# [Meta] What Influences Your Story Hour Writing Style?



## el-remmen (Apr 4, 2002)

Hey all,

I thought it was time for another Meta-Story Hour post.

I was wondering (and forgive me if this had been asked before) who the various authors of the story hours in this forum are influenced/inspired by in their campaign and in their actual writing…

For myself, I am greatly inspired by Ursula K. LeGuin, who is probably my favorite sci-fi/fantasy author (admittedly I don’t red much of it) – but I love her use of moral dilemmas, clashing cultures, and characters who have their world-views undermined by the events and knowledge of their situations.  There is also an under-current of almost Buddhist  thought in her work – as suffering seems to be a natural part of the life of her characters and dealing with and accepting that is part of their challenge.  I would say my campaign is definitely influenced by that.

Zelazny’s Amber chronicles are also a big source for me in terms of a huge cast of NPCs and crazy amounts of machination and plotting.  I also like the near-comic moments of the second Amber series in the midst of just dark and confusing things happening.

Of course, my presentation of elves (and halflings – though none have appeared in the story yet) is greatly influenced by Tolkien.

A book I would really recommend that I just finished reading and I found incredibly helpful and devious is John Fowles’ _The Magus_ – which while not fantasty – is none-the-less fantastic.

In terms of actual writing, I am not so sure as all of my favorite authors influence me tp some degree or another.  I go back and forth between emulating the concise and packed sentences of Hemingway, and the mellifluous and poetic prose of Gabriel Garcia Marquez (who also influences my campaign because is showed me that a story is not the outcome as much journey itself).  

Oh, I also love dialogue.  While I have no control over what PCs say - I try to encourage the snappy dialogue with my NPCs -  I find myself writing down "cool" things NPCs might say if given the chance - it also helps me create the NPC's "voice".

I think my story hour is not the best gauge of my writing ability since I do not write “all out” and do very little editing (if any) – but if those who read “Out of the Frying Pan” see some similarities I’d love to hear your opinions.

So, what about the rest of you?


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## drnuncheon (Apr 4, 2002)

I feel myself very suscepetible to the influences of whatever I'm reading at the time - and I read a _lot_.  

Lately I've been burning through the Doc Savage books, which may have influenced my style somewhat - but I think I've at least managed to keep Di'Fier from saying "I'll be superamalgamated!"

J


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## Lazybones (Apr 4, 2002)

Hi-
Boy, I've read a LOT of authors, and I suspect that a bit of everyone ends up in my own writing.  I tend toward a narrative style (dialogue was always the hardest thing for me, although I think I'm starting to get it down), and try to use language that evokes a rich imaginative view of the world and its inhabitants.  Thus Jordan, Tolkien, and other wordy authors are on my list.  I like action scenes, and suppose I've been influenced by RA Salvatore's brisk combat style (even if it gets cookie-cutter after a while ).  I also loved the visceral feel of the RE Howard stories that I consumed repeatedly in my youth, and try to add some of their sense of urgency and pacing to my writing.  

LB


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## Paka (Apr 4, 2002)

The Holy Trinity of Fantasy loom large on my horizon: Tolkien, Moorcock and Leiber.

Tolkien, for me, is about that entire world sitting there but you are only seeing the tip of the iceberg and you know that there is so much more just under the surface.

Moorcock is about nto being afraid to muck around with traditional roles of heroes, villains and all of those caught in the crossfire.

Leiber is not forgetting to have a damned good time while doing it.

George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire is probably the best fantasy I've read in a looong time and has surely effected the way I think about a medieval world.

I just read the 3rd Harry Potter (and I liked it)and that could very well why I threw a child into my latest STory Hour (with another in the next chapter).

So many more...but those are my geeky D&D-ish lads.    The main ones...


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## Wulf Ratbane (Apr 4, 2002)

I have a lot of favorite authors but even in my best moments I wouldn't dare to compare myself to them. 

I tend towards authors who generate long series of works-- not necessarily epics, I simply like to have a lot of material to gorge myself on. I find that after a long visit with a particular author my writing style and "voice" will pick up a few of their mannerisms, so it changes often.

In order:

*Fritz Lieber*-- Top of my list. I like the fact that his stories are both gritty and very humorous. He's descriptive but not overly so; his dialogue (which usually slips into "banter") makes the characters.

