We've covered the Pips World system. Now let's talk about where to start!
There are a few places where writing can commence, so let's work through them!
Writing... A Good Story
This one is obvious, right? You've read the ideas in this guidebook, you have your first pod lined up and ready to go for the first segment, but... how to start actually writing the story? You've got ideas but no firm way to get things going. You stare down at the blank page and all it does is stare back up at you. (Have you ever noticed just how disconcerting it can be to have a blank piece of paper intimidate you?)
Here's an idea - don't worry at this point about writing a good story or getting all the ideas in your head onto the page. Just write something. Make it small - perhaps take your imagined protagonist and write a flash fiction piece featuring that person. Cover a small snippet of their life. Get to know them and the world they live in. Then look at picking a place to start your 'good story'.
Writing... Any Story!
You've read the ideas in this guidebook, you have your first pod lined up and... you don't know what next. No worries! Here's Parz's method - hopefully it'll help you too.
It's a three-step process:
- Observing
- Scribing
- Editing
For Observing, take time to let the ideas in your pod to develop. Let them interact with each other. Allow your mind to think ideas, plot, setting, and a healthy dose of nonsense. (Parz is inclined to say the more ridiculous, the better). Within all that, pay attention to things that catch your fancy and that stick around in your head. Observe the ideas until they resolve into something you're willing to work with. (With time and practice you'll get to a place where you are happier sooner with ideas).
Once you have something that is ready to be written, it's time to actually write it. Parz calls it 'Scribing' - the act of taking the idea in your head and moving it to the page. Whether it's on a data processing platform or fountain pen and notebook (Parz's preference) or anything in between, just write it down. It's tempting to stop for grammar mistakes, spelling, things that are contradictory - the distractions that will get in the way of putting things on paper. Because that's what they are - distractions. Just get things written! Clean them up later.
Once you've got your ideas down, then pay attention to making things better - do the Editing. Whether you do a light edit (for more personal work) or heavy editing (for something that will be published), this is where you find all the parts that aren't working and make them work. Spelling, grammar, that small plot hole that needs an extra sentence or two to close. All of it.
Writing... Anything!!!
You've read the ideas in this guidebook and... you've got nothing.
No worries! Here's an idea:
Write a portal fantasy (like Alice in Wonderland) or an isekai (Japanese for Another World). It makes sense, right? New system, new environments/settings, new characters (potentially) - so why not make it official and set up a new world while you're at it.
This is not to say you are now burdened with figuring out the whole new world. Nope. Start small, make a decision or two (pips), then give it a go.
When Aleesha and Parz first envisioned Pips World, they'd played Apothecaria - they had witches as main characters, healing patients, making potions, and getting to know the world around them. From that idea, here's the one they envisioned as a starting point - you are the Guardian of the Land! What that means to you or how you choose to do you guardianing is up to you - but that's a way to start. (The next post lays out the details...)
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