Is anyone writing down the story? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Is anyone writing down the story? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Kayman
09-11-05, 12:15 PM Hi,

Lately I just thought how cool it would be to write down my campaign as a story or a book, just for fun. It would be a great memory for me and the players after the campaign is over. Has anyone done this?
Orion Polaris
09-11-05, 01:34 PM A bard in my campaign is currently doing something like that. He's cut a deal with a major Zil publishing company, and his first novel is on the way!

The bards' player is actually doing a novelization of our adventures as well.
Medesha
09-11-05, 01:42 PM Yep. It poses a few challenges that "normal" novel-writing doesn't, but can be quite fun. I am actually shopping around the manuscript of my game-inspired book (which posed a bunch of challenges in its own right).

But just writing down the game story for fun...yeah, absolutely, do it!
Fabian
09-12-05, 09:27 AM I am running a PBEM for which I write turn recaps that read like chapters in a story.

If anyone gets a chance to read any of it, I'd love to hear comments.

L8r,

Fabian
Troubled Past - An Eberron PBEM
http://www.geocities.com/cfbenave/Eberron/Eberron-Page2.htm
AntiSean
09-12-05, 09:52 AM I'm not running a campaign yet, but I've started writing a story based on some of the discussions I've seen take place here and on other boards - link is in my .sig. I'll be DMing for the first time next month, hopefully. If all goes well, we'll expand a short run into a long campaign. If I have time (ha ha ha) I hope to write a story based on that as well. Or better yet, pawn that job off on one of the players :)
anarco_rata
09-12-05, 10:09 AM i love to DM and i love writting, so its only natural ^^ i keep track of everything that hapens in my adventures since i started DMing, and my players love to read them when we finish the campaigns.
Also, my current campaign is kinda treated like an anime, every adventure has its name, and in the beggining of each one i recap what happened in the previous one, and end with a little narrative and "scenes from the next chapter" where i tell my players things like "in the next adventure, our heroes venture deep into the whispering woods, only to find that somethings are best left alone."
they love it ^^
Vharuck
09-12-05, 10:39 AM There are many great campaign logs to be found out in the wide world of the internet, with some of the best I've ever seen hiding in these boards.

If you as a DM want one, but don't want to write it yourself (as you shouldn't, you know every secret), I would suggest something I did:

One of the PCs' patrons was a rare book dealer. He gave them a simple quest (go retrieve this ancient Dhakaani military text from some ruins), but offered them continuously rising checks for documenting their adventures and selling the texts to him. Everyone in Breland craves a good hero story.

They jumped at the chance, with several of them offering to write it and explaining why only one point of view would be bad. My cold DM heart warmed up a little.

Then I threw an assassination attempt at them on a lightning rail car. My cold DM heart was back to normal. ;)
Rechan
09-12-05, 11:29 AM Would writing story hours and journals of the adventure be similar? I plan on writing a journal chronicling my party's adventures.
REN
09-12-05, 12:24 PM When I DMed in High School, many years ago, I use to take down notes as I played the game. Then at night after my session, I would write a summary of what happened during the adventure (Just the major details and any other funny or interesting occurrences). I was never much of a writer, and still struggle, but nonetheless, I think it's one of the most important things you can do to maintain continuity. It helps to make your players feel like they are part of a long story, not just a game night.

I've been playing the same character for 3 years now, and the one thing I miss is a log of what happened in the past. I wish I had it. However, as a player, I find it difficult to recall what happened to everyone’s character, so I can't properly write a summary. As a DM on the other hand, I can summarize what ever happened to all the characters as a party. It's great and they love it - even if my writing sucks! It's a way to go back on line and see what it is they did 4 months ago.
ccerose
09-12-05, 12:50 PM I kept a journal of the adventures in my game. The players really enjoyed reading it. The players would from time to time, send me emails about what their characters were doing during down time or their characters' thoughts about a particular adventure. These would be included in each of the entries. The entries were written in 3rd person so it read more like a story, than a series of journal entries though.
The Forgotten Traveler
09-15-05, 06:59 AM Sounds really fun! :D I want to do that for my upcoming campaign. How about posting those records of the adventures to the boards? I, for one would like to read them! :) Edit: Oh wait, there are some on the boards. I haven't seen them though. Can anyone post a link? (Or just post new ones!)

:mage:
pilias_simber
09-15-05, 03:01 PM Hi,

Lately I just thought how cool it would be to write down my campaign as a story or a book, just for fun. It would be a great memory for me and the players after the campaign is over. Has anyone done this?

