Diary Writing Tips

[angeldelayette]

I'm not sure if this should be here or in the Dog Pound so I'm going to post this here for now and if it needs to be moved, it can. I am just looking for some tips from some of the Diary Writers here as to what they would suggest for an aspiring writer. I figure this can go not just for me but for anyone writing a diary. If you have a tip or a suggestion, feel free to type it out here. I'm not looking for 'use this promotion or that promotion' or 'use real world, no, use Cornellverse' but moreso the diary style in general. Tips can be focused on either real world or Cornellverse, though.

[James Casey]

Clarity of expression is extremely important. I struggle with any diary that doesn't know use paragraph breaks, for example... Whether it's section breaks, coloured text, bolded text, underlines, pictures... It really helps me as a reader to have segments clearly delineated so that I know what's going on, who's doing it... Whatever. A diary may be fantastic, but if I can't keep track of what's going on, I struggle to develop an interest in it. I'd also suggest that before a diary starts you have some ideas about where the story is going to go. Will you have backstage intrigue, will it be kayfabe only, is there a back story, who are your main characters going to be... Don't just jump in and start writing with [I]no[/I] plans in place - it's easy to spot someone who has no idea where their story is going, and unless it's clear that there's no overall goal and the writer is just telling the story of a wrestling-as-sport promotion, there needs to be some sort of narrative element - even just the promotion's own storylines :p Oh, and before you start posting, start writing - I strongly advise any diary writer to put together at least three shows worth of material before they start posting, as it tells you how much work needs to go into the story, and also allows you to have a little spare material in the event that you don;t have time to play but want to keep the diary active :)

[Antithesis]

I think the more successful diaries tend to focus on entertaining the reader. James calls the alternative "wrestling-as-sport promotion", I'd call it pretending it was a promotion in real life and that it actually wanted to make money. Not that the two are mutually exclusive, but the preference seems to be towards narrative with particular love paid to humor in the Cornellverse diaries and what I'd call "worker building" in Real World diaries. I also think its a bit unfair that people will criticize Cornellverse diaries for recycling the same workers when it happens in Real World diaries as well.

[Nevermore]

I very much agree with Casey's sentiment. I could give a list of things [I]I[/I] like to see in a diary but it's a matter of personal taste. However, the main thing is an enthralling story. To add to this, I would suggest making sure you have at least one thoroughly planned story arc. You don't necessarily need more (you could settle for simpler, shorter feuds in the undercard); one great story is better than a lot of less creative ones. So long as there is one reason for me to keep checking back and reading every show, I'll be hooked. Also, write for yourself and not for praise. While praise is lovely and very much appreciated, you'll waste your time if [I]you[/I] don't enjoy the stories you're telling. Good luck ;). Quote The Raven Nevermore

[Wallbanger]

One thing that helps transform lists of show results into a diary is a strong cast of characters. Obviously you can't give every worker on your roster a deep backstory and tons of character development, but at minimum the protagonist (whether that's the user character or a key figure in the company you're playing) has to be someone that the audience can grab hold of and enjoy finding out what happens to them next. Hopefully you also have a handful of other characters that play 'supporting roles' to help add depth to your protagonist. Once you get to a point where those characters and their 'voices' are well established, they can transcend the booking and you don't have to worry as much about the diary falling apart just because the game isn't going the way you want. To echo what James said above: If you have the story in mind, it gives purpose to your booking. Even with strong characters, if you don't have a place for them to go, you can tell, and more likely your audience can tell. This is one of the reasons why I fell into a funk with Generations 08. I just don't really have a story to tell. In 07, both the main characters and the key elements of the backstory were firm in my mind from the beginning. So even when I burned out from writing, I knew what the rest of the story was and could pick it back up as I wanted, and even when I wasn't writing, I would find myself hashing out conversations between the characters that wouldn't take place for weeks in the future game-time.

