posted 03-21-06 01:10 AM EDT (US)
The very first thing you need to determine is whether or not this is in the Star Wars universe. In the Star Wars Universe Now that your story has a universe to occupy, you need to decide on a time period. The current popular eras are the KOTOR era and the Clone War era. For my example, I'll use the KOTOR era. Now your story has a universe, and an era. Who is involved in the KOTOR era? There are Mandalorians, Republic forces, the Sith, and the Jedi, and various bounty hunters, including the underused Genoharadan. For my example, I will use the Republic and the Genoharadan (which includes bounty hunters). Now the story has a universe, an era, and two parties involved. What draws them together? A conflict? Wars are the common outset of stories, and most have the classic plot of good versus evil. Some, however, can make this struggle of good vs. evil a very subtle affair, and I will get into that later. Here's a list of what I have so far: Star Wars Universe ~~~ As my example, the KOTOR era Genoharadan vs. Republic, I will need to define the conflict. It can be any number of things. For my example, it'll be that the Republic is stealing bounty hunter women, and the Genoharadan are fighting to free them. The background history is also an important thing to identify, since it is what really sets up your story. The background history is likely a description of why these two sides are in conflict. For my example, the reason these two sides are in conflict is because a general who has become slightly psychotic and is still part of the Republic Army is capturing bounty hunter women to bear children to use as slaves. The Genoharadan learn of this and send in a few bounty hunters to free the women. Now that we have that background of the story, we can take another step. Creating main characters. ~~~ For example, the psychotic General: He's insane, and constantly makes extreme decisions in the heat of battle that get his men killed, but ultimately win in the end. He's fearless, and occasionally heads into battle HIMSELF in an attempt to boost morale. However, his views in battle have come over to his views in his life, and now he's enslaving women to make even more slaves, which he sells on the black market. The General would be the "Evil" in this story. While in this story, the general is defined as evil, remember that he is not all bad. This is to humanize the character, make him more believable. Look at his position. He's a general for the Republic, which means at one point he's probably fought the Sith and freed some opressed planet. He is a good guy, just made some stupid mistakes. _____ The main good character, the bounty hunter who leads the charge, would have to have his own personality as well. One that'll be the polar opposite of the General's mentality. For this character, I would use a personality similar to the Leon character in the movie "The Professional." He's good at what he does, and has a rule of "no women, no kids" when he does his assassinations. For being a murderer, he still has a sense of honor and dignity. To him, what the general is doing is inexcusable, and he may let things get a little too personal. They're both dynamic characters. Now they need names, no? General Lobotom Now a name for the hero of the story. A name that reflects his honor? His skill? Kain Mosa While its an odd name, with no meaning, it sounds like an adequate hero's name. There are a few good name generators out there, and here�s a link to one I prefer. ~~~ Scenario 1 Kain Rosa is called upon by one of the Genoharadan leaders, and is told of the situation. He goes to investigate on a desert planet the rumors of a secret base that is holding slaves. He then discovers that they're holding women as prisoners and are forcing them to artificially bear children that'll be sold as slaves. Cain then discovers that an insane Republic General is responsible for this. He frees the women from their prisons and starts to hunt down this General Lobotom. Scenario 2 Kain Rosa travels to the general's home planet of Alderaan where he infiltrates the general's home to investigate further, and finds out of another planet with the same purpose. However, he is discovered, and an alarm is sounded, and he has to fight his way through Republic forces to get back to his ship. Lobotom wasn't at his house, but he might be at this new planet. Scenario 3 Kain Rosa arrives at this new planet, sneaks into the base, and finds the women. After fighting off more Republic soldiers, he frees the women, and then confronts General Lobotom for a final showdown. Ultimately, of course, Kain wins. He is called back to the same leader of the Genoharadan, and is commended for his actions in exposing General Lobotom for the psycho he was. The Republic officials apologize for not recognizing his insanity earlier, and all is well in the galaxy once again. The End. Stories get even more in depth, especially when you're writing the dialogue. Play through your cutscenes often, and read the dialogue carefully. Write it as you would say it, as well. Kain - "I am here to fight you, General." General Lobotom - "To the death, bounty hunter? In the old tradition of your people's sad way of life?" Kain - "Your father slaughtered the people of my planet. They will have their revenge when I take your life." It is also good to have underlying plots that don't directly influence the story, but drive the characters to make the decisions they make. For example, in that bit of dialogue, Kain and Lobotom you see they have a form of previous history. Kain is propelled forward by this hatred of Lobotom for several reasons, and Lobotom sees Kain as some one his father must have missed when he wiped out his Kain's home planet. ~~~ Ask yourself "Is my story believable?" A good story is believable. It has to be something you could see happening in the Star Wars universe (or in any universe, if your story isn't in the Star Wars universe) [This message has been edited by Empire of Darkness (edited 03-22-2006 @ 10:25 AM).]
KOTOR era
Genoharadan vs. Republic (this includes the good vs. evil idea)
Some odd name for the general perhaps, or something that strikes a bit of fear, or gives a little bit of mystery to his character, or reflects his insanity. )
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Whoa.
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