Unreleased Draft from [7-8-18]: Revisiting Ancient Evil vs Gunslinger

[4/12/2020 This post was the beginning of a post to expand a flash fiction story that I created during 2018 Flash Fiction day weekend if I remember correctly. A flash fiction micro-story named Ancient Evil vs Gunslinger was created 5-30-18. At the moment, I don't expect to do anything with this draft post, so I'll Publish it as is]

In the next series of posts, I want to try something else. I'll pick one of the micro stories that I like, and I want to challenge myself to try to expand that story.

The one story that really seems interesting and intriguing is the gunslinger microfiction.

I'll repost the original below for reference.

In this post I'll create a beginning to the story to provide more backstory. 

Beginning
First I'll roll for a beginning using the upcoming system currently titled Conflict Triad Chain RPG.

[4 dialogue, argument
2 argument between relationship]

There is going to be an argument between the gunslinger and someone else.

Argument about what and with whom?

Argument Topic
[Theme Generator - 3 expect, 6 equipment v ability]

Some item expected to be useful that lets a character do something more, is the what.

[Plot Generator - 4 riddle,  5 solve]

It sounds like the equipment is mysterious and creates a question.

Perhaps the gunslinger is putting something in his mother's attic. When he knocks over one of his deceased father's stored item box, this strange thing falls out.

I also need two different personalities so it's time to use the Character Generator.

Gunslinger = Lone wolf, tough, temperance, deceitful and diagnosis.

Mother = a doer, strong, self reliance, despair, and health

Ancient evil vs the Gunslinger [Revisited] 

Anceint evil vs the Gunslinger [Revisited] © 2020 by Ken Wickham

All Rights Reserved

 

He didn't feel like moving. He rocked the firm hickory chair slowly on the rickety front porch.

A storm flashed sporadically off in the distant western horizon. It blocked out the normally orange and purple luster mounain sunset. The rest of the sky was still deep blue, birds scattered an flew with dips and dives.

'Help me out,' his once strong mother shouted, 'this is too heavy for me!'

Awoken from his daze, he turned his head towards the open window slightly.

'Just wait one moment. I'm thinking about something,' he shouted back.

Her reply came in a rapid lower tone, almost under her breath.

'I'll give you something to think about boy, if you don't get here right this very instant.'

He wenced just from hearing her forceful tone. He knew her health was failing her.

He pushed himself up, checked to see if his his pistols were secure, pushed up the brim his hat, and went into the house.

In the furthest reaches of the western frontier an ancient evil awakens to battle a gunslinger.

A less than accurate gunslinger must overcome this formidable supernatural

Not only does the gunslinger fail, the ancient evil possesses the gunslinger's soul.

Setting
furthest reaches of the western frontier

Foe
Supernatural - ancient evil

Main character
A less than accurate gunslinger

Main plot
awakens to battle a gunslinger.

********previous post**********
The next Flash RPG session.

6, 5, 1, 3, 4, 3, 3
6 western
5 region
1 battle ... defeat
3 supernatural, unimaginable

In the furthest reaches of the western frontier an ancient evil awakens to battle a gunslinger.

4 body
3 -1
3 hard

A less than accurate gunslinger must overcome this formidable supernatural force. Will the gunslinger prevail?

1 little effort
Automatic fail + worse

Not only does the gunslinger fail, the ancient evil possesses the gunslinger's soul.

Summertime Writing: Modify, Put to Another Use, Eliminate, and Reverse methods in Stories

In the last two innovation post, I tried to use the substitution, combine, and adapt methods for story innovation. In this post, I'd like to try the next SCAMPER methods of innovation and creativity. I will do the fourth and fifth of the seven parts of the SCAMPER method in this post—Modify and Put to Another Use.

New ideas created on this page are ©2019 by Ken Wickham. All Rights Reserved.

