How to write a Short Story every day?
- Writing every day is the foremost action.
- 10′ for 1 page.
- Think Long run.
- Think about the Process over the Result.
- Learn the Process by Enjoying the Process.
- Experimentation & Structure.
- Play with the Characters.
- Create Games for them.
- Create Trials.
- Create Rewards.
- What do they want to do?
- Where do they want to go?
- What do you want to do?
- Where do you want to go?
- A Real World
- What are the people’s Habits?
- How is Daily Life in the different parts of the World?
- How do you display Diversity?
- How do you display Change?
- How do create a sense of Familiarity?
- How do create an Unexpected event?
- How do you balance the Mundane & Extraordinary?
Your 10 Themes
- Find new story ideas?
- Never run out of Ideas?
- What are your Favorite words?
- What are your least Favorite words?
- Use Strong Words & Images.
- Use Allegories.
- These 10 words are your World.
- They provide a global structure for the series.
- They define your World’s Boundaries.
- They define the essential themes.
- How do you articulate them Chronologically?
- How do they display Characters’ evolution?
- How do they display Goals’ evolution?
- How do you display the World’s evolution?
What’s the Ending?
- Between 3 & 5 different endings
- Write multiple Endings.
- You’ll have more choice this way.
- Why does it end this way?
- Who ends the season?
- What ends the season?
- Where ends the season?
- An ending for each season
- How many season did you plan?
- How many episodes per season did you plan?
- How many season do you think could happen?
- Could you improvise a season?
- How do the endings articulate with the opening of the next season?
- How do the endings articulate with each other?
- Types of endings
- What could End a Season?
- A Revolution/Insurrection
- The Birth of an Organization
- An Artifact found
- A New Invention
- A New Discovery
- A Loss
- A Death
What’s the Opening?
- Atmosphere
- What are the dominant Colors?
- New Season, New Genre?
- Will you try a new atmosphere?
- How do you contrast with your precedent season?
- Where do we Start?
- In which kind of Setting are we?
- How did it come to be?
- How’s the Population?
- How’s the Wildlife?
- Who’s the Ruler?
- What are the Resources?
- Types of Openings
- New Country/Settlement
- New Character
- New Species
- New Invention/Discovery
- Catastrophe
How many Characters do you need?
- You’ll need at least 3 Main Characters.
- Who’s the Protagonist?
- Who’s the Antagonist?
- Who’s the Support?
- Who does she Support?
- Could she change Alignment?
- Why?
- What are the Relationships between these 3 Main Characters?
- It’s Better to limit yourself at 3 Main Characters if you are beginning.
- You may want up to 12 Secondary Characters.
- What are their Roles?
- What are their Individual Goals?
- Are they part of an Organization?
- What are their Archetypes?
- What are their Skills?
- Who do they Support?
- Why did they ally with this specific character?
- Will you have Tertiary Characters?
- You may need Situational Characters.
- Characters that can give you information about specific areas.
- You may want to bring new characters to your story.
- You may want to try new types of characters.
How to create Characters easily?
- What does the character need?
- A Name which is defined by the Character’s goal.
- A Goal which will orient the Character’s decisions.
- Her Goal defines her potential Alignments.
- What does the Character want?
- What will she do to get it?
- Who will she ally with?
- What are the Character’s Origins?
- Where is she born?
- How is this environment like?
- Who raised her?
- Who did she grew up with?
- Are these people alive?
- Can she return to this place?
- Does she want to?
- She needs 2 Strengths.
- Her strengths make her Likable.
- 1 that will reveal in the 1st pages.
- The other which will appear after the a major crisis.
- Some desirable strengths the characters may have : Reliable, Protective or Funny.
- She needs 2 Weaknesses.
- Her weaknesses make her Relatable.
- 1 that will reveal in the 1st pages.
- The other which will appear after the a major crisis.
- Some relatable weaknesses the characters may have : Complaining, Lazy or Blunt.
- She needs 2 – 4 Quirks.
- Her weaknesses make her Memorable.
- How’s her Hairstyle?
- What Clothes does she wear?
- Does she possess a Characteristic Accessory?
- How does she act when she’s distressed?
- How does she act when she’s excited?
How many Setting types do you need?
