How to create an epic storyline

[Exeonix 12]

Hello there. Have you ever had the inspiration to create an animation but can't create a storyline that is unique,original,and is not the same old story where at first glimpse you already know what will happen in the end? Well here is a guide that could help you with that.

 
 
Okay first things first:
THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY:
 
When you create the first part of the story you should always explain or put the most important things that will affect the rest of the storyline until the end like the main character's past or something that started an epidemic or an apocalypse so that the viewers will not be confused about what happened before. Or you could make the main character's past a mystery and then reveal it in the end of the story. And you should always put a lot of effort in your first part of the story because if the viewers like it they will watch the next one and so on. But if they don't like it they will not watch the next parts no matter how good they are because most viewers expect the quality of the first part of a story to be as the same quality as the rest of it.
 
THE MIDDLE OF THE STORY:
 
When creating this part of the story the best way (in my opinion) to do it is by thinking of the ending first and making it so when it is done the next thing that will happen is the ending. And don't make the ending too obvious because if you don't make it too obvious the viewers have no idea what to expect in the end and that is what keeps them watching.Or you could make it so that when the viewers watch it they will think they know what will happen in the end but they really don't.
 
 
THE ENDING OF THE STORY:
 
Before you create this part you should always think of how the viewers will react when they watch it but sometimes you will never know if they hate it or if they like it. Some ways to end a story is by imagining you are a the viewer and thinking what would the viewers expect to be the ending and do the exact opposite of that like for example the main character was infected by a zombie and he is looking for the cure and when he finally finds the cure it's too late and he turns into a zombie or some people find him and mistake him for a zombie and they kill him. Do whatever you want. Or you could create an unexpected plot twist (make sure it makes sense) because most viewers think they know how it ends and then BOOM! PLOT TWIST! and you watch their theories crumble into pieces. Or you could create a cliffhanger in the end for example (the story I made up above about the guy who got infected) he finds the cure but he is not really sure that it works so he drinks it and the story ends there. That kind of ending usually drives the viewers crazy looking for proof if he becomes a zombie or not. Or you could always go with the usual happy ending you see in most stories. (Nah too lame)
 
 
MISCELLANEOUS:
 
PLOT TWISTS:
 
When you are thinking of creating a plot twist for your story make sure that it is not expected by the viewers because if they think there's going to be a plot twist and you put one in the story it wouldn't really be called a plot twist because they were expecting it.
 
CLIFFHANGERS
 
Cliffhangers are a good way to keep the viewers watching because if you put a cliffhanger in the end of an episode they will be very eager to watch the next one and that is what keeps them watching.
 
FLASHBACKS
 
You could also create flashbacks for example when the main character goes to a place he once lived in but was destroyed by an evil overlord. You could also use flashbacks to solve the mysteries of the main character's past.
 
EASTER EGGS
 
You could also add some easter eggs hidden in some parts of the story if you are just playing around with the storyline.
 
MYSTERIES LEFT FOR THE VIEWERS TO SOLVE
 
You could add these too for example the main character has to defeat the 5 evil overlords but when you watch the whole story and you count how many he has defeated he has only defeated 4 overlords. This makes the viewers think: What happened to the last one? Is there going to be a second story where the main character defeats the last one?
 
 
And here I will end this incredibly long tutorial. I  hope this helped!

 

Edited May 22, 2014 by Exeonix

[ÜberKiller 7.5k]

I cleaned the topic up for you so it isn't spam. Remember, just edit the topic next time instead of quoting it.

 

Be sure to read Ayhay's for figuring out how the forums works!

[BlackCrept 1.1k]

Or:

 

http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/7-simple-ways-to-make-a-good-story-great

[Poyo 114]

Haha, those two profile pictures in that order. Perfect.

Anyway, that's a great tutorial on making a good, convincing storyline. I know a lot of people (cough) who could use this.