The NCDC Club

Several years ago, I started this mysterious little Secret Society called the NCDC Club over on America Online. The club was intended for those who were serious writers, those who remained In-Character and viciously plotted some amazing stories in journals and in the chat rooms. For those who were not part of the NCDC, there was quite the ruckus in trying to crack the acronym and figure it all out, along with a dose of desperation in being part of the IN crowd.

Well, there was nothing really IN about the NCDC club, the gist of which was taken from a line of the antagonist character Annie Wilkes in Stephen King's "Misery" novel.

If you're at all familiar with the novel, the line was delivered in a fit of delusional rage when Annie Wilkes was reciting a childhood memory of going to the weekend matinees at the movie theater, where prior to the main feature the audiences were treated to a weekly serial that ended each week with the hero in dire straits. The following week, the hero would manage to get out of the impossible situation.. only by way of cheating via the script writer's loss of realism and continuity. As an avid fan of stories, this naturally angered the young Annie Wilkes -- enough that she carried her rage well into adulthood.


"No caca doodie cheaters!" On pain of death and dismemberment, we swear to never cheat (god-mode), lest we infuriate our Number One Fan!

So in honor of the crazed Ms. Annie Wilkes, I salute all the writers of the secret NCDC Club society. You know who you are!

Tall Tales

Best-selling novelist Stephen King was once quoted in Publisher's Weekly as saying, "Don't give them what they want -- give them what you want." By most online role playing game standards, Stephen would be labeled a God-Moder.

There seems a general consensus of late in the online role play gaming forums as to what constitutes good and worthy storytelling, where lines are drawn right down the middle. You go to Group-A if you prefer a character-based story, and Group-B if you prefer a plot-based story, where you're likely to be labeled as a God-Moder, too.

(Note: In response to thread on RPG-Directory's discussion forum thread Roleplay Talk)

Time to drag out the old college Holt Handbook and the Smartin's (pet name given to St. Martin's Guide to Writing), as well as the Guide to Writing In The Disciplines, and the latest edition of The Writer's Handbook. Folks, there is no such thing in any writer's manual that divides written stories into plot-driven stories and character-driven stories. Writing always has, and always will be divided into two classical categories from which a myriad of genres arise -- Fiction and Non-Fiction.

A fiction story must be driven by a plot AND characters. To remain interesting, it must have an amazing plot and exceptional characters. The rules have not changed in this. Nor will they.

Fiction writing that lacks any sort of plot and deals only with characters jabbering in a restaurant in one scene, then jabbering in a living room in the next scene, and a little romance tossed in for extra measure -- is not a story at all. It's a soap opera. And what you very often get online isn't even truly fiction in this type of writing element. It tends to cross over into the real thoughts and feelings of the person behind the monitor.

Don't get me wrong. I love a good true story just as much as the next guy. But even true stories and non-fiction instruction manuals endeavor to make a point by the time you reach the end. If they didn't, and they just rambled on endlessly, no one would read them. And every publisher in their right mind would be issuing the pink slip of death.

Oh but hey.. in a virtual world of pointless writing no one can ever be erroneously accused or (gasp!) guilty of God-Moding. Hmmm. Sounds like another article in the works.

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