*Michael Moorcock*-- Same as above, but he is much more descriptive, bordering on the poetic. Again, strong characterizations. I would feel guilty trying to write like Moorcock. Although I love reading his stuff, he's too descriptive for my tastes as a writer; I would feel pretentious mimicking his style.

*Robert E. Howard*-- Specifically Conan. Gritty and action packed "anti-hero" stuff, and I borrow a lot of Conan's "optimistic fatalism" and relationship to the gods.


Wulf


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## Plane Sailing (Apr 4, 2002)

My story hour writing isn't up to fiction standards at all. It is mostly there as an adventure log, but (I hope this doesn't sound too fanboyish) I guess my biggest influences have been Sagiro and Piratecat's storyhours - I like the way they describe things, I like their use of dialog. If you were to check some of my earliest accounts compared to what I write now, you would find a lot more adjectives for instance!

Cheers


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## Rune (Apr 4, 2002)

I'm mostly influenced by other story hours.  (Although, when I run games, I tend to have my players write the story hours.)  I find great inspiration in the story hours I read, and bring it to my table.  If I'm writing a story hour for a game I'm a player in (as I just began to do) I find my writing style to include these same inspirations.  I tend to bring in a little of everybody that I read, but the ones that stand out are more influential, even if I don't precisely immitate them.  For instance, nemmerle, your story hour is very dense--in a good, informative, creative way--and has excellent characterization.  I can't write that densely.  I'll never be able to write that densely, but I can still work on my characters.  (There are some other stories with very good characterization, as well, I merely use yours as an example.) As another example, Paka's story hour helps me to envision what is possible if I use different viewpoints.

Basically, to answer the question more briefly, I steal from the locals.


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## DoctorB (Apr 4, 2002)

I am constantly influenced by other story hours as well as books I am reading.
I have been using my story hour to experiment with different writing styles to try and see which one fits me best.  I guess I will settle down to just one eventually.


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## Paka (Apr 4, 2002)

*Standing on the Shoulders of Giants*

I never ever meant to compare my own writing that's here to writing done by any of the writers mentioned.  they are the reason I'm here and into fantasy.

I'm just a tourist, man.


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## Piratecat (Apr 4, 2002)

DoctorB said:
			
		

> *
> I have been using my story hour to experiment with different writing styles to try and see which one fits me best.  I guess I will settle down to just one eventually. *




DrB, I actually think that's a cool effect!

I don't think my story hour is high art, although I do hope it's fun to read; at its core it's a game log.  I try for vivid action and occasionally witty banter, combining a movie serial/pulp adventure's pacing with evocative descriptions and vivid combat. 

I have a terrible time remembering and recording dialogue. The recent confrontation between Malachite and Saint Aleax was very challenging for me to write.  I am pleased that it reads a lot like it played out.

Lately you've also been seeing more H.P. Lovecraft slipping in to the story hour; I'm a sucker for such things, as demonstrated by the trillith encounter from last year!  If I describe a ghoul as "rugose" or "cyclopean", however, feel free to mock me.


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## Kid Charlemagne (Apr 4, 2002)

I'm not trying to wow anyone with my writing skills; the writing style of my own Story Hour (obligatory plug: link in sig) tends to be to-the-point, I think.  

My big influences in fantasy in general are Tolkien, CS Lewis, Michael Moorcock, and Fritz Leiber.  My writing style is nothing at all like the first three, but does bear some vague resemblence to certain Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories.  I'm not very good at Tolkienesque  descriptions, I like to get to the crux of things.

I took a lot of guidance from the other story hours in terms of certain writing conventions and so on; should I capitalize spell names, or italicize them?  Should I drop in some DM comments, or write as if it's purely a novel?  Should I avoid all metagame info, or include a little here and there? 

The nice thing is that if I ever get the hankering to do the Great American Novel, I know that I've written almost 200 pages of text since last August.  I'll never be able to say I couldn't write that much, that's for sure.


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## Kid Charlemagne (Apr 4, 2002)

Piratecat said:
			
		

> *I have a terrible time remembering and recording dialogue. The recent confrontation between Malachite and Saint Aleax was very challenging for me to write.  I am pleased that it reads a lot like it played out.*




That is the single toughest thing I find as well.  My players can be extremely funny at times, and each has their own distinctive "voice" that I try to capture.  I've thought of buying one of those digital recorders that record 60 minutes or so to record major NPC interactions in order to make sure I get things just right, but I don't want to do something just to make the Story Hour better, rather than make the _game_ better.

