Dynasty writing tips

[Rhysrob]

Would any of the people who write dynasties be able to share their process and tips for starting a new dynasty? I have always wanted to write one and put it off, and I think I've run out of excuses not to have a go.

 

I'm curious whether to play and write as you go or play a significant period of time and go back. I'm also unsure how those who use a lot of images manage that and how worthwhile people find it...

[Woodsmeister]

Have a plan, know your characters/gimmicks, know where your stories are going and involve twists and turns along thw way.

 

If your good with graphics use them, if not keep it simple.

 

Do it for yourself, if you enjoy it there is a good chance we will, at the end of the day its a game, have fun with it and take us on a journey.

[Self]

My advice would be to try before you buy. Write some episodes, book some shows, but DON'T post them immediately. Take some time to experiment with format, explore ideas, and see if you enjoy it, before announcing to the world that you're starting a project. I do this every time I think of an idea for a diary. Half of them end up in the bin because they weren't as fun as I first thought.

 

Personally, I write shows BEFORE I play them on TEW. It's all well and good booking an argument between John Cena and Randy Orton on TEW, but if I open up Wordpad two weeks later and can't think of anything for them to actually talk about, I'd be screwed. I need the flexibility to change segments as I'm writing. So booking them on TEW is something I do very late into the process. Which is very difficult sometimes, because it's tempting and fun to play.

 

As a reader, I find pictures essential. I can't read blocks of text. I need to see who the characters are. I need that when writing too. Currently I upload pictures to Imgur, and it only takes 3-5 minutes to replace the pictures in my Wordpad document with the image tags for each episode.

[Zero]

I haven't done a dynasty since the .400 studio days. But, I recommend if you do start, you do like 20 shows, then write them up, then post them weekly. Give yourself time so it doesn't feel like a job.

[Dave E Mac]

I wrote a dynasty in TEW 2016 and loved it. It gave me amazing motivation to stick with a game. I tried to keep to a schedule. So I would book a few weeks of shows and go back and writ the shows up. Once I got a format and layout writing the shows out I really enjoyed it.

It was a 92WWF game and the week I started someone else started one at the same time which seemed to get alot more interaction than mine. So after a while lost a bit of interest. But did motivate me for a while.

[Irish Wolf]

Since this is a thread about diaries I'll just add another question to mix. Where are people hosting photos now a days. When I was writing more Photobucket was still a thing but now I know its not an option.

[Devilb0y]

Since this is a thread about diaries I'll just add another question to mix. Where are people hosting photos now a days. When I was writing more Photobucket was still a thing but now I know its not an option.

 

I use imgur for mine. Although I've recently moved from formatting my shows in HTML on the forum posts to uploading them whole-cloth as PDFs, which means image hosting isn't really as much of an issue.

 

I'm writing my first dynasty at the moment, about 5 months into it. Best advice I can give is to write it for yourself; you will have weeks where there isn't that much engagement from other users, so you need to be enjoying the creative process of fleshing out your shows otherwise you'll burn out. Other than that, have a rough plan, have an idea of how you want to right a handful of major players on your roster (you'll find the characters for the rest as you play) and don't be afraid to change your plans.

[mattu29]

Since this is a thread about diaries I'll just add another question to mix. Where are people hosting photos now a days. When I was writing more Photobucket was still a thing but now I know its not an option.

 

ive found imgur to be pretty decent for this

[BrokenCycle]

This is probably going to get me **** but I'll try to infuse a little positivity to this take.

 

I have two suggestions: One that results in you not writing diaries, and one that does.

 

To be honest, I don't think writing fan fiction about wrestling based on a video game is a worthwhile hobby to invest your time into. You could get more from your life by reading, or most importantly, since you're interested in writing, learning how to write. This is much more impactful on your life, has so many resources in how to get into it and grow as an artist, and you'll be able to get feedback and love from people if you share your work.

 

The second suggestion is that you write a diary but learn about storytelling, screen writing, story arcs, acting, dialogue creation, and whatnot, in the meantime. Basically you leverage writing fan fiction into learning about a craft.

[DirigoJoe]

Just keep pushing through.

 

See, one of the biggest problems with dynasties is that people get discouraged and seldom push through the first month. You need to have a plan, and you need to be excited about the plan so you can be motivated to write about it.