My Rogue in the FR campaign I played in wrote down his exploits, he is now a 17th level character and has about 250 pages in the story.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Kayman 09-11-05, 12:15 PM	Hi, Lately I just thought how cool it would be to write down my campaign as a story or a book, just for fun. It would be a great memory for me and the players after the campaign is over. Has anyone done this?
Orion Polaris 09-11-05, 01:34 PM	A bard in my campaign is currently doing something like that. He's cut a deal with a major Zil publishing company, and his first novel is on the way! The bards' player is actually doing a novelization of our adventures as well.
Medesha 09-11-05, 01:42 PM	Yep. It poses a few challenges that "normal" novel-writing doesn't, but can be quite fun. I am actually shopping around the manuscript of my game-inspired book (which posed a bunch of challenges in its own right). But just writing down the game story for fun...yeah, absolutely, do it!
Fabian 09-12-05, 09:27 AM	I am running a PBEM for which I write turn recaps that read like chapters in a story. If anyone gets a chance to read any of it, I'd love to hear comments. L8r, Fabian Troubled Past - An Eberron PBEM http://www.geocities.com/cfbenave/Eberron/Eberron-Page2.htm
AntiSean 09-12-05, 09:52 AM	I'm not running a campaign yet, but I've started writing a story based on some of the discussions I've seen take place here and on other boards - link is in my .sig. I'll be DMing for the first time next month, hopefully. If all goes well, we'll expand a short run into a long campaign. If I have time (ha ha ha) I hope to write a story based on that as well. Or better yet, pawn that job off on one of the players :)
anarco_rata 09-12-05, 10:09 AM	i love to DM and i love writting, so its only natural ^^ i keep track of everything that hapens in my adventures since i started DMing, and my players love to read them when we finish the campaigns. Also, my current campaign is kinda treated like an anime, every adventure has its name, and in the beggining of each one i recap what happened in the previous one, and end with a little narrative and "scenes from the next chapter" where i tell my players things like "in the next adventure, our heroes venture deep into the whispering woods, only to find that somethings are best left alone." they love it ^^
Vharuck 09-12-05, 10:39 AM	There are many great campaign logs to be found out in the wide world of the internet, with some of the best I've ever seen hiding in these boards. If you as a DM want one, but don't want to write it yourself (as you shouldn't, you know every secret), I would suggest something I did: One of the PCs' patrons was a rare book dealer. He gave them a simple quest (go retrieve this ancient Dhakaani military text from some ruins), but offered them continuously rising checks for documenting their adventures and selling the texts to him. Everyone in Breland craves a good hero story. They jumped at the chance, with several of them offering to write it and explaining why only one point of view would be bad. My cold DM heart warmed up a little. Then I threw an assassination attempt at them on a lightning rail car. My cold DM heart was back to normal. ;)
Rechan 09-12-05, 11:29 AM	Would writing story hours and journals of the adventure be similar? I plan on writing a journal chronicling my party's adventures.
REN 09-12-05, 12:24 PM	When I DMed in High School, many years ago, I use to take down notes as I played the game. Then at night after my session, I would write a summary of what happened during the adventure (Just the major details and any other funny or interesting occurrences). I was never much of a writer, and still struggle, but nonetheless, I think it's one of the most important things you can do to maintain continuity. It helps to make your players feel like they are part of a long story, not just a game night. I've been playing the same character for 3 years now, and the one thing I miss is a log of what happened in the past. I wish I had it. However, as a player, I find it difficult to recall what happened to everyone’s character, so I can't properly write a summary. As a DM on the other hand, I can summarize what ever happened to all the characters as a party. It's great and they love it - even if my writing sucks! It's a way to go back on line and see what it is they did 4 months ago.
ccerose 09-12-05, 12:50 PM	I kept a journal of the adventures in my game. The players really enjoyed reading it. The players would from time to time, send me emails about what their characters were doing during down time or their characters' thoughts about a particular adventure. These would be included in each of the entries. The entries were written in 3rd person so it read more like a story, than a series of journal entries though.
The Forgotten Traveler 09-15-05, 06:59 AM	Sounds really fun! :D I want to do that for my upcoming campaign. How about posting those records of the adventures to the boards? I, for one would like to read them! :) Edit: Oh wait, there are some on the boards. I haven't seen them though. Can anyone post a link? (Or just post new ones!) :mage:
pilias_simber 09-15-05, 03:01 PM	Hi, Lately I just thought how cool it would be to write down my campaign as a story or a book, just for fun. It would be a great memory for me and the players after the campaign is over. Has anyone done this? My Rogue in the FR campaign I played in wrote down his exploits, he is now a 17th level character and has about 250 pages in the story.