I jot down good quotes as I run the game, but I do most of my writing during downtime at work, where it's not easy for me to take my notes and write the quotes in.  Luckily, just the act of writing them down makes them stick in my head, so I don't miss too many of the good ones.


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## Old One (Apr 4, 2002)

*Lots o' Folks...*

Greetings All!

I think you could actually break this up into who influenced content (ie, plot, dramatic effect, chacterization) and who influenced writing style (ie, narrative vs. dialogue vs. tense vs. person).

*PLOT*

_Tolkein
Orson Scott Card
David Eddings (earlier stuff)
Steven Brust
Jack Whyte (The Camulod Chronicles)
George R. R. Martin
Michael Moorcock_

*STYLE*

_R.E. Howard
Glen Cook
Karl Edward Wagner
Steven Brust
Fritz Leiber_

I also read _many_ story hours and glean them for style elements (and sometimes plot elements) that I like.  I have settled into a "3/4 Narrative - 1/4 Dialogue, 3rd Person, Past Tense" Style.  My biggest problem is switching tenses from past to present and I actually went back and rewrote most of my earlier story hours to correct the issue.

I haven't tried a story hour from a 1st person perspective, but would probably only do that as a player.

~ Old One


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## Wulf Ratbane (Apr 4, 2002)

*Re: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants*



			
				Paka said:
			
		

> *I never ever meant to compare my own writing that's here to writing done by any of the writers mentioned.  they are the reason I'm here and into fantasy.
> 
> I'm just a tourist, man. *




If that's posted in response to mine, please be assured I wasn't taking you to task. In fact our posts crossed in the posting; I was writing mine as you posted yours.

I didn't think that Moorcock and Lieber would come up as often as they have. 

As for Tolkien... I can't dispute his place at the top of the list, at least as far as his importance to the genre goes, but I don't find that his style is easy to define, let alone capture. I couldn't honestly say he's been an influence on me in that respect although I remain a huge fan.

Well, although, I'd be lying if I didn't say Gimli was an inspiration to a certain character...

Wulf


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## Paka (Apr 4, 2002)

No, Wulf, I didn't think you were taking me to task.  I was taking me to task.

I just don't want y'all to think that I am putting this stuff on their level.

But if the name of my Story Hour doesn't tell people that I'm humble about the "new" ground I'm breaking than I don't know what will.

No, I didn't think you were trolling or flaming or a flaming troll or a trolling flame.  

No blood, no foul...


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## el-remmen (Apr 4, 2002)

Well, saying that you are inspired or influenced by all the great writers mentioned here doesn't mean that you are saying you are on par with them. . . (though honestly, there are quite a few "hack" fantasy writers that I can't help but feel I surpass )

As for dialogue, I use a lot of it - luckily one of my players keeps a "quote log" for each session - it is an invaluable asset.


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## Carnifex (Apr 4, 2002)

Well, in terms of how my style of writing, as opposed to my plots and ideas, are influenced, I'd say its largely other story hours, and the mood I'm in. Occasionally I feel a bit rushed, or moody, or under the weather, and I think that I then tend to write a perhaps more rushed , more functional and less descriptive story hour when I feel like that. I'd like to think that most of my story hour is written in a fairly readable style though.


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## Rune (Apr 5, 2002)

nemmerle said:
			
		

> *
> As for dialogue, I use a lot of it - luckily one of my players keeps a "quote log" for each session - it is an invaluable asset. *




Consider this idea officially *YOINKED*


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## Dinkeldog (Apr 5, 2002)

Wulf gets to play, so dialogue is easier for him.  He actually has time to take notes during the game, which the DM story hour writers don't have.  

When I was writing mine, I think I was less influenced by most of the bigger name writers.  It was an attempt to go through the story through the eyes of the character, as a role-playing aid, actually.  In that sense, my biggest influence was the Earthdawn game, where getting experience was tied to writing the story down.  Additionally, I think Zelazny's Amber books helped, but there's precious little good fantasy told through the 1st person perspective.

