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What Makes a Popular Storybook?



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Thu Mar 02, 2017 11:48 am
sheysse says...



I've always liked storybooks with a large cast. However, I often don't get the cast I wish for. I don't need, like, 20 people, but a cast of maybe 5-8 would be wonderful.

So, I propose a simple question; What can I do to make a Storybook people will be interested in?





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Sun Mar 05, 2017 3:29 pm
BrumalHunter says...



I'm too tired to provide all the necessary information right now, but if you poke me in Discord whenever you're available, I'll try to explain it to you there. ;)
But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
— Paul the Apostle

Winter is inevitable. Spring will return eventually, and AstralHunter with it.





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Sun Mar 26, 2017 10:21 pm
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Lumi says...



1. The cast sweet spot is 5-8

2. Find the flavor of the month (or year.) Right now, it's fantasy.
2b. There is a dearth of sci-fi that is worth a try.

3. Make your concept approachable by every storybooker unless you have a precast in mind.

4. Be ready to hype your brain out when it comes to the starting line so you have a strong start and momentum.

5. Alternatively, prepare for a slow-burning flame that can potentially last for years, but go a month between posts. This is not bad, it can just get scary when its pulse is low.
I am a forest fire and an ocean, and I will burn you just as much
as I will drown everything you have inside.
-Shinji Moon


I am the property of Rydia, please return me to her ship.





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Thu Apr 06, 2017 9:45 am
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Omni says...



In my experience, presentation, execution, and collaboration is key! I'll be using Fireheart as my example, but take note that even that Storybook only has a cast of 3-4 right now, so I still have this problem myself XD

Presentation: This isn't simply making it look pretty (that's just an added bonus ;) and only if you want to, but that does help) but this is making your premise clear, enticing, and have something unique about it. Your first post should have enough information to let people know the direction of this Storybook. Let's take an example.

Image

What draws your attention? Is it the sidebar, perhaps? Or the Banner? The flavor text? The amount of shiny likes? Well, for me, it's these things:

Image

First thing that draws my attention is the sidebar image, and for a reason. One, it's large. It''s the largest thing when you first click on the page. Second, it's bright. Shiny! Third, and the most important for me as a DM, it has text. Simple, clear, enticing. It's the perfect flavor text for setting up my Storybook.

Second is the banner. Now, in this regard, it doesn't serve as generic a purpose as perhaps you would like. It's actually a link in disguise! It leads to the Storybook's bookkeeping page. Normally, I'd put up something like this:

Image

because it's big, pretty, and serves as a good poster image for the Storybook. Since I didn't have that, I used the sidebar image as my poster image for promoting it. Honestly, using the sidebar as the only image before your flavor text is probably the best bet. Draws more attention to it.

The third thing that drew my attention were the first two sentences. The whole first part leading up to the map in Fireheart is flavor text, but the first two sentences are short, sweet, and to the point. They establish A) something important B) a beginning taste of the world for audiences and C) a something desirable so obviously a plot point. There's also an added bonus of repetition that drives the point home. You need that if you want strong flavor text, and you want strong flavor text. That's your main drawing point for people not already planning on joining when they click on the link.

Now, after you have the main attention drawers in the very beginning, your post should hold enough information to get people accustomed to the setting, plot, and rules of your world, but not too much. You should still get them asking questions, because questions mean they're invested (or just confused. A few cues on the latter are "I'm lost" or "I still don't understand" or "what, what is this site") Still, though, questions are usually a good sign. That means they're at least willing to be a part of the storybook and haven't left yet.

Execution: This one is important. How you run your storybook is just as important as the storybook itself. You could have a wonderful concept but fail as a Dungeon Master.

So, here's a few things that you could do get people in your Storybook and keep it running. These are the very short versions; there are so many articles around the GSD that go far more in-depth than I will.

Advertising: profile.php?u=26668&c=990476

Make sure you post on your wall, post in the GSD, tag people you think will join. Create HYPE. If you're excited, others will be too. It's CONTAGIOUS

Constant communication: Personally, I use Discord. But, I pester, poke, prod, and update as much as I can. Constant communication, even just random stuff, helps establish a bond and keeps people interested, or at the very least annoyed that you're still there.

