Player Submitted Fiction Guidelines

Greetings from your Council of Scribes!

To help players who are interested in writing fiction to be submitted for Shroud of the Avatar, here are some simple guidelines that everyone should know.

1. You are NOT your character.
   When writing fiction, be sure to separate your character from yourself. This is very important. Your characters are your creations, but you do not have a personal stake in their lives. Just because someone doesn't like your character doesn't mean they don't like YOU. You cannot take attacks upon your character as attacks upon yourself, and you MUST be able to keep your personal feelings out of your writing.
   
   
2. Your characters should act naturally.
   Characters should (generally) obey the established limits of nature. No single character has the power to do anything, breaking all limits and laws of physics, ignore established lore, or never be injured. It is natural for a writer to feel an attachment to their character; however, dramatic tension increases dramatically when the danger feels real. Avoid creating characters (or weapons, spells, etc) that can do anything, can never be defeated, are the most interesting, etc. Instead, make them dynamic, interesting, flawed, and limited; everyone has things they are not the best at.
   
   Characters are living, breathing people that need to be as complex and deep as yourself. They are more than their occupation. Know who they are, know how they think, and know how they'd react to a given situation. Give them thoughts and feelings! Give them depth! Think about them as actual people, think about what they do, and provide that nuance to your writing.
   
   
3. Consent and Collaboration.
   If you plan on including characters created by another writer, or used by another writer, including player characters or developer-run characters, be sure to ASK for permission. Communicate with your fellow writers to plan inclusion, especially when you plan to connect the two characters. ANYTHING that requires the participation of someone else's character requires the consent of the other player. If you wish to collaborate and have your character related to another character, or know them from somewhere in the past, you MUST work with that other writer to establish this!
   
   
4. Avoid the Omnicient Character.
   Your character does not have the same knowledge that you do. As a writer, you have access to a wealth of knowledge about how the world of New Britannia operates, the beings that inhabit it, and the lore that has been established. However, a Braemar peasant will have little knowledge of Titans or magic, nor have any idea what court is like in Norgard. Believable characters are *limited* characters.
   
   
5. Not all characters are Avatars.
   Player characters come from Earth, but the majority of characters in the world of New Britannia did not. Native characters do NOT have the knowledge, technical ability, or idioyms that we have here on Earth. Avatars are bringing influences from modern day culture, but that doesn't mean that New Britannia is receptive to pop culture (i.e: Ardoris may be based off of Chinese/asian culture, but there are no samurai or code of Bushido in Shroud of the Avatar.)
   
   
6. Be original!
   Coming up with exciting, original ideas is hard. Ask any writer! However, you should never steal ideas from other games, works of literature, videos, etc. Not only is it unfair to the original work of art, but can cause issues with copyright and intellectual property. Use your own ideas.
   
   
7. Be Consistent With Established Lore
   The background of New Britannia has been established, and has plenty of gaps to fill. Use the established lore as a framework to create your story, rather than attempting to rewrite history in order to fit your story into an existing piece of lore. For example, Blade of the Avatar establishes that the person who found the titular sword is named Aren Bennis, and was a soldier in the Obsidian Empire; he is NOT an Avatar from Detroit named Benny!
   
   
   When writing about places, events, people, and things that affect the known world of New Britannia, it is important to not contradict other writings about those items. Review the information on SotAwiki as you are writing your narrative, so that it fits within those parameters.
   
   Established lore consists of two main aspects:
   1. Lore that is created as part of the context of game, either by Portalarium, Richard Garriott, Tracy Hickman, etc.
   2. Lore written by the community and published through the Lore Council.
   
   Community lore will be added to the wiki after it has been approved by the council. It will be considered 'established' once Portalarium has adopted it into the New Britannia universe.
   
   Your writings may well affect others, and indeed the game itself, so keep this in mind before you have New Britannia implode in a reign of Chaos. Nonetheless, don't be afraid to leave your mark on the storyline, either! Remember, the Lore Keepers and Scribes will work with you to bring your work into the fold, so feel free to push the envelope somewhat.
   
   
8. Learn to TAKE criticism.
   You cannot grow as a writer (or artist) if you cannot take criticism. Someone pointing out a flaw in your story isn't them insulting and attacking you. It is natural that you appreciate what you've written, but quite often our objectivity suffers for our own work. If a Scribe questions whether this fits the existing history of a character, what do you do? You need to be ready to write around the existing lore, or accept that you made a mistake and correct it. The hardest thing about writing, and the one that will make you a better writer, is learning to listening to criticism and being willing to change.
   
