Thanks for the link stimarco. I have added a little description below its entry, but if you want it changed, just let me know.

Universalis

Not sure if this really belongs here, but it seems to me like it'd be a great tool for creating story ideas, whether intended for game use or just as stories. It's basically a collaborative storytelling game, with mechanics to resolve disagreements between players, as well as the ability to semi-randomly resolve story conflicts so even the players can be surprised by what happens. It costs money, but it's a lot cheaper than buying several writing books.

Roget's Thesaurus online, free and searchable! :)

Argh, sorry for taking so long to update the list. I thought Sunandshadow was the last person to reply a while back, so when I kept seeing that she was the last one to post a message, I just assumed it was the old one. My bad [smile]

I have added a new section called 'Other useful tools' since the new additions didn't really fit into the rest of the list.

If anyone has anything they would like me to add or has any input on the list, please let me know.

Cheers!

I used to use this one http://www.gamefiction.com.

I am in no way shape or form trying to come off "as a smart person". The creative beliefs I hold most telling and important are the ones I formed way outside the academic arena, I mean, on my own, in my own time, and in my own way.

If I wanted to draw a character, would I spend the whole afternoon studying and reading about other peoples characters? I would think to spend the afternoon actually drawing would be the most effective way to get there, same with character developement. To spend the afternoon reading about the actual writing to be done rather than actually writing is just like the above mentioned drawing example. I mean we could and would need to spend hours of concept drawing, of which will end up in the trash, just to get close to the begining of a final rendered character, alot of unseen work to get there.
Take character, try this, write, I mean write, easy nuff' said, but write for a reason. What do I mean, character, ok, character development. Sit down and wether it be outline, free form, your own special short hand, what ever, and picture this potential character, and write down what you see, lists, of physical traits, mental traits, childhood, Fathers work, Mothers love or lack, and so on and so on, and after a few days, an hour here, there, you will have come to know, really KNOW, who or what this person or thing is, then it will react accordingly to what ever the plot is, it is a fully fleshed out being, via your notes, in conjunction with your mind, and well it was done by writing, and only you will know about the twenty pages of character development you put in, everyone else will think wow so life like. You don't have to be always working on the story to be working on the story, and the work is writing. Believe it or not it is only you who knows who your characters are, not someone else, just step back and take a look, a good long hard look, and log, look, look, they are there. This method worked for Dickens, good enough for us mere mortals. Just like sketches, gotta gett er' done

[Edited by - paul8585 on August 26, 2008 11:52:42 PM]

Quote: Original post by paul8585
If I wanted to draw a character, would I spend the whole afternoon studying and reading about other peoples characters? I would think to spend the afternoon actually drawing would be the most effective way to get there, same with character developement.

Hmm, well when I go to draw a character, I spend an hour or two looking for source images on google image search, then print them out so I can look at them all at once while drawing. It's not an issue of practicing drawing the character when you are in the design phase. I know how to draw characters in general, just like I know how to write them in general. The problem is figuring out exactly what I want to draw/ write. And the easiest way to figure out what I want is to look at others' stuff and say "this reminds me of what I want to do, that is the opposite of what I want to do, wouldn't it be cool to combine this element from here and that element from there, what if I did the same type of thing as this example but with a totally different tone..."

When governments want to know the true character of any individual, they observe, and keep notes on all they observe, Mother, Father, school everything, then based upon those notes they have the most complete picture of the characters, well, character, and what that character might do in any given situation. Dickens IS the best ever at, and is known for his picture perfect character development. Dickens would write pages upon pages of these character documents, he would as well stand before an enormous mirror, and become the character, in speech, walk, everything, then take these physical manifestations, and use them to great effect in his characters, he knew who these characters were before he would ever write a single verse incorporating them into his stories. Dickens is to written character development, as Kirby is to drawn character development. Process is internal, reference is external, at some point if your gonna write, gotta write! I mean like drawing the body there are basic principles, and one must draw, draw, draw to hone these principles, same with writing, a shadow drawn on the inner thigh, is like a portion of a written description, it is in the general area, maybe not perfect, but your mind has already moved onto the torso, just as the writer now explores, via writing, the torso as well, and so on. Now when the artist comes back to the thigh at a later date he see's the shadow not quite right, out comes the eraser, and that shadow now a little better, just like the written torso, now we see it a bit more clearly and can describe it a bit more effective with different words, words are pencil strokes, and the final product is words built upon words upon words. The more a writer writes, the better they become at writing, the more a drawer draws, etc... Just try what I am suggesting Shadow, give it a try, or not.

I never liked Dickens' characters, lol. But of course I do do character development exercises, actually write stories with characters in them, then go back and revise the story to make it better. I'm not a detail person though, I've always been lousy at observation of pretty much everything. I'm a theory person instead, I start from a a basic archetype and then build detail on top of it, rather than starting from observed details and trying to guess or ignoring the pattern underneath them. Fortunately as Rudyard Kipling said, "There are nine and sixty ways/Of constructing tribal lays/And every single one of them is right." (With the caveat, it's right IF it actually results in a half-decent story, I've seen a few methods that just don't work for anyone.)

Don't like Dickens characters? I guess you can lead a man to knowledge, but you can't make him think.

Above is a joke in good spirit, exercise is close, but exercises prepare for, this is a way to do.

I read on another post you were looking for a writer, you, who does not like Dickens characters, in charge of writers, say it aint so.