1. State the original idea, problem, or question (source).

For this case, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Synopsis found at Wikipedia. I cut together pieces of the larger synopsis.

tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a hideous, sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment...the Creature tall, about 8 feet (2.4 m) in height and proportionally large. Despite Victor's selecting its features as beautiful, upon animation the creature is instead hideous, with watery white eyes and yellow skin that barely conceals the muscles and blood vessels underneath. Repulsed by his work, Victor flees when it awakens. While wandering the streets, he meets his childhood friend, Henry Clerval, and takes Henry back to his apartment, fearful of Henry's reaction if he sees the monster. However, the Creature has escaped.

Intelligent and articulate, the Creature relates his first days of life, living alone in the wilderness and finding that people were afraid of and hated him due to his appearance, which led him to fear and hide from them. While living in an abandoned structure connected to a cottage, he grew fond of the poor family living there, and discreetly collected firewood for them. Secretly living among the family for months, the Creature learned to speak by listening to them and he taught himself to read after discovering a lost satchel of books in the woods. When he saw his reflection in a pool, he realized his physical appearance was hideous, and it terrified him as it terrifies normal humans. Nevertheless, he approached the family in hopes of becoming their friend. Initially he was able to befriend the blind father figure of the family, but the rest of them were frightened and they all fled their home, resulting in the Creature leaving, disappointed. He traveled to Victor's family estate using details from Victor's journal, murdered William, and framed Justine.

The Creature demands that Victor create a female companion like himself. He argues that as a living being, he has a right to happiness. The Creature promises that he and his mate will vanish into the South American wilderness, never to reappear, if Victor grants his request. Should Victor refuse his request, The Creature also threatens to kill Victor's remaining friends and loved ones and not stop until he completely ruins him.

Fearing for his family, Victor reluctantly agrees. The Creature says he will watch over Victor's progress. 

2. SCAMPER

Substitute is about replacing parts of the story. Characters, description, setting, plots, or conflicts may be replaced with alternatives.

Combine is about merging two or more ideas, processes, or products into one.

Adapt is adjusting, changing, and tweaking to make more suited for the current situation.

Modify, minimize, or maximize is reducing, changing perspective, changing look, changing feel, adding to, increasing

Put to another use is using this story for another product, another segment, another use, replacing a process.

Eliminate or elaborate eliminate parts of the story.

Reverse is reversing roles, plots, characters, settings, events, or rearranging elements of the story.

Modify

What happens if the Creature learned to create life?

What happens if the Creature ends up murdering more innocent people?

Put to another use

What else can this Frankenstein movie be used for? A videogame, a roleplaying game.

Eliminate or elaborate

Maybe eliminate some of the more boring background information at the beginning of the story.

Reverse

What happens if Victor is the threat chasing the Creature.

Analysis of SCAMPERS

I think that the SCAMPERS method asks good fundamental questions about a product that forces a person to reevaluate anything from different viewpoints. Like the random word association that I did in the  Innovation In Stories post earlier this month, 

Quick word study: re-evaluate

Re-evaluate, reassess, reappraise, rethink, alter, change, look at again

Next Series

I want to do at least a small series on grammar, mainly for my own reference and practice.

Summertime Writing: Substituion In Stories

In the last innovation post, I tried to use the association method for story innovation. In this post, I'd like to try the SCAMPER method of innovation and creativity. I will do the first of the seven parts of the SCAMPER method in this post—Substitution.

1. State the original idea, problem, or question (source).

For this case, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Synopsis found at Wikipedia. I cut together pieces of the larger synopsis.

tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a hideous, sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment...the Creature tall, about 8 feet (2.4 m) in height and proportionally large. Despite Victor's selecting its features as beautiful, upon animation the creature is instead hideous, with watery white eyes and yellow skin that barely conceals the muscles and blood vessels underneath. Repulsed by his work, Victor flees when it awakens. While wandering the streets, he meets his childhood friend, Henry Clerval, and takes Henry back to his apartment, fearful of Henry's reaction if he sees the monster. However, the Creature has escaped.

