Da Prophet
Mid-Card Championship Winner
Finally got over the 4000 view mark and my latest Smackdown is up.
Book This! - General Discussion
- Thread starter Danmen001
- Start date
Da Prophet
Mid-Card Championship Winner
Thank you, seems like ages ago when I started the thread. My best ever and I'm really enjoying writing it. But the next RAW will not be up for two maybe three weeks. I'm really itching to get to Armageddon. First comes TLC which is something I'm finding hard to get interested for. Just not feeling it to be honest with that PPV.
Well done, Proph! While we're celebrating views, 5000! Woop woop!
I think that sometimes you have to look past the number of reviews and focus on the number of readers/views. There are definitely people reading who never comment. I don't personally write my BT for reviews, I appreciate them when I get them but I write it to keep my creative writing eye in really. I'd stop writing if the number of views started to drop off but not because of a lack of reviews and comments. I like to set little targets too. I've been looking for 5000 views for a while now, I expect Survivor Series to get me towards 100 replies, then I'm aiming for 10,000 views.
Almost got SD written, Survivor Series should follow in the following week when I get a week off work.
I think that sometimes you have to look past the number of reviews and focus on the number of readers/views. There are definitely people reading who never comment. I don't personally write my BT for reviews, I appreciate them when I get them but I write it to keep my creative writing eye in really. I'd stop writing if the number of views started to drop off but not because of a lack of reviews and comments. I like to set little targets too. I've been looking for 5000 views for a while now, I expect Survivor Series to get me towards 100 replies, then I'm aiming for 10,000 views.
Almost got SD written, Survivor Series should follow in the following week when I get a week off work.
Da Prophet
Mid-Card Championship Winner
Well done, Proph! While we're celebrating views, 5000! Woop woop!
I think that sometimes you have to look past the number of reviews and focus on the number of readers/views. There are definitely people reading who never comment. I don't personally write my BT for reviews, I appreciate them when I get them but I write it to keep my creative writing eye in really. I'd stop writing if the number of views started to drop off but not because of a lack of reviews and comments. I like to set little targets too. I've been looking for 5000 views for a while now, I expect Survivor Series to get me towards 100 replies, then I'm aiming for 10,000 views.
Almost got SD written, Survivor Series should follow in the following week when I get a week off work.
I always manage to stay around 1000 views behind you. One day I will catch up. I agree with you about the views thing. People view the product but don't always leave comments. I would think that most of the views come from guests that come to check out the section rather than actual members. It'll take a major loss of interest for me to stop writing me thread, but you never know. I do plan on getting to Mania, and then setting my sights on getting to Summerslam which would complete and full year of writing. Something I have never done and I would love to reach that goal. As for my next target, to get 5000 views before I reach the end of the year in my thread. I think I can do it with three PPV events left to go.
Da Prophet
Mid-Card Championship Winner
Just got all the segments in order for RAW, probably begin writing tonight or tomorrow. Only a five match card unlike the usual six or seven I usually do.
Da Prophet
Mid-Card Championship Winner
I get like that at some points when writing. Just have to start and then it becomes easy to keep going.
Da Prophet
Mid-Card Championship Winner
Yeah same here, basically I always do that when writing. Made a couple of match cards today while I was bored. Peep are you ever going to change that sig you have?
Never!
By the way I have one major promo to write, a few matches and some minor segments until Smackdown is complete.
Da Prophet
Mid-Card Championship Winner
Looking forward to the second show, should be a good one. I do have a question, how many shows are you doing before Extreme Rules? So far we have one how many are left?
Four Raws and four Smackdowns. So after I post this show, two from Theo and two from me are left until Extreme Rules. I'm just about through this major promo, love writing for Del Rio. Find him so easy to capture, but it still sounds just like him. He was a good choice for my world champion.
Da Prophet
Mid-Card Championship Winner
Good to know and it should be a very good PPV. I like the way you are going with Alberto in the thread so this segment is going to be something I watch out for. I'll review it when the show goes up as I always do. And I liked how you were quick to defend yourself when both GCB and I were talking about the overuse of Christian vs Edge. At least you're doing it differently to everyone else.
Yeah, I couldn't have you two taking cheap shots at my two favourites, haha. I do see what you mean with people having Christian win the rumble then just win the title at Wrestlemania, so overused and unrealistic. You see Over the Limit? I only caught Christian vs. Orton and it is up there as one of the best matches of the year. Both men were great.
