mizal, The Master Scrivener
Member Since
5/5/2011
Last Activity
6/19/2019 8:03 PM
EXP Points
Post Count
10606
Storygame Count
10
Duel Stats
1
win
/
6
losses
Order
Lauded Sage
Commendations
NOTICE: I can only access the internet on my phone right now so response times to messages and beta reading requests will be even slower than usual for the time being.
Sagely advice for the children: Here and here and all over this wonderful internet only a single Google search away, you may find explanations of correct grammar and punctuation usage in English. That and proper spelling (most writing programs and even the editor on the site itself helpfully include a spell checker!) are the bare minimum expected of anyone posting a story on the site. If you're not willing to do that much, you're not remotely serious about writing. And if you don't care about what you write, then we don't care to read it. So don't bother.
Rating and reviewing other people's stories is still an excellent use of your time however and a way to accumulate points and respect on the site even if you don't write. It may also teach you a thing or two about writing and especially writing and structuring CYOAs, which are a bit of a different beast than a standard story. Reading books, and thinking about them on the meta level in the sense of the the things the author chose to include and how they were introduced and why is also a good exercise in sharpening your skills. Reading bad books and being able to identify why they're bad, even better! Read books above your designated 'age level' or whatever as often as possible. That whole system was created by people who think you're stupid and want to keep you that way. You'll never get better at anything unless you push and challenge yourself.
Sagely advice for newb authors: Read the articles. Especially the ones on the advanced editor and scripting. A basic knowledge of variables and scripting will save you untold headaches in the future and streamline the whole process. Learn what $DEST is for and how to toggle a variable within link if nothing else.
A regular story is challenging enough if you're serious about doing it properly. Meanwhile a CYOA is an exponentially expanding story on steroids and crack. You MUST make plans ahead of time about what you're doing and where it's going or it will get away from you completely.
Always back up your work. If nothing else, make a copy of anything you write just before hitting the button to save it. Glitches have been known to happen and a page can time out if it sits too long.
Many of the veteran authors here do all their writing in a separate program that can be more easily backed up and paste it over to the site when they're finished. Your words often flow easier when you tackle one path at a time and then go back to add in branches, treating each major path like its own complete story with variations within it.
Although, there are many ways to structure a CYOA and you may found a different system than the one described above works best for you, one thing that's important for any story to be satisfying is that it's structured like a story.
Behold the sacred precepts of S T R U C T U R E in all their simple, straightforward glory:
Spelling it out (for the blindies and others) in order for a story to BE a story you need to start off by establishing your setting, important characters, and the conflict they'll be up against. Smaller obstacles leading up to the major one will need to be overcome, and the protagonist will usually try and fail to deal with whatever the main source of conflict is, or it will be revealed to be more powerful or dangerous than believed. (Remember, an easily won victory is a boring one.) This leads into the climax, the point of greatest suspense where the stakes are highest and the characters have everything to lose. Once THAT'S overcome, the story enters a period of falling action where the tension winds back down and the fallout of resolving the conflict plays out. Finally, the resolution or epilogue where the themes or larger lessons meant to be learned might be reflected back on, and everything is wrapped up leaving a sense of closure for the readers and/or characters.
Finally, a quote, since that is apparently a thing we do:
"Your reviews for both the published storygames and the works in both the creative corner and writing workshop have undeniably helped countless users. Your site presence is a boon for the site by acting like a fiery furnace. You'll roast the worthless rabble and refine what's left.
If you never would've discovered this odd yet charming corner of the web, then CYS would be missing a beneficial and integral part of its very identity." --WouldntItBeNice
"I love bird vore." --Cricket
Sagely advice for the children: Here and here and all over this wonderful internet only a single Google search away, you may find explanations of correct grammar and punctuation usage in English. That and proper spelling (most writing programs and even the editor on the site itself helpfully include a spell checker!) are the bare minimum expected of anyone posting a story on the site. If you're not willing to do that much, you're not remotely serious about writing. And if you don't care about what you write, then we don't care to read it. So don't bother.
Rating and reviewing other people's stories is still an excellent use of your time however and a way to accumulate points and respect on the site even if you don't write. It may also teach you a thing or two about writing and especially writing and structuring CYOAs, which are a bit of a different beast than a standard story. Reading books, and thinking about them on the meta level in the sense of the the things the author chose to include and how they were introduced and why is also a good exercise in sharpening your skills. Reading bad books and being able to identify why they're bad, even better! Read books above your designated 'age level' or whatever as often as possible. That whole system was created by people who think you're stupid and want to keep you that way. You'll never get better at anything unless you push and challenge yourself.
