Common Issue/Interest
- Common
- The Characters begin the Story in a Common location.
- They may have been guided here by Common informants.
- They may have been guided here by Different informants.
- What are these Informants interests?
- Why do they help the Characters?
- Why do they need the help of the Characters?
- The Character are likely to have different issues/goals.
- They are Looking for an Object or a Person.
- They have Difficulty to reaching it.
- What are these Goals?
- How does it relate to this Location?
- Character Specific
- What are the Origins of each Characters?
- How do their Origins relates to their Issue?
- How do their Origins relates to their Goal?
- What’s the Nature of the common Issue?
- How does it differ from the Specific issues of each Character?
- How do the Characters come across this Common Issue?
- Are they Forced to face it?
- Are they Trapped?
- Are they Wounded?
- Are they Intoxicated?
- Who Forced them?
- The Informant?
- The Informant’s Employer?
- A 3rd Party?
- Do they do it Voluntarily?
Loss
- Why are we Lost?
- Where do the Characters begin?
- Why would they feel Lost?
- Which other feeling does this place convey?
- Is it an Unknown place?
- Are they in an Unknown Situation?
- Are they Hesitating?
- Why are they Hesitating?
- Is there an immediate source of Danger?
- Is it less perceptible & diffuse?
- Nature of the Loss
- What is the Origin of the Loss?
- Is it Death?
- Who’s Death?
- Is it Separation?
- Which kind of Separation?
- Was it Voluntary?
- Was it Consensual?
- Is it a Betrayal?
- Who’s Betrayal?
- In order to attain which Outcome?
- What caused their haplessness?
- Amnesia
- Why start with Amnesia?
- Amnesia offers you the possibility to discover a World together with your Character.
- Why choose a Progressive discovery?
- Progressiveness will help you unfold a long Story.
- It is particularly helpful in a Saga.
- Amnesia also allow to convey strong emotions.
- Therefore it becomes instrumental in Horror, Comedy & Drama.
- How does an Amnesic Character evolves?
- Her Primary Goal will be to Recover her memory.
- Then she will be able to pursue her Original Goal.
- If she chooses to.
- And if it is still possible.
The Calling & The Force
- The Nature of the Calling
- Where did the call come from?
- Who called the Characters?
- What is this Person’s status?
- Why did she call them?
- What is their Issue?
- Why does she need the Character’s help?
- Dream
- Where does the Dream originates from?
- Which form does it take?
- Is it an Ethereal Message?
- Is it a Voice?
- Which Sensation does it convey?
- Where does it bring you?
- To an Adventure?
- To a Comedic Voyage?
- To a Dismal Fantasy?
- To a Ancient Fable?
- How do we Return from it?
- Can we?
- Obsession & Possession
- What possesses the Character?
- What obsesses the Character?
- Where does this creature bring her?
- Which Ability does it confer her?
- How will she use it?
- Drama
- Horror
- Which Crisis will she cause?
- Which Loss will she suffer from?
- Which Grief will she have to endure?
- How will Fatality be perceived from her point of view?
- What is the Result of this Shift?
- A feeling of Powerlessness?
- Or of Absoluteness?
- Epics & Sagas
- How do you begin a Saga?
- A strong Call to Adventure.
- Punctuated with Intense Action.
- Resulting in Drama & Violence.
- What should be the Scale of this Saga?
- Generally the scale conflict is Consequent.
- It may be Planet-sized.
- It may be Intercontinental.
- It may be National.
- Sagas allow you to visit Multiple Settings.
- And to meet Multiple Characters.
- They bear the Possibility to develop Diversity.
- If this Diversity has been properly designed beforehand.
- What makes a World Unique?
- Is 1 of the most important questions when it comes to Sagas & Epics.
- What are the Stakes?
- What are the main Organizations of your World?
- Who are their leaders?
- Which Alliances do they form?
- How variable are the stakes?
