Tips on Writing a Spotlight Winning Neoadventure

1.) Think of a good base storyline. Where do you want your story to take place??? What would you like it to be about? I chose to go exploring in tombs. That's just what my neopets beg me to do all the time. Perhaps you would like to write about your neopets adventures in Neopia, or better yet, make it a neopet that your reader can control from their point of view: their very own Neoadventure pet!!! Or maybe you would like to take your reader on a trip around Neopia??? Creating people and places for them to see and speak with along the way. A good storyline is the heart of your adventure. Make sure you choose something that you love so that you have a really fun time writing your story. I wouldn't have written as many pages as I have so far if I didn't love to explore!!! (Not to mention I'm always having to go looking for my neopets when they go off exploring on their own, but that is another Neoadventure entirely. Hahaha...)

2.) Now that you have your storyline you can begin your adventure. Start off by writing a small paragraph about where you are starting from and then give your readers a few options as to what do to or where to go next. For instance, I started out at the entrance to a tomb. My readers can either open the tomb door, look for another entrance, or simply leave. Try to give your readers as many options as you can. It makes for a more challenging story when they have more then one or two options to choose from. If you can't think of a lot of options, then start out with just two. They can either go to option A or option B and then later on when you have finished your story you can always go back and add more options and more pages and just keep branching your story off in all different directions. I myself still plan on doing that as well. Personally, my story will probably never be finished since I am always thinking of new things to add and new places to take my readers. You can choose to add to your story over time, or just write on and leave it that way forever. The choice is yours, but the more you add and the more directions your story branches off into, the bigger and better your Neoadventure is sure to become.

3.) Add some pictures to your story. Search all of Neopia and I'll bet you'll find some really great pictures that you can add to each of your pages. Try to pick a picture that would best suit the actual page it is going on. I found a really great picture of a room flooding which went perfectly with my page regarding a flood trap. Sometimes you can just look at a picture and then all of a sudden you might think of a page you would like to write about it. Inspiration can come from all kinds of places. Nothing makes a story fun like a great picture, though!!! Pictures also help get your reader more into the mood of your story. For instance, a really spooky picture of the Brain Tree may give your readers that eerie feeling you want them to experience from your adventure, just like a cute and fuzzy picture of a baby Kougra will probably make them smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Selecting the proper images for your pages can really add some personality and fun to your adventure, so choose wisely.

4.) Font. Ahhhhhhh yes. How many times have you tried to read someone's Neoadventure and just given up??? I have found a few of them that I just simply could not read. The words were either some really odd color that didn't show up well on the background they had chosen, or they were just too small to read. When writing your story, be sure you go back and look at each page yourself. Decide if the color, size, position, of your words is too hard for your reader to see. Remember, if the person viewing your page is having a hard time reading it, then they probably will not bother finishing your story at all, or worse yet, they may give you a bad rating for it (if you care about that type of thing). Try to keep your font a simple color, or if you want to be different and creative, just make sure that what you choose is also practical and works well with the background. Sometimes simple can actually be the best choice.

5.) Be creative!!! Nothing sparks a reader's interest more than a writer with a great imagination!!! Try to put yourself in your reader's position as the character of your story. Where would you go??? What would you want to see??? What would you do in a particular situation? Chances are many of your readers will want to go and do a lot of the same things you will. So surprise them a little. If you think someone will pick a certain room for a certain reason, mix up your story a little and throw them a little curve ball so they are pleasantly surprised when they read something that they were not expecting to see.

6.) Ratings. Ahhhhhh yes. We all want our adventures to score a perfect 5 on the ratings list, but let's be real. Ratings are a great way to determine if you want to read a story at first glance, but I can tell you from my own personal experiences that I have read some really really great stories that have only scored a 2 or 3, just like I have also read some really... well, let's just say not so great stories that were ranked up in the 4 and 5s. So, my advice to you, don't even worry about the ratings. Let everyone else decide what your story is to become on the scale and try to just forget about it. Your rating is not always a reflection on how great your story is. Remember that!!! There are people out there that like to rate adventures low just to keep them from scoring higher than their own. It's sad but true. So keep in mind when you are looking to play someone else's adventure as well that the rating is a helpful tool, but it's by no means a judge on your writing talents.

7.) Most importantly: HAVE FUN!!! The more fun you have creating your story, the more fun your story will become for your readers. Personality really goes a long way!!! I can almost guarantee that if you are in a happy/silly mood when you are writing, your story will reflect that same happy/silly mood as well. It works for those days that just aren't going right for you too. Perhaps that kind of day will inspire you to add some sad pages to your story. It's all up to you!!! Find your creative outlet and then sit down and just start typing. You'll be surprised at how much you can actually write once you start. I thought to myself, hmmmmm... what am I going to write about??? HAHAHA. and then 70 + pages later and still adding, I'm amazed at how much I have accomplished. Winning the Neoadventure spotlight was just a wonderful surprise to me!!! It made me feel like all my hard work had paid off if just one person loved my story.

So go out there and create yourselves some great adventures!!! I look forward to reading them and I hope this article served you well.

Happy Adventuring Neopia!!! - originalladycroft