Sagely advice for newb authors: Read the articles. Especially the ones on the advanced editor and scripting. A basic knowledge of variables and scripting will save you untold headaches in the future and streamline the whole process. Learn what $DEST is for and how to toggle a variable within link if nothing else.
A regular story is challenging enough if you're serious about doing it properly. Meanwhile a CYOA is an exponentially expanding story on steroids and crack. You MUST make plans ahead of time about what you're doing and where it's going or it will get away from you completely.
Always back up your work. If nothing else, make a copy of anything you write just before hitting the button to save it. Glitches have been known to happen and a page can time out if it sits too long.
Many of the veteran authors here do all their writing in a separate program that can be more easily backed up and paste it over to the site when they're finished. Your words often flow easier when you tackle one path at a time and then go back to add in branches, treating each major path like its own complete story with variations within it.
Although, there are many ways to structure a CYOA and you may found a different system than the one described above works best for you, one thing that's important for any story to be satisfying is that it's structured like a story.
Behold the sacred precepts of S T R U C T U R E in all their simple, straightforward glory:
Spelling it out (for the blindies and others) in order for a story to BE a story you need to start off by establishing your setting, important characters, and the conflict they'll be up against. Smaller obstacles leading up to the major one will need to be overcome, and the protagonist will usually try and fail to deal with whatever the main source of conflict is, or it will be revealed to be more powerful or dangerous than believed. (Remember, an easily won victory is a boring one.) This leads into the climax, the point of greatest suspense where the stakes are highest and the characters have everything to lose. Once THAT'S overcome, the story enters a period of falling action where the tension winds back down and the fallout of resolving the conflict plays out. Finally, the resolution or epilogue where the themes or larger lessons meant to be learned might be reflected back on, and everything is wrapped up leaving a sense of closure for the readers and/or characters.
Finally, a quote, since that is apparently a thing we do:
"Your reviews for both the published storygames and the works in both the creative corner and writing workshop have undeniably helped countless users. Your site presence is a boon for the site by acting like a fiery furnace. You'll roast the worthless rabble and refine what's left.
If you never would've discovered this odd yet charming corner of the web, then CYS would be missing a beneficial and integral part of its very identity." --WouldntItBeNice
"I love bird vore." --Cricket
Trophies Earned
Storygames
You are a man on a mission. The cats, they must be stacked.
A puzzling math and logic game I made just to put some of the scripting practice I've been doing to use. Have fun and please let me know if you encounter any bugs.
Should be solvable by middle schoolers, or those with same basic level of intelligence as a middle schooler.
A puzzling math and logic game I made just to put some of the scripting practice I've been doing to use. Have fun and please let me know if you encounter any bugs.
Should be solvable by middle schoolers, or those with same basic level of intelligence as a middle schooler.
Orbiting a barren planetoid in a system full of nothing just past the edge of the frontier, The Last Outpost is just another refueling station. Strategically important, true, but on a routine stop you never expected to spend longer than a couple hours there, let alone a couple of days fighting for your life...
There are five epilogues, but some may be difficult to discover. Note that actions have consequences, but not always immediate ones. (And if you just need an End Game link, go play around with the probe.)
There are five epilogues, but some may be difficult to discover. Note that actions have consequences, but not always immediate ones. (And if you just need an End Game link, go play around with the probe.)
I have no idea why I wrote this. All I can say in my defense is that it seemed like a good idea at the ti--wait no that's a lie, I said, repeatedly that this was stupid and shameful every time I mentioned working on it.
The truth is I needed to publish something before the end of the year and there is CLEARLY a burning need for wolf stories in the psyche of children using the internet. But then they write them badly, or make their wolves behave like clans of cats. So here is a simple straightfoward story of a young wolf leaving his pack in search of a better life. Maybe no one will ever feel the need to write another one now, or if nothing else maybe this will give them ideas for how to do it in slightly more minimum-standards-meeting ways.