Intelligent and articulate, the Creature relates his first days of life, living alone in the wilderness and finding that people were afraid of and hated him due to his appearance, which led him to fear and hide from them. While living in an abandoned structure connected to a cottage, he grew fond of the poor family living there, and discreetly collected firewood for them. Secretly living among the family for months, the Creature learned to speak by listening to them and he taught himself to read after discovering a lost satchel of books in the woods. When he saw his reflection in a pool, he realized his physical appearance was hideous, and it terrified him as it terrifies normal humans. Nevertheless, he approached the family in hopes of becoming their friend. Initially he was able to befriend the blind father figure of the family, but the rest of them were frightened and they all fled their home, resulting in the Creature leaving, disappointed. He traveled to Victor's family estate using details from Victor's journal, murdered William, and framed Justine.

The Creature demands that Victor create a female companion like himself. He argues that as a living being, he has a right to happiness. The Creature promises that he and his mate will vanish into the South American wilderness, never to reappear, if Victor grants his request. Should Victor refuse his request, The Creature also threatens to kill Victor's remaining friends and loved ones and not stop until he completely ruins him.

Fearing for his family, Victor reluctantly agrees. The Creature says he will watch over Victor's progress. 

2. SCAMPER

Substitute is about replacing parts of the story. Characters, description, setting, plots, or conflicts may be replaced with alternatives.
Combine
Adapt
Modify, minimize, or maximize
Put to another use
Eliminate or elaborate
Reverse

Substitute

• Genre

A common type of replacement is genre. Maybe instead of horror, replace it with a modern setting. What if this happened in the stone age. Or maybe Frankenstein happened in ancient Egypt.

• Characters

Characters may be replaced. Maybe Victor Frankenstein is a woman—much like the author Mary Shelley—Victoria Frankenstein. Or maybe he is an artist that brings to life a painting instead of a alchemy creature. A singer might bring to life a creature or being from a song.

• Setting

Already I mentioned Egypt in the ancient genre which would be a different location. What about in China if a alchemist were trying to make a kung-fu soldier. Maybe on Easter Island, those faces were their attempt at a rock golem.

• Plot

Maybe Dr. Frankenstein was trying to create his own bride instead of for the monster, more like the movie Weird Science. Maybe instead of the creature trying to kill him, the creature is constantly trying to save Dr. Frankenstein from foolish dangerous endeavors.

• Description

Maybe instead of describing things in letters, as Mary Shelley does, the book is described using text messages. Or maybe I take the original text and change portions of the text. Let me try this now.

From Frankenstein Chapter 1 (after the letters)

I am by birth a Genevese, and my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic. My ancestors had been for many years counsellors and syndics, and my father had filled several public situations with honour and reputation. He was respected by all who knew him for his integrity and indefatigable attention to public business. He passed his younger days perpetually occupied by the affairs of his country; a variety of circumstances had prevented his marrying early, nor was it until the decline of life that he became a husband and the father of a family.

Paragraph below is based on the above paragraph
Paragraph 1, Chapter 1 Frankenstein, 
©2019 by Ken Wickham, all rights reserved. This is based on Mary Shelley's original text.

I was born into a family, who are famous, originating from the Geneva Republic. My ancestors had been longtime government officials and ambassadors, and my father had held several public offices with honorable and with a great reputation. Everyone that knew him respected him for his integrity and untiring attention to public service. He spent the good amount of time early in his career constantly focused on the needs of his country; many reasons prevented him from getting involved in dating in his youth. It wasn't until he was already near retirement that he married and became a father.

Analysis of Substitution

This exercise was easier for me than some of the last exercise. I even enjoyed rewriting the paragraph of Frankenstein using my own words and description. So far, I really like substitution as a tool for innovation in story writing.

Summertime Writing: Innovation In Stories

This exercise comes from an innovation management technique.

I want to take the basic idea of the story Frankenstein and experiment with story innovation using one specific innovation technique of random word association.