Da Prophet
Mid-Card Championship Winner
It just gets to the point when I want to stop reading when Christian wins the Rumble. You can see that the booker is going to pull the trigger on the most overused angle on forums. And they all have the same ending. That's why I steer clear of that and whe--- if Christian returns in my thread he would be on the opposite brand to Edge. And yes I caught OTL, decent PPV after dodging spoilers all day. Orton vs Christian was a great match, really showed Christian could hang with him. Right guy won at the end of the day.
Seems like we've struck a nerve, Proph!
For the record, Edge vs. Christian = overused in BT, IMO. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I stop reading when I see it coming but I do roll my eyes and think 'be original for god sakes!' However, if it is written well and it is written differently (the Christian winning the Rumble to face the champion Edge is the one that really gets me!), then I don't mind. So, Peeps, there is your challenge. Make it different!
Mind you, there will still never be Edge vs. Christian in my BT ... not for a long while anyway!
EDIT: Got a PM asking for advice on creating a BT. Could we between us revamp the 'Setting up a BT' thread with some pointers for newbies?
For the record, Edge vs. Christian = overused in BT, IMO. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I stop reading when I see it coming but I do roll my eyes and think 'be original for god sakes!' However, if it is written well and it is written differently (the Christian winning the Rumble to face the champion Edge is the one that really gets me!), then I don't mind. So, Peeps, there is your challenge. Make it different!
Mind you, there will still never be Edge vs. Christian in my BT ... not for a long while anyway!
EDIT: Got a PM asking for advice on creating a BT. Could we between us revamp the 'Setting up a BT' thread with some pointers for newbies?
Make sure you put in that newbies should pick a company and time period that they believe they can stick to. Also, don't think to far into the future as you will just want to book those angles and lose motivation for the current time period. Try and avoid fantasy companies, really dislike those.
Da Prophet
Mid-Card Championship Winner
Picking at time period you know is a key thing and why some BT's fail. The comment about fantasy companies is something I don't agree with. They can work when done right. Just takes some practice.
Right, here are some things I think need to be in the help thread. Any other ideas or changes? Also, a list of useful links might be good so feel free to drop them in.
1. Before even attempting a BT, read around. Get a feel for how to write one by reading other peoples. Maybe even review and feedback on others to get yourself known.
2. If you're new, pick a time period and a company you know well. Easiest thing for a newbie to do is use current WWE/TNA - you can attempt something more difficult once you've got the hang of it.
3. Peep will tell you not to plan too far in advance - it can sap your motivation as you want to get to the exciting things you've planned in the future. GCB will tell you that you need to know where you're going and what you've got coming. In truth, you need a balance somewhere in the middle that suits you. You have to know what is coming next in your BT so you can begin to build people correctly, so you don't use all your big ideas in one go etc ... but Peep is right that it can de-motivate you if your current shows aren't as good as the future ones. I guess you need some short/medium/long term plan but you also need to make sure you've spread the excitement around to keep you interested as you get to the future.
4. Learn how to format your writing. Knowing the basic code for bold, italic, underline, alignment, colour etc ... can be a big help when you're writing in Word. Don't rely on writing in the box on the forum - if it crashes, you can lose the lot. Write in Word and then copy in later.
5. Preview your posts - how can you make them look better by formatting them? Nobody wants to read a wall of plain black text, it puts people off. You have to break it up and make it easy to read. Also, make sure you use paragraphs and pronouns (He, She, It, They).
6. Promos - watch old YouTube videos of the superstars being interviewed or cutting a promo and get a feel for the things that they say and do. You need to make them sound realistic in your BT.
7. Matches - whether recap or full detail, you need to write more than a line or two. One paragraph is fine for recap form, a few paragraphs are better if you want the reader to get into the match. I like to use the 3-count to break up the paragraphs (or commercial breaks or comments from the announcers) so it is easier to read. Using the correct moves is important: Wiki has movesets for the wrestlers, SMACKDOWN vs. RAW games are useful for WWE wrestlers and I find YouTube useful - type in 'top moves of John Cena' and see how many videos there are of the top 5, 10, 15, 50 moves (does he have 50?) of Cena. It is the same for all of them.
8. Listen to constructive criticism. Nobody is going to like every thing you do. Think about how you can improve your shows based on what people are saying.