The truth is I needed to publish something before the end of the year and there is CLEARLY a burning need for wolf stories in the psyche of children using the internet. But then they write them badly, or make their wolves behave like clans of cats. So here is a simple straightfoward story of a young wolf leaving his pack in search of a better life. Maybe no one will ever feel the need to write another one now, or if nothing else maybe this will give them ideas for how to do it in slightly more minimum-standards-meeting ways.
A short, educational piece. Please remain sensitive and respectful in the comment section. (I'd hate to have to report you to an admin for bullying me.)
(DO NOT READ if you're at all easily offended or lacking in a sense of humor. There's nothing graphic at all in here, but seriously, I still cannot stress it enough, this story is not for you.)
Dedicated to the good people of COG.
(DO NOT READ if you're at all easily offended or lacking in a sense of humor. There's nothing graphic at all in here, but seriously, I still cannot stress it enough, this story is not for you.)
Dedicated to the good people of COG.
A compilation of some little known facts about the solar system, as well as the debunking of a few myths.
In addition to the scientific explanations, there's a small story dramatizing it all.
Hopefully young readers will find this fun as well as educational. :)
(Might not be the greatest story ever written, but consider this: it got me 200 points.)
In addition to the scientific explanations, there's a small story dramatizing it all.
Hopefully young readers will find this fun as well as educational. :)
(Might not be the greatest story ever written, but consider this: it got me 200 points.)
It doesn't matter what they say...
...and the squirrels. Sort of.
Written in six hours, for no other reason than to avoid consignment to the SHAME pit after my other Romance contest entry didn't want to cooperate.
Written in six hours, for no other reason than to avoid consignment to the SHAME pit after my other Romance contest entry didn't want to cooperate.
A tale told in verse. A text from your sister requesting a pick up from a party leads to a night of strangeness.
Inspired by Bucky's ballad contest. Though...I wouldn't call this a ballad. I'm not sure what I'd call it, actually, other than exceedingly stupid, and fun to write.
(Don't pay any attention to the scores, they're just for me to track which endings reviewers get.)
HATE.
THE PURITY AND INTENSITY OF MY HATE IS LIKE A THOUSAND MERCILESS, UNQUENCHABLE SUNS.
AND YET, I ONLY NEED ONE...
THE PURITY AND INTENSITY OF MY HATE IS LIKE A THOUSAND MERCILESS, UNQUENCHABLE SUNS.
AND YET, I ONLY NEED ONE...
When the weather is fine, you've been coming to this grove to drink from the pool for centuries now. Today, you meet a stranger and hear a story that changes all that...
A fairy tale adventure.
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: There's a heavily scripted scene that due to time constraints I didn't have the opportunity to thoroughly test. You'll know it when you see it. In addition to a save game link beforehand, I've provided the option to skip it altogether should you encounter problems. A PM describing those problems would also be greatly appreciated as I'll be revisiting this game once the crushing weight of December has passed.]
A fairy tale adventure.
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: There's a heavily scripted scene that due to time constraints I didn't have the opportunity to thoroughly test. You'll know it when you see it. In addition to a save game link beforehand, I've provided the option to skip it altogether should you encounter problems. A PM describing those problems would also be greatly appreciated as I'll be revisiting this game once the crushing weight of December has passed.]
Aphrodite's Orphan
unpublished
,
coauthor
A teenage girl living on a Venus out of 1930's Pulp Science Fiction must search the planet with her robot tutor to find the killers of her parents.
Cyberpunkgame
unpublished
,
coauthor
Immortality kills.
In the independent state of New York, the corp rules with an iron fist, You are a lowly freelancer hoping to strike big, but little did you know, you would strike this big.
Survive greedy corporate scumbags, cultists, Androids and more.
Articles Written
CYS Forum Advice and EtiquetteA modernized guide to the forums. The path to internet popularity and happiness, and a few CYS specific do's and don'ts.
Recent Posts
Ogre's Boobs on 6/19/2019 8:34:52 AMWell, Joe Q public is traditionally understood to be pretty fuckin lazy and dumb. Can't do much about that. Filtering stories takes exactly one click.
Ogre's Boobs on 6/18/2019 11:54:27 PM
Who could've guessed we'd all have so much to say about Ogre's Boobs?
Ogre's Boobs on 6/18/2019 11:34:53 PM
We have the extension that gives the whole site a facelift, and it'd be nice to eventually incorporate the features there into the base site, but it's a slow process. @Killa_Robot already made a major bug fix and is planning some kind of final solution to RTE problem, but it's a matter of waiting for the owner to push it through.
