(Hey everyone, I've pretty much stopped writing due to the real world. Too much to do in too little time; you either already understand, or you will eventually. All my work is here, read it at your leisure, and enjoy it as best you can. I do still stop in every now and again, so please leave a comment or two; I'll definitely reply.

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My Guide to Stories

I've read a lot of great stories and a lot of... less than great stories. I've come to realize that the less-than great stories always have the same flaws and mistakes and I always end up saying the same thing over and over again. The following is the advice that I would give to anyone who is writing a story and doesn't know quite how to go about it.

1. Writing

One of the biggest problems out there is spelling and grammar as well as sentence fluency. Nobody likes to read stories that have words like "taked" "smild" and "throught" and those can be caught by a simple spell check. Know the difference between your and you're as well as there and their; things like that stick out very clearly and can be found by simply proofreading. Commas and other punctuation are essential, as they allow the reader follow along. Lastly, when writing you must have paragraphs that blend together. You can't jump around from idea to idea, the story has to flow as if you spoke the words rather than wrote them. Proofread and find those awkwardly worded sentences that might be a bit too confusing to read.

2. Plot

When coming with a plot, there is no easy advice; story ideas are your own and it all depends on how you play it out. The biggest thing however, is that you MUST have a conflict, and a resolution. Too many stories simply go on and on without any real problem or conflict before just ending without any resolution. A good story has a beginning where the characters are introduced and the conflict is revealed, a period of rising action, and a climax where the conflict reaches its breaking point and is ultimately resolved. Before you go and start a story it is very important that you think it through and know at least vaguely how it will all play out. It's never good when you've built up a huge problem and then have no idea where to go with it. Asking readers to give suggestions is a bad idea; never write for the appeasement of the reader, but rather for their entertainment. You never wanted to see Mufasa get killed, but without it The Lion King wouldn't be nearly as good. Nobody wants stuff like that, but its needed for a good story, don't write to keep the reader in a state of constant pleasure, because it will just get boring.

3. Characters

There are four types of characters:

Main- There can only be one or two of these characters and they are the ones that the story revolves around. They are the ones that are tried, that are made to suffer so that they can ultimately triumph. They change over the course of the story, and eventually learn something from it all. They are real characters in the sense that they are not perfect. If they are perfect, they'll be boring and no one will care. Give them time to show their traits and to reveal how they feel about certain things, you need to make sure that the way you see your character is the same as how the reader sees them. DO NOT have a lot of main characters, it will only confuse the reader and make it that much harder for them to be developed since you will have to split up your time for each one.

Supporting- Any recurring character that helps to show the developments in the protagonist. They can have their own share of trials and problems that they have to deal with, but they can't take away from the focus on the main character(s).

Antagonist- The enemy or rival of the main character, someone who simply is the source of the plot's conflict. They don't need to develop unless you want them to, so you can really have as many as you want as long as you don't give a name to every single one. For example, there were a ton of hyenas, but only three were named.

Side/filler- The random characters that only have one or two appearances throughout the story. They serve simply to do things that none of the other characters can do and play roles that are unimportant. They're lines are so short that they rarely even need a name.

One final point to make about characters is that you must be able to make them their own character; they need to have such a distinct personality that it would be impossible to have them do certain things. They need to take on a life of their own and the writer must write as if they are the character and not as if the character is them.

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Finished Stories:

Nala's Brother- A teenager becomes stranded in the Pridelands and becomes
almost like a brother to Nala during Scar's Reign. Kind of a Lion King Rewrite,"
but also focusing on Nala's youth without Simba.

A Second Chance- Simba and Akido, Kovu's son and prince of the Pridelands, is brutally
murdered by Zira and her new weapon of a lion steals the throne. Akido is given a
second chance by the Kings of the past and is reborn as his brother to restore the
balance. The first few chapters of this story are a bit tragic, violent, and just plain
tough to read, but if you can make it through I'm sure that you will really like it.

Nala's Brother: Return to Priderock- A sequel to Nala's Brother, Alex returns to Priderock
in time for the events of the second movie. Again, like the original this is kind of a
rewrite of Simba's Pride, but it does have plenty of extra stuff. It has been well received
by everyone that read the original.

Simba's Pride: Kovu's Way- Rated 9.1/10 by readers- It is my opinion that Kovu got completely screwed over by
the writers of the second movie. This story will likely start off on the morning when
Simba gets attacked, and go a little better for the poor outlander. I plan on actually
giving him a chance to try to explain things a little, not to give too much away.

Turncoat- Tanai is one of Simba's best and most loyal fighters, and
almost a son him. When Zira reveals that she has his long lost friend in her clutches,
he is forced to pretend to defect to the Outlanders and fool everybody, even his family,
in order to rescue his friend.

Path of a Rogue Warrior (1)-

Part1- When power, wealth, and luxury are not enough to fulfill him, Kiota sets off in search of the only thing that he truly enjoys: combat. He kills frivolously and heartlessly in search of a good opponent, placing everything on the line to see how far he can push himself. Full of highly detailed fight scenes with an interesting factual foundation that is explained later on.

Path of a Rogue Warrior (2)-

Part 2- Something is wrong with Kiota, and he can't figure out what. His duel with Ojiro left him feeling very strangely, so he returns to the wilderness in an attempt to figure it all out. To his displeasure, he is accompanied by the revenge-bent daughter of a defeated enemy whom he is unable to kill due to some mental block. (Note: Part 2 is in the same story as part 1)

Path of a Rogue Warrior(3)-

Part 3- Kiota is done; he's no longer the sociopathic killer that he once was. He's sick of King Toyo's tyranny, and he plans to stop him at all costs.The Search for a Hero- Amari is useless by anyone's standards, he is clumsy, weak, and less than cunning. But when a gang of Rogues threaten to take the Pridelands by force while the pride lays sick with disease, he goes off into the wilderness in search of someone to help. A hero.

In Progress:

None

Future (Title and plot subject to change):

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