 

I'd recommend writing a few episodes in advance... if you feel invested in the project, you can slowly trickle out episodes while having a few in the can as you write more. Then if something comes up where you're not terribly motivated, you can have some already pre done.

[MainOffender]

This is probably going to get me **** but I'll try to infuse a little positivity to this take.

 

I have two suggestions: One that results in you not writing diaries, and one that does.

 

To be honest, I don't think writing fan fiction about wrestling based on a video game is a worthwhile hobby to invest your time into. You could get more from your life by reading, or most importantly, since you're interested in writing, learning how to write. This is much more impactful on your life, has so many resources in how to get into it and grow as an artist, and you'll be able to get feedback and love from people if you share your work.

 

The second suggestion is that you write a diary but learn about storytelling, screen writing, story arcs, acting, dialogue creation, and whatnot, in the meantime. Basically you leverage writing fan fiction into learning about a craft.

 

This is really condescending. I don't think anyone posting on a message board where the users have presumably sunk hundreds of hours into a wrestling simulator that is basically a spreadsheet with pictures should be making judgments about which hobbies are "worthwhile." If you take pleasure from something and it's not hurting anybody, then the hobby is worthwhile. I'm sure there are plenty of people who manage to squeeze in reading between booking imaginary title runs. Maybe when the urge next strikes to post a bad take, you should pick up your copy of Proust instead.

 

Also, not everyone who writes diaries or fan fiction is looking to parlay that into a career -- for some, it is just a hobby, a creative outlet, something they find personally enriching. And, for those who are interested in becoming a working writer, fan fiction/diaries/ewrestling/other dorky online writing activity are excellent ways to hone your craft and grow. The pace, deadlines (self-imposed but still), and availability of feedback make these activities way better learning experiences than getting your mom to read your short stories. They're the cheapest writing classes out there. No one should feel ashamed for having fun on the message board!

 

To actually answer OP's question -- when I was posting a diary last year, I would always be ahead in my save and writing to catch up (I like playing more than I like writing ha). Sticking to a schedule is good, although not if it starts to feel too much like a job. For me, I truly hate formatting in bbcode, so I was always looking to do the bare minimum there. Pictures/design do attract readers, though. (To echo what others have said, Imgur is definitely the way to go for pics.) It's helpful to look at what other people are doing with formatting and steal bits you like. Find a writing style that you're comfortable with and a show format that you can reuse and toss some shows out there! Have fun with it, be easy on yourself, and give yourself time to find an audience.

[DirigoJoe]

To be honest, I don't think writing fan fiction about wrestling based on a video game is a worthwhile hobby to invest your time into. You could get more from your life by reading, or most importantly, since you're interested in writing, learning how to write. This is much more impactful on your life, has so many resources in how to get into it and grow as an artist, and you'll be able to get feedback and love from people if you share your work.

 

This is just dumb and mean spirited. First of all, who cares what you think is a worthwhile hobby? You could literally apply this lame, sneering argument towards any leisure activity. What makes you an expert on where one can "get more from [their] life?"

 

If there's a hobby that appeals to someone, to the point they ask advice on how to do it, writing a condescending screed about how they should just pick a better hobby is never going to be anything other than a dick move. And the idea you were, in any way, trying to inject "positivity" is just meaningless distraction. It's what you thought let your petty, mean spirited, backhanded compliment be backhanded and not direct.

 

Delete your account.

[HRTVAndrew]

I'm going to avoid the back-and-forth about prior comments and solely focus on my own experience/subject matter. Dynasty diaries are best when the following circumstances line up:

 

1) The writer is having fun. If you're not enjoying your game, why should anyone else expect to? If that means you need to experiment with certain settings within the game or tweak a couple of things in the setup, that's fine. If you're maximizing your setup to where you're having a blast playing and writing about it, chances are others will enjoy reading about it.

 

2) The writer is using his/her organic voice. If you're trying too hard, it's not going to reflect well. Be you.

 

3) The writer provides appropriate detail. This one's going to take some time because that sentence is incredibly vague for a reason.

 

Some of the best diaries I've ever read are ones where match summaries are 2-3 sentences. They're concise, but they tell stories well, they keep things moving, and they often last much longer than diaries where every show is a novel. If you want examples, TCP1 wrote "Welcome to New York" diaries for the 2016 and 2020 games that were wildly entertaining despite no graphics and no match summaries longer than a paragraph.