Sorry, Wulf.  I loathe Lieber.  I struggled with Fafhrd for 5 years before I decided life was too short.  Moorcock is good, but it's much more detached than your story hour is, coming from a 3rd person limited observer perspective.  Another piece of irony is that the Wulf story hour/campaign are much grittier than your Lazy Days story hour, when you prefer gritty gaming much more than I do.  It seems in Lazy Days, Jorie's biggest angst producer is figuring out how to keep from being the primary cause of the extinction of the dire badger/wolverine populations through Animal Friendship.


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## Wulf Ratbane (Apr 5, 2002)

Grit is where the players find it. The DM can set the mood, but unless the players buy into the genre, it doesn't work. Both in your game and mine, there is a tendency for the adventurers to have a sort of blasé attitude about darkness, danger, fear, oppression. 

The usual response isn't angst or fear, it's vengeance... and the higher level the characters get, the worse it becomes. The PCs cease acting out of desperate necessity as they increasingly gain the ability to influence their world.

I think a really gritty world requires a certain cap on fantastic abilities. There must arbitrarily be some threat that is beyond the adventurers to deal with. In your game, for example, we've had a few enemies who have been beyond us, but the only constant oppressive force from Wulf's point of view is the gods-- and he's pretty much made up that persecution complex from his own selfish and skewed perspective. (As if the gods have nothing better to do than keep an eye constantly on Wulf and foil his every aspiration?)

Grit is inversely proportional to the power of the characters, and the burden of sustaining that mood shifts gradually from the DM to the players. I think this is true of both games we're involved in (as player and DM and vice versa). 


Wulf


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## el-remmen (Apr 5, 2002)

I have to agree with Wulf.  The DM can set the "gritty tone", but it is up to the players to maintain it - to have their characters react apporpriatey to threats, horrific scenes and/or an impending sense of doom. 

Personally, that is one of the ways I grade RP when I give out XP - how "believably" the PCs reacted to the situations they find themselves in.


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## drnuncheon (Apr 5, 2002)

Dinkeldog said:
			
		

> *Wulf gets to play, so dialogue is easier for him.  He actually has time to take notes during the game, which the DM story hour writers don't have.   *




I take extensive notes during the running of my games - usually when the players pause to discuss things, although occasionally I have to call a momentary pause to catch up when they aren't drinking enough or taking enough bathroom breaks.

Of course, only having two players kees things a bit more manageable as well, I suspect.

J


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## Wulf Ratbane (Apr 5, 2002)

Dinkeldog said:
			
		

> *Wulf gets to play, so dialogue is easier for him.  He actually has time to take notes during the game, which the DM story hour writers don't have.*




Though I am still learning to do it properly. I have not only misattributed quotes from player to player, I've lifted quotes from one game to another! 

It was a good one, though:

"Look, we don't run from _chickens._" Dan's friend Andy either has the best deadpan in the world, or he really thought he was making the most profound, earnest statement of the evening. 

(They were cockatrices, see... and... aww, crap, you had to be there!)

Wulf


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## maddman75 (Apr 5, 2002)

Personally, I've just started and I'm simply writing down what happened.  I'm suprised that I'm remembering as well as I do - the stuff I'm posting now happened like six months ago.  But I can't just come in now - it wouldn't make any sense.  So, right now I'm basically summarizing each adventure.  As I approach more recent games and especially in Nightfang Spire, things will get more detailed.

As far as others, I see a lot of Tolkien in Posy's Diary.  Its all the little details, like Posy's arch enemy when she was a little girl and the rememberances of her old teacher that make the world seem full and bright.  Reminds me of Sam talking about the Shire I suppose.

I tend not to have much dialouge, mostly because I didn't know I was going to be documenting when we actually played.  Again, this will change.

Oh, and obligitory story hour plug in .sig.


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## Rune (Apr 5, 2002)

Dinkeldog said:
			
		

> *Wulf gets to play, so dialogue is easier for him.  He actually has time to take notes during the game, which the DM story hour writers don't have.
> *




That is true.  I force one of my players to keep notes and write a story hour for the session, then I edit extensively, because I am a control freak.  It works out well, except that it can (as it is, currently) delay the posting of that story hour for a very long time.

I do way too much winging in my game to take extensive notes.  That's what the players are for


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