Thursday, May 25, 2017

Studying Authors' Writing Style

I need to create a good method of researching an Author's writing style. here is my draft process:

  1. Google/Search Author's Writing Style
    1. (Needs a list of key words and terms to try)
  2. Dump them all in the Gaming Skills Doc as references for processing. Typically I slowly work my way through them. 
  3. Proceed to draft and model one of the aspects of the storyteller's style.
    Note: I can't get the OVERALL style, I can only comment a piece of the authors style like the blind men and the elephant
    1. Categories tend to follow Pacing. 
      1. Immersion, Setting Expectations. 
      2. Hooks, Building up to Climax, Complications, Escalation of Conflict. Cliff Hangers  
      3. Pivoting, Twists, Deflecting, etc...
      4. Closure.
  4. Sort and Collect a number of Author Styles for evaluation into TRPG storytelling. 


Started on Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. I notice the author works with a lot of complex elements and pleasant distractions. He can hammer at your attention with one two punches of descriptives that lean but filling for your imagination. Then when your attention is saturated he pivots the story into directions that surprise and engage.

When I compare him to my favorite author - Jim Butcher uses more modern memes to embed a lot of meaning with a few words while Christian Cameron uses a lot of athletic, logistic, and military immersive detail to draw my attention.

I have a Hypothesis that Storytellers need to be armed with all the various ways to describe key Interest point. It can be either Logistics, Geometry of Combat, Athletics, Attention, Beauty, Nature, Cities, etc... That one can use the 20rffk to create a methodology of describing one and another, and that some methods can carry over to another field/specialty.

Narrative Combat - describing Combat Geometry, and Physical Movements of Fighting and Time are one of the methodologies I want to help detail.

No comments: