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Young Writers Society


Storybook Month Is Here!



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Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:46 am
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Omni says...



Welcome to Storybook Month! We have multiple different fun activities happening right now for you to partake in. Yes, you heard that right! Right now! In the Storybook Forum

    Sky Pirates Vs. Sky Ninjas
      That’s right! That eternal and hilarious struggle has returned! This time, in the form of a tagbook. Weird things are happening, though, and it’s like you’re seeing doppelgangers of yourself…
  • On Stolen Wings
      A YWU Storybook by @ScarlettFire!
      A group of dragon riders must go on a quest to find out why there's been so few recruits lately and uncover a plot for world domination by the secretive and destructive Conclave.
  • Aether’s Heart
      A YWU Storybook by @Omnom!
      When an ancient city rises once again from the sands to the south, a forgotten prophecy spells doom to humanity unless a group of adventurers can delve deep within the shifting sands and recover a dead gods heart.
  • Pokemon: New Horizon
      What’s this? A Pokemon Storybook? Run by @AstralHunter? It’s more likely than you think!
      Twelve Cities
      Thirty-Six Events
      Three Champions
      Countless Memories
  • Dynasty Undying
      This is a Sci-Fi Pirate Power Struggle Storybook run by @Omnom! Claim your right to the throne to the universe.
  • Treasure Hunt!
      That’s right! Pirate @Featherstone was clumsy and tripped stashed away some of our precious pirate treasure within the Storybook forums, and now it’s anyone’s game to claim!
  • DTWH Contest
      Pirate @Magestorrow has decided to have you butt heads put your heads together and co-write in her new challenge. Whoever has the best story is crowned the DTWH victor!
  • YWU
      While not just a Storybook Month exclusive, Young Writers Universe is a collaborative universe that allows writers to craft their own stories in the same universe and shape it together.
  • Workshops, Write-ins, & Events, Oh My!
      That’s not all! We have multiple Workshops about roleplaying, Storybooks, and more, Official Write-Ins, and Challenges to keep you enthralled all month! Subscribe to this thread to see when we have a new event coming up!

Any questions, comments, or anything in between, leave them here!
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Mon Jul 01, 2019 11:12 am
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Mageheart says...



The DTWH Contest has officially begun! Click on the link and find out all the juicy details if you want to write something with another writer.
mage

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roleplaying is my platonic love language.

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Mon Jul 01, 2019 4:00 pm
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Featherstone says...



The Treasure Hunt is on! Search the seas, mateys, and find ye treasure!
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."


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Sat Jul 06, 2019 11:02 am
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Mageheart says...



Like with NaNoWriMo, NaPoWriMo, and RevMo here on the site, you can record your progress with storybooking over in the Storybook Month Record Thread. Due to the Storybook Section being so varied, you have a plethora of ways to get your month of SBMo goodness in.

  • 1 Storybook (SB) Created OR
  • 1 Storybook (SB) Post OR
  • 5 Discussion Thread (DT) Posts OR
  • 3 Roleplay Realm (RR) Posts OR
  • 3 Double Trouble Writing Huddle (DTWH) Posts OR
  • Attend a Workshop


There's also a handy log format you can copy-and-paste to keep track of all of your achievements. And, if you haven't been doing any of these daily, activities you do one day can carry over to the others if it goes over the requirements - four storybook posts made on the same day can count for four days, rather than only being counted for that first day.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Thu Jul 11, 2019 11:02 am
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Mageheart says...



Ahoy, mateys!

Pirates @Featherstone and @Magestorrow are running a workshop on on the basics of storybooking. We'll be going over the differences between roleplays, Double-Trouble Writing Huddle threads and storybooks, while also giving some tips on how to write each type. Alternatively, you can treat it as a Q&A session and ask us whatever questions about storybooking.

It'll run for two hours at most, but you're free to drop whenever you'd like!

We hope to see you there!


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mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Wed Jul 24, 2019 8:49 pm
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Mageheart says...



The storybook workshop begins in ten minutes! Come join @Featherstone and I in chat while we talk about the different kinds of storybooking. You can drop by chat now or wait until the start of the workshop, but we'll be there either way.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Wed Jul 24, 2019 11:36 pm
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Featherstone says...



Spoiler! :
@Fraey, @hiraeth, @coffeeism, @TinkerTwaggy, @magestorrow, @riellehn, @themulticoloredcyr

Storybook Introductions Workshop Summary
Run by @Magestorrow and @Featherstone


A lot of things were covered in this workshop run by myself and @Magestorrow, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask! The basics of roleplay, the Storybook Section, and the basics of characters, etc. were all discussed.

Part I: Roleplaying
Roleplaying itself is, in the context of YWS, collaborative writing of varying forms. There’s other forms—such as roleplay games, like D&D or LARP—but as we’re a writing website, our roleplays are forum based. Role-play is helpful for various character interactions, development, and practice at writing with a partner.

In any kind of roleplay, there’s a few things we want to avoid, although there are two main ones: firstly, godmodding, and, secondly, metagaming. These two are very closely related. Godmodding is when a character is overpowered, and when they are so god-like that no other players can take the helm. These characters don’t take hits; they know things they realistically shouldn’t; they’re unrealistically powerful; and, more often than not, they steal the spotlight. A character that wins every battle, knows everything, and is “perfect” prevents the valuable interactions and struggles that characters endure together. It also means that it’s unbalanced, and that other characters are shoved out of the spotlight constantly and unable to have their moments to shine. Basically, it’s no fun for anyone.

