[Wargamer]

I thought it might be interesting to see what people actually look for in a story. Writers, please post and tell us what you like to write about, and readers, tell us what you think makes a story great to read.

[Yriel of Iyanden]

I would love to say I like to write combat action sequences, but frankly I don't think I can ever do them justice.

I love to write about the in-between battles, the stuff that would probably be going on in a character's mind before or after a battle. For instance, I like to depict the Sarielle character (an Eldar Farseer from Iyanden) as rather mournful of her duties to raise the dead and ask them to continue fighting, given that she's inherited the command of one of the legendary Seers of Iyanden during its prime.

Other characters, like the Scorpion Exarch Kelleron, I see as being brooding and mysterious, perhaps insane by human standards. When we're selecting an army or rolling dice, we see combat prowess, exotic wargear, etc. but there's a psyche involved with why the character is where they are, especially in terms of the Eldar.

Finally- I like to keep a running mental tab of how my games have affected these characters, and the setting they are in. When I make mention of a particular exploit (such as the Mentor's open conflict with the 99th Arcadian Bulldogs) it's in direct reference to a game we've played.

When I'm on the table I'm thinking strategy, like football. When I'm writing, I think of histories and personalities.

[Commander_Vimes]

I really enjoy writing and reading dialouge and humor. I prefer stories that focus on characters and stick with them a while rather than straight up combat. I can write action pretty well, and I think I'm decent at dialouge. My descriptions are pretty lacking though.

[Black Behemoth]

Personally, I enjoy stories that appear tragic throughout the story. Then, at the climax, the luck of the protagonist changes and defeats his enemy, but suffers severe losses (like loss of his best friends and being wounded). I also like to see non-biased action sequences. Having a SPace Marine chapter take no casualties while a Tau cadre is vanquished is incredibly boring. 3/4 of the chapter and 3/4 of the cadre dead with the rest of the troops unable to continue and retreat is something that is both interesting to read and intense.

[major_rawne02]

I actually prefer the opposite. My longstanding characters such as Nurgh'Chazzar and Comrade Scallin or Gnoblar Dave play secondary roles to other minor characters who will fight a gruelling battle with thier sworn enemies only to stumble at the last in a final tragic squad based dual against vastly superior troops where they give thier lives valiantly fighting to the last against a foe they can't hope to best yet can delay while thier comrades carry out thier own objectives...

It is these 'death in the name of brotherhood' roles that I enjoy writing most as I can link with the emotions of the characters more intimately showing thier motivations and thoughts in-depth.

[PrdiG]

I enjoy stories with an intelegant plot and/or a nice battle description, but all from a single character's point of view. It's also important to mix a few funny dialogues in with all the suspense, but not too much, just one funny comment or two, preferably black humor. The dialogues must be interesting aswell.

[Ge. Stankov]

I like to write small scale actions, such as small patrols going out and getting ambushed. I think my story Captain Volgen's Column sums up everything I try to write about. It contains one or two lines of humour, a very small plot, realistic description (Like 10 firewarriors being chewed to death by a storm bolter, and thier guns doing nothing to a front armour Russ.) It is small, yet it massive in the same bredth, as the whole story only describes 2 combat situations. The thing I like best is the fact that one cannot see anywhere in the story the word 'tau'. It only vaguely hints at the enemy: "lines of fire in the air", "blue energy orbs..." It hints at the enemy and gives the realistic impression you're standing on Volgen's shoulder as he is in the tank, and he knows who the enemy is, but doesn't shout on the vox cahnnel: Its tau, its the Tau!!! Thats what I try to write and read.

[Rook Hawkins]

I think Vimes summed it up best for me...character development is key. I think someone who can make you understand a character, like or hate them, and think you know them without ever giving you a signifying discription about them (physical appearances for example) is really worth the title "writer." It takes a special kind of person to sit back, and create a world and events and characters that twinge the imagination and bring life to something that is really nothing more then words on a paper, and bring with that life a reality where the reader can literally feel what's going on in the peice.

Discription is always important to me, although sometimes as a writer, I don't always get too discriptive, and leave somethings for imaginations sake. But I feel that, especially in a universe such as 40k, where there are so many types of peoples and cultures, delving into details is important. Because when you imagine something, especially something grand or on massive scales, you need to let the reader understand exactly what's going on in the work, what the characters are seeing - and especially what their seeing through their eyes - so the reader can better relate.

One of the biggest things I can stress about writing, and is a major flaw for many new writers (and some of the older, more experienced ones as well) is that they tell the reader what's going on. As Michael Stackpole told me once, "SHOW, don't tell." You need to express the characters reactions to things, instead of stating such reactions.


"Sue was cold, as she would have been in any winter night. But it wasn't winter, it was a beautiful mid-summer day. It was not the weather but the knowledge of things to come. Nothing would ever be the same again. She was growing more nervous. Then she fell unconscious to the ground."


Here is a classic example of telling us what the character is feeling. Let's do some quick revisions and see how showing us works better.


"Sue shivered as a swift chill snaked down her spine. Her skin puckered and her hair stood on ends, the sort of thing she'd expect more from a cold winter night. The fact that it was neither winter nor the evening unsettled Sue, and the warm glow of the summer sun did little else but make her shudder more. Her reality shifted, and the world she had known for so long fell away from her, leaving her as a hard empty shell in it's wake. She could see the fall, and as she played the events in her head over and over like an old record player, tears fell over her cheeks and stained the smooth cement ground beneath her. Her heart began to race, faster and faster. She couldn't control anything, she'd completely lost her powers, lost everything, and it wouldn't be long before the aches she felt inside pressed her into blackness."


Granted it's not the best peice of writing, but you can see what exactly is happening here. You can relate to her better in the second addition then the first. You can feel what she's feeling, you can live it.

Anyway, I hope that helps some. Just my two cents.

[Kangaroo Joe]

Mike Stackpole be damned good. Although I generally look for a damned good laugh.

[Subzero]

I like cynical 40k stories, ones that don't use only the good and more obvious sides of races. I don't like stories about righteous Space Marines delivering the Emperor's justice or the Tau uniting all the races of the galaxy to conquer those that wage war against them. Stories that leave the Guardsmen behind on a doomed world because to the Imperium they are nothing or that portray Orks as more kunnin (as they are) are better, in my opinion. Above all else, though, I like stories that have actual people in them, by which I don't mean 3D characters, I mean people like you or me.