Constant incentives: For Fireheart, I use SB Challenges that are usually quick stuff with generous rewards, a leveling system by just doing regular things you'd do anyway:

Image

and constant plotting, even if it's small stuff like posting hints about my next post or a part of my outline or getting excited about a plot bunny for another character. It shows that I'm willing to work and get excited about this stuff, so others do as well.

Last, but certainly not least: Know that Storybooks do die, and accept it. Sometimes it's just not an idea that's easy to write. Sometimes it's not a clear idea. Sometimes there's not enough freedom to write what they want. Sometimes there's too much freedom and not enough direction. Whatever it is, Storybooks die out. It's important not to lost heart if they do.

Dungeon-Master?: how you run your Storybook is just as important as the storybook itself. First off, there's a balance, and it's different with every person. Some people like little to not rules or guidelines, some people like their posts to be outlined for them.

As a Dungeon Master, you're never gonna have all of the same type of person, so you'll have to try and please everyone (and if you've been doing it long enough, fail on a few occasions. I can count at least four cases where I've failed in my DM-ing, and two of them were very public, and that's not a good thing)

Regarding Fireheart, here's how I've been doing it.

Step 1: Plot a #basic plotarc with multiple stopping and starting points. Usually, you want 1. Larger storyarcs (I like to base these on a location (a continent, city, academy, hideout), protagonist (one of the PCs, so it'll be themed in a place they came from, revolving around an enemy they know, or a goal they're intimately attached to), antagonist (think side quests where you go out of your way to fight a small boss. That kinda thing, or a larger boss intimately connected to one or more of any of the other larger storyarcs I'm talking about), or objective (loot, treasure, a powerful object that you need to collect) --Usually it's a combination of all of these throughout the arcs, but these are basic ideas-- and 2. smaller arcs, like activities to pass the time (character interaction late at night), events (such as balls or graduations, classes, other things for your protags to look forward to). You can even theme these, if you want (like 1. Acts 2. Chapters or 1. Levels 2. Checkpoints or 1. Seasons 2. Episodes. That gets into the theme you're wanting for your Storybook, or your personal choice)

Image

Now, how large your 1. and 2. should be is up to you. The shorter they are, usually the faster Storybooks go. Make sure to start each 2. with a SB Challenge. You can have multiple Challenges happening in one 2., but the longer you'll drag out the sense of accomplishment by finishing a 2., the slower a Storybook's progress.

You'll need another form of progression other than SB Challenges. Things I've tried before: level system (this works the best, but make sure it's not complicated for the users. Leave the complicatedness to yourself.), loot system (works best paired with level system. Too random to work well alone), missions (optional assignments that boost in-canon reputation), quests (more fantasy-based, but still optional, rewards are powerful but long-game), and mini-games (random puzzles or team-building exercises for the participants. Haven't tested much, but worked SUPER WELL when I did do it. Gave them a sense of working as a team for a short term goal and they were rewarded immediately).

The key here is balancing short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals with immediate and late-game rewards.

Collaboration: oh boy, this is a doozie. How do you collaborate in your storybook? In what level do your participants react with each other? Do they not communicate or collaborate at all when writing posts and just write their posts by themselves?

For me, and this is how I've been doing it for my last two Storybooks (so far pretty successful, too!), but I had an unspoken rule that each post must be touched by at least the poster, myself, and one other person before it's posted. I also have the final look before they post to give the go-ahead. So every post you see in Fireheart and Shattered Moons were written by at least three people (with two exceptions and trust me I wasn't happy about those).

When writing, I usually bring the owners of characters I'm about to interact with and I start writing up until the interaction. I let them know that they can change, add, or fix anything I write, and vice versa, just that they let me know about it. With multiple people scanning and collaborating on each post, the quality is raised. Ultimately, the poster has the most control with the style and direction of the post (unless either A) I step in to change a plot hole or potential plot hole or B) an owner of another character changes something they thought was OOC for them) but it helps to bounce ideas off of one another and have multiple people take a shot at rewording a sentence or a scene to work and sound better.

Not everyone likes that amount of collaboration, but it works so well that most end up liking it eventually.


Phew! Anyway, that's my thoughts on making a popular, and successful, storybook. One last note is that I made a list of what I look for in a Storybook over here: clubs/2324/forum/74562

While it may be a little outdated (over a year old, yikes, and from a dumb idea of a club XD) I think it still generally holds up if you're wanting to read more than what's above.

If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask! I love chatting ^^
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