenght personal project, on writing a philosophy treatise (I have recently finished the philosophy degree), so for something as complex, you need to do lots of previous work, if you want it to be professional, specially because in philosophy everything must be as clear as possible, and you need to have a perfect picture about the whole you are going to talk about and ensure that everything is related as it should be, and explained as needed, and that nothing are "free words", but everything is logically derivated from other previous statements. You can have some brainstorm and let the thinking flow at early stages, it is even adviceable, but later you must organice it all.

 

This also aplies to huge and complex novels, not every book need to be organiced from the begining, but if you are going to write something of over 500 pages in which there is going to be complex relations between characters and some dynamic plot, you'll get into troubles if you haven't done some previous work about what it is going to happen. That doesn't means that you can't let some parts simply flow, or that you can't decide to change your original plan in the middle if you feel it is better some other way; but you will thank a lot yourself later if you have done some previous notes before starting a huge project. This also helps to avoid the "blank page disease". When you just let your creativity develop itself you cand easily end into some narrow close corridors, and have to chose between letting it at blank until you have inspiration agian, which usually leads to abandon the project at all, or to do a very quick and messy fix. With an organiced plan you know what is leading to what so you don't get into narrow places; also, even if you get stuck at a point of your novel, you can keep writing the rest and go back to the tricky part at the end, which probably would also give you ideas on how to solve your problem. As I said, it depends a lot in what are you about to write. For the fantasy books I wrote I did pretty little previous work, just some guidelines about the porpouse of the plot and the novel itself. But for realistic novels, for example, in which I pretend to focus on relationships between characters and a plot that also have philosophical intentions, I have come to the conclusion that planification is essential to reach a good quality in writing. But this is not a master key; for example, the last fantasy book I wrote was just about 200 pages, but since more than a fantasy book it was a very symbolical and psicologiocal novel I found myself needing also lots of notes about the meaning of everything and having to plan nearly every step to give it the consistency I wanted to give it.

 

Also there is another resource I find pretty useful, when plots grow and you have to manage lots of paralel situations and characters you can't imagine how useful it is. I call it the "book of the present". In it I constaly update any present situation as quick notes, like what are all the characters wearing at the moment, how many money do they carry, where they exacly are, have they died their hair, is there a trafic collapse in some relevant street for the novel etc... and some future and past information directly related, are they heading to somewhere, do they know what it is happening somewhere else, have them some incoming bills to pay, etc... As an example, being much younger, I found myself using a death character 15 chapters later just because I forgot I killed him; well, obviously this kind of things don't need to be writen at all once you get skilled at writing; some lots of minor "bugs" can happen if you don't keep track of what's going on in the present. For example, imagine you do a young character that goes to a party with some money, and you said in your book that he spent it all in drinking; then later he gets involved into some harsh situation which keep him away from home. Then you go to the story of another character for a couple of chapters, and later on you go back and after he have solved the problems he had you say he comes into a bar and ask for a coffee to indulge himself some time. Well, how did he pay the coffee if he have already spent all the money he carried. And that kind of "bugs" may happen everywhere; about clothing, about places (didn't you say 10 chapters before that the window was broken, then why do they close it now?), and everything. In some novels details are very important and in those cases, you need to have some good way to get rid of them, and even if you are a genius, some details will disapear from your mind if you don't write them.

Some good advice :)

I also write novels for fun, I just outline the bases. For quests and followers, you really have to plan before hand for many things.

[mlee3141]

Sound advice. I've written a few unpublished fair-length novels, and I know its easy to get sidetracked, and lose your train of thought. In that case, organizing your ideas on paper is generally a good idea.

[mlee3141]

I feel like writing a bunch of articles and tutorials! (yes, I should really stop procrastinating, and finish writing Tandius' dialogue). Anyway, watch this thread! I'll start with an article/ tutorial about Quest Writing, followed by Recruiting Team Members and Writing Dialogue. Should have the first one ready shortly. Enjoy!

Edited September 21, 2014 by mlee3141

[mlee3141]

Weaving Words and Wonders

Quest writing is telling a story worth listening to. Much like a good novel, the words flow out of the screen, and into the mind of the Player. Now, before you start typing anything, you need to have an idea of the overall theme.

 

The theme is the skeleton that your writing builds upon; one brilliant, yet basic idea that's worth working for. Remember, your words will dictate everything about your project for the months to come, so make it good. It could be a general, overhead idea (I'm going to rewrite all the faction questlines in Skyrim), a philosophy (I want good dialogue, and ambiguous choices, while giving as much freedom to the Player as possible; borrowed from IQ) or simply a seed of what's soon to come (My questline's going to revolve around Time Travel and ancient mastery of the elements). Once you have that, writing the plot is much easier.

 

The plot is a rough draft of what's going to happen in your questline. Keep your theme in mind, and try to visualize a plausible, yet exciting story that revolves around it. Most characters and settings will be created at this stage, as the story takes shape. When you're satisfied with this preliminary draft of your story, then break it down into individual quests, and summarize it.

