Diary Writing Tips

[D-Lyrium]

Depending on the style of your fed, you'd be surprised how many TV show/film/video game storylines you can adapt to wrestling, too. Now, if only I could find a style I like writing and a fed I like writing for long enough to actually put some of them into action...

[shipshirt]

[QUOTE=D-Lyrium;487808]Depending on the style of your fed, you'd be surprised how many TV show/film/video game storylines you can adapt to wrestling, too. Now, if only I could find a style I like writing and a fed I like writing for long enough to actually put some of them into action...[/QUOTE] Yeah the Joseph Campbell "Hero's Journey" formula would make a nice storyline that could go a lot of different ways.

[Hyde Hill]

[QUOTE]or I feel it just isnt good enough for me to display.[/QUOTE] had the same feeling went ahead anyway and it got a positive response so I am happy. BTW mine is not dead just have some very important real life stuff now as I didn't follow up the tip of writing out mulitple shows before posting and I can now so see that that is a good idea.

[angeldelayette]

Ironic that I originally started this thread because I was planning on creating a new diary and just wanted to get some tips on how to get things started. LOL. That diary will be coming soon, by the way.

[juggaloninjalee]

[QUOTE=angeldelayette;488146]Ironic that I originally started this thread because I was planning on creating a new diary and just wanted to get some tips on how to get things started. LOL. That diary will be coming soon, by the way.[/QUOTE] What promotion are you going to use and stuff? If its a Cornellverse diary I will probably check it out.

[angeldelayette]

[QUOTE=juggaloninjalee;488347]What promotion are you going to use and stuff? If its a Cornellverse diary I will probably check it out.[/QUOTE] I still have my USPW Cornvellverse diary out there but the one I am focusing on is my ECWA diary (Real World 1991) I just got started. [url]http://67.19.230.90/~arles/forum/showthread.php?t=34997[/url] Everyone feel free to come in and make your predictions!

[James Casey]

Here's a question I've wondered about of late... How do people imagine the whole chemistry issue? I keep getting matches with no/pretty good/excellent chemsitry reports, and wonder how that looks. I sort of imagine it as interrupting the flow, the wrestlers just not meshing well, so there's no smooth transition from one move to the next as they're pulling in different directions. How do other people see it?

[ColtCabana]

[QUOTE=James Casey;488984]Here's a question I've wondered about of late... How do people imagine the whole chemistry issue? I keep getting matches with no/pretty good/excellent chemsitry reports, and wonder how that looks. I sort of imagine it as interrupting the flow, the wrestlers just not meshing well, so there's no smooth transition from one move to the next as they're pulling in different directions. How do other people see it?[/QUOTE] More botches, very false or fake looking match and poor crowd interaction, thats how I see it.

[D-Lyrium]

I see chemistry as a sort of 'unspoken understanding' between two people. You can get it in any sport, like in football/soccer: the unspoken understanding between a strike partnership (Sutton and Shearer and Blackburn, Henry and Bergkamp, Yorke and Cole, Rush and Fowler). Sure, you can get decent strike partnerships that score loads of goals, like Keane and Berbatov, or Vassel and Angel, but then you get partnerships that go beyond that and play as if they're the same mind controlling two bodies. Being part of a great partnership can push you on to a level that you couldn't reach with anyone else (see Sutton, Chris). To bring this back to wrestling, I think of chemistry as two workers who instinctively know what the other is going to do, possibly because it's the same thing he'd do in a given situation or he knows him well enough to know that it's what he ususally does. The thing with chemistry is, there aren't really any memorable examples in wrestling (other than the 'fab four', Angle, Jericho, Benoit and Guerrero, who all had it with each other) because it's not a tangible thing. It's just sort of... there. It's like a good movie soundtrack; you only notice it when it's bad. If it's good, it's doing it's job, so you don't notice it.

[Nevermore]

[QUOTE=D-Lyrium;488993]The thing with chemistry is, there aren't really any memorable examples in wrestling (other than the 'fab four', Angle, Jericho, Benoit and Guerrero, who all had it with each other) because it's not a tangible thing. It's just sort of... there. It's like a good movie soundtrack; you only notice it when it's bad. If it's good, it's doing it's job, so you don't notice it.[/QUOTE] Woah... dude... Van Dam and Lynn! They woud always combine for brilliance! In fact, by the end, you'd see pretty lacklustre matches (even with Lynn in them) and, then, as soon as those two were billed against each other, the caliber was quite amazing. Quote The Raven Nevermore

[Tigerkinney]

[QUOTE=D-Lyrium;488993] The thing with chemistry is, there aren't really any memorable examples in wrestling (other than the 'fab four', Angle, Jericho, Benoit and Guerrero, who all had it with each other) because it's not a tangible thing. It's just sort of... there. It's like a good movie soundtrack; you only notice it when it's bad. If it's good, it's doing it's job, so you don't notice it.[/QUOTE] One possible example of great chemistry, both as opponents and tag partners is A.J Styles and Christopher Daniels in TNA. Such a shame that Daniels is being wasted with that goofy Curryman gimmick these days. Another one is Roderick Strong and Erik Strong in ROH/FIP. They've had some enthralling hard hitting brawls against one another all year and that may well be down to good chemistry with one another.

