Guides

How to Lore


Hey y'all! I'm CayCay, owner of CayCay's Lore Store, a medium to fairly successful lore shop in the art forum. I know the trade well enough to help you, I think. Don't look at the lore of dragons I don't mention, please. I don't follow my own rules a lot because I'm lazy.

Anyway, let's get one thing straight. There is no "right" way to make lore. There is no "wrong" way. But I'm not here to talk about which way works better. I'm here to tell you about how I make money on this website doing it.

In fact, I'm also here to teach myself. I've wanted to write this guide for the longest time, and maybe help people who didn't know where to start. Since it's easier to follow by example, I've decided to do this with you guys. :)

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Contents

1. Foreword
2. The Idea
3. Developing the Idea
4. Building the History
5. Personality
6. Style and Types of Lore
7. The Writing
8. Do's and Don'ts
9. Editing
10. Finishing Touches
11. Resources
12. FAQ
13. Author's Note

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Also be aware that these are NOT rules! Suggestions to help you feel less stuck. More encouragement than anything. Thank you so much for reading my little guide!

The Idea

This is probably the easiest and fastest part of writing lore. All it requires is the most basic idea of your dragon. Just a single quality or childhood memory can be enough. It's the thing that breeds all the rest of the lore.

Your eyes widen and you look at me in shock. "But CayCay," you stare at me, quivering. "I don't have any ideas."

To that, I smack you with a rolled up newspaper. "Rubbish." If you truly don't have ideas, it means you were tragically born without an imagination. Which I know you weren't, considering you're playing a game about dragons.

Ideas for characters are all around you. In movies, books, your own life, even on the ceiling. The only hard part is being able to recognize them. To pluck them out of the air and claim them as your own. That's the first step in being a talented writer.

I'll tell you one thing. To know ideas when you see them, train yourself to pick out tiny details and use them. Sometimes an entire story or just one character will bloom from them.


Here are some things to do if you're lost for ideas.

- watch a movie and write down the first phrase that comes to your mind when seeing the main character
- think about your favorite book character: what are some traits, qualities, or actions you love about them
- pick a random mythical creature and base your dragon's lore off that
- think of occupations you'd love to know more about and give them to the dragon as its job
- take a random emotion and build a personality around it
- think of your weirdest habit or quirk; if you don't have one, think of a friend's; give it to the dragon
- write random sentences until an idea springs off the page at you
- figure out some details about their familiar
- do they have a skin or accent?; is it part of their actual appearance?; how did they get it?
- look at their parents to see if they have lore if you're stuck and need some history
- relationships with other dragons is also a great place to start; it's how I wrote Cassie's lore!

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Alright. I was watching Daredevil, and I desperately want a blind but skilled dragon. There's Shard's basic idea.

See, it wasn't hard! Now you try!



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Developing the idea

Now that you have the most basic premise of your dragon, here comes the horrible fun part that everyone no one could find a reason to hate.

I despise this part, personally, but it has to be done.

First, question yourself. Take your basic idea. So your dragon is a lost princess. Okay, does she come from a good past? Is she beautiful or hideous? Does she remember this?

Posing all the questions you can think of is the best thing to do. But only answer the crucial ones right now. Such as how she entered the clan and whether they know about her past as a princess. This step may seem pointless, but the character will be a lot more in depth if you question yourself.

Now for the second part of this. Form the rest of your idea. You have a few important questions answered, and you have a scrap of an idea. Now put it together.

(Name) was born to a wealthy clan filled with beautiful dragons, only to be banished for her hideous appearance. She was thrown out at a very young age and doesn't remember being a princess, but she is very sweet and kind despite her mistreatment.

Sound better than your scrap of info? Yes now you have a piece of a plan. By the way, don't answer all those questions on paper. Just know the answers and you'll have something going for you.

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Example being...