 

Quest overviews are essential for generating interest about your project. They allow you to avoid spoilers, yet give potential Players a good idea of what's in your storyline. Extract the most important parts of each quest, and summarize it into a sentence. Here's one example for a project I'm working on:

 

Seeking Knowledge- The Dragonborn joins the College of Winterhold after passing an entrance exam.

 

Short, sweet and simple. It's always a good idea to publish your quest overviews as soon as they're written.

 

Now that you have your quests summarized, its easy to write them, using information from the plot, overviews and any ideas you have from the theme. The dialogue here is pivotal; a single line could start to define a character's personality. Once your quests are written, use spell check and send them off to a friend (or editor) to get them reviewed. Make any corrections you deem necessary, and start recruiting people to help you make your vision a reality.

 

Good quest names are important too! I tend to surf the web for synonyms of common words, and use the ones that sound good and make sense.

 

If you need help naming your characters, there's a random name generator for all Elder Scrolls races. Its quite useful.

Edited September 21, 2014 by mlee3141

[mlee3141]

Brilliant Articulation

Dialogue defines characters, and characters define dialogue. It doesn't matter which comes first; as long as that first line is written, or the first wisp of the character's personality starts to take shape in your mind, then you have a solid idea of what your character should say.

 

Now, nothing is set in stone at this stage. Like always, define a basic archetype for your character (the Counselor of Ald Velothi), and let your ideas, dialogue and even VAs' voices inspire you, and transform it into something unique and interesting (fallen Daedra who learned human emotion, and mastered Illusion magic to live among mortals).

 

Different characters express themselves in a unique manner that reflects their personality. For example, Tolfdir, an unaggressive, elderly and cheerful Dwemer scholar mght say these lines in battle:

 

I almost mistook you for family! (fighting undead)

 

Really! Robbing an old man! (fighting bandits)

 

Whereas Faralda, a friendly, yet fiery Destructionist would say these lines in combat:

 

Few can withstand my fury! (fighting undead)

 

I shall deal justice in fire and ice! (fighting bandits)

 

Those lines clearly show a big difference, and go a long way toward establishing a personality for your character.

 

Try to use diverse words at this stage. If you want to express two similar ideas, then find another simile/ metaphor to do that. For example, an idea about the fires of Oblivion could be expressed like this:

 

Fires below take you!

 

Dagon smite you!

 

Each is similar to the other, yet they preserve their uniqueness. Plus, you're most likely going to be playing your own quest mod, so make it interesting.

 

Now, here's where it gets interesting. If you're new to Skyrim, then stop reading this and spend all of your free time next week playing Skyrim. You need to understand the lore and immerse yourself into the game to write specific taunts, and much quest-related dialogue, such as:

 

I'll raze the forests you hold so dear! (fighting Spriggan)

 

Betrayal chains you, and retribution evades you! (fighting Falmer)

 

Likely meaningless if you've never played before, but let's break those two lines down.

 

Spriggans are guardians of nature; sentient and solitary treelike beings who can become one with the forest. So, threatening to raze their forests would make a worthy taunt for them. Falmer are fallen Snow Elves who were blinded and betrayed by the Dwemer. Since the Dwemer vanished shortly afterward, retribution will forever evade them.

 

Just immerse yourself in the lore, and don't be repetitive. You'll write wonders.

Edited September 21, 2014 by mlee3141

[mlee3141]

Forming a Team

Be persistent, and be polite. Above all, have a great, achievable idea worth working for. I always add "Hi!" in front of any post asking for help, and end it with "Thanks!". If you've got that down, then write a brief description of your project, a brief description of what you need help with/ what you're looking for, and always include a link to your mod development page.

 

Provide as much info as you can on your Development Thread and make it sound good; all the while avoiding spoilers. Once you have your first recruit, use PMs to trade project info, and e-mail to trade project files. Always define your roles, so people know what they're supposed to do (Level Designer, Writer, Voice Actor).

 

Pretty soon, you're going to have to stop accepting new recruits; too many people is too hard to manage. From there on out, specify one role at a time, if you have any left to fill. You can meet a lot of talented, and passionate people this way.

 

Ask for an audition/ sample so you have a sense of their skills. If someone doesn't meet your standards, then move on. I usualy judge people against myself: Can I do a better job than they can? If you can, then there's no point in having them on your team.

 

Directing a project is a real learning experience, and you never lose that initial spark. I'm having great fun, and I'm learning new skills every day. Don't forget to take a break every now and then, and just do something you find relaxing.

 

Have fun!

Edited September 21, 2014 by mlee3141

[Mattiewagg]

Just a quick link to a short one I wrote on writing dialogue (not all that long):

 

Making Good Dialogue

 

And if you do write them, would you mind if I posted a version of them on my site (completely your choice)? They would credit you fully.

 

I would likely add my own part near the end, since I intended to make a few similar tutorials, though if you decide not to I'll still write them.

[mlee3141]

Sure, why not. You can post them on your site when I'm finished, and feel free to add your own advice at the end.

[Mattiewagg]

I appreciate it.

[mlee3141]

What do you guys think of these? They're my first tutorials, so I would love to hear feedback.