So NeS is having another sort of bar fight again, except replace "bar" with "epic wedding hall" and keep an eye out for Godzilla. See for yourself, if you wish:

http://forums.massassi.net/vb3/showthread.php?p=812914#post812914

Have at it, people!

(Post in the NeS thread, not here, duh).

As an incentive, I'll take the first 5 people who post and draw whatever it is they posted.

Ex. If the first person posts "I climb on Godzilla and use him to step on the hapless people below me," I'll draw you, on Godzilla, stepping on the hapless people.

I am an art major, so this incentive should have SOME merit.

*pity bump*

tis all very exciting, folks. Get er done.

still a script, still don't care

Paraphrase: "I dun writ gud".

more like "You dun writ gud." The thing reads like a bloody IRC chat log.

You're more than welcome to write in a different format, Jon`C. We write that way because it's much faster.

So excuses: zero!

But see, it's not fun to read. Who wants to be a part of something that has little entertainment value.

Seriously, most of the ISB threads give me a headache. I've tried to wade through some of the stories, but it gives me literal pain. Writing like that discourages real participation.

The reason I don't like to read the ISB threads is that it seems like I'm missing a whole bunch of stuff I need to be able to understand them..

That, and I don't really enjoy the style of roleplaying used, focussing mostly on dialogue. It gets hard to read when I *do* want to get into it.

Is it possible you're just not really into fiction? You don't have to participate, and artistic merit is certainly subjective, but good grief..."discourages real participation"? The thread's been going for like seven years.

There's some truth to that.. That's why you put Geb and CM on IM, and then if you're writing something that's got backstory you can ask them. Really, to get into it, you only need to read the character sheets of the main 10 - 12 characters, the updates page, and then about 2 pages worth of story. Then if you want to go back later and read up you can. But you don't really need to know every piece of history that's gone on in the NeS to participate.

Even so, reading 10-12 character sheets requires a LOT of motivation, and the "script" criticism is legitimate--both are big factors in why it's so difficult to recruit for the thing

Writing for the main story and writing for these random bits are totally different.

You don't need to know anything more than what has already been posted at the top of this thread to post in this brawl.

I should also mention that when I began writing for NeS, I didn't read a single post before mine. I simply introduced my character, and it was slowly drawn into the story over time.

Finally, I totally disagree with the script criticism. It's far quicker and easier to write in this script format than it is to attempt to maintain a specific novel style of writing. Most of this is due to the large number of characters we have in this story, and the large discussions inbetween them all. It can quickly become confusing what is going on. Also, on the topic of having a dialog-focused writing style... NeS, in my opinion, is by nature a dialog-focused story. And regardless, the action/narrative portions of the story are written in a novel style anyway.

But anyway, NeS isn't set in any path. If you want to try something new, go ahead. There isn't any set rules, only guidelines. You can choose to accept or ignore those guidelines as you wish. It's not like Geb or I own the thread.

Well you don't really even have to put a lot of time into reading the character sheets.. Simply skim over them a bit. *shrug*

And I like the script style too. Makes things way easier, and if you've got the imagination, it's like watching a play or a movie, rather than being like reading a book. For me it means that I can read it much faster. Plus the dialogue's pretty funny usually.

uh huh, that's so much better and easier to follow.

No. The reason you guys use this style of writing is because you're too lazy to seek out the quotation mark keys. To have a two-participant conversation in "novel-style" writing you don't need to do any more work than you did above. In fact, sometimes, it's even less. The only thing you might have to do is toss in a description of a person's tone or gesticulations or what-have-you. This is preferable to, say, sarcasm tags which I rightfully assume you have used at some point.

I cannot participate because I know nothing about the story. I can't read the story you have written because you have chosen the laziest, sloppiest, least aesthetically-pleasing manner in which to write it. I could cheat and read the character sheets, but that still wouldn't tell me what's happening at the immediate moment. No, I would have to read double-spaced IRC chat logs to get that.

To summarize, no part about the NES is fun for anybody who hasn't been participating in it from the beginning for these two reasons: 1.) Nobody has any clue what's going on, and 2.) Nobody wants to read or write in that atrocious, lazy, sloppy, disgusting, undescriptive style (which, itself, greatly exacerbates #1).

While you neglected the point that most conversations are NOT two-participant, that's your opinion. Not everyone shares your opinion. Perhaps you should try writing and see for yourself?

As much as it pains me, I agree with Jonk. It's difficult to follow your story, and the lack of narrative makes the plot seem very tedious and unapproachable.

Ugh, never mind.

That's why...it's an opinion.

I enjoy reading it and have a clue as to what is going on, and the story had been going for 5 years before I even came to this place.

And theres no way in hell that the ISB could be run in a novel-like format. It would be about 20 bajillion times more confusing trying to have a large conference in a novel style with 20 characters at once. More Inverted Comma than story.

