TWAWKI/Guidelines

Style

• Present Tense
• Second Person
  • It should mostly read as though it were third person, as the reader is an outside observer that cannot directly interact with the characters. Use second person only to refer to the reader (the character that has been given control of the Earth).

Format

• Preface all choices with TWAWKI/ and provide identical alternate text without TWAWKI/.

  *[[TWAWKI/This is a choice|This is a choice]]

  • If the option is not unique and you want to keep the wording for the option you may make the original option unique and keep the non-unique option name for the alternate text. For instance if you have Focus on a rural area as an option for many entries (which is likely) you can put it up as:

    *[[TWAWKI/Focus on a rural area (US)|Focus on a rural area]]

    and

    *[[TWAWKI/Focus on a rural area (UK)|Focus on a rural area]]

    for example, and this will keep them separate while making both options appear as Focus on a rural area.
• Options should be in a consistent manner once all the focus elements are in line. The first group of options should be for changing focus on country, region or individual. The second set of options should be for influencing the focus individual. The term (Individual's Name should) should be part of all of these options. The third set of options should be for making new rules. Rules can be added at any time, but must never be removed. The last set of options is a catch all for other things the the reader can do (generally letting the story progress without acting). All groups are optional. You do not need to provide options in each one for every page. Here is an example:

'''Change Focus.'''
*[[TWAWKI/Focus on another country|Focus on another country]]
*[[TWAWKI/Focus on another town|Focus on another town]]
*[[TWAWKI/Focus on Jill|Focus on Jill]]
*[[TWAWKI/Focus on Jack|Focus on Jack]]

'''Influence Joe.'''
*[[TWAWKI/Joe should option|Joe should option]]
*[[TWAWKI/Joe should another option|Joe should another option]]
*[[TWAWKI/Joe should yet another option|Joe should yet another option]]

'''Make a rule.'''
*[[TWAWKI/Strange Rule|Strange Rule]]
*[[TWAWKI/Another Strange Rule|Another Strange Rule]]
*[[TWAWKI/Bizarre Rule|Bizarre Rule]]

'''Other.'''
*[[TWAWKI/Just watch|Just watch]]

• Entries should be at least a paragraph in length. One sentence entries are LAME.
  • If you feel you need a single sentence entry to give the player various options, do it on the same page. ie.

'''Influence Joe.'''
*[[TWAWKI/Joe should option|Joe should option]]
*[[TWAWKI/Joe should another option|Joe should another option]]
*[[TWAWKI/Joe should take her to his room|Joe should take her to his room]]
*[[TWAWKI/Joe should take her to her room|Joe should take her to her room]]
*[[TWAWKI/Joe should take her to the bathroom|Joe should take her to the bathroom]]
*[[TWAWKI/Joe should take her to the kitchen|Joe should take her to the kitchen]]

NOT

'''Influence Joe.'''
*[[TWAWKI/Joe should option|Joe should option]]
*[[TWAWKI/Joe should another option|Joe should another option]]
*[[TWAWKI/Joe should take her to another part of the house|Joe should take her to another part of the house]]

With the entry for Joe should take her to another part of the house simply being one sentence and a selection of rooms.

• The reader should only speak at the beginning of any passage that they influence the focused individual, or make a rule. The reader's text should be on a separate line, and be lime green. If the reader is influencing the focused individual it should be in italicized text; if they are making a rule it should be in bold text. Examples:

You whisper to Joe:

<font color=limegreen>''"Joe, you should jump off the bridge."''</font color>

You clear your voice then shout:

<font color=limegreen>'''"All bridges are now made of silly putty!"'''</font color>

Content

• Status Bar:
  • I tried to make the status bar as easy as possible to read and change.
  • It is highly recommended that you copy the status bar form the previous page, then edit it on the current page if necessary.
  • Only edit the status bar if a focus element has changed, a rule has been added, or the condition of the focus individual has changed.
  • Be conscious of all rules that have been added as you write the story. Rules are unbreakable and represent a new reality, like a new law of physics.
  • The rule only affects what it says it does. Just because a rule makes incest okay does not mean the a man would fuck his 10 year old daughter as age is still a factor.
  • To make things interesting consider how a rule might affect things in a way that the reader may not have considered when making the rule.
  • Only connect two branches of the story if the status bar is identical or the option that leads to the merged branch makes it identical.
• What can and can't the reader do?
  • The reader is omniscient when it comes to a focused individual only. They know everything about their focus including thoughts and feelings. For everyone else the reader knows everything external, but not thoughts and feelings.
  • The reader knows of all events that unfold anywhere in the world.
  • The reader can only influence the target of their focus. If they want to influence someone else they must change focus.
  • The reader cannot directly talk to, or interact with the people, places, or things in the world.
• All stories are interconnected.
• If you want to put in new characters feel free to do so.
• Feel free to use any characters that have already been introduced.
• I reserve the right to edit and or delete entries that are poorly written, or to bring two or more passages in line with one another.

Claims

• If you would like to write for a specific passage, but don't have the time at the moment, you may claim it by putting (Claimed) and your signature after the option you would like to claim. (Your signature is the second to last button on the editing page.)
  • Once you have written the passage, remove your claim from the option.
  • Do not jump another person's claim.
  • If you haven't worked on your claimed passage for a long time I will remove your claim.
  • The term 'a long time' in the above rule is defined as: "whenever I think it has been idle too long". It will be at least a week, but may be significantly more time than that.
  • Don't claim all of the options on a particular page. Leave some options for others.