1. State the original idea, problem, or question (source).

For this case, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Synopsis found at Wikipedia. I cut together pieces of the larger synopsis.

tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a hideous, sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment...the Creature tall, about 8 feet (2.4 m) in height and proportionally large. Despite Victor's selecting its features as beautiful, upon animation the creature is instead hideous, with watery white eyes and yellow skin that barely conceals the muscles and blood vessels underneath. Repulsed by his work, Victor flees when it awakens. While wandering the streets, he meets his childhood friend, Henry Clerval, and takes Henry back to his apartment, fearful of Henry's reaction if he sees the monster. However, the Creature has escaped.

Intelligent and articulate, the Creature relates his first days of life, living alone in the wilderness and finding that people were afraid of and hated him due to his appearance, which led him to fear and hide from them. While living in an abandoned structure connected to a cottage, he grew fond of the poor family living there, and discreetly collected firewood for them. Secretly living among the family for months, the Creature learned to speak by listening to them and he taught himself to read after discovering a lost satchel of books in the woods. When he saw his reflection in a pool, he realized his physical appearance was hideous, and it terrified him as it terrifies normal humans. Nevertheless, he approached the family in hopes of becoming their friend. Initially he was able to befriend the blind father figure of the family, but the rest of them were frightened and they all fled their home, resulting in the Creature leaving, disappointed. He traveled to Victor's family estate using details from Victor's journal, murdered William, and framed Justine.

The Creature demands that Victor create a female companion like himself. He argues that as a living being, he has a right to happiness. The Creature promises that he and his mate will vanish into the South American wilderness, never to reappear, if Victor grants his request. Should Victor refuse his request, The Creature also threatens to kill Victor's remaining friends and loved ones and not stop until he completely ruins him.

Fearing for his family, Victor reluctantly agrees. The Creature says he will watch over Victor's progress. 

2. Generate 5 to 6 random words (stimuli).

Protuberation
Lantanuric
Censer
Mean
Depolarization

Body

Protuberation - The act of swelling beyond the surrounding surface.

Lantanuric - Pertaining to, or designating, a nitrogenous organic acid of the uric acid group, obtained by the decomposition of allantoin, and usually called {allanturic acid}. Related to urine naturally. Used in lotion, toothpaste, and mouthwash.

Censer - A vessel for perfumes; esp. one in which incense is burned.
Mean - That which is mean, or intermediate, between two extremes of place, time, or number; the middle point or place; middle rate or degree; mediocrity; medium; absence of extremes or excess; moderation; measure.
Depolarization - The act of depriving of polarity, or the result of such action; reduction to an unpolarized condition.
Body - The material organized substance of an animal, whether living or dead, as distinguished from the spirit, or vital principle; the physical person.

3. Create association connections to each word.

Protuberation - The creature may have some sort of growth or swelling on his body.
Lantanuric - Maybe the creature smells like urine or is trying to cover stench or something with beauty products.
Censer - This could be holding perfume to cover the stench of the monster.
Mean - Between two extremes might mean between creature and human or between wild and tame.
Depolarization - Reducing a unipolar condition maybe rage and wild fury.
Body - The creature has a body created by Dr. Frankenstein.

4. Increase your associations

A. Contiguity - nearness or contact.

Protuberation - swelling, tumor, jutting, fangs, tusk, bulge, belly, muscles, chest, breasts, bump

Lantanuric - urine, lotion, waste, break down, metabolize, 

Censer - perfume, incense, freshener, scent, stench

Mean - extremes, middle, balance, reduce

Depolarization - more than one way, two or more opposing forces

Body - form, shape, condition, created, sum of parts

B. Similarity - reminds you of
Protuberation - Inflated, balloon, mountain rock, bubble, muscle, fat, veins
Lantanuric - sweat
Censer - summoning, magic, cemetery, tomb, wake
Mean - average, beyond average, bell curve, probability
Depolarization - opposites, alternatives, paths, flexibility, chaos, change
Body - creature, animal, plant, life, element, water, sea, river

C. Contrast - opposition
Protuberation - sinking, deflating, reducing
Lantanuric - undigested, not broken down, not flushed out
Censer - crud, sickening, vile
Mean - extreme, severe, one-sided, unbalanced, chaotic
Depolarization - polarization, one-sided, one direction
Body - shadow, appearance, illusion, unlife

5. Make more connections automatically

The instructions say that now, after doing this exercise, connections will start to happen automatically. I will see if some further ideas start to appear after a period of time.