 

However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't write longer stuff if that's what you're good at/passionate about. "Appropriate detail" means different things to different people. Find a format that agrees with you/won't burn you out, and you'll be off and running.

 

4) Last but not least, the writer makes sure links work, images (if used) are sized correctly, and typos are not published. The "preview post" button is your friend and should be used liberally.

 

Happy writing! Hopefully, that helped.

[Dave E Mac]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BrokenCycle" data-cite="BrokenCycle" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="51920" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>This is probably going to get me **** but I'll try to infuse a little positivity to this take. <p> </p><p> I have two suggestions: One that results in you not writing diaries, and one that does. </p><p> </p><p> To be honest, I don't think writing fan fiction about wrestling based on a video game is a worthwhile hobby to invest your time into. You could get more from your life by reading, or most importantly, since you're interested in writing, <em>learning how to write</em>. This is much more impactful on your life, has so many resources in how to get into it and grow as an artist, and you'll be able to get feedback and love from people if you share your work. </p><p> </p><p> The second suggestion is that you write a diary but learn about storytelling, screen writing, story arcs, acting, dialogue creation, and whatnot, in the meantime. Basically you leverage writing fan fiction into learning about a craft.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Why learn about screen writing and dialogue creation when you could learn to act and become a Hollywood star. Your argument what is worthwhile doing as hobby could be spun for anything.</p><p> </p><p> For me I used to enjoy creative writing and found writing a dynasty was a great outlet for that and motivated me to play the game a bit more.</p><p> </p><p> Personally i don't think writing wrestling fan fiction about a computer game isn't really worthwhile either. However it is something I've enjoyed doing. Sometimes hobbies don't need to achieve anything other than making us happy.</p>

[BrokenCycle]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Dave E Mac" data-cite="Dave E Mac" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="51920" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Why learn about screen writing and dialogue creation when you could learn to act and become a Hollywood star. Your argument what is worthwhile doing as hobby could be spun for anything.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> That is an excellent idea. </p><p> </p><p> Reach for the stars, OP. Be the BEST version of yourself.</p>

[Historian]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Rhysrob" data-cite="Rhysrob" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="51920" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Would any of the people who write dynasties be able to share their process and tips for starting a new dynasty? I have always wanted to write one and put it off, and I think I've run out of excuses not to have a go. <p> </p><p> I'm curious whether to play and write as you go or play a significant period of time and go back. I'm also unsure how those who use a lot of images manage that and how worthwhile people find it...</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I can only answer for myself and my process when writing diaries.</p><p> </p><p> I tend to book significantly ahead of where I'm at in the posting. For instance, I just posted the March big show in my diary, but I'm actually booked into August. This does a couple of things for me. One, it allows me to play the game as I want to -- so if I'm in a booking mood and want to play my dynasty, I can. It also allows me to craft any stories that I want to craft ahead of time (for behind the scenes kinds of things, because then I can be a bit ahead and can start thinking of how I want to tell the story, etc)</p><p> </p><p> I save all of the show results in Google Docs. I have one Google Doc that I use for writing the current show in -- it has all of my formatting codes preloaded so I can drop stuff in and manipulate it as needed. I've got a google doc that is just the basic text results form the game copy-and-pasted in. This let's me stay ahead and pull in the show stuff as needed.</p><p> </p><p> I use imgur for all my image hosting. I know a lot of people are doing the PDF thing which I think looks great but I haven't made that jump yet. All of my stuff is written and coded for the forums (and I've had a lot of community help to get there). I had a diary that didn't use pictures at first -- but a couple of community members requested that I use pictures so I made the transition. </p><p> </p><p> I find graphics of some sort help break up the walls of text -- though I don't think pictures are required as long as you use some text formatting to help things stand out (match participants, etc.)</p><p> </p><p> I also say, be patient. It can take a while to find your stride and a lot of new writers seem to give up before they hit that stride.</p><p> </p><p> I also say -- write what you like. If there is a style of wrestling you prefer, you'll enjoy doing a diary of that style. It's a lot harder to stay interested in a product that isn't what you would want to watch.</p><p> </p><p> My other last piece of advice -- message writers of diaries you like. Most community members and diary writers are really nice and helpful and are willing to help out with advice/feedback/whatever you need.</p><p> </p><p> I hope that helps at all. A lot of other people have given some really good advice to!</p>

[The Nickman]

My biggest advice is have fun and try not to burn yourself out. I've written three dynasties across the last several iterations of TEW and on every occasion I've gone too hard too early and always ended up losing motivation.

