Young Writers Society

I've noticed lately that the storybook forum has a lot of fantasy based storybooks. Especially ones with teenagers who have special powers and such. Now this isn't a bad thing for people who enjoy fantasy-based stories (like myself) but not everyone does.

I have, though, seen a surge of different storybooks lately. There are a few sprinkled in there that are completely devoid of fantasy, or only include small amounts of fantasy. People like these too! (Like myself, you can see I basically love storybooks xD)

Anyways, what sorts of storybooks would you like to see come around? Maybe suggestions will get ideas out there and some different storybooks will start coming around more often.

I've noticed lots of storybooks have the same basic idea, just are portrayed in different ways. I think that's why Storybooks die so easily. I'd like to see really ORIGINAL ideas. No stranded on an island, stuck at camp/boarding school, superpower teen stories. I'm getting sick of them

I hope you aren't referring to my storybook Lauren. I'm trying really hard to have my fantasy storybook devoid of angst teens

But yea, I would like to see more easy going and humouring storybooks (eg: you have to prevent Santa's christmas delivery from being sabatoged by the Grinch). I think it's something that attract more attention to the storybook thread.

I have to say, my storybook has people with powers in it, and it's set in a fantasy world. However, I *think* it's better than the whole 'angsty teenager' thing, as so far things have been pretty good.

However, what's interesting is that one of the most successful storybooks, Boarding School, was set in a completely simple modern universe. No powers, fantasy, or anything.

I have a story, the Robin Hood Gang, not an once of fantasy in it, it actually did really well and I moved on to do the second 'chapter' of it.

All the storybooks around are great stories...but all quite similar. Some originality and/or different ideas would just be nice is all I'm saying.

It's also a great feeling to be able to do a 'sequel' to a storybook if someone is so inclined. More storybooks should last long enough to that option.

This is sort of why I don't really go to the Storybook forums anymore. It was all the same story over and over, or one that I didn't like, or not thought out enough to get past profiles.

Also, storybooks don't need to be big ideas either. As Aqua Said, Boarding school (the last story book I was actually involved in), was simple and got really far, and all of us in it loved it. If you over think the idea, things can get too complicated too fast, and the the writers aren't in it enough to try that hard, and people who drop out early can cause can make a major hole in it. Start off simple, but still fun, and the people who will quit after a few pages or a few days will begin to drop, the plot can live, and you can start to get more complicated, and fun.

The storybooks I have been in that got far, usually, were like that. Most weren't even original ideas, but they were able to get people into it, that would be able to balance a good plot deeper in.

I agree with most of the other comments. All of the storybooks nowadays seem to be a bout teenagers with superpowers. It's kind of annoying now. I personally aren't overly keen on fantasy themed fiction. My favourite kind of fiction is realistic fiction. In fact, I'm in a story book right now about realistic fiction.

People need to expand their ideas, think of other genres. Not just fantasy. I'd really lie to see a humour themed storybook. It would be very enjoyable to be involved in one of them! I know that there's actually one around, but I want more!

I also like it when the storybook creator doesn't tell you the exact plot of the story! It feels like you have to follow rules and you can't be as creative as you'd like to be otherwise. The creator of the storybook should give you a basic idea of what they want to happen, but they really shouldn't make it that detailed.

This is just my opinion though!

There's nothing wrong with the boarding school/super powered teens/whatever idea. Well, considering I am looking forward to matt's academy for heroes-in-training, of course I don't think there is. But they aren't for everyone. I remember stories about a woman having to choose between several suitors- that was interesting, and no, it didn't go dirty. Basically, if you can't find a storybook you are interested in, what's stopping you from making your own? There have been realistic fantasy storybooks in the past, and ones with lots of planning as well as simple ones, and they have done well.
If you don't want to be in a fantasy-esque storybook with teens and superpowers just don't join. ^_^

I don't like all these fairy story books that are popping up. Almost every idea has the same premise e.g secretly their are fairy's living amongst us in hiding. I wouldn't mind these idea's if they were with something other than fairys as the main characters. As far as the whole boarding school topic I think that it was lucky. Their been many since it but none of them have been as successful. I think it got the right mix of devoted members and sometimes posters, it helped that we had a good leader and we all planed the plot. That and once we got to sixty pages we decided we would try to become the longest storybook ever. We failed but were only ten or so pages off.

I would like to see more of the good ole imaginative worlds or maybe it's time Elemental storybooks came back, hopefully people changing into animals storybooks will stay gone for a long time.

To be honest, I think that you just get lucky if you have, or are in, a successful storybook. I mean, I've been in some that have been thought about very carefully and one's that have been original too. Even though this is true, not many of them have been very successful.

I think that it mostly depends on the storybookers themselves. If they are devoted, write good and interesting posts and don't just let their characters disappear; the storybook will most likely be successful. This isn't always the case though, obviously.

I do agree with what Jok just said though; I'm not overly keen on this fairy, troll and ork kind of storybooks now. I epically fail at creating storybooks, so any ideas I have never get used.

Honestly, I am a bit disappointed in the storybooks. It seems people won't join unless you have vampires or teenagers with superpowers. That's just wrong man. I really want to create one, but no one would join (probably because I said this isn't going to be a teenagers with overwhelming powers story).

tanith14 wrote:Honestly, I am a bit disappointed in the storybooks. It seems people won't join unless you have vampires or teenagers with superpowers. That's just wrong man. I really want to create one, but no one would join (probably because I said this isn't going to be a teenagers with overwhelming powers story).

Awww... come on. The whole teenagers with super powers thing has pretty much died down now, thank god. I haven't actually seen any storybooks about vampires though... just saying. As for the whole 'teenager' thing, it's common sense really. Probably around 80% of YWSers are between the ages of 13 and 18. Therefore they (Including me considering I'm 14) find it easier, and more interesting, to write in the POV of teenagers.

If you have a good idea for a storybook, why not try it? You never know who'll be interested until you give it a go! Plus, by the sound of it, your ideas are quite different. If your idea is different to most storybooks, you've got a good chance of getting people interested in it. If it's an epic fail, that's fine. Remember; it's better to try and fail than not to try at all.

I did make one but no one responded to it.

I think part of the problem is I specifically asked for each post to not be 1st person narration which appears to be the norm for story books.

tanith14 wrote:I did make one but no one responded to it.

I think part of the problem is I specifically asked for each post to not be 1st person narration which appears to be the norm for story books.

I was going to join it but then I saw the "Not first person" thing and was like, 'Er, I wirte better in first person. Third, not so much...' So I didn't end up joining. *shrugs*

There seems to be a lot of interesting things going on.

I don't like it when people copy another's idea or an idea already in use, such as things based on video games and tv shows. It's okay if they're different, but it's not okay if they're exactly like the idea already in use.