How to beat Writer’s Block? 4 types of Short Stories

Summary – Your 4 Types of Adventure.

You can Create any kind of Adventure by answering 6 Questions:
1/What’s the Story’s genre?
Adventure, Action, Comedy, Drama, Horror
2/What’s the Setting?
3/Why choose this type?
4/What are the Advantages of this Story type?
5/What are the Limits of this Story type?
6/How can you Expand it?

Common traits to all 4 Types

• Starting your Adventure
• What’s the Story’s genre?
  • Adventure
  • Action
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Horror
• What’s the Setting?
• Why choose this type?
• What are the Advantages of this Story type?
• What are the Limits of this Story type?
• How can you Expand it?

• Trigger
• What’s the 1st Event of the Story?
• What’s the 1st Crisis?
• How do you create Emotional attachment between the Character & the Story?
• How do the Story impact the Character’s Goal?
• How do you create Continuity between Stories?
• Start with a Story.
• And Continue with another Story.

• Between each Story
• What do the Characters do in their Downtime?
• How long can they Rest?
• How do they Rest?
• How do they Entertain themselves?
• What is Leisure for them?
• Are they Telling Stories?
• Do they cook together?
• Do they Share skills?
• Do they Train each other?
• Do they Create new Items?

Discovery

Discovery is Novelty.
It’s the easiest way to start a Story.

• Territory
• Which place are the Characters discovering?
• Why did they get to this Location?
• How did they get to this Location?
• Which Resources were they looking for?
• Did they expect to find this Location?
• Which Landmark revealed this Location?
• Which Creatures populate this Location?
• Which Plants can be found therein?
• Which Landscapes?

• Individual
• Which New Character will be met?
• What characterize her?
• What makes her Remarkable?
• What makes her Unique?
• Is she an Opponent?
• Is she a Support?
• How will she Create new Relationships?

• Solve an Issue
• What is the Issue?
• What is the Crisis faced?
• Is it a Mystery?
• What is the Problem?
• How should it be solved?
• Should the Characters discover the Identity of a perpetrator?

• Reveal
• What is the Solution?
• How is it a Revelation?
• How does it differ from what was expected?
• What’s the Nature of the Revelation?
• What makes it Surprising?
• What are its Consequences?
• On who?
• How does it Impact Character’s Evolution?

• After the Reveal
• A Discovery can be turned into another Story easily.
• It Opens the path to the other 3 types of Stories.
• Defeating
  • What is the new Plot?
  • Which Danger was exposed?
  • Which Menace was discovered?
• Collecting
  • Which Precious object was discovered
• Delivering
  • Should the Character Bringing someone back?
    • Is this person Alive?
    • Is she Dead?
  • Should they save this Person?

Defeating

Defeating is Preventing.

• Overcoming
• What should the Characters Stop?
• Is it an Assassination?
• A sudden killing?
• The destruction of a Place?
• Of an Object?
• Who should they defeat?
  • What should they defeat?
• Who should they capture?
  • What should they capture?

• Target
• Who is the Target?
• Who is the Assailant?
• How should the Assailant be stopped?
• The main Strength of the Defeating story is its Straightforwardness.
• It may be considered too Simple.
• And may lack of Complexity.

• Adding Complexity
• Are there Multiple opponents?
• Are there Multiple Assailants?
• What are the Relationships between these opponents?
• How are they organized?
• Who leads these Organizations?
• Are there Inter oppositions?
  • Between Organizations
• Are there Intra oppositions?
  • In each Organizations
• Could there be Alignments shifts?
• What would trigger them?
• Who are the true Enemies?
• Which opponents are forced to act?
• Who is the Main Menace?
• What are the 2ndary Menaces?
• Is there an Hidden Menace?

This system of Complexification can be used for the other 3 types of Stories.

Delivery & Transport

Delivery often means Protection.

• Object
• What is the Nature of the object?
• What’s its Use?
• Is it not an Object?
• Is is a Person?
• What’s her Status?
• What’s her Value?
• For whom?
• What’s her Goal?
• Does she display her Will?
• Does she Restrain it?
• Does she Hide it?
• What are the Origins of this Delivery?
• Where does it Start?

• Destination
• Where should the Characters get?
• Why this Location?
• What makes it peculiar?
• What makes it Interesting?
• Which Resources does it shelter?
• How is it Defended?

• Obstacles
• What will impede the Characters?
• Which Menaces should they face?
• Which External Menaces should they face?
  • Would someone try to Steal the Object?
  • To Destroy it?
  • To Kill it?
  • To Neutralize it?
• Is it the Object itself?
  • How Dangerous is it?
  • Is it a threat to the Characters?

Collect

The Collect is a Competition.

• Competition
• How can the Characters get to the Target?
• How can they get to it Faster than their Opponents?
• How do they compete?
• In which Circuit?
• Do they all follow the same trajectory?
• How is Emulation created?
• How can they Prevent their Opponents to reach the Target?
• Who do they have Fight to get to the Target?
• What are the Trials on the way?
• How do they prevent the collect?

• Target
• Is it an Object?
• What’s its value?
• What’s its use?
• Is it a Person?
• Why this Person?
• How did she take part to this Competition?
• Why is she the target?
• Which skills does she possess?
• Who’s the sponsor of the Competition?
• What’s her relationship to the target?

• Adding Complexity
• How will the Character be Coming back?
• Which other Story will happen?
• Are there Multiple Items?
• How many are there?
• Is it a Collection?
• What makes it a Collection?
• Is it a Puzzle?
• Is it a Key?
• What’s the Coherence between the Items?