Okay, so Shard is a blind but skilled dragon. Was he born blind? When I say skills, what do I mean? Can he sense movement? Are his other senses improved? Does blindness act as a disability in certain areas of his life? What does his family or clan mates think of him? Is he often underestimated?

Here's the idea I get from all that.

Shard was born a bully in the Ice clan. After an accident rendered him completely blind, he found a new home here in Vokun and was able to perfectly adjust and live his life with similar hardships as any seeing dragon.

K I think I can take that somewhere.



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Building the history

Ooh my favorite part! Everyone who's ever written fiction and had to make a character has heard of a Mary-Sue. While many Mary-Sues are based on seemingly perfect personalities, the past can contribute as well. Essentially, when writing lore, that's what you're doing. Creating a character.

Betcha didn't know dragons can be Mary-Sues just like any other character. Welp they can. This is due to very cliché things that you see in thousands of dragon bios that are actually really uncommon things.


Topics to Be Careful About

- making your dragons deities
- making an Imperial an Emperor
- making a dragon the actual Shade
- ghost dragons
- vampire dragons
- werewolf dragons


Etcetera etcetera. You get what I mean. But these things can be done, if they are done well. (Except the Shade thing because seriously. The Shade isn't a dragon, nor would it bother taking the form of one.) All you have to do is make the situation unique and include enough background to make it feel real.

A few small details, like time of day, size of the trees, or even what color the grass is can help people get much clearer image of your dragon and their story. This alone can help a story come to life. More on this in the writing segment.

You also should avoid giving every dragon in your lair a horrible and tragic backstory. I myself prefer dark and sad lore, but look at dragons like Moose and (eventually) Cassie. Happy things can be fun to write about too. You can give all your dragons terrible pasts, but eventually it might get old for you and anyone following your lore.

Now here's the fun part.

Actually coming up with a story. All you really have to do is expand on your idea. But there's more to it than just clarifying what you mean.

Know about the dragon's birth and childhood. Know how they were treated and what they were like. Whether you include it in the lore or not, it's vital information. Know what they wanted and what they planned for themselves. Know how they were as teenagers.

Then figure out what their adventure was. Some dragons have yet to get their adventure. But if they've faced any obstacles in their lives, it's enough. It's literally the most important part of building a story for your dragon. Without a defining event in their lives, nothing separates your derg from any other.

Then decide how they resolved their problem, if they did. If they didn't, why not? What are they trying to do? If a dragon's life is perfect, they'll be unique, but boring, all at once. It doesn't have to be catastrophic. But something needs to happen.

Once you have all this information, figure out what happened in their lives that brought them to their current point. Then know said current point. How's their current life? Family? Job? Happy or unhappy? You get the idea.

Once you have all this info documented, you're ready to move on!

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Okay, Shard.

From birth, he was a bully. He grew up that way, tormenting anyone smaller than him. As a teen it got worse. His parents treated him well but never really gave him discipline. He was spoiled, mean, and pushy. He expected to rule the world.

An accident occurred. He was working with scientists and they were blowing glass. A single shard, hence his name, blew into his eye and destroyed it. He didn't get the blind eye removed in time, and the infection spread. He was blind.

Beyond that, life was really hard to live until he finally found Vokun. Lily taught him everything he needed to know, only to find out he was her grandson. She helped him improve his senses, and that was that. He developed his skills and is now a skilled hunter and soldier.



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Personality

Oh yay. *grumbles* Everyone complains about not being able to make a basic personality seem unique. Guess what? It's impossible. Sure everyone is different, but there are only so many character traits out there. Combine them as you please, as long as they don't contradict each other. The next time I see a cowardly but brave Wildclaw, I'm going to hurl.

My basic point is uniqueness is not your priority here. The priority is examining the dragon's past and thinking about how that has affected their personality.

Maybe before doing that, a basic rundown of what personality even is. Yes it has to do with qualities like brave, sarcastic, and funny. But there's a lot more to it. The dragon's outlook on life, how they treat others, what their morals are. This is where personality gets very unique. There is so much you can say about a dragon's personality. How do they speak? What do they really want in life?