Analysis of Innovation technique #1

That was somewhat strange, especially lantanuric. I would have never picked that word. I didn't even know that word. Out of the other words, body and protuberance might be the more obvious words. Censer, mean, and depolarization might be somewhat close, though not as obvious—being more secondarily related words.

I don't know if anything will come of this exercise. I will see. I'll look back at this in a few days and see if I like this technique. I want to try a few more innovation and creativity techniques though between now and then. Maybe I'll compare the techniques in a future post.

Flash Fiction Story #3: Inventor's Love

This is my third of three flash fiction stories for my flash fiction weekend challenge.

This is the gameplay using Flash RPG.

4, 2, 4, 4, 6, 3, 5

This is a romance, indoor setting, overcome...obstacle..., vs person game session story.

In the business corporation High Enough, a person is trying to find love by overcoming an obstacle.

This is a game about soul, the main character has persuasion (-1), awkward compared to other people for skill—this corporate worker is trying to overcome dating awkwardness in search of love.

The difficulty of such task is amazingly difficult (5 out of 6 difficulty). This is a terrifying task for the normally skilled office worker.

In a one multi-million dollar corporation tech company High Enough, one technical-savvy inventor must overcome socially awkward dating moves to search for love. Kept busy focused on a career, this office worker is finding dating an amazingly difficult task.

2, moderate effort; 2-1=1; Failing by three or more is a failure resulting in prolonged effects. Reconsider your direction in life. 

The second-in-command gives a mediocre effort and fails miserably.

This office worker approaches a recently single crush from high school who works at a local deli. Not only does the office worker strike out, but also gets everything wrong. Unknown to this person, the crush is involved in a relationship with the love seeker's boss and is suddenly fired after repeated relationship attempts. Even the greatest inventors can't invent love. 

100 words, 629 characters

Flash Fiction Story #2: Unfriendly Juggernaut

This is my second of three flash fiction stories for my flash fiction weekend challenge.

This is the gameplay using Flash RPG.

4, 6, 3, 3, 5, 3, 2

This is a superhero, world or planet setting, defend-from..., supernatural or unimaginable

On the planet Ster-la, a superhero team tries to defend that world.. from...a godlike juggernaut being.

This is a game about soul, the main character has persuasion (+1) compared to other people for defense—probably the superhero's team second-in-command.

The difficulty of such mission is a moderate mission (2 out of 6 difficulty). This is a inconvenient threat to that planet.

On a distant planet, the second-in-command of the superhero team must find a way to defend the world of Ster-la by using above normal persuasion on a godlike juggernaut being.

6, unbelievable effort—automatic success

The second-in-command gives it unbelievable effort and easily persuades either the being to do even more than cease the threat.

The second-in-command of the superhero group uses above normal skill in an unbelievable manner to defend the planet from the juggernaut. Not only does the godlike juggernaut cease to threaten the planet, the superhero team member has convinced the godlike being to defend the planet for the people against future threats. The planet is in debt to the superhero team.

90 words, 541 characters

Story Mechanisms : creating a story profile instructions (part 1)

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/257257/Story-Mechanisms

Unlike the character profile which I included as a free download for Character Mechanisms, with November's arrival and my rush to finish up several products, meant that no sheet was included in the Story Mechanisms book.

I mentioned that I might do a December series for Story Mechanisms. 

My blog challenge for December, I hope to be to (1) create a Story Profile sheet, (2) instructions, and (3) an example for Story Mechanisms.

I like to reuse material, so below I copy pasted this from part 1 of the last series.

I'll bracket [character keyword] material from the character profile and add stories keyword first and see if it makes any sense still.

Scope

So, knowing the challenge, it's time to focus on figuring out how much work will be needed.

Different types of stories [y characters]

One factor that comes to mind is that for many of my tools, I mention a different between background, minor, major, and main stories [characters].

