Plot
Things to ask yourself.
Is my plot overused? Take a look at the storybooks that are running at the time you want to post yours, and take a look at the plots. Do you really want to post another storybook about a bunch of teenagers with superpowers? Specifically if there are 7 different storybooks going that have that basic idea going. Originality is key.
Is my plot outline too detailed? If when you write up your outline, you already have a beginning, middle and end planned out that definitely won't work. You want to have a vague idea of what happens at the end so you can give everyone a goal to reach, but giving the others liberty can give you ideas and allow your storybook to expand and grow. Having military planned precision will bore people, because they can add to it.
Is my plot outline too vague? If you're basically introducing the setting and that the characters are all green, you're plot outline is much too vague. Having a vague plot line will A) Confuse the writers B)Turn your storybook into an unrecognizable monster if it's started and people branch out on their own or C) Never start
Characters
Characters are all about appeal and relations.
If you notice, almost every storybook's character age range is the teenage to young adult range. Why? Because we can relate more to our peers then to someone in their 90s. Because we can put ourselves in our character's head.
If you make a storybook where all the characters are carnivorous aliens with blue hair, pig noses and slimy green skin, I don't think you'll get very far. A) because picturing it is pretty ugly. B) People have never seen that before, so they won't be able to relate to those characters. C) The characters will become very human-like rather then man-eating aliens.
So, you want to give them an outline of a character that fits your ideal for the story, but appeals to them.
Note on problematic things with characters:
1. If there is a character that is "perfect" the profile table you created isn't done right. Think of setting them up for failure. Even include a 'bad habit' or a 'fault' category.
2. If you aren't getting any characters, take the hint and let it die. You can bring it back out later and give it another go.
3. If someone is reigning over all the characters and making those character do things their own writers don't want. Or they are using their character to steer the storybook in a whole different direction. Take some time to talk to that person, and explain to them you plans and that you'd appreciate it if they calmed it down. Otherwise you'll lose all your other writers.
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Overall, creating a good storybook is about having a balance in liberties and control. Once you have a grasp on that, you just need the writers!
Any questions or comments? Let me know.
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