 

As soon as it feels like a chore, it's basically over.

[BHK1978]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BrokenCycle" data-cite="BrokenCycle" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="51920" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>The second suggestion is that you write a diary but learn about storytelling, screen writing, story arcs, acting, dialogue creation, and whatnot, in the meantime. Basically you leverage writing fan fiction into learning about a craft.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Your big brained idea is to become a screen writer or a writer? What do you want me to do take a vow of poverty?<img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> I mean the starving artist is a cliché for a reason. That reason being the vast majority of them are just that...broke.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Historian" data-cite="Historian" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="51920" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>My other last piece of advice -- message writers of diaries you like. Most community members and diary writers are really nice and helpful and are willing to help out with advice/feedback/whatever you need.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> This may have worked for you but I can tell you this did not work for me at all. When I first started writing diaries on here I would PM all of the writers I liked because most of them would say in their thread (I am paraphasing here), "Anyone who wants to PM me for advice can do so at any time." </p><p> </p><p> Either one of two things ended up happening.</p><p> </p><p> 1. The writer would not respond at all.</p><p> </p><p> 2. The writer would respond and would sort just not say anything.</p><p> </p><p> I remember one big name writer said, "I am always here to bounce ideas off of if anyone wants to." So I told him an idea in the hopes that maybe he could tell me if it could work. His response was, "Do what you want it's your diary, not mine." </p><p> </p><p> After that I just stopped bothering people because that tended to be the average response I would get.<img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Nickman" data-cite="The Nickman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="51920" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>My biggest advice is have fun and try not to burn yourself out. I've written three dynasties across the last several iterations of TEW and on every occasion I've gone too hard too early and always ended up losing motivation.<p> </p><p> As soon as it feels like a chore, it's basically over.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> This is probably the most sound advice in this thread. That is why when I was writing diaries I did not like to keep a deadline for when I was going to post. Mainly because I would feel rushed and then it would start feeling like a chore.</p>

[Rhysrob]

<p><p>Thanks for the advice everyone-- Many of you have answered follow up questions too which is great (particularly about how on earth you post everything w/ pictures which isn't immediately obvious to a newbie). </p><p> </p><p></p><p>

I'll take the 'worthwhile hobby' advice with a pinch of salt-- I'm not looking to be a professional writer but I think dynasties add a new challenge and layer to playing the game. It's also a creative outlet and way to connect with other people who obviously share some of your interests. There have been some brilliant dynasties such as The Climb and an NWA one which name escape mes (must have been 2016 or earlier), its a form of entertainment at the end of the day. </p><p> </p><p></p><p>

I would say that playing TEW for escapism in a country in rolling quarantines and strict social distance is actually pretty relaxing. Could be doing much worse things with my time <img alt="<img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></p>

[CQI13]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Historian" data-cite="Historian" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="51920" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I can only answer for myself and my process when writing diaries.<p> </p><p> I tend to book significantly ahead of where I'm at in the posting. For instance, I just posted the March big show in my diary, but I'm actually booked into August. This does a couple of things for me. One, it allows me to play the game as I want to -- so if I'm in a booking mood and want to play my dynasty, I can. It also allows me to craft any stories that I want to craft ahead of time (for behind the scenes kinds of things, because then I can be a bit ahead and can start thinking of how I want to tell the story, etc)</p><p> </p><p> I save all of the show results in Google Docs. I have one Google Doc that I use for writing the current show in -- it has all of my formatting codes preloaded so I can drop stuff in and manipulate it as needed. I've got a google doc that is just the basic text results form the game copy-and-pasted in. This let's me stay ahead and pull in the show stuff as needed.</p><p> </p><p> I use imgur for all my image hosting. I know a lot of people are doing the PDF thing which I think looks great but I haven't made that jump yet. All of my stuff is written and coded for the forums (and I've had a lot of community help to get there). I had a diary that didn't use pictures at first -- but a couple of community members requested that I use pictures so I made the transition. </p><p> </p><p> I find graphics of some sort help break up the walls of text -- though I don't think pictures are required as long as you use some text formatting to help things stand out (match participants, etc.)</p><p> </p><p> I also say, be patient. It can take a while to find your stride and a lot of new writers seem to give up before they hit that stride.</p><p> </p><p> I also say -- write what you like. If there is a style of wrestling you prefer, you'll enjoy doing a diary of that style. It's a lot harder to stay interested in a product that isn't what you would want to watch.</p><p> </p><p> My other last piece of advice -- message writers of diaries you like. Most community members and diary writers are really nice and helpful and are willing to help out with advice/feedback/whatever you need.</p><p> </p><p> I hope that helps at all. A lot of other people have given some really good advice to!</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> PDF thing you say? Tell me more.</p>