9. Anything goes in your BT: if you want to push Hornswoggle to the WWE Championship, you can. It's not realistic right now but if you write it well and give enough ammunition for it, you can do it. Check out what people are doing already - you have to try and stand out. In my BT, for example, Kofi Kingston is getting a push and is challenging for the top titles. In real life, not realistic. But people who have read all my shows know how Kofi's push has got him there and it is realistic. Try and be different: if someone else is doing something, try and do something different.
10. YouTube videos: ask yourself a question. Do they add to the thread? If not, get rid. Each to their own but I don't watch them and they take up room and time to load. I include one at the start of the TV show and I add them where I can use them (i.e. to show something that happened before my BT started IRL or as a vignette for a returning superstar).
11. Have fun!
1. Before even attempting a BT, read around. Get a feel for how to write one by reading other peoples. Maybe even review and feedback on others to get yourself known.
2. If you're new, pick a time period and a company you know well. Easiest thing for a newbie to do is use current WWE/TNA - you can attempt something more difficult once you've got the hang of it.
3. Peep will tell you not to plan too far in advance - it can sap your motivation as you want to get to the exciting things you've planned in the future. GCB will tell you that you need to know where you're going and what you've got coming. In truth, you need a balance somewhere in the middle that suits you. You have to know what is coming next in your BT so you can begin to build people correctly, so you don't use all your big ideas in one go etc ... but Peep is right that it can de-motivate you if your current shows aren't as good as the future ones. I guess you need some short/medium/long term plan but you also need to make sure you've spread the excitement around to keep you interested as you get to the future.
4. Learn how to format your writing. Knowing the basic code for bold, italic, underline, alignment, colour etc ... can be a big help when you're writing in Word. Don't rely on writing in the box on the forum - if it crashes, you can lose the lot. Write in Word and then copy in later.
5. Preview your posts - how can you make them look better by formatting them? Nobody wants to read a wall of plain black text, it puts people off. You have to break it up and make it easy to read. Also, make sure you use paragraphs and pronouns (He, She, It, They).
6. Promos - watch old YouTube videos of the superstars being interviewed or cutting a promo and get a feel for the things that they say and do. You need to make them sound realistic in your BT.
7. Matches - whether recap or full detail, you need to write more than a line or two. One paragraph is fine for recap form, a few paragraphs are better if you want the reader to get into the match. I like to use the 3-count to break up the paragraphs (or commercial breaks or comments from the announcers) so it is easier to read. Using the correct moves is important: Wiki has movesets for the wrestlers, SMACKDOWN vs. RAW games are useful for WWE wrestlers and I find YouTube useful - type in 'top moves of John Cena' and see how many videos there are of the top 5, 10, 15, 50 moves (does he have 50?) of Cena. It is the same for all of them.
8. Listen to constructive criticism. Nobody is going to like every thing you do. Think about how you can improve your shows based on what people are saying.
9. Anything goes in your BT: if you want to push Hornswoggle to the WWE Championship, you can. It's not realistic right now but if you write it well and give enough ammunition for it, you can do it. Check out what people are doing already - you have to try and stand out. In my BT, for example, Kofi Kingston is getting a push and is challenging for the top titles. In real life, not realistic. But people who have read all my shows know how Kofi's push has got him there and it is realistic. Try and be different: if someone else is doing something, try and do something different.
10. YouTube videos: ask yourself a question. Do they add to the thread? If not, get rid. Each to their own but I don't watch them and they take up room and time to load. I include one at the start of the TV show and I add them where I can use them (i.e. to show something that happened before my BT started IRL or as a vignette for a returning superstar).
11. Have fun!
Like GCB said on the YouTube videos, use them where they fit. I am using many in mine, but most are new videos/theme songs for stars, so they're necessary to get the idea of who is who in the new fed. I'll probably stop using them eventually. I watch them when I see them, but if they're the same old same old, I don't. So use them carefully.
How are people doing with their BT's? I just finished writing the SMACKDOWN vs. RAW match for Survivor Series and my hands are aching! My new best match ever!
I'm going to get around and hit some reviews soon - have had a busy few weeks though so not done as many as I might have. You see, I have some good news ... In January, I will be having my first child! Am delighted!
Of course, I'm not sure how much BT'ing I'll be doing when the little one arrives!
I'm going to get around and hit some reviews soon - have had a busy few weeks though so not done as many as I might have. You see, I have some good news ... In January, I will be having my first child! Am delighted!
Of course, I'm not sure how much BT'ing I'll be doing when the little one arrives!
