I consider myself a rambler and as such, I oft find myself, while playing Choice-Script, thinking of ideas for Choice-Script games, but do to my age, eyesight, and writing prowess(lack thereof) I cannot fully develop any of my ideas, and due to the area I reside I have few individuals to talk and brainstorm with and as such, feel inclined to publish a topic to keep track of my ideas and speak of them to other individuals like-minded.
3 Likes
Lately I’ve been thinking so much in doing a game with Choice-Script. I don’t think my writing is poorly or something, I’ve written a lot of books and fanfictions but never published anything. I always have problems developing the plots and I barely have time to write because of school. I’m very insecure about everything I write so it’s difficult to keep going with my projects.
I’m not fluent in English and I find the Choice-Script difficult to work so it’s unlikely that I got some games here.
4 Likes
Well, you know what they say… practice makes perfect. I often feel very insecure about my writing as well. It’s hard not to feel daunted while looking at prose from someone like Ernest Hemingway, or any other author you admire.
But, writing these games might be of help to you. Even if the prose isn’t amazing, you could always get feedback and grow from it. I was looking over the dashingdon website the other day, and I couldn’t help but to think how fun it could be to write short games and post them up for everyone to see. You could do this with an alias if you’re feeling too insecure.
Or maybe you could even post your fanfiction and books on Wattpad or something, just to get you started. As you grow, you’ll start to see the flaws of your own writing. I’ve had the terror of looking back to some of the work I’ve posted on fanfiction and wattpad myself, and it pains me so. Even with my last project I re-read and find so many problems. This lets me know that I’m nowhere near the level I want to be.
My dad likes to tell me sagely that the key to writing is rewriting. He tells me that the first draft never stays the same, and the revision is where all the good stuff happens.
Your work might not be perfect when you post it, but the feedback can help you to identify which parts of your writing needs work. And then you can make these changes in what you’ve posted.
As for plot developing, you could always find online resources that help with that. Or maybe look to images, movies, or videos for inspiration. If you’ve ever watched a movie and thought, “I’d do that so differently”, you should jot it down in a notebook. Dreams too. I write down all my dreams, and all my ideas as they come to me so I never forget.
EDIT - Music might be some form of inspiration too. I sometimes listen to music to form plots that will further develop my story.
A lot of the ideas I’ve had for the story I’m working on right now are actually from dreams!
6 Likes
What do you consider a fully developed idea?
1 Like
Brainstorming 101 by @Szaal 
- Sit down. And don’t forget to bring yourself a note/laptop to write your ideas.
- You need a clear mind. Then, ask yourself, “What do I want to write?”
- Write it down. Be it random keywords, random jumbled sentence, it’s fine.
- Look at what you just wrote. Expand it.
If those steps don’t work, you need inspiration. Inspiration ≠Imagination.
You get inspiration from actually-made sources: websites, books, tvtropes.org the time consumer, etc.
When you found an inspiration, go back to num. 2
5 Likes
One of the things about Choice-Script is that while there are many plot-driven options, most of the best games tend to be more character-driven, at least in my opinion. The plot just provides a framework for the characters to react to. School should always come first, but that shouldn’t prevent you from writing if it’s something that you want to do and really enjoy.
As for English not being your first language, you could always write the story out first in your native language and then ask/hire someone to translate it for you. I have a couple of friends who do that with their writings on a forum I’m a part of. Choice-Script can be difficult at first, but like all things, you’ll get better with practice.
I’m hoping to see some of your work published one day, so keep at it and know we’re all rooting for you!
5 Likes
That’s exactly what I do, Katherine is not my real name 
I recently post the prologue of my book on Wattpad. I was hesitant to do so but I did even though I still delay to post the next chapters.
Yeees, I have this terror too. I found my notebook with the first thing I wrote when I was 12 years old. I’m so ashamed of that 
I know I definitely improved my skills, I search a lot, but it’s still hard to show my works for more people than my close friends.
But anyway… Thanks for the advice! I’ll think about everything you said 
2 Likes
Yes but it’s my last year. The pressure about college is intense.
Yes… I think I can do that. I’ll give a look in the Choice-Script and try to start something.
Oh, thanks! That means a lot to me 
I’ll consider this much more now with all the advices.
2 Likes
I have no computer only an cheap Android phone with internet access. I’d love to write a game. But I don’t think I can
3 Likes
That’s sad, dude 
my PC is a piece of shit but it works. I even take the risks in playing some games.
here i thought i was the only one who experienced that, you know i bought a new laptop only to start writing with choicescripts, “This will be easy” I’d thought and then i forgot about the dreaded coding… and most of my ideas that i had, some members has already writing with them,my brain decided to discard the ideas entirely.
and there is also the fact that english is not my native language, some people just couldn’t immerse themselves with the story if the grammar is bad, I afraid to write because of it.
4 Likes
Same issue here! But like @SimplyUnknown said, we could ask someone to translate it. What’s your native language?
But… the coding is also easy :<
As long as you grasp the rule of indentation, coding in CS is like Swooosh swoosh.
1 Like
It’s bahasa Indonesia. i knew there are indonesian around here too… but i don’t know which one lol.
3 Likes
yea… maybe i need to try it out once more. few months ago i did the coding once but… there was lots of error happening and i don’t know what in the world is going on… hahaha.
and perhaps reading the master link for choicescript too. 
1 Like
Cool, I’m Brazilian but I only found one so far here 
3 Likes
I sympathise with being afraid of writing in English.
I find I get a different voice when I write in English. But mostly what concerns me is I always feel my English prose is inadequate—I haven’t written much in English for a few years so normally I’m more coherent than this (lol) but what really bothers me is my English vocabulary isn’t exactly on par with a native speaker, let alone a native speaker who’s a practiced writer. Although I in fact have a larger vocabulary in English than in my native language and I sometimes find forming sentences easier in English that when I write in my native language I’m in fact translating back mentally from English, I still feel “safer” somehow writing in my native language. Perhaps because there are few non-native speakers and I feel I have a “right” over the language and I’m free to use awkward prose and simple words.
Reading-wise I pretty much only read in English, and sometimes before I write in my native language I need to reread my own work or some translated works to get reacquainted to how the language flows. My readers however seem to never notice anything beyond the characters and only rarely comment on my prose when it’s particularly good. I’m definitely character-driven when it comes to developing my stories; I always have characters designed way before I come up with any plot.
And as for plot development, I use Excel. I divide the story according to the Three Acts theory and decide the plot points, and then divide the in-between further into smaller segments and write out one-line summaries of each 1.5k~3k words segment, and then write the story part by part, because I believe in having one small “turn” every 1.5k words or so and one bigger one every 3k words so that there’s always suspense and tension.
5 Likes
You’ll never know until ada yang menunjukkan dirinya.
3 Likes
Yeah, I think I’ve seen her one or two times around here I hope to see more, I feel a little out of place. Is not for nothing that took me a year to post the first time
3 Likes