[Master Neverdead]

Kudos to Beret

Emanick and Fruityfed are doing something wonderful over in the Runescape Stories board with reviewing mainly RS tales and their authors. Here, in this thread, the goal is to focus on those of you venturing into worlds of your own creation. You've molded characters out of the very fibers of your emotions, and you deserve to have your hard work shown off to your colleagues in the writing world. Welcome to my Bookcase.

The primary goal of this thread is to not only reward those of you with great talent and the know-how to use it, but to help those of you who are still developing their writing skills. Each and every writer makes mistakes, its a fact, but its learning how to overcome and learn from mistakes that keep them from becoming errors. Good luck in all that you write, and may your typing hands never cramp!

Here is the process you should go through before posting a story in the Library:

1. Write something. Anything. It can be sloppily written, but try to dig down deep and get a good feeling for what is gonig on. This is your first glance at a world, so pay attention! And don't nix anything yet, as what seems like a bad idea often turns out great and what seems like a good idea turns out terrible. Keep it short but not too short and keep it as detailed as possible.

2. Now that you've got a character or three in the plot bunnies, its time to develop them. Ignore any significant plot details for now and just iron out your characters by writing biographies and short stories with them. What you are looking for is this:

• An original character. Check with others to see if your character is your own or an accidental copy of another.
• A character worth reading about. Why is he/she/it being written about?
• You need to find a personality within the character and then stick with it. It's hard to relate to a charrie who has one personality in one scene and a totally different in another.
• Your character needs to react in real ways that readers can understand. Use common sense.
• Balance in your characters is probably one of the hardest things to master as a fiction writer. However, it is very important that your villains and heroes are powerful, but not invincible. Everyone has a downside.
• A good name goes a long way in helping us feel your charrie. No one cares about Jim Bob the Knight or Jahalabat Huamag the Sorcerer.

3. You've written some character bios, maybe some shorts and bunnies. Now its time to start your story. Stay true to your characters when picking a plot and developing a world around them. Discover as much about the world as you can, you can't write a story about a world and people you don't know! Basically, develop, develop, develop, then develop some more. The more detail you know the more you can show us.

In this phase of your stories development, focus on putting your characters in a unique world, environment, or situation. Unless you are writing a romance novel, no one is going to want to read the same thing over and over again. Make whatever it is as believable as possible as fiction needs to make sense. Common sense is your friend (not the Admin, though, he's quite friendly).

4. Writing time baby! Take your time and process all the information you've gathered carefully. Its okay if you don't know what's going to happen, but you should have some sense of things. A hint here is to remember not to read any books of the same genre, as little things will eventually come up and you'll end up copying another writer's ideas.

Writing is a talent and a skill at the same time. I can't stress enough about taking your time and going through the steps to make sure proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, and congruency are all a part of your story.



Note: I only rate works of original fiction. Things plagiarised, your journal entries, and stories including inappropriate language or material will not be reviewed by me.

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I am now officially granting anyone with a story on the list to request their revised or edited stories to improve your score! The new score will be posted with a red asterisk indicating that it is the revised version. Dont forget that if your story is a continuing epic, the scores of each seperate part reviewed (I prefer to do it two parts at a time) will be averaged together. Once completed the story can be reviewed in full for a final official score.

~Hex

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1. Introduction & Mission Statement
2. Authors and Reviews
3. Waiting List
4. Ranked List of Scores
5. Links and My Works

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Ranks:
Pawn (lowest possible ranking)
Beginner
Knight
Apprentice
Noble
Master
King/Queen (highest possible ranking)

Note: All authors with more than one story will have his or hers average rating beside their name.

chaoserver - Master - 48.6/56
Silence in the Sand | Fingers of Death | End of the Colossus
Chaos describes a scene better then a master painter or premier photgrapher ever could. He is amazing at capturing drama and excels as a writer. He is one the best reads on this forum and if a story has his name by it, it will more then likely be well worth your time. The only thing I've yet to see him do here in the Library is post a large epic. When, chaos, when!?

Cost of Living - Apprentice
Valiant Soldiers
He's a great writer with a good eye for intense battle sequences and engaging warfare. He's a tad weak on the story development side, but improvements are forthcoming I believe. Valiant Soldiers is worth your time, slip on in and read it.