Metagaming is when a character knows something that the writer knows but the character shouldn’t. For example, if I’m roleplaying with Tortwag, and his character is thinking about pancakes while talking about a cool rock he found, my character can’t tell he’s thinking about pancakes unless it’s stated in his move. So, as a writer, I know he’s thinking about pancakes, because I read his internal monologue—but my character won’t. My character mentioning pancakes would then be metagaming. It can also pertain to out of game knowledge discussed between players. An example of this would be if Mage’s character, Kartiel, is a god, and she tells me this when we’re talking about our characters, but Kartiel hides it in the rp, my character cannot know nor guess unrealistically.

Part II: Combat Mechanics & Conflict

In most rps, eventual combat is inevitable. Complications rarely arise when this is against a common, non-player enemy, but in the case of boss fights or PvP (player-versus-player), this can be challenging. The most important thing to remember is that collaboration is always allowed and, more often than not, welcomed.

When fighting, there must be a balance. It’s not fun if one character or another never takes a hit or is always the one getting hurt. Of course, some characters will be of varying skill levels, but even the most experienced warriors will make mistakes. For me, I try to take a hit every few posts, even if it’s minor, to keep it balanced. It can be useful talk ahead of time with your partner(s) and establish who will win and if there will be any injuries or deaths.

It is never, under any circumstances, acceptable to kill or maim someone else’s character without their explicit consent. Period.

That being said, sometimes one character is more powerful than another. If I’m playing a human high schooler and my partner is playing a transdimensional god, then they’re probably going to kick my character’s butt. That’s okay. Just remember to discuss, collaborate, and make sure everyone is on the same page.

If a character is physically overpowered—like Superman—and their weakness isn’t easily obtained or utilized, try making conflicts and challenges that are mental. @TinkerTwaggy brought up his character, Twinkiel Thunderfleece, who quickly became the most powerful character in a storybook he was participating in. To compensate, he gave Twinkiel an enemy that, when confronted, scared him so badly that he was unable to evolve or to grow because of his fear. Other characters might be afraid to share a certain secret, or of something more emotional than physical.

If you have a character that’s naturally very powerful, sometimes it’s worth asking before entering an rp with them. Dropping a post in a spoiler or parenthesis (to let everyone know that it’s out of character) and letting everyone know who your charrie is and that they’re powerful can lead to collaboration to make sure it’s fun for everyone. Some people prefer not to rp with those characters simply for the ease of it. Either way, rps are supposed to be fun for everyone, regardless of the type, so be cognoscente when playing such characters!

Part IV: Storybook Section
On YWS, there are three sections in the Storybook tab: the Storybook (SB) section, the Roleplay Realm (RR; formerly, Character Chit-chat), and the Double-trouble Writing Huddle (DTWH). The content in all sections are expected to be PG and, in accordance with the site wide rules, there can be no explicit sexual content. That being said, sexual themes, violence, and drugs are all allowed IF the thread has a “16+” tag on it.

Out-of-character or out-of-game chat is typically enclosed in a spoiler or, for a sentence or two, parentheses.

Storybook Section (SB)
Storybooks are the most formal and long-lasting of these forms. If a roleplay is a short story, an SB is a novel. Cast sizes vary (often, five to seven people is optimal, although casts can get much bigger or smaller, depending on the participants and game master). It’s a collaborative form of writing wherein a story, setting, and plot are presented by the game master and characters are designed by the various participants in alignment with the given lore.

Typically, SB posts are at least three paragraphs in length. They may include the author’s character as well as those of other participants, and those other characters are under the control of the author of the post. This being said, if you’re approached by the person who made the character and they don’t feel that their character was portrayed accurately, edits are in order. SB posts are, for this reason, often written collaboratively, with multiple people writing for their characters in a single post. If you aren’t sure about your portrayal of a character, feel free to ask! Collaboration is a big part of all role plays.

Discussion topics (aka discussion threads, or DTs) are used for out-of-game chatter, plotting, and discussion, and can be found for every SB. Often, a link to a WriterFeed Pad is also supplied for real-time discussion. Discord (a Skype-like program that’s free and requires nothing more than an email and password to join) is commonly used for such plotting, but isn’t necessary to rp on the site.

Go here for more information on Storybooks.

Roleplay Realm (RR/RPR)
The Roleplay Realm is much more casual than SBs. Posts vary in length, typically between one and five paragraphs, and under no circumstances may someone else’s character be controlled. Roleplays in this section vary in levels of structure. Sometimes they’re SB-esque in that the game master designs a world, plot, etc. Other times it’s more of a “throw your characters in a room to see what happens” type of deal. It’s an excellent way to warm up to role playing and to learn the basics.

Go here for more on the Roleplay Realm.

Double-trouble Writing Huddle (DTWH)
The Double-trouble Writing Huddle is where partners go to write. This can follow more of an SB style or an RR one; it just depends on the partners and their preferences. Typically, no more than two people are involved in writing here.

Go here for more on the Double-trouble Writing Huddle.

Part V: Common Abbreviations & Slang

Charrie: Character
Collab: A collaboration/to collaborate; multiple people working together on a single post.
CP: Character profile. These are submitted in Storybooks in order to join, and describe your character’s name, appearance, abilities, etc.
DT: Discussion topic
DTWH: Double-trouble Writing Huddle
GM: Game master
IC/IG: In-character or in-game
OOC/OOG: Out-of-character or out-of-game
RP: Roleplay
RR/RPR: Roleplay Realm
SB: Storybook
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."


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"Now I realize that there is no righteous path, it’s just people trying to do their best in a world where it is far too easy to do your worst."
— Castiel