Aspara-Gus [2014-01-27 21:41:52 +0000 UTC]

I personally think the best thing to have in a story is unexpected juxtaposition such as an off the wall world with a down-to-earth narrative because I think it does more for those tried and true story models by spinning them in a new light with new opportunities to do something different. I think this is done a lot in cartoons where they take a school setting and put it somewhere we wouldn't expect like Lloyd in Space. The only thing that ever disappoints me about stories like these is when they sometimes forget the world and don't use it to its full potential such as missing an opportunity to making a familiar situation more unique.

You mentioned past, present, and future along with different modern day settings but I think this tutorial could be expanded by looking more into fantasy and "reality" and the stories where the two collide like in your Nightmare series where she in later installments lives in both worlds. 

I think it's also worth mentioning that while characters are usually thought of first, when a writer develops their world, they also develop their character. Writing a cowgirl into a farm setting may seem like a no-brainer but that is exactly what will make it boring is by treating it like a no-brainer and taking it for granted. I think writers should keep in mind that people are often defined by where they come from and are changed by where the end up. A character should not just statically be placed in a setting but should develop cohesively by allowing their environment to affect them both long and short term.

To continue with the cowgirl example to clarify what I mean is you don't have a levelheaded responsible tomboy who happens lives on a farm. You have a girl who was born on a farm where she, by consequence of being on a farm, was raised to do for herself and others for the good of the entire family. Where 'getting dirty' and 'a hard day's work' was encouraged and praised. You take a simple thing like setting and instead of it just being where your character exists, now it can be an insight to the core of their personality, values, and even those of the characters around them. This is important because character motivation is the driving force behind any story. We don't care so much about a character doing something as we care about WHY they are doing it. Another way to make this unique is that how an environment affects a character is completely up to you. Conversely I could have easily created a character that was born on a farm that completely rejects everything about it and rebels at every given moment, determined to be selfish or wanting of the finer things in life. Every character can and should be unique. The more of their world writers use to achieve this, the more well developed a character is - that is, the more real they feel to us.

Really glad to see you popping out more of these :3 Looking forward to the next one. Hope this was helpful

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mistttaken [2013-12-28 15:33:04 +0000 UTC]

This is going to help me a lot! Thank you, thank you for taking the time to do this. It's amazing, and i think everyone who read this will able to understand it. ¡Thank you! And if you need someone to translate it to spanish, just tell me. PS: sorry for my english, i am learning:3.

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twisted-ember-roses [2013-12-27 06:57:31 +0000 UTC]

Strong woman way back then... *cough* *cough* SCARLET *cough* *cough*

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RollingSlug [2013-12-27 06:11:58 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for the post. :> I'm sure this will be of help. <3

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