Thank you for giving me an idea for my VN.
I completely agree with what you mentioned. I'm not saying Angelica Temptation is horrible or wonderful because it isn't done yet.However, the story is intriguing, and their own agenda makes the VN enjoyable.However, if they make aria+henry and mark+angie the ending, this is the story's biggest plot twist.
I'm not very good at writing stories, but I'll use this concept in my narrative.
But I disagree that there is an unbreakable rule in narrative, such as this kind of character should not end up as this character because of this because of that.
I hate to admit it, but everything is possible if you have a strong imagination.
I'm sure you're a fantastic writer, so why not try making VN?
Just to be clear, as
rhcp725 said, I'm a guy, not a chick, sorry for any confusion that may have led to that. I've spoken pretty openly about having a wife and a couple other girlfriends that live with me.
I get that you disagree that there's no unbreakable rules, but please take this in the way it's intended, as I mean no disrespect, but as you also said, you're also new to writing, (I don't want to say bad, because inexperienced isn't really a good gauge for potential). It is true that if you have a strong imagination, anything & everything is possible, sure. But for your story to actually work well, it has to be done the right way.
Let me ask, when you see behind the scenes of actors playing roles, You ever seen them ask "What's my motivation?" There's a reason for that. They're asking "Why is this character doing this?" So the big question we need to ask, is for Henry & Aria to end up together, with Angelica & Mark ending up together, What is their motivation? Henry doesn't like Aria, Aria REALLY dislikes Henry. So why would they decide to get together after Angelica leaves Henry for Mark? The whole reason why Mark is staying with them in the first place, instead of with Aria or any other number of places he could stay is
.
So as you can see, Angelica leaving Henry for Mark makes sense. But either Aria or Henry deciding "Well let's hook up with each other" doesn't make sense because when you take into account the characters that they are & how they feel about each other, the the obvious question is "Why the hell would they do that? It makes no sense".
Think of it like this, Think of another example of another writer that thought there were no rules when writing, that he could do anything he wanted to do. His name was Tommy Wiseau, He's the guy that wrote "The Room". That movie is known for pretty much just 1 thing & that's being comically bad. The writing & poor dialogue is at the core of that. Even with good actors, good cinematography & a good director, it still wouldn't be salvageable as a "good" movie. It was so bad that a movie about the making of it was made called "The disaster artist". Is that the kind of effect you're going for with your story? If not, then there's rules for how to write to make the written product good.
Now, for contrast, look at someone like Aaron Sorkin, the writer for The West Wing, The Newsroom, Studio 60 on the Sunset strip, Sports Night, The American President, Money Ball, A few Good Men & a whole bunch of other projects. Watch some of his work. Take notice of how he handles the characters. Look at the dialogue, the pacing, the logic & consistency of the characters themselves. He's a master at his craft & his body of work shows it. He adheres strictly to the Aristotelian rules that I laid out before. As do other greats in this genre like Karl Iglesias, William Goldman, Bill Lawrence, Michael Hague, the list goes on & on. I'll give you a few more visual examples, plus a couple clips of these creators speaking on it
Arron Sorkin on Character: The whole video I think would be good for you to watch, but the salient points are from about the 42 minute mark to about 45 minutes. So if you're pressed for time, or can't be bothered to watch it all, those 3 minutes are the important part:
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Here's Karl Iglesias going over similar principals:
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Now, for a visual demonstration of some of these principals at work, take note of the following examples:
This first one is pulled from The West Wing. For context, the characters involved are Leo McGarry, which is President Jed Bartlett's Chief of Staff, basically the president's right hand man. Both Jed & Leo are staunch Democrats. The female character is Ainsley Hayes, a conservative, party line Republican political commentator & analyst. The first clip is the setup to the second. In the first, we see Ainsley & Sam Seaborn, Part of Leo's staff debating. That clip is to give you context. The important details are in the second scene. Take note of the nuances & characteristics of the characters. Leo is an easy going, charismatic old guy, Ainsly is a very driven, opinionated but also extremely high anxiety woman. Take note of how these character traits are used to interplay in the banter between them, & how these scenes are shaped. The way the dialogue is shaped, the flow, cadence & pace of it. These are all critical elements of making it read well & pull the viewer into the scene as though they were looking at real people. First the clip of Ainsley & Sam on Capitol Beat:
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Now the Clip of Ainsley & Leo:
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Now, there is a LOT to unpack here. Don't worry so much about the subject matter of the scenes, but more how they are built, especially the second one. Like I said, dialogue is HUGE. The cadence, the banter, the flow, all of it. Even the asides that aren't pertinent to the content of the scene, for example:
Leo: "You have an interesting conversational style, you know that?"