   
9. Learn to GIVE criticism.
   There are multiple ways to get your point across to others. Especially when assisting others by providing feedback, it is important to use constructive criticism and suggestions. Before posting feedback, make sure to re-read it, consider its impact, and try to focus on the positives.
   
   
10. Be courteous.
    Not all your characters will be kind and polite, however you can NOT be disrespectful or rude to other writers, scribes, or administrators. This is a rule for the entire forums, but is especially important when dealing with art (and writing IS an art!).
    
    
11. Spelling and Grammar
    All submissions should be spell checked and be free of grammatical errors. However, the Scribe appointed to review your work will do another pass through the writing to ensure that all spelling matches that used in New Britannia (where it differs from the English norm), and for legibility.
    
    
12. Submission Length
    All stories submitted should be no more than 500 words in total length. This is the length of a single entry, which is enough for several pages of text in-game.
    
    Individual entries can also be submitted as volumes of a longer work. For example, Robert has created an epic fantasy that he wants published in Shroud of the Avatar, but its total length is 6,425 words. Working with his Scribe, they find logical breaking points, and his book turns into a series of thirteen volumes! Note, however, that each volume must be submitted and reviewed separately. Multiple-volume works require longer review and editing times, and generally require more rewriting before being accepted and published.
    
    Also note that in some cases, story submissions may be combined into a series with other authors. An example of this is the Tales from the Vale series, which includes stories from multiple Avatars regarding the Hidden Vale.
    
    
13. Use of Narrative Style
    Depending on your desired genre and writing style, you can use different points of view (First, Second, or Third Person) or tense Past or Present). However, the majority of writing is done from a third person point of view (a narrator), who is usually omniscient so that we can know things about people and places that the main characters do not, and is written in the past tense. Breaking this rule is ok, as long it is done for the need of the story. For example, a suspense story may be relayed by a third-person limited narrator. A horror story may be told in the first person present tense, in order to hold a sense of urgency for the reader.
    
    In general, unless there is a narrative reason, write your stories in past tense, and start with a third person narrator. Additional information on narrative styles can be found on Wikipedia.
    
    
14. Recommended Resources for Creative Writing
    * Creative writing on Wikipedia
    * Fantasy-Writers.org
    * Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust
    * Science Fiction and Fantasy RoundTable
    * Creative Writing Now
    
    
15. Have fun!

Now, go write! Be creative! And if you have questions, ask.

 

This is not what FireLotus' original instructions said (per top of thread). It said 300-500 was the max and that there is no minimum. Was there a change?

 

There is no minimum length.
300-500 was intended to be a rough upper limit.

 

Changed this to be more in line with the original statement.

"All stories submitted should be no more than 500 words in total length."

 

Two things:

1) Can we pin Tales from the Vale at the top of the forum list?
2) There hasn't been as much interest in writing as I would hope... any way to encourage participation? I am not necessarily suggesting something with a reward. I like those who write because they like to write!

 

Captain Jack would like to write, but his style would probably not be accepted by his peers who sit in judgement over him. Rather than write and be rejected, Captain Jack will simply pass.

 

Sir Frank thinks Captain Jack should give it a shot.

 

http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/definitions/assure-vs-ensure-vs-insure/

 

Thanks, corrected. And this is why we have more than one Scribe. =)

 

...should be spell checked...

(That pushed me over 4000 likes! )

 

To begin Samlee's Bowman's story, I have to begin at the beginning. I'd like to provide a brief view of his life before whatever happens to bring him to New Britannia as a very confused and not a little frightened "Outlander". To do this, I really need more information on what, exactly, happens to bring him into the new world, what transformations does his mind and body undergo, what does he have in his possession, and where does he actually land on arrival.

Samlee has a story to tell... along with some great friends (old and new!) to add flavor and spice to the stew. I just need more info before I can begin telling it!

-Sam

 

It looks like maybe Samlee needs to buy an Alienware laptop, and look up esoteric things, then stick his hand through the screen.
Or, something along those lines.

 

I've asked for more info already and the answer is pretty consistently no. We have to work with what we have right now, or wait. For those who want to craft deeper, more involved stories with deeper, more compelling characters, it's a little frustrating. It is what it is.