Disturbing the balance.

[MadHatter]

I find myself in a bit of a predicament. I cant seem to balance between playtime on a certain character and writing about him. I have come to immensely enjoy my new dunmer mage and before I knew it, I've reached level 10... stopping to think to myself "Now how on god's green earth am I going to write all that?" Anyone else find that large gap in the balance of gameplay vs. writing? How do you handle it?

 

[Lady Imp]

I take notes. I use Microsoft OneNote....it's wonderful, I have a virtual binder (if you will) set up, where I can put in any and all research I do, plus have tabs for gameplay notes, I will quickly bust out a sentence or two at frequent intervals. I type a lot faster than I write, so it's easier for me, and it just keeps everything so organised. When I go back to write, I have my notes, all neatly organised and easy to read. Most versions of Microsoft Office come with it, I recommend checking it out. I use the crap out of it for school, as well.

One other thing that I've done is I've had to let go of the idea of chronicling my character's every exact move and step. Any gaps in my notes, and I make stuff up. Makes for a much more interesting story.

 

[Neriad13]

It's extremely rare that I'll write something entirely based on gameplay. Gaming and writing are in fact two nearly-separate spheres for me. I'll certainly draw ideas from things that have happened to me ingame but aside from my character journal, I will never, ever write something purely based on gameplay. A story with a beginning, middle and end has always been something that comes from within for me. As for that feeling of being overwhelmed by having too much to write about, might I suggest that you start with the bit that is the most interesting to you and not worry about getting every single detail of your entire game down?

 

[Cordelia]

I started with the characterization developing in my mind -- imagined conversations between my character and a follower during the walks/runs across the face of Skyrim --, and from there I found moments that leapt out as pure narrative, narrative existing beyond that of the scripted Skyrim events and quests. In such moments, I'd crack open a Word file (or actually, in my case, an OpenOffice document) and type up five or so hundred words -- a flash fiction snapshot of the emotion or event that inspired me while playing.

While that is a technique I still use, I'm also a writer -- that is to say, professionally, and at my core, I am a genre fiction writer. I've spent my whole life writing and perfecting my craft, and one of the skills to which I seem predisposed, is the retention of many complex story threads and details in the absence of detailed notes. I do still take many detailed notes, and it may in fact be that a life time of taking such care with note-taking that my mind developed a greater affinity for recall, but a lot of my character's story exists purely in my mind. I've occasionally wondered how it will go when I finally (any day now) sit down and start writing the story -- will I remember emotions or dialogue? Will I remember a sequence of events? --, but I don't feel it makes much of an imapct on the narrative in the end; as long as you have a clear and consistent character concept (alliteration ftw) in mind, then whatever you don't remember you can re-fabricate as needed. Ultimately, you're the one who came up with the character and the personal events that may or may not coincide with those depicted in the game, so it's you who decides what is and isn't right for your character, and what is and isn't included in the story you write.

All this is to say that when the mood to write takes you, allow it. When the mood to play takes you, allow it. Don't worry too much about balancing one against the other. You don't strictly need to play Skyrim to write a good fan-fic for it, but as the character is essentially your fabrication, you also may not need to write out every idea, conversation, event in their personaly history, or observation they have while you play. As long as you keep the personality intact when you do write, the events will still feel natural and maintain continuity.

So don't stress, friend. ^__^ Write as you will, play as you will, it all works out.

 

[Rissy James]

I don't know if this will help you, but I recently started a new character for the sole purpose of organizing the quest-lines I want to visit and a timeline for the story I had in mind - which is very, very complicated.

So I have been keeping a (semi) detailed travel journal, keeping track of things like arrival and departure times, chosen routes, weather, and side-quests taken (because, let's face it, when you're role-playing a character for the purpose of writing them, you're much more selective of who you help and why).

Of course, this means that I can't PLAY around anyone - strange looks and all.