Ainsley: "It's a nervous condition"
Leo: "I used to have a nervous condition"
Ainsley: "How did yours manifest itself?"
Leo: "I drank a lot of scotch"
Ainsley "I get sick when I drink too much"
Leo: "I get drunk when I drink too much"
Now this all may seem like extra filler, but it's not. This bit of banter shows 2 things. 1, it adds a splash of comedic levity to a predominantly dramatic narrative, & 2, it helps create the illusion that these are not actors playing a role, but rather 2 real people having a conversation. This is CRITICAL for pulling the viewer into that world, making them feel like their a fly on the wall of their reality which lends itself immeasurably to making the viewer bond & invest themselves emotionally in these characters. By writing these actors dialogues like it was a real conversation between 2 people, by writing the things Leo says as the easy going, charismatic older guy he is, & Ainsley as the high strung, neurotic firebrand that she is, they FEEL REAL. & it's that adherence in keeping the writing true to the character that not just engages but keeps the characters true too themselves. That is the magic of good writing.
Here's another of Ainsley meeting with President Bartlett:
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Again, a lot going on in that scene & a lot of little nuanced bits here & there that make it all flow organically & naturally. These are the pieces that make for good writing.
Now here's one that emphasizes the more dramatic end: There's actually a scene with a lot of these elements in the next update.
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Let me take another approach. You argue that there are no unbreakable rules because with strong imagination, anything is possible right? Let's test that theory.
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Now I say the above listed line of gibberish ^^^^ is a complete story. Is it? is it even intelligible? Well the obvious answer is no. It's just someone spazzing out on the keyboard. But if all we apply is the principal of "There's no rules, it's all imagination", technically my claim of that being a complete story is completely valid. But is that a story worth investing anything into, Even with that premise? No. It's not. So at the baseline, we're still constrained to at least the basic rules of grammar & word / sentence structure. We still have to arrange the letters & words in a specific order, with specific grammar to make those letters effectively communicate something. There's an old joke that the Dictionary contains the greatest story ever written. The punchline obviously is it's just a matter of taking the words from it & arranging them in the right order to get that story.
Think if it like any other art medium. If I were to take a pencil & just scribble haphazardly on a piece of paper, sure I could claim it was a bird, but all the viewer sees is what looks like a 2 year old scribbling with crayons. In order for the viewer to see the bird I'm drawing, I have to make sure the lines & shading & all the other bits I draw on the page look like a bird.
When writing a story, you're drawing the picture with words. So the words on the page MUST conform to the picture you wish to paint. & if you write a character as A, then have them inexplicably shift to B, that leads to the reader asking "Wait what? That doesn't make sense. Why are they..." & then you lost them. The immersion is broken once that happens, the magic is gone, they are now looking behind the curtain. Instead of being captivated by the story, their mind is now focused on figuring out how things shifted so drastically & inexplicably. That is what you don't want. That is the death knell for a good story.
So, we're stuck again asking the question, Why would Henry & Aria get together at all, Let alone in a context where Angelica leaves Henry for Mark? What within either of them would make them say "This is a relationship I want", when everything within their current character frameworks are antithetical to that? How would we get Aria & Henery both to a place within their own psyche's where they both want it, then mobilize them to move towards it? Therein lies the problem.
Now if it makes you feel any better, there are endings where Mark & Angelica end up together, (Though those are in future updates), there are endings where both Angelica & Aria end up with Mark, Where they both end up with Henry, & there may even be one where Aria & Henry end up together, without the mark & angelica angle being a factor. But to get to those places requires getting the characters there first && under very specific circumstances. Because it HAS to be done that way to keep the reader engaged & the magic of the tale intact. Otherwise, it breaks & then that takes away from the story.
Now, when you are writing your own stories, you certainly can create anything you want like that. But you have to craft the characters in a way where that is a natural & realistic trajectory for them. Otherwise, you'll have issues with your script. Hope that makes more sense
Saruh Games