Dark Kuroyi - Noble
Vengeance
Her short, Vengeance, is a must-read. I haven't read any of her other works as of yet, but she writes with amazing skill and detail. Anything with her name beside it will more then likely be worth your time.

Demented - Beginner
The Academy
I haven't read enough of his work yet, but he strikes me as someone with the potential to write something Epic. What is holding you back my friend? Give him some time, and I'm sure he will surprise us all.

Emanick1 - Noble
Nerds on Parole
Nerds isn't a good enough story to judge Emanick by, as it is far from his best work. In my opinion, he has reached Noble status with his writing ability, now all we need do is sit back and wait for him to prove that he deserves even better!

Finway - Beginner
Verdenfale
I know that finway can do better then Verdenfale suggests. He rushed it, but I think if he takes the time to learn from his mistakes he can get on the road to becoming a writer worth reading. Don't count him out, I sure ain't.

I-Cup - Knight
The World of Lore
I-Cup has improved much since I first saw him write, and he really is on to something in his latest work. If he applies himself, he could be one of the "leet" writers here at Slams. Stick to it my friend, and don't give up.

It Is Butter - Pawn
A Week At Toll Gate High
By what I've seen, Butter can hardly be called a writer. He needs to take more time in creating a story that someone will want to read instead of an idea that you might submit for a 5th Grade assignment. Better luck in the future.

Lord Vega - Noble
The Charm
Vega is a clever craftsmen of darkly entertaining stories. As with all authors, he has room to improve, but his work is always worth your time. Be prepared for the unexpected, as well as a level of creativity rivaled by few here at the Library.

Meen - Noble
The Story of the Door
In good conscious, I can't name Meen a master as I've only read an introduction of a story by him lately. Hopefully, he will post some more and I'll be able to firmly stand behind his actual deserved rank. His knowledge of the English language is fantastic and his natural ability makes him one heck of a good read.

Osiris - Pawn
The Rage: Encounter the Hero
I just haven't seen enough by Osiris to know for sure. He shows a lot of potential, but he's yet to really step out and show us what he's packin'.

Raker of Life - Pawn
The Area of Nothing
Nothing I've seen from Raker has impressed me up to this point. Lets see if he can surprise us all with something we don't expect him to do: Write with skill.

Richman99 - Pawn
The Chocolate Mystery
The short mystery that he posted in this topic was a far cry from a thrilling story of intrigue. He has strength, but needs to spend more time on coming up with original ideas and presenting them to the best of his ability.

Sam - Pawn
Dragon Tamers
Dragon Tamers lacked originality and many other things that a good fiction story needs, but one work isn't enough to know for sure. He needs to develop his characters far more and work on the details of the story so that we actually have something to get drawn into, rather then reading a list of events and names.

Silavor - Noble
Wings of the Heart
This writer is going places, not a doubt in my mind. He is a great roleplayer, smart writer, and great storyteller. Watch the shelves here at Sal's for more outstanding work. He needs to write with a bit more confidence and take more time in developing characters and plot, but he's young yet.

SlashingUK - Master - 49/56
Barking Dogs | Heisenberg's Shaman: The River
Slash's writing not only impresses, it astounds. He is easily one of the best reads here in the Library and someone that I personally enjoy reading the work of. His broad epic, HS: The River, was an excellent read despite its few flaws and it is recommended by Yours Truly to read the first chance you get.

The Lich King - Apprentice
Crimson Harvest
Lich is a very creative writer who seems to have his work brought down by simple mistakes. I always have enjoyed his work but it seems he needs to slow down a bit and take his time in describing the scene more thoroughly in order to give us a better view of his crafty villains and epic heroes.

Zhuge Liang - Beginner
Elemental War
Zhuge has a lot to improve on in his writing, but he is not a quitter and will only get better with time. He is a better writer then EW insinuates. Once he's able to slow down and develop his plots and characters, he will astound us all.

Note: The BEST way to improve your rating is to write more stories and request reviews. One work isn't the best indication of an authors abilities.

Anyone who changes their Display Name who is on the list of Authors & Reviews needs to inform me of the change so that I can get it altered on the list. Thanks!

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If the waiting list is full, please do not request a review!

1. Milne Bay by Zhuge Liang
2. Fury of One by Onyx Jester
3. An Exile Ends by Natus Lumen
4. Crooked Ridge by heb0
5.

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Note: All scores are averaged if there are multiple parts are reviewed.

