As writers, nothing that we expierence can be worse than a blank page. Whether you're writing a novel, short story, poem, essay or storybook post, we are familiar with being overwhelmed by the control that we have given ourselves to tell a story. When you're only controlling one character in that story, it can be even harder to think of what to write. Since, in storybooks, you collaborate with a host of others, the story is not entirely yours. What if you don't know what to write, or aren't sure that your idea will be accepted? What if everyone is drawing a blank on the next direction to spin the plot? Here are a few thing that you can do:
1. Outlining
If you are considering creating a storybook of your own, it helps to have a general idea of where you want to your story to go. You can still figure out a lot as you go along, but figuring out a basic outline - "these characters want a, they are opposed by b,c, d, they start at e and end at f"- will help you tremendously.
2. Discussion Threads
The specific storybook discussion forum, you'll find discussion threads for active storybooks. These are a valuable tool for any storybook you participate in because you can communicate with its other members. Ideas for settings, plot twists, and your characters can all be discussed in a DT to make sure things run smoothly and stay exciting.
3. Plot Twists
You're busy with school and/or work. You've hit a roadblock in the SB you're participating in. in these instances, it can be easy to just give up instead of working hard to create a thoughtful post. To avoid this, it can help to thrust a plot in a different direction, add an unexpected twist to propel action into motion. Just make sure that if you have an idea for a plot twist you discuss it with everyone else.
4. Commitment
It can be frustrating when someone signs up for a storybook and doesn't deliver on the post contributions they are expected to make. Each character in a storybook is vital, and the SB as a whole can suffer if a key character is missing. If you're considering joining a storybook, ask yourself "do I have the time to dedicate two to three quality posts per week?" (this is a good benchmark to consider, but it could be more or less in actuality). If yes, go ahead and join. But be careful to not spread yourself too thin! If you're already in two storybooks, it may not be the best idea to join a third.
Last but not least, please enjoy everything the storybook forum has to offer. While it is fun just to create different characters and write out a few posts, finishing a storybook can be extremely rewarding.
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