'Modernizing' otherwise just isn't going to happen aside from a site member unaffiliated with the owner creating a new entirely new site and editor from scratch and hosting the server. It was a difficult process even getting Killa set up to do anything to begin with. As far as I understand it, modern computers just don't know what the hell is going on with a website this old.
Authors already have their own pages where all their stories go, that is what profiles are.
I don't see a benefit to complicating the process of writing and reading. The quality games aren't difficult to find, you have to deliberately scroll down quite a ways to find the meh ones when searching by rating, and the really terrible ones are removed in under a week. New games are obviously a crapshoot but, emphasis on the 'obvious' part. Readers know they're rolling the dice if the rating hasn't shown up yet.
Anyhow, the changes suggested to restrict who can read what seem counterproductive when the thing being complained about is a lack of ratings.
Ogre's Boobs on 6/18/2019 9:41:36 PM
I really expected more people to get involved with that tbh. Everyone likes worthless e-peen points, right? Rating stories is already the easiest way to get it, and I'm making it doubly easy four times in a row. I'm not sure what else I can do a far as 'pushing for these things and making it a challenge'.
Only people who are involved in the forums or Discord are going to notice a contest on the forum of course, but those are the only people who care about points or their reputation on the site to begin with.
I fo think some level of active community involvement is definitely key to getting people beyond those just browsing the site at random to check out your stuff. CYS has a very short social memory. I've had people who joined in the last year have to ask who Steve is. LOL.
Only people who are involved in the forums or Discord are going to notice a contest on the forum of course, but those are the only people who care about points or their reputation on the site to begin with.
I fo think some level of active community involvement is definitely key to getting people beyond those just browsing the site at random to check out your stuff. CYS has a very short social memory. I've had people who joined in the last year have to ask who Steve is. LOL.
Ogre's Boobs on 6/18/2019 4:39:51 PM
I'd like to see more reviews too, but ultimately there's no way to force them and only a fraction of the site's users care about points/have any idea the forum exists/even have accounts at all.
And while I absolutely understand the desire for more readers, I kind of feel like the people complaining about it haven't tried posting fiction on any other writing sites. I have in the past paid money to use a website where it was considered outrageous entitlement to expect to receive even four comments not half as detailed as those that are routinely posted here. (unless I was willing to spend hours a day doing slam bam thank you ma'am style reviews for currency from other authors, or else fork over more money to advertise each individual story...)
Meanwhile on the normal sites used by the masses, you just get ignored unless you stoop as low as Wibn, writing fanfiction and getting made demands of by morbidly obese weebs.
Race traitor and the jailed teenager. on 6/18/2019 4:29:21 PM
Can anyone figure out what DarkAuthor is trying to say?
Ogre's Boobs on 6/18/2019 12:15:43 AM
Escape From Prison is unpublished now. It hadn't had enough players yet to get a rating until I left one this morning.
I have no idea why it was on that list. I don't understand the formula behind most of the rating/ranking stuff and I have a hunch it's all pretty broken. Just one more reason not to pay attention to it.
When Bill puts up part two, I'll feature Giri Minor.
CYS: Vault Stories! on 6/17/2019 2:45:16 PM
Lol, this was a good one. Like I said this thread reminds me of the old Villains/Kingdom of CYStia stuff before everyone got too burned out and lazy for them and half the cast was rotated out, and this story would've been a good fit for any of those at their peak.
For being a relative noob, all the characterization is spot on.
Why Are You Gay? (Pride Month) on 6/17/2019 2:26:40 PM
And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
But they who shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
At least Jesus understood the concept of, "Keep it simple, stupid," and didn't feel the need to write a bunch of erotic fanfictions to keep the interest of horny neckbeards.
But they who shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
At least Jesus understood the concept of, "Keep it simple, stupid," and didn't feel the need to write a bunch of erotic fanfictions to keep the interest of horny neckbeards.
Why Are You Gay? (Pride Month) on 6/17/2019 2:15:07 PM
Always kind of amazed there aren't more incels deciding to become Muslims and then graduating to suicide bomber. They all want to kill themselves already and the entire religion was basically designed from the ground up for affirming and fulfilling all their cringiest fantasies about women.