[James Casey]

Write if you enjoy it. I did, and wrote until I ended up writing for work - which sadly means I'm out of steam when it comes to writing for pleasure!

 

Building up a buffer is a good idea, though. Firstly you'll get a feel for if you enjoy writing the storyline or not. Secondly, your first efforts will likely be pretty shaky (it took me two years of writing to catch on here on the board, and part of that was just the lack of quality - and I'd been writing stories for over five years before that) and you'll probably appreciate the chance to go back and edit before throwing it up for public view.

 

Try and have an idea for where you want to go with your diary. It doesn't need to be massively detailed - and really it's better if it's not, as unless you're playing as WWE you don't have any guarantees about who will/won't be available to write for.

 

In my most successful diary I wanted to tell the story of Rip and Jay Chord (this was in 2007 when Jay was a future worker) so you might imagine my frustration when I tried to sign Jay and he walked out on negotiations, costing me six in-game months of stories! But I got him in the end, and that failed negotiation inspired me to do better with my existing talent.

 

In my WCW diary I wanted to rebook the rise and fall of the Dangerous Alliance, and I've thoroughly enjoyed it, but I never imagined having Nikita Koloff as World champion along the way, nor that Brian Pillman would turn into Mr 5*, nor that - of all people - WWF would raid me for Rick Steiner. Be prepared to be flexible, as the game can trip you up or give you an unexpected bonus at any time.

 

One thing that may help is finding ways to involve your readers. In my WCW diary, I made them part of the booking team - Koloff's title reign came when readers voted for him ahead of Lex Luger or Sting. Shame he sucked, but I loved writing it! In another diary I invited readers to contribute chants and signs for their favourite wrestlers (and, as this was PSW, they could be pretty edgy!) which made the readers a part of the in-game crowd. Plenty of people run prediction contests, others have readers RPing in-universe journalists... Whatever floats your boat, really!

[CQI13]

Something to add - focus on the stories you are telling and don't get bogged down on the grades.

[Dalton]

I'll add my two cents just to say if you enjoy it, it's a lot of fun. If you are having fun booking and writing the shows, then that's all that matters right?!

 

My first diary was a CVerse one that after a few shows I couldn't get into, and it felt like a chore. So, I ditched it. Shortly after I saw a void for an AEW diary here, and since I absolutely love AEW and spend a ton of time fantasy booking them anyway, I decided to write a diary here that I am having an awesome time writing.

 

And just to add to the other conversation in this thread, if we're all discussing and posting about a spreadsheet wrestling game online, is it any different to post your results about it? It's a bit odd to shame someone for posting in a different area of the same forum!

[Historian]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="CQI13" data-cite="CQI13" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="51920" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>PDF thing you say? Tell me more.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I think they're using Doc Droid (that seems to be the most common).</p><p> </p><p> It looks like they are using Google Slides or a similar power point style presentation and exporting it as a PDF.</p><p> </p><p> Here is a link to devilb0y's <a href="http://greydogsoftware.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2470018&postcount=311" rel="external nofollow">TCW Diary</a> that uses the PDF style so you can see what I mean.</p>

[DirigoJoe]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Historian" data-cite="Historian" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="51920" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I think they're using Doc Droid (that seems to be the most common).<p> </p><p> It looks like they are using Google Slides or a similar power point style presentation and exporting it as a PDF.</p><p> </p><p> Here is a link to devilb0y's <a href="http://greydogsoftware.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2470018&postcount=311" rel="external nofollow">TCW Diary</a> that uses the PDF style so you can see what I mean.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Just when I start to feel good about how mine look, I have to see one of these ones. lol</p>