[D-Lyrium]

Yeah, you can name people who had it with other people, but can you name WHY? Can you pinpoint specific sequences and say "that's good chemistry in action"?

[James Casey]

There's one RVD/Lynn match... Think it might have been their last in ECW. RVD went for a high kick, which Lynn ducked. RVD went for a low sweep, which Lynn leapt over. Then, on the way down, Lynn hit a legdrop across the back of RVD's head. I've always seen that as chemistry, as it wasn't called - and while I suppose it could have been prepared beforehand, it just felt like a spur of the moment thing.

[Karl_Kitsch]

My best example of chemistry is Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels. Every single time they got in the ring together, it was magical. Both men were at or near their best when wrestling each other, in my opinion.

[Nevermore]

[QUOTE=James Casey;489176]There's one RVD/Lynn match... Think it might have been their last in ECW.[/QUOTE] [I]The [/I]last ever match in ECW too. They pulled a lot of amazing stuff like that off. I've always loved the "corner sequence" in the match they had at Living Dangerously '99! [QUOTE=Karl_Kitsch;489179]My best example of chemistry is Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels. Every single time they got in the ring together, it was magical. Both men were at or near their best when wrestling each other, in my opinion.[/QUOTE] I have to disagree. It's Shawn Michaels... everyone looks "magical" when going up against him, chemistry or not. Can you think of a single feud or even proper main event match where at the end you weren't left completely satisfied? The man is a semi-god. Quote The Raven Nevermore

[foolinc]

[QUOTE=D-Lyrium;489164]Yeah, you can name people who had it with other people, but can you name WHY? Can you pinpoint specific sequences and say "that's good chemistry in action"?[/QUOTE] While I can't pick out moments, I know that Danielson and Joe have chemistry. Why? Because Bryan said so.

[Tweek It]

The whole chemistry thing for me has played well with who I have used as announcing team. I signed Remmington Remus and Ray Smalls (a random announcer) and they have excellent chemistry together. I see this as Styles/Gertner type thing or Lawler/Ross. As they just seem to flow well together because they worked with each other for so long.

[Bigpapa42]

Here's a couple kind of random questions about diaries... One, any issues with using "adult language"? Not massive amounts of profanity or anything, but is throwing the occassional one in there going to cause issue? Two, it seems like most diaries on here use the prediction game format... which is obviously a good way to draw the reading in. But is there any problem with not really doing that?

[infinitywpi]

I've never really liked the prediction game format. It always seemed like a cheap ploy to get more posts and views in a short amount of itme, like some sort of deranged version of the Nielsen Ratings or something. I figure, if someone wants to comment on my diaries, they will. Granted, it means I get depressed when nobody does, but eh. Someone's reading, that's good enough for me.

[Nevermore]

[QUOTE=infinitywpi;489715]I've never really liked the prediction game format. It always seemed like a cheap ploy to get more posts and views in a short amount of itme, like some sort of deranged version of the Nielsen Ratings or something. I figure, if someone wants to comment on my diaries, they will. Granted, it means I get depressed when nobody does, but eh. Someone's reading, that's good enough for me.[/QUOTE] I think they perform different functions. Good feedback is good feedback and, often, quite rare. The "prediction game" serves two purposes in my mid: [LIST=1] [*]Allows the readers to become involved a little more by telling you what they think or would do. Decent predictions will often come with an explanation. [*]I like to see if my stories are predictable. Sometimes an element of predictability is good; other times it's exactly what you don't want. [/LIST] Quote The Raven Nevermore

[keefmoon]

[QUOTE=Nevermore;489732]I think they perform different functions. Good feedback is good feedback and, often, quite rare. The "prediction game" serves two purposes in my mid: [LIST=1] [*]Allows the readers to become involved a little more by telling you what they think or would do. Decent predictions will often come with an explanation. [*]I like to see if my stories are predictable. Sometimes an element of predictability is good; other times it's exactly what you don't want. [/LIST] Quote The Raven Nevermore[/QUOTE] Exactly. With RW diaries the feedback is far less than CV, so predictions is a way of people telling me what they think or where they think I'm going. I take in to account what people say in the predictions and often base my plans around it. For example, Jeff Jarrett's getting a somewhat of a push at the moment on mine, but if it wasn't for feedback in predictions I wouldn't know if people are behind it. As for swearing, I say f*ckin' go for it. :p

[D-Lyrium]

