Idea bouncer advice?

[Lishy]

So I'm in need of an idea bouncer to comment and discuss my VN plot with.

Problem is, I'm not sure when it is appropriate to ask for an idea bouncer, or what to actually include in my thread.

Should I prepare an entire story manifesto outlining the entire story for an idea bouncer to read? Or do I chat with the idea bouncer incrementally?

And how detailed should the thread be?

I'm planning to recruit an idea bouncer in the near future, so any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[dramspringfeald]

Your best bet is to just dump on random chat forums. a room full of people that have no idea what's going on is the best tool you could ask for. The negative is they have no idea what is going on and have no attachment to the project and positive is they have no idea what is going on and have no attachment to the project.

Or just do as the guys at MIT do and talk to random objects. works well.

[Greeny]

Your best bet is to just dump on random chat forums. a room full of people that have no idea what's going on is the best tool you could ask for. The negative is they have no idea what is going on and have no attachment to the project and positive is they have no idea what is going on and have no attachment to the project.

Or just do as the guys at MIT do and talk to random objects. works well.

I have to respectfully disagree with you there...

Having a dedicated idea bouncer can be incredibly useful. Someone you can trust, and who will be constructive rather than whimsical. Of course, this could be mutual - an agreement where both parties can bounce their ideas off each other. I often find myself in need of somebody to bounce ideas off of.

The thing is - idea bouncing is just that, ideas. When it's in that stage, it's not always the best course of action to throw into the general public, but rather I'd say it's better to discuss it more intimately with a trusted partner.

[specialtantei]

I agree with Greeny here. Discussing things with someone you trust can be pretty useful! (And even more if the one you're discussing with has a major role in the making of your VN...at least for me).

[jghibiki]

I think that sometimes multiple idea bouncers with specializations works best. If you go to an engineering firm, that is most often how they go about it, various types of engineers working together to