• I should probably mention in the instructions a way to generate the different types of [characters for] stories.

Full coverage

For a main story [character], I probably need at least to fill in every category with something.

• All types of data should be covered.

Hierarchy and Prioritize

Since one piece of information isn't as important as other piece, I should figure out what is more important that the other information.

• Prioritize story [character] information.

Time Deadline

Ideally, having this done before New Years [NaNoWriMo] would be ideal. 

• Complete before January 1st 2019 [November 1st, 2018] target.

Summary of challenge

So, for a few posts I hope to create a profile sheet, instructions, and examples for using the new [character] story profile sheet for [Character] Story Mechanisms.

• for different types of stories [characters]
• covering all of the types of data
• with prioritized [character] story information
• with a goal of completing before [November] January 1st, 2019.

Amount of details for [Character] Story types: main, major, minor, background

The number of characteristics rolled may be limited by the type of [character] story. Main stories [characters] most likely are detailed with all or most of these characteristics fleshed out. Major significant and important stories [characters] might have half or more of these details revealed. Minor significant, but important stories [characters to the story] may have three to six or so of these characteristics known. Background stories [characters] focused briefly on in a scene, however that aren’t important, may have one or two characteristics observed.

I want to create a prioritized list using the text found in my product description, since I like to reuse material to speed development up. I will list the 13 [16] items, comment on some, then assign a letter based on importance.

Priorities

1. Solo Game Engine - use where needed? maybe a floating tool for examples
2. Plot Generator - an essential element of a story A
3. Twist Generator relies on other info B
4. Theme Generator - is either an A or D, I've never intentionally written a theme into a story. I'll try both ways maybe unless it doesn't work.
5. Foe Generator - important to describe a story A
6. Motivation Generator - important to reveal character goal A
7. Mood-Emotion Generator - i think mood depends on decisions made in the setting, plot, theme, and foes B
8. Flash RPG, I'll use this like I did the Character Gen, as the foundation structure of a story A
9. Modifier Generator - probably a  D or use where needed.
10. Three Conflict Chain RPG - builds the essential conflicts into a story, but relies on FRPG and plots B
11. Deep Dive Engine - relies on both FRPG & 3CCRPG C
12. Scene Action Generator - a scene level tool C
13. Transition Scene Generator - relies on FRPG, 3CCRPG, and DDE C

After ranking them, I will pile them into groups and then sort them once again. The end result will be the order that I will create the initial instructions for the [character] story profile.

Group A Important

Flash RPG

Plot Generator

Foe Generator

Motivation Generator

Theme Generator

Group B Reliant

Three Conflict Chain RPG

Twist Generator

Mood-Emotion Generator

Group C Flavor

Deep Dive Engine

Transition Scene Generator

Scene Action Generator

Group D Floaters, Use where needed

Modifier Gen

Solo Game Engine

That wasn't so hard. And it seems to make sense still.

Stay tuned for December for the first post — well, the 2nd post, since this is the part 1. I hope to make a story profile sheet first, which might take a day or maybe two (or more). 

New Project

I just started a Fudge RPG page, which is related to my November Naga Demon 2018, NaNoWriMo, SGAM 2018 Fudge RPG project that I'm currently working on.

This will be a Aioskoru (https://sites.google.com/site/aioskoru/) and Elvish (https://www.rpgnow.com/product/255014/Elvish-Language-Updating-Version) mix hopefully. This is my first Elvish City, named in English Wood Fell. I'll make it into Elvish later, as will I change NPC names. I also have the region and local terrain maps nearly finished, ready to add more cities, towns and villages. Already, four major NPCs and two minor NPCs, several locations, three classes, and two power systems have been created. Just last night I finished writing material up to the first encounter.

Small hand drawn incomplete sketch of first city for my story game. I only drew a few of the building areas, the wall around the city, the shore, piers with boats, major streets, a few farms outside the wall

The current page has links to the Fudge Files describing what's in the core files.

This page may be expanded as I work with Fudge more.

https://worldofthefifthsun.blogspot.com/p/fudge.html