[MattitudeV2]

[QUOTE=James Casey;485312]Clarity of expression is extremely important. I struggle with any diary that doesn't know use paragraph breaks, for example... Whether it's section breaks, coloured text, bolded text, underlines, pictures... It really helps me as a reader to have segments clearly delineated so that I know what's going on, who's doing it... Whatever. A diary may be fantastic, but if I can't keep track of what's going on, I struggle to develop an interest in it. I'd also suggest that before a diary starts you have some ideas about where the story is going to go. Will you have backstage intrigue, will it be kayfabe only, is there a back story, who are your main characters going to be... Don't just jump in and start writing with [I]no[/I] plans in place - it's easy to spot someone who has no idea where their story is going, and unless it's clear that there's no overall goal and the writer is just telling the story of a wrestling-as-sport promotion, there needs to be some sort of narrative element - even just the promotion's own storylines :p Oh, and before you start posting, start writing - I strongly advise any diary writer to put together at least three shows worth of material before they start posting, as it tells you how much work needs to go into the story, and also allows you to have a little spare material in the event that you don;t have time to play but want to keep the diary active :)[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Nevermore;485322]I very much agree with Casey's sentiment. I could give a list of things [I]I[/I] like to see in a diary but it's a matter of personal taste. However, the main thing is an enthralling story. To add to this, I would suggest making sure you have at least one thoroughly planned story arc. You don't necessarily need more (you could settle for simpler, shorter feuds in the undercard); one great story is better than a lot of less creative ones. So long as there is one reason for me to keep checking back and reading every show, I'll be hooked. Also, write for yourself and not for praise. While praise is lovely and very much appreciated, you'll waste your time if [I]you[/I] don't enjoy the stories you're telling. Good luck ;). Quote The Raven Nevermore[/QUOTE] OK as I know I am one of the esteemed few,but I do have make a few shows before I post again(If Ever).Possibly build one long story the reason I state these things is that I've been watching old WWF of 1999(late 99),and was very intrigued. Thanks guys Deezy out.

[shamelessposer]

If your English vocabulary isn't at least at a high school level, fix that before trying to write a diary. Ditto for punctuation. If you're a non-native speaker your readers are of course going to be more generous, but [i]please[/i] don't write a diary if people regularly have trouble interpreting what you're trying to say in other posts on the forums. Apostrophes are not used to pluralize. Admittedly this is an extension of my first point, but it's common enough and infuriating enough to deserve special mention. It's spelled F-E-U-D. [b][i]FEUD[/i][/b]. Very, very few people on the GDS boards care enough about match writeups to read one that goes past a couple of paragraphs. On the other hand, EWB has a very different board culture in which you're unlikely to have a well-received diary unless you do the long writeup thing. Brevity is the soul of wit. Don't communicate in five sentences what could be communicated in one. It's better to be regular than good. If you hold onto a single show writeup and keep revising it until it's just how you like it... it'll be three weeks between your first and second posts and your readership will have moved on. Putting out material on regular basis keeps people reading, but more importantly it helps you to improve your writing at a faster rate. You know how that "future star" on your roster gets better and better based on the number of matches he's in, not their quality? You're the same way. Cliches are cliches because they work. If a story is predictable, that means that it makes enough sense that the audience can guess at where it's going. While that doesn't mean you should abandon any hope of originality, going too far out into left field can confuse your readers and scare them off. On a related note, there's nothing wrong with stealing your diary's formatting from your favorite diary writer. The writer won't care, most of your readers won't notice, and there's a good chance that a contributing factor to the diary's popularity is that its format makes it easy to read. Don't allow even a single character to become a [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_sue"]Mary Sue[/URL]. If you do, a small cadre of good writers will descend upon you in your sleep and kill you. No, seriously. That's how Hendrix died.

[lazorbeak]

