Writing and plot tips

[NitoKa]

okay, im super new here and my fic is Fallout Equestria: Reverence of the End. I kinda need tips on how to make it less ameturish and more serious. I dont want to over power my characters or make them too much on the comic relief side. also i need help with fight scenes i've never been good at those

[Noakwolf]

Best advise, play it out like you would in the game. Only it needs to be realistic. Though, there is no problem with being on the comic relief side, just don't let it effect your characters over all personality.

[sargecadet]

I enjoy comic relief in dark stories. However, I believe that characters in the FO:E world shouldn't really exist solely to be funny. Every character should have a purpose that relates to the plot of the story. Comedy should come naturally. Let your characters tell you what they want to say and that's were you should find their humor.

[Mister_Clacky]

I've been given some positive feedback about my action sequences, so I figure I'll try and expound upon my action scene strategies. I'll add the caveat that a lot of the action in the first two chapters of Homecoming come in the form of body horror, which is different from other actions sequences.

I would say the most important thing to do when beginning a horror or action scene is to figure out what emotions you want your readers to feel. The actual actions aren't as important as how they are presented. If you are wanting the scene to rattle the reader, to instill a lingering dread, pace it slow. This is where you go into detail. Write in the shallow breaths, give some internal dialog, make the reader's heart beat in time with the protagonist before you throw him in the grinder. If you want that frantic pace, don't bog it down with detail. Grab the reader by the scrote and drag him through the scene. If you want that reader to feel the panic, you can't take your time telling them the particulars while just slapping on a "suddenly" or two.

Another big part of writing successful action or horror is deciding how much detail to give. In a lot of situations less truly is more. What the reader can't see, what is left to their imagination, can be much more horrifying than anything any of us can put on paper. Play some stuff off-screen when you can. Let the reader write the horror for you sometimes. The Wasteland is a brutal place with murder, rape, and torture always lurking in the shadows. Writing in the FoE universe is more than just throwing horror upon horror on the characters, don't desensitize your audience!

I feel I may have strayed from the scope of your request, but it is late and I am prone to rambling. I hope this might help in some way. I'm happy to try and clarify myself if my ranting isn't as coherent as my sleep deprived brain insists it is. Look me up, or chat me up here, I'm always glad to help.

[Konstantin_Kholchev]

Don't take me as some smartass, I just want to ask too. What about third person narration? I know, that first person is better for stories like this, but none of my characters are actually main, they're all well absolutely equal.

[Mister_Clacky]

I find that third person narration worked better for my story. The first three part act is more of a horror story than the traditional FoE action story. The benefit of third person is that you can shift perspective and give the reader more information than the individuals in the story. In first person limited you are stuck with what the perspective character knows. Different authors circumvent this in different ways. Memory orb use is a perfect example of this. It allows a change of perspective while maintaining the first person narrative.

First person is the traditional choice for FoE stories, after all it is the standard set by the original. The strength of first person limited is the connection formed between the reader and the 'main' character. Since the story is told from their limited perspective, you get more access to their thoughts, motivations, and turmoils. Lil'Pip's story of growth, survival, and triumph in the Wasteland grips the reader and pulls them through the narrative. Most FoE fics have a strong central character, a natural perspective for a first person limited narrative. Another benefit is the very nature of a limited narrative. You are only feeding the reader information that main character knows. What if you have an unreliable perspective character? That can be a lot of fun. And there is a natural mystery to it, if your main character doesn't know where Sun Beam was, neither should the reader.

Third person obviously shifts between multiple perspectives. You can have an effective ensemble cast in first person, but third allows you to get inside the head of each perspective. Personally, I'm writing in third person so that I have the ability to give or hide information at will. Third person allows me to cut to a victim's perspective to give information to the reader that will increase the tension in later scenes. If the reader knows that Blunderbuss just got back from murdering a party member and making it look like raiders but the party doesn't then you can manipulate that knowledge to put the reader on edge.

Again, I tend to ramble. So if that doesn't address your question, then I am more than happy to try and expound on it. Hope it helps.