1.-T Barking Dogs - 54/56
by SlashingUK
Review
Topic

1.-T Fingers of Death - 54/56
by chaoserver
Review
Topic


2. The Story of the Door - 51/56
by Meen
Review
Topic

3. Silence in the Sand - 49/56
by chaoserver
Review
Topic

4. Vengeance - 48/56
by Dark Kuroyi
Review
Topic

5. The Charm - 47/56
by Lord Vega
Review
Topic

6. Heisenberg's Shaman: The River - 44/56
by SlashingUK
Review
Topic

7. End of the Colossus - 43/56
by chaoserver
Review
Topic


8. Wings of the Heart - 42/56
by Silavor
Review
Topic (In A Blog)

9. Nerds on Parole - 34/56
by Emanick1
Review
Topic

10. The World of Lore - 34/56
by I-Cup
Review
Topic
Most Recent Update

Crimson Harvest - 32/56
by The Lich King
Review
Topic

Valiant Soldiers - 33/56
by Cost of Living
Review
Topic


The Rage: Encounter the Hero - 17/56
by Osiris
Review
Topic

Dragon Tamers - 16/56
by Sam
Review
Topic

The Academy - 15/56
by Demented
Review
Topic

Elemental War - 10/56
by Zhuge Liang
Review
Topic

The Chocolate Mystery - 10/56
by Richman99
Review
Topic

Verdenfale - 10/56
by Finway
Review
Topic

A Week At Toll Gate High - 5/56
by it is butter
Review
Topic

The Area of Nothing - 4/56
by Raker of Life
Review
Topic

What My Reviews Consist Of:

Grammar/Spelling: Important parts of storytelling, but not the most important. However, a well presented story goes a lot further in the real world of writing. Because of which, you have 9 points to gain or lose here.

Punctuation: Commas, Quotation Marks, and Periods are far more then cosmetic. They can bring an epic story down to a weak pretender. 6 points possible here.

Character Development: This remains a continuous problem for me and most other writers. We forget that it is impossible to tell a story about someone you don't know and neglect getting acquainted with them before including them in our masterpieces. It is essential that your characters are properly developed or you might lose 12 possible points.

Plot Development and Management: This is perhaps the most important part of your story. First, you need characters worth writing about, now you need a story worth telling. There must be tension, excitement, intrigue, and any other emotion you can throw at your readers. If you are able to get a masterful plot spun, then the next step is to mantain it and keep us interested. 15 points are possible here, so don't cast this aside!

Style: Each writer has his/her own venacular and writing style. Who am I to say who's style is better or worse? However, when there is lack of style, it is a glaring vacancy in your otherwise pristine presentation. 4 points available.

Credibility: Writing fiction can be risky business. There is a fine line between a good imagination and pure insanity. Your story must be believable and it must be consistently so. (IE, you explain credibly how a half-elf comes to wiedling a weapon twice his size, yet he is fast and nimble instead of bulky and strong. Later in the tale, he moves slowly do to size. Confusing no?) A fantasy is a world of your own mind, but it has to make sense and feel real. You have to convince us that it could happen and then remember to keep us convinced. 10 Points for Credibility.

Overall: 56/56 Points
Grammar/Spelling: 9/9
Punctuation: 6/6
Character Development: 12/12
Plot Development and Management: 15/15
Style: 4/4
Credibility: 10/10

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My Works:


Champion of Phallix is the first part of a two part series about an exciting world I've tinkered with (along with others) over a large amount of time. In Book I, an introvertive adventurer seeks out the root of the growing darkness in the world whilst the famed gladiator Amenthor seeks an end to the persecution of his kind through bloodshed and war. Catch this epic as it unravels by clicking the banner!

My Angel
A Short, but rather sweet, poem I recited for my fiancee. Enjoy!

Graphics:

If you'd like to advertise my little endeavor, then use one of the underbanners below.


Kudos to Beret

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Kudos to Courtneii

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Disclaimer: The views posted in each review are my own opinions. If you do not like it, please don't argue with me. My intention is merely to aide you in writing better and to rank you against your fellow Slammers.

This post has been edited by Master Neverdead: Dec 3 2007, 11:28 PM