Shameless Poser sure has a lot of negativity for a diary with uncommon usage in the title (and talk about "democraphics" in its second sentence). I kid, though. That Erin Bray is hot (wait, it's not the same person?). There's a lot of good stuff here, but I can think of a few things that haven't been mentioned. [B]Don't try to outsmart readers[/B] Sometimes people get frustrated that their shows are getting too predictable or whatever, and they start trying to outsmart the audience. It's stupid when the WWE does it (and they do), and it's stupid to do it in your own diary. Having Disco Inferno end Goldberg's streak with no build-up isn't exciting or original, it's just incredibly stupid booking. Really, all of my advice should be to do the exact opposite of WCW booking from 1999 on. [b]DO Build Unique Characters[/b] The best thing a diary writer can do is make its readers care about the characters, and the best way to do that is to create unique, distinct characters. Real World diaries have the advantage that you can base your characterizations off of real figures- youtube is a great resource for understanding how a guy like Lex Luger or whoever cuts a promo (mostly they try to get out of their shirt). On the other hand, C-verse diaries lets you build up personalities around the bare bones outline. Having a bunch of guys that all want the belt, with no personality or distinction, is boring. There's basic types- monster heels, underdog faces, ****y heels, bad-ass/extreme faces, etc., and from those basic types you create characters that are recognizable and interesting. Also, keep in mind that the level of characterization should always be proportional to the amount of time a worker is on the screen, which usually but not always corresponds to card position. [b]DO Write Individualized Promos[/b] The best way to develop character is through promos, and that means writing promos in different voices. Once you have a character developed, you can establish the reasons they have for punching and kicking people they barely know. [b]DO Keep After It[/b] I think the best way to improve at diary writing is to write a diary and keep writing it. As has been said, you have to be writing for yourself. [b]DO Have Fun[/b] If writing your diary is an arduous chore, anyone reading it will be able to tell. It's not some kind of ethical obligation, it's supposed to be fun.

[shamelessposer]

[QUOTE=lazorbeak;485377]Shameless Poser sure has a lot of negativity for a diary with uncommon usage in the title (and talk about "democraphics" in its second sentence). I kid, though. That Erin Bray is hot (wait, it's not the same person?).[/QUOTE] Uncommon usage? How so? And, um, yeah. "Democraphics" goes to show that people who complain about other peoples' spelling are the ones most likely to screw up in an immediately noticeable way. Argh.

[Nevermore]

[QUOTE=shamelessposer;485383]Uncommon usage? How so?[/QUOTE] Woefully off-topic but still... I would imagine he is referring to "An MAW Story" which, gramatically, should be "A MAW Story". Grammar does not extend to phonetics. That is very technical, though. Quote The Raven Nevermore

[ColtCabana]

Make sure you have time to commit to the amount of shows your chosen promotion has. Also make sure you have future plans and maybe a months worth of shows written down before you start posting.

[keefmoon]

Pretty much what has gone before is good advice. The ultimate thing is you enjoy it. People can tell when you're not and personally I think my worst stuff has been when I've been posting as I felt I owed the readers rather than because I wanted to do it. I think spelling and punctuation are vital, I won't read one that isn't coherent, no matter how good their stories are. Same goes for presentation. I don't care if you have an all singing, all dancing video diary or simple text based shows. As long as it's easy on the eye (not tiny text, relavent bits are separated, etc) I'm happy. See the likes of Nevermore or Tristram in this regard. Nothing fancy, but easy to keep up with. I also think it's a good idea to read through diaries that are highly regarded on here. Nevvy's ECW Worldwide, Tristram's WCW DOWCW? or Prequel to DOWCW, J-Silver's USPW Over 65's, Scapino's SWF/MWA This Means War etc are all highly rated, award winning diaries for a reason. Look at what they do to see what is popular. Feel free to use other people as motivation or influence. There are some incredibly talented people on here and using stuff they have done to give you ideas is fine. Just make sure you don't copy, and anything you think is linked (for example, I've started incorporating a "Top 5" thing that are related to upcoming PPVs, like Top Five Icons Of Wembley, which is based on something Tristram did a while back) you should really ask the person who did it originally as a matter of courtesy. You have to plan ahead. If you book one show and start a new diary you will lose peoples interest, and even if you come out with something good people won't give it the time of day. And if you are planning ahead, you start to build towards things which gives people a reason to want to keep checking in. I find, and I know Tristram agrees with me because we've discussed it, that you can use anything as an influence. Something you see on TV, on a film, a book, on the web anything can be an influence. If you see something that happens on WWE that makes you think you could do better, incorporate it. I have an idea for a storyline based on something that happened in 24. There's so much creativity about, it is wasteful not to be influenced by it if you think it's a good idea and you can see how you can fit it in. Everything else is sort of opinion. For example, I like a backstory, or out of ring bits (like the Bam Bam Exam in ECW Worldwide), or a bit of wit or humour. But that may not be to everyones taste. But I stand by the first paragraph. The important thing is you enjoy it and want to do it. If people aren't in to it straight away or you don't get many responses don't get disheartened. If you are enjoying it just keep going and show people what you can do. If you post it, they will read :p

[Purple Cowboy]

I think the best advice I can give is do whatever you like and be consistent. Forget living up to anyone else's arbitrary "rules" or expectations (in fact, keep them as far out of your mind as possible [beer helps]).