- How do they evolve?
- What are the Known stakes?
- Who knows about them?
- The general public?
- The Organizations?
- What are the Hidden stakes?
- Who are they hidden from?
- The general public?
- The Organizations’ opponents?
- War
- Which form of Hunger drives one to War?
- The will for Destruction?
- For Pride?
- A deep Devotion?
- What could this Hunger cause?
- Regret?
- Disgust?
- Which kind of Horror?
- How would you use Horror in a War situation?
- How would you use Comedy in a War situation?
Prologue
- Episode 0
- Why an Episode 0?
- What would be its purpose?
- It allows you to accomplish 4 things:
- Present Essential Elements for the rest of the Story.
- Present Essential Rules for the rest of the Story.
- Define Expectations.
- Install the Rhythm.
- Different Starting points
- Where should each Character start?
- Why this Location?
- How are they related to it?
- How will they reach the Same End?
- When will they reach the Same End?
- Where will they end?
- From this location, how will the Adventure Start?
- Resonance
- A Prologue allows you to Reiterate.
- It also allows you to Reorient.
- You can plan you Milestones in order to create Cycles.
- These Multiple Cycles create a sense of Familiarity.
- How should you develop this Familiarity?
- How do you use Echoes?
- Which Scenes prepare the Public?
- Which Dialogues or Images create Resonance?
- How does Familiarity facilitate Escalation?
- Failure
- A Prologue can be a Failure.
- Create Expandable Characters.
- Characters that will be given a Specific Mission.
- They should reach the point where they will be able to complete this Mission.
- They shouldn’t be defeated beforehand.
- How do they arrive to the Final Scene?
- What do they meet therein?
- The Main Antagonist.
- And she defeats them.
- Why does the Main Antagonist win?
- How does the Main Antagonist win?
- What’s the Outcome of her Success?
- What are the Consequences?
- What’s the Aftermath?
- The Triumph of the Main Antagonist must be made clear.
- Then, the Main Story begins.
Common Story
- A Sense of Unity
- You have 2 main possibilities to Create a Common Story:
- Origin
- Flash Forward
- They can be Combined.
- They are used to create a Proximity with the Characters.
- This proximity is Relative to the Public’s involvement.
- How do you Catalyse this Involvement?
- How do the Characters meet?
- Is it Voluntary?
- Is it Involuntary?
- This is the 1st Fundamental Event.
- The 1st Adventure.
- The stage where the Character as most Vulnerable.
- The stage from which they will Progress.
- The stage from which Unity will emerge.
- How will the Characters develop a sense of Togetherness?
- How will they look for Mutual support?
- How will they create their Variable affinities?
- Origin Story
- An Origin Story allows you to develop each Character separately.
- Before they join each other.
- Why would you develop them beforehand?
- It allows the Public to Adopt each Main Character’s Point of View.
- To enjoy a Diversity of Visions.
- To experience Increased Dynamics.
- And a more Intense Rhythm.
- You’ll start with 4-6 Main Characters.
- A limited number allows a Deeper Attachment.
- As well a more consistent Development.
- How will you make these Characters Relatable?
- How will you make these Characters Memorable?
- What will be their Original Relationships?
- With one another?
- With other characters?
- How will these Relationships Evolve?
- How will these Relationships End?
- Flash Forward
- What is a Flash Forward?
- In the 1st chapter, which is not the beginning of the Story, the Character will come across a Crisis.
- The Climatic point of a Crisis.
- The Book begins in the Middle of the Story.
- You’ll Start with an Overview of chapter 5.
- Then pursue on chapter 1.
- Note that in this Scenario the 2nd Crisis is situated in the 5th Chapter.
- Where would usually met in Chapter 6.
- Why use a Flash Forward?
- It allows you to Set the Genre.
- It allows you to Set the Atmosphere.
- It allows you to Set Half of the Expectations.
- And therefore offers a Relative Predictability.