Teehee. I should make a post at some point now with them in Internet-land.



Actually, we've used it mostly because it's tradition. Perhaps the people who first started writing it did it out of laziness, and I won't argue that we're not lazy ourselves (or at least myself), but the primary reason is because most of the writers feel it's how NeS should be written. I've even recently proposed to the other writers about trying a more traditional narrative-novel style writing, and the responses were generally against the idea. My primary goal is that the writers enjoy writing, and unfortunately, that comes at the cost of roughness. I always wondered what NeS would be like if it was given a good editing.

You also seem to inply though that writing in a script-format is bad. Script-format, however, is a very legitimate style with a specific purpose -- it is written to be performed. Would you say that Shakespeare's plays are sloppy? Is every script-writer a poor writer? In any case, considering the fourth-wall nature of NeS, a script format is appropriate for its themes and the like.



First off, as stated before, this particular thread is asking for people to write "random tidbits" that is different than writing for the main story. What I've asked from everyone is to post as if they were posting on a bar fight thread, except instead of a bar, it's an epic wedding hall. Zecks, Vinny, and Steven are some "non-writers" that have already done a more than wonderful job of contributing.

Second, you're right -- writing for NeS is very difficult to get involved in from a traditional writer's standpoint. The thread is absurdly long, and is only getting longer. The plot is complicated and full of plot-holes. Trying to jump in could involve a disturbing amount of effort, with no guarentees that what you write will be noticed or accepted, and even if it is, other writers may write stuff that goes against your plans and efforts as a whole. That's why I do my best to try and make writing for the NeS as inviting as I can.

For writing on the NeS, the only "writing skills" you need are enough so that your post is readable, not perfect spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc. Previous reading is NOT required, and it's only even SUGGESTED that new writers read the last page or so, not necessarily to know what's going on as much as to get a sense of the style, themes, etc. Most writers haven't read anything previous to what they've written, and is partially why there are plotholes abound. Fortunately, plot isn't important -- plotholes ADD to the story, and Plot is one of the major villains. The character sheets are there SPECIFICALLY to make things easier, to cheat, NOT as what writers are forced to work with. And, most importantly, I try to make it clear that I, and any other willing writer, will do our best to be anyone's personal, interactive encyclopedia, so that you DON'T have to go digging through the story to find out what's going on, who's where, etc. etc.

When it comes down to it, though, new people need to be less of a writer and more of a player, and an adventurous one at that.



There are very few people who have written since the beginning -- I'm the only one who's written since the beginning, and the majority of writers never wrote for anything in the first half of NeS. I'm also not blind to the difficulty of gaining new writers, and I realize it is in part because of #1 and #2. It's why I've tried to include stuff like what I'm attempting in this thread -- the "random tidbit" writing that's familiar and flexible for most people. I'm hoping that stuff like this can get people to give the NeS just that extra little examination, and perhaps ignite an interest in them to participate.

I am, of course, open to other ideas. If anyone has any ideas (besides turning the "default" writing style from script style to more narrative-novel style, emphasis on "default" as there's no required writing style), plesae speak up!

Crash the wedding, shag the cake.

[quote=Lord Kuat]But see, it's not fun to read. Who wants to be a part of something that has little entertainment value.[/quote]



I agree with Lord Kuat on both points, and trust me, I am quite very much into fiction.

I don't see what the fuss is, have none of you sat down and read a script or screenplay before?

I guess what everyone is trying to say here is that you need a lot of initiative to sit down and read through enough of it for it to make starting sense for most people to bother.

I have, but I don't think you lot understand what a screenplay is actually for. It's a general guideline for performing a stage or film production, under the guidance of a director. Actions are very loosely defined. There is next to no description at all. It is not a fun read and it is not meant to be a fun read. It's a manual for making a movie.

So here's my question to you: Would you rather watch Back to the Future or read the script for Back to the Future? Would you rather watch Hamlet performed by a troupe or read Hamlet? Would you rather read Lord of the Rings or read the rough draft Tolkien jotted down on a bar napkin in Paris? Would you rather play Doom or read Doom's design document?

Please answer without drawing another blithe comparison between yourself and Shakespeare.

I was like that at first, but then I just jumped in with no real understanding of what was going on. Actually, I'm still not sure what's going on, but I do enjoy writing for it when I get the time. >.> That's just my opinion.

*draws another blithe comparison between myself and Shakespeare!*

Personally, I would rather read a script for Back to the Future, read Hamlet, read Tolkien's rough draft, and read Doom's design document. However, I am strange and like this stuff, and I agree with your point, at least to a certain extent. I still don't think scripts are as horrid as you make them out to be. Their primary or usual purpose may be as more of a manual than a final product, but I'm pretty sure it's legitimate enough as a written form to be read as it is.