Everything in a very tight nutshell

Here's everything we've spoken about in this guide, in a very brief summary:

Writing a Narrative is like baking a cake.

Before you do anything, you need to know how many layers your cake is going to have and from there you bring out your ingredients.

Flour – World

Sugar, Salt – Story

Baking Powder – Characters

Eggs, Oil – Dialogue

Cocoa, berries, vanilla, etc – Theme/Style

The world is the base of a narrative, with the story taking place in it giving it flavour; the characters make sure that the story doesn't fall flat – and the dialogue makes sure that everything melds together. The theme is going to determine the taste, but remember, some tastes can work together, and others not – but that doesn't mean you can't try!

Mix it all together, and place in the oven. What's the metaphorical oven? Well, it does take a bit of time to create all this…

Remember the non-literary stylistic tools? Well, once the cake is out of the oven, this is where they shine. Icing the cake, adding the little hundreds and thousands or whatever and making it look (and, er, sound?) appealing is a job usually left until the end (even though you've had the picture in your head all along). And remember…a chocolate cake doesn't have to look like a chocolate cake (wink wink).

And there you have it! A completed ca- er Narrative!

The reason the cake metaphor works so well is because it's a whole. If you eat each ingredient of a cake, it doesn't taste like a cake at all – but when it's completed as a whole, it's delicious!

Ok I'll stop with the cake metaphor now.

And FINALLY – Things to note

It took a loooooooong time to get here, but this is honestly the last part of this guide. We're going to look at a few things to be wary of while writing or conceptualizing a narrative.

• Clichés
  You might have picked up on the very very clichéd nature of the level 3 Dev.Mag Heroes story that was created. Well, that was the whole idea – from warriors battling some alien force to save the world, to deities who hold the key to stopping said forces; these are all concepts that have literally been done in games hundreds of times.
  While being completely original 100% of the time is impossible (and the people who attempt to do so often get criticized for it), it is a fine line to tread. There is nothing wrong with doing something that's been done before – but it comes greatly recommended that you try to add your own flair to it at the very least.
  One of the reasons I support genre blending is that it allows story tellers and game makers to take tried and true components, and mix them up to create something entirely new.
  
• Continuity
  A big error people tend to make is overloading themselves with information to the point that they struggle to manage it effectively. In movies, characters can jump from shot to shot having minor changes in their appearance. In stories, items or places get mentioned that seemingly have some sort of relevance, but ultimately disappear into obscurity; names change ("trawls"/"trowls") and indeed, if a game is cinematic, the movie-type continuity errors also occur.
  The big tip here is to keep all your facts checked, and noted, so that you don't get lost in your own world.