Non-threaded

Forums » Newbie Central » Read Thread

Introduce yourself and get to know the community.

Arising from the dead- Hello!

4 years ago

Hi, I created this account several years ago but never did much. Just thought it would be weird if I started posting and stuff without a proper re-introduction. Maybe I'll do more this time around. :)

On an unrelated note, are there any newbie mistakes in writing (or the CYS site) that I should try and avoid? 

Arising from the dead- Hello!

4 years ago

A common writing mistake is not doing dialogue punctuation correctly. There is actually a site article about it now, so reading it is worthwhile (even if just to confirm you are doing it right, if you already are).

Dialogue Punctuation article link.

Other than that, when writing branching narratives, things tend to get out of hand rather easily, which means starting small is generally encouraged (if you lack prior experience). Otherwise, just be mindful of the scope if you do go for an epic right away (but be warned that this is generally unsuccessful).

For the site, you just want to keep in mind that only finished works should be published. If you want to share unfinished stuff you can set the storygame to sneak preview, which will allow people to access it without it being published. Good way to get feedback.

Other than that, if you annoy someone they'll likely let you know, so just learn from it and you should be fine. That is, of course, assuming you don't do something extra stupid that warrants an immediate ban, but judging by this post of yours, I am hopeful that you won't (so this last part shouldn't be too much of a concern for you).

Regardless, welcome back from the dead. Enjoy what time you've got now.

Arising from the dead- Hello!

4 years ago
Welcome back.

As for the newbie mistakes, please avoid all of them.

Arising from the dead- Hello!

4 years ago

Welcome back Wattwobbles. 

Arising from the dead- Hello!

4 years ago

Nice to meet you, wattwobbles.  Looking forward to reading your work! 

 

Arising from the dead- Hello!

4 years ago
Oh look it's another weeb.

The big ones are don't put up an unfinished story, and if your story is bad enough it gets unpublished by the site, don't keep republishing it. And don't annoy Endmaster.

Really, just that last one. There's a lot of other little things such as not putting forced restarts in your story instead of End Game links, and so on, but they're all recoverable from.

Usually it's also advised to take some time reading and commenting on a few other stories to get an idea of what readers like or don't like before diving into your own, and to start with a smaller story until you get the hang of the editor and what it takes to actually finish these. People always want to jump into epics and get overwhelmed.