This is essentially determining who your dragon is. While it is fun to have a lair of vicious monsters, it can be equally satisfying to see that good hearted misfit (see Seraph and Moose). I'd avoid any touchy subject, unless you plan to not post that lore. Take a look at the Code of Conduct if you're unsure.

A great way to view different personalities is to choose give random books from your shelf and flip to a random page until you see a character's name. Then write down how they act. Are they friendly and sweet or loud and obnoxious? What personality your dragon has should definitely line up with their past though.

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Going blind and meeting Lily has opened Shard's eyes, so to speak. He is no longer a bully, but he stands up for victims of it. He resents his past and is easily upset. Sarcasm is his main defense. He actually has moods swings depending on those around him. He is very quick to respond though, and he is occasionally known to cry about very serious things. Some would call it sensitive, but not exactly. He appreciates things more now. Like dreams. They're the only time he can see.



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Style and Types of Lore

Your writing style is something I can't help you find. It took me from second grade to find my own. But I can tell you that the only way to find it is to write and write and write. You'll get there.

Anyhoo, there are different ways to approach writing lore.

You can make it vague, hinting that it's your dragon you're talking about but never give names. This is a great thing to do if you want to be cryptic and frightening. It's nice for undead and spirit dragons.

You could write a scene. A real piece of fiction, no matter the length, is an excellent way to reveal a character. All you have to do is just be sure to include what you need to.

Then there's the campfire version. That's what I do. Just tell the story like you'd tell it to a friend. It's always a lot of information getting covered as well as opportunities for scenes, such as in Amaya's bio.

And there's a form with categories. Name, Gender, Sexuality, Birthday, History, Appearance, Job et cetera. For me this is the boring and stale one. It doesn't offer much insight for your dragon. That's the real misfortune with it.

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For Shard, I'd like to do two things. A brief biography and the scene where he finds out Lily is his grandmother.



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The Writing

This is the hardest part of lore. You know the story and you've worked so hard to get a real character in mind for your dragon. You sit down at your desk, so ready to get this lore under way, then notice your dog needs water. You forgot to check the mail. Your baby brother built an igloo and is filling it with peanuts.

There's a million reasons you shouldn't sit down and write. But there's one reason you should. And if it's not true, just don't write. Please, it's obviously not fun for you. The reason is because you want to. If you want to do something, so help me do it.

Now, I guess the hardest part is finding the time and patience to write lore. As a huge procrastinator, I feel you. But this is something you just have to do. No ifs ands or buts about it.

Once you sit down to write, everything is planned. You just need to put it into words. My advice for this is write what you would yell your best friend if they asked about your dragon's lore. If you do that, it won't sound forced or clunky. It's just you and your friend, talking about a pixelated dragon.

Also, don't aim for a specific length. Write until you feel the dragon's story has been told. Then guess what? The hardest part is over.

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Here's what I did for Shard.




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Do's and don'ts

This section is self-explanatory.

1. DO make regularly scheduled time for writing and do your very best to stick to it. Once a day, twice a week, once a month. Doesn't matter.

2. DON'T stress yourself out. Remember, write for yourself not anyone else. This is a fun activity.

3. DO experiment and try new things. Boring same old stuff does get really tedious to write. Think outside the box and make it up as it comes to you.

4. DON'T follow rules, excepting FR rules. Be loose and flexible on how you write. It's more fun that way.

5. DO let people you trust read it. They can give you pointers and encouragement all you want.

6. DON'T share it in the forums until you're comfortable with criticism. You never know.



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Editing

This section is where you look over your piece. Fix typos, reword things, add things you missed. Delete things that sound awkward or clunky. Polish it and make it look good.

Second part, show it to someone you know and trust and get some good tips or pointers. Then edit it again according to any advice you find yourself agreeing with. Done, for the most part.

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Shard's Revised Piece




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