[QUOTE=Bigpapa42;489710]Here's a couple kind of random questions about diaries... One, any issues with using "adult language"? Not massive amounts of profanity or anything, but is throwing the occassional one in there going to cause issue? Two, it seems like most diaries on here use the prediction game format... which is obviously a good way to draw the reading in. But is there any problem with not really doing that?[/QUOTE] Adult language is automatically censored by the forum software, as at the end of the day these are the official forums of a professional company. Thus, technically, circumventing said censor in the manner keef just did is probably against the rules. However... nobody really cares, especially in the dynasties section, so go nuts. :p

[Tigerkinney]

[quote=Bigpapa42;489710]Here's a couple kind of random questions about diaries... One, any issues with using "adult language"? Not massive amounts of profanity or anything, but is throwing the occassional one in there going to cause issue? Two, it seems like most diaries on here use the prediction game format... which is obviously a good way to draw the reading in. But is there any problem with not really doing that?[/quote] The Prediction Game seems to be pretty well covered, so I'll concentrate on giving my opinion on diary's having adult language. To me it all depends on the product of the promotion you are running. If the promotion has large amounts of 'Cult' (e.g PSW) then I see no problem with the workers effing and blinding in their promos, if however the promotion has large amounts of Mainstream and is more family friendly orientated (e.g USPW) then I don't think 'adult language' should be used- unless the writer states a change in the promotions product. As good as J-Silvers USPW diary was, it did kind of irritate me in the end, when Darryl Devine's promo's ended up bit littered with profanity every other word. I know his USPW got a bit more 'edgier' as it went along, but I couldn't buy into the fact that it went from 'family friendly' to 'for adults only' in about the space of just one year.

[keefmoon]

[QUOTE=D-Lyrium;489740]Thus, technically, circumventing said censor in the manner keef just did is probably against the rules.[/QUOTE] Sorry :o Seriously though, I don't think there's anything wrong with a little bit of swearing if it's the right time and right place, or if it has a purpose that furthers what you are trying to say. So basically, the exact opposite of what I did.

[Scapino1974]

Just to echo and reiterate what's been said, especially from my point of view: Most importantly, write for yourself. If you're having fun, it'll show in what you're doing and people will be drawn to it. In both of my diaries, I often wrote stuff just for myself and while I caught flack for it on more than one occasion, I just kept doing my thing. The best example I can think of is the Survivors group. I originally created them just for "shiggles" and included them in my diary. If you go back and look at the beginning of the SWF diary, I had half a dozen people tell me to get rid of them. Personally, I'm glad I didn't. The Joel Kovach/Archangel interaction carried my SWF diary and really livened up the MWA diary. In other words, do what you feel is best for your diary. You may not gain readers, but since you're not getting paid to write a diary, you'd better get something out of it. That something is fun. Second, in my experience, it does help to have an overall story in mind, but it's not entirely necessary. When I started the SWF diary, I didn't have an overarching story to tell. I just worked things out as I went. When I wrote the MWA diary, I did have an overall idea of how the story would go. I knew Jerry Eisen's role. I knew how I wanted to work with that storyline. Now that doesn't mean that everything has to be written in stone or even written at all before you start. That brings me to another point: it's good to at least have a stopping point in mind. A lot of dynasties just peter out and die. In both of my dynasties, I knew where I wanted to end and when the time came, I did. That helped me in the writing as well: I knew there was a stop point I was working toward, so when things got a little mired down (as they inevitably do), I could say "Just keep going. You're almost there." To finish, I'll just describe the way I put together my diaries, especially the MWA one. I don't say that it's the best or only way to do it. It's just what worked for me. Feel free to take what you wish: I would start by plotting out four months' worth of shows (either the big events or PPVs). Every match, what titles would be on the line, and who the winners would be. This was especially important for the larger storylines, such as the Karma, Apocalypse, and Family of Faith lines. You need to know where those huge storylines are going and this allowed me to see the big picture better. I then took out a sheet of paper and made a chart with a square for each show in between the PPVs. I would label them by week and then I would ask myself, "How do I expect to get from where I am to the next PPV and then (usually) the one beyond that?" I would then jot down notes for how the angles and matches would play out. I would also pay attention to points where two storylines could dovetail together and mark that on the paper. Once that was accomplished, I would sit down and write out the storylines in the editor. I found that I could usually fit about two months' worth of content into one storyline. When it came time to write the shows, I would get about two or three shows written before I posted them, mostly so I could keep an eye out for surprises that would need to be explained. As for the prediction game, I used it in my diaries not only to see if I was being too predictable (I usually was, much to my chagrin), but also to troll for ideas. Sometimes somebody would say something about how they thought a match would go and that would spark an idea I could use. There were even a few times when people's predictions would change the way my shows would play out. I realize that this has probably gone into "tl;dr" territory, but there you go. Just thought I'd share. :)