[Candyman]

[QUOTE=Nevermore;485390]I would imagine he is referring to "An MAW Story" which, gramatically, should be "A MAW Story". Grammar does not extend to phonetics. [/QUOTE] I apologize in advance for going so off topic, but I'll bring it back on topic at the end. Only if you are pronouncing "MAW" as a word rhyming with paw. If MAW is spoken as "M-A-W" like WWE or TNA, then "an MAW" is grammatically correct. It is indeed the phonetic quality of the first letter, not the written representation of the letter. In most cases these are the same thing, but there are exceptions, such as the silent H, words beginning with a U pronounced like it begins with a Y, or words beginning with an O pronounced like it beings with a W. An honorable thing, a union vote, a one time thing. The same rule would apply to an words beginning M that are pronounced like they begin with an E, and it does apply when the letter itself is being pronounced. I threw an M-80 at an M&M bag. Annnnyway....there are a lot of good tips in this thread already, but I wanted to add that it's important to post regularly once you start. My favorite diaries are the ones I know will be updated every day, and you're more likely to gain new readers if your diary is always on the first page.

[Karl_Kitsch]

[QUOTE=James Casey;485312] Oh, and before you start posting, start writing - I strongly advise any diary writer to put together at least three shows worth of material before they start posting, as it tells you how much work needs to go into the story, and also allows you to have a little spare material in the event that you don;t have time to play but want to keep the diary active :)[/QUOTE] I couldn't agree more! This has killed my previous Diaries, big time! I would say a month of a weekly show fed or six months of a monthly show fed is a deep enough backlog so that the first couple of entries can have some narrative thrust and foreshadowing.

[Nevermore]

[QUOTE=Candyman;485579] In most cases these are the same thing, but there are exceptions, such as the silent H, words beginning with a U pronounced like it begins with a Y, or words beginning with an O pronounced like it beings with a W. An honorable thing, a union vote, a one time thing. The same rule would apply to an words beginning M that are pronounced like they begin with an E, and it does apply when the letter itself is being pronounced. I threw an M-80 at an M&M bag.[/QUOTE] Granted, that's all true but absolutlely irrelevant. You've missed the point. [QUOTE]Only if you are pronouncing "MAW" as a word rhyming with paw. If MAW is spoken as "M-A-W" like WWE or TNA, then "an MAW" is grammatically correct. It is indeed the phonetic quality of the first letter, not the written representation of the letter.[/QUOTE] This has nothing to do with the issue. "MAW" is a singular acronym. Thus, "MAW", by its very nature, is a proper noun. As such, it should only be qualified by a singular preposition (i.e. "the") not a plural preposition ("a" or "an") which are only used in conjunction with common nouns. Therefore, due to the grammatical properties of the word, "an" is, in fact, in place to qualify the word "story" and, thus, is incorrect. Phonetics plays no part. It's an example of many instances in spoken English where what is commonly said is not actually correct. As I stated, it is very technical and a bit of a harsh criticism... but true nontheless. Again, sorry for straying off-topic but I figured it was worth clearing that up. Quote The Raven Nevermore

[Antithesis]

'The' is a preposition?

[d_w_w]

[QUOTE=Antithesis;485620]'The' is a preposition?[/QUOTE] I think "the", "a", and "an" are actually articles. But, I'm a math nerd, not a writing nerd, so I could be wrong. Anyhow - as for actual diary tips - it's simple, have fun. Make posts that you are comfortable with. No need to type up 10 pages per card, if you don't want to. Also, don't worry about feedback, because you'll probably always be disappointed if you do.

[D-Lyrium]

They are indeed articles. But the rest of Nevermore's post holds true if you substitute the terms.

