What is important in a story?

Hey guys!

So, I am working on my first ever story on Episode, and I just wanted to ask what you find important in a story.

Personally, I want a chapter to take 10-15 minutes or so to complete, not to short and not to long. I think it is important not to have to pay 20 gems or so to wear a dress you can´t use again in the story. To be honest I really don´t like any gem choices, the just give away what is the right option and don´t require any skill at all, just money.

Enough rant about gems, I really love something to happen in every episode, it does not have to be about main story but it can be about bonding with characters in the story. I love when a story really leaves you thinking, that is amazing!

My story is drama-ish, it´s about a girl that is haunted by memories from her past and is sure that nobody would understand what she is feeling if she told them. Overall, it is about her trying to trust others with her feelings and I think it could turn out pretty good. So my question is, if you find what I told you about this story interesting, what do you think is important to include in it?

I understand that some may not find this type of stories interesting and if you don´t, I´m fine with that. So please, do not suggest to change the entire storyline just because you don´t like it. But if you have ideas other than that, I would love to hear it!

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Great storytelling is probably the main thing I look at… like, everything including each character, plot device, etc. makes sense and comes together all in the end.

That’s exactly what you explained when you brought up making the characters bond and stuff! And I do find what you said about your story’s plot interesting actually. What kinds of memories has she been through though?

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I think for a story like this, good characters are the dealbreaker here. I’m not exactly sure what route you wish to take the story down in detail. But, I think the important thing here is to make believable characters, each one being unique in their own sense. Obviously, good characters is a must really for most, if not all, stories. With the story you’re talking about, I think you need to work hard on the characters.

Another thing I would do is try to make the main character’s past very mysterious, but slowly give hints or answers to the readers who are questioning their main character’s past. While my story isn’t whatnyours is that I’m currently writing, my character too has a very dark and secretive past. I’ve put a lot of time into thinking her through almost fully, which is something I intend to slowly reveal to the reader. Try to really flush out the past as much as you can. You might not need it to be this huge thing, but think it out enough that you pretty much have it all decided. It’ll help with dropping hints to readers later on.

The last thing I’d probably do in your case is make sure that you have enough elements are your main character’s surrounding to make a story. Sure, the main idea is one with a past that haunts her that she doesn’t want people to know and it’s going to be about building trust with others. But that’s not enough to keep the story afloat. You need to make sure you have enough plot points or elements in between to keep the story going. I’m currently in the process of getting some more short and long term stuff in this regard for my story I’m writing. I have the general overall plot line figured out. But that’s not enough. I have to have things in between to make the story continue and flow. In my opinion, this is the hardest, and most crucial part. When you have an outline, it seems great. But once you get to writing, you’re trying to figure out what to put in between the plot points, figure out pacing, smaller subplots, etc. It’s difficult, but it’s really important. If you don’t have enough interesting or compelling point in between the major plot points, some readers may get bored and decide to stop reading the story. So it’s so important to nail this part.

Other than that, make sure to have choices in it. They don’t all have to be huge choices, but something where the reader gets to decide certain things other than outfits. At least, I look for that in a story. Otherwise, I think that’s really all I have to say about that. Hopefully this didn’t sound too rough. :grimacing: That’s just the advice of give to someone. But I’m not a seasoned vet with stories on here: I’m writing my first one still. But that’s what I’m looking at with my story. Good characters, good plot, and a lot of stuff in between

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Without telling too much, her father died some years ago and she is sure that she could have saved him but missed the chance and that it is all her fault. But in reality, there was nothing she could have done to help him

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Thank you so much for the advice! I am really going to have your points in mind when writing my story. I agree, it is really important to have other plot points and to let the readers decide things that really changes the story. I sometimes replay stories i liked, and it can be pretty boring to see that the story almost never really changes.

Once again, thank you for taking your time and helping me out. It is important to write a story that you would enjoy yourself, but it can also be good if others want to do so to!

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No problem! I like to help my fellow writers out. Have fun with your story!

…and the days upon hours you spend writing them in the script.

One thing I do suggest doing in the script (because this helps me) is to write a sort of rough draft scene with really just directing. I write my entire episode out with a sort of rough draft. And once done, I go back, add animations, do some directing, all that stuff. It just seems to help me write them out easier. I like to have the basic outline of a episode, and then go back in, tweak things, add finer details, the fun stuff like that

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