An expirmental writing idea - QtE

Pachylad

Oh wow, my first thread/post in the Creativity Forum, anyway here goes…

Well, AP (or whatever other informal name for this community I may have missed out on), I have an idea for a story (but not to be judged as part of the monthly/biweekly writing competition, you'll see why later), with it having been based of a series of forum threads on another forum I used to browse. It will focus on a bunch of 16 (or 8, if supply is low) varied characters all fighting in a tournament held by some mysterious person (probably doing it for a worthy opponent/new disciple/shits and giggles). This piece of writing will be known as QtE - or Quest to Escape.

There's one twist with QtE though - and that is you all will be the ones contributing characters for the tournament.

The characters that you would all provide will follow a character sheet that I'll provide, with details to fill in such as Physical appearances, back-story/history, offensive/defensive/finishing/other moves/abilities, reasons for entering tournament, weapon of choice.

That is pretty much the point of QtE, to contribute characters with varied backgrounds/appearances/fighting skills to be pitted against each other (in the form of 1v1 fights). It would just be the characters you all would be contributing to, don't worry; I'll be the one who thinks up their fate (i.e. between two characters who'll be the victor), their fights' backgrounds and other elements surrounding the tournament (back-story, motive, ending and beginning etc.)

This is my first time writing fiction (or rather my first not being judged by a school teacher), so please don't give high expectations for how you'd want your characters handled. I would of course try my best for satisfactory endings for the losing characters (like not getting them resurrected seven years into the future COUGH COUGH).

Do give questions/critiques surrounding this idea, especially concerning details that I may have left out in the description of QtE. It would also be good to know if there may have been a similar thread like this.

If you all wouldn't mind to support this thread idea (not without extra suggestions, of course), I should be able to set up a thread with an appropriate tournament background and a given character sheet by the end of this week.

So, how does this kind of story sound?

EDIT: Oh, and here's an example of a usual QtE, with stereotypical character sheets and all.

Kitsune Inferno

This actually sounds pretty interesting. If you know what you're doing, I'll gladly contribute a character to it!

Pachylad

Thanks, Kitsune!

Oh, and I should add: I hope to get at least eight users willing to contribute their characters for this story in order for me to set up the tournament. Maybe if I'm lucky, 16.

Kylor

Hm… the quality of this story will really depend on how it's handled.

Yes, that's a really stupid thing to say, and is probably the most obvious sentence in the world. Still, it's especially true for this story. If handled well, this could possibly turn into a compelling tale that provides a unique and enlightening experience for the readers, contributors, and author alike. All the same, I could see this idea failing really badly, and you should honestly only go through with it if you're confident that this is the story you want to tell. Otherwise, I'd say come up with something else entirely, or possibly find a way to expand your idea.

Sorry, that's the easiest way I can put this.

Squalor

I'd create a character for you.

Shuhan

Sounds cool! Perhaps working on a character Bio first will actually get my writing mojo back.

If you'll have me, I could contribute.

RPGJay

I am intriqued by this idea. I don't know if I'll have time for it but I'll see how it goes.

ChesCa

Eh, I've got a couple of characters inspired by my Sackboys you could use.

gottalt3OP

I'd be willing to help. I've seen a similar setup going really really bad. But I like it so I will help :3.

Jazzy Jinx

Sorry to be the killjoy but this idea sounds way too much like role playing which, if I recall correctly, is against the rules of this forum. I know this because I had the same idea in mind months back but when I asked about it, it was rejected. And in essence it was the exact same idea only I called it by the proper term of "role playing" instead of QtE.

Since I've actually participated in a lot of these before, I can vouch that it does invigorate the imagination and gets you to think outside your comfort zone, but it's not particularly good for writing itself. If anything, it's only good for brainstorming and might even be detrimental to writing. If you guys can get approval from the staff for this then have fun but also keep in mind that games like this have cons as well as pros. It's unnatural to the writing process.

gottalt3OP

Its not role playing, cause we won't be the ones to control the characters

Jazzy Jinx

Ah, I just quickly skimmed it admittedly. It sounds semi-interesting but then I'm just going to be a grouch and say, "Make up your own original characters and write an original story instead of playing a game" because it's still detrimental to writing. This just seems like a more convoluted version of fan-fiction. But I'm extremely (and possibly even unfairly) biased against fan-fiction so don't let me ruin your fun.

Carry on.~