[Nevermore]

[QUOTE=Antithesis;485620]'The' is a preposition?[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=D-Lyrium;485640]They are indeed articles. But the rest of Nevermore's post holds true if you substitute the terms.[/QUOTE] Schoolboy :o. Yes, they are articles. Sorry, I was rushing to write that as I'm half way through filling in uni related forms :rolleyes:. Quote The Raven Nevermore

[Astil]

I went to an advice form and an English lesson broke out.

[lazorbeak]

I'm glad it took over half a dozen posts for everyone to get one throw-away joke about being overly critical of poor grammar and spelling. :p That brings me to an important diary writing tip- your title and subtitle should be informative without being long and boring. And avoid stuff like "WWE: done right!" or similarly out of hand bashing of existing companies, because I guarantee, it's already been done. This is a personal preference, but for anyone starting a new diary, try not to immediately fire ten guys while bringing in every 'indy darling' you can get your hands on without a reason. Most diary writers gradually phase out workers they don't like, and then conveniently enough, play the "creative has nothing for them" and their contracts don't get renewed. But every established promotion has a roster, and no diary should overhaul an existing roster right away. There's nothing worse than reading a new diary where the WWE debuts AJ Styles, Alex Shelley and Raven on the same episode of Raw. And if you have an idea that's been done a million times before, either execute it better or with enough originality that people will overlook it. I'm looking at you, everyone who brings in Paul Heyman as a diary concept.

[keefmoon]

[QUOTE=lazorbeak;485825]This is a personal preference, but for anyone starting a new diary, try not to immediately fire ten guys while bringing in every 'indy darling' you can get your hands on without a reason. Most diary writers gradually phase out workers they don't like, and then conveniently enough, play the "creative has nothing for them" and their contracts don't get renewed. But every established promotion has a roster, and no diary should overhaul an existing roster right away. There's nothing worse than reading a new diary where the WWE debuts AJ Styles, Alex Shelley and Raven on the same episode of Raw.[/QUOTE] I agree. You wouldn't be able to fire everyone on your firs tday because you don't like them and hire loads of unheard of indy guys in real life, so why do it in a diary? It's a lot more entertaining and challenging to see an author use the tools at their disposal to really get the best from who they have, with a gradually trickling of new talent coming in as and when it is appropriate and when they can do something with it. [QUOTE=lazorbeak;485825] I'm looking at you, everyone who brings in Paul Heyman as a diary concept.[/QUOTE] I might be wrong, but could this be something to do with the fact that Paul Heyman is the most sensible choice for an Avatar when you start a game on the Know Your Role mod?

[James Casey]

[QUOTE=keefmoon;485858] I might be wrong, but could this be something to do with the fact that Paul Heyman is the most sensible choice for an Avatar when you start a game on the Know Your Role mod?[/QUOTE] No, it's just a case of a lot of diary writers wanting to stick it to the McMahons :p But yes, originality is important - but don't be wacky. Every idea has been done a hundred times before - you just have to come up with a way of making it interesting. The exact same scene played out the exact same way is just copying, but to pick an example from... keef's diary, I think, the WM20 contract signing where Benoit was to sign up to face HHH only for Michaels to interrupt, sing the contract himself and, by WWE logic, make it a three-way dance... Keef inverted that so it was Austin, Michaels and Owen playing the roles in that order. Homaging stuff is fine - but there's a fine line between that and blatant copying :p

[Candyman]

[QUOTE=Nevermore;485617]This has nothing to do with the issue. "MAW" is a singular acronym. Thus, "MAW", by its very nature, is a proper noun. As such, it should only be qualified by a singular preposition (i.e. "the") not a plural preposition ("a" or "an") which are only used in conjunction with common nouns. Therefore, due to the grammatical properties of the word, "an" is, in fact, in place to qualify the word "story" and, thus, is incorrect. Phonetics plays no part.. [/QUOTE] This is all completely irrevelent and the final conclusion is incorrect. The word it qualifies has nothing to do with it beyond determining whether "the" or "a"/"an" is grammatically correct. The usage of "a" or "an" is determined only by the initial sound of the following word. There are no exceptions. "MAW" begins with a vowel sound, which means "An MAW story" is grammatically correct. I apologize again for going off topic, but I wanted to clarify. If Nevermore still sees things differently, we can agree to disagree, I don't want to hijack a very useful thread.