- Crisis
- Why is the Setting in Crisis?
- What are the Origins of the Crisis?
- What are its effect on the Population?
- What are its effect on the Wildlife?
- How do the Ruler respond to it?
- How does it affect the Resources?
- Comfort
- Why is this Setting so Popular?
- What are the sources of Entertainment?
- How was this place created?
- How does the Population participate in the development of Leisure?
- How is the Wildlife used to provide Entertainment?
- What are the main Resources used in this Setting?
- Resources Gathering
- How is the Setting organized?
- What are Origins of the Setting?
- What were the original resources produced?
- When did they begin to diversify?
- What are the monopolies in the Setting?
- How is the Population divided?
- How productive should a Citizen be?
- How do you become a Citizen in these Settings?
- How is the Wildlife reified?
- How diverse are the Resources?
- How are they transported?
- How are they protected?
Draw a Small Map
- Geography & Shapes
- How clear is your structure?
- How clear are your shapes?
- What are the dominant Shapes?
- Is every settlement easily visible?
- Is the Roadmap clear enough?
- Can the map me memorized easily?
- Points of Interest
- Where are the Resources located?
- What are the Landmarks?
- Who are Important Characters?
- Where can they be found?
- Limits
- Where are the Borders?
- Are there Walls?
- Are there Garnisons?
- Are there Mountains?
- Are there Seas?
- Are there Rivers so agitated they can’t be traversed?
- Are there Forests so deep they can’t be explored?
How to write an Episode?
- Where are we?
- Why are we here?
- How is the Setting?
- Which kind of Issues will the Characters come across?
- What Crisis?
- What Threats?
- Focus
- How are you Shifting Targets?
- How are the Characters Shifting Targets?
- What causes Disruption?
- What is the Real Goal of this Episode?
- What is the Apparent Goal of this Episode?
- What is the Hidden Goal of this Episode?
- Diversity of Issues
- Why would you Split the Team?
- How would you Split the Team?
- How would they interact if they are separated?
- How can they Solve different Problems?
- How can they Solve different Problems at the same time?
- What trials will you propose them?
- How will you Alternate between the Different Trials?
- Will they go through Peaceful resolutions?
- Would they have to make Sacrifices?
- Will they resolve their conflicts through Brute Force?
- Dynamic Worlds
- There should be some Easy Fights.
- Who would fight them?
- Why?
- Would these persons Fight out of Desperation?
- Would they Fight out of Anger?
- Would they Fight out of Hatred?
- Did they Plan the Fight?
- Was it an Impulsive Attack?
- You need to know your Combat difficulty scale.
- Emergency
- What is the main Threat?
- What would make it more dangerous?
- How do the Characters protect themselves from it?
- How long will this protection last?
- What would degrade it faster?
- How is the Room?
- What other dangers are there in the room?
- How is the Temperature?
- How is the Luminosity?
- How is the Water level?
- How we sure this liquid is Water?
- What’s inside?
- Are the walls cracking?
- Is the ceiling cracking?
- Is the floor cracking?
- Pain
- You may want to create a Scale of Pain.
- What causes Suffering?
- When will the character be exposed to Cruelty?
- What causes Destruction?
- Outcome
- What would the characters Gain?
- What would they Lose?
- Is it a Definitive Loss?
- What’s the Aftermath?
How to Improvise Dialogue so that the characters feel Real?
- Complaining is Natural…
- New Organization
- Were New Policies introduced?
- Were New Taxes introduced?
- Were New Laws voted?
- What is the cause of these decisions?
- What are the stakes?
- Money Problems
- Is there a Price increase?
- What’s its cause?
- Was a new commodity recently introduced in the market?
- Has the money changed of value?
- Conflicts
- Was there a War?
- Is the world still in War?
- What’s the Scale of the conflict?
- What are the stakes?
- Who should know about it?
- Who is the most concerned about it?
- Weather
- Was there a Natural disaster?
- Was there a Cataclysm?
- Was there a Drought?
- What’s the Agricultural impact?
- Is there a Famine?
- What’s the Environmental impact?
- On the Wildlife?
- On the People?
- Entertainment
- Did a New Restaurant open?
- Was a New Food company created?
- Is there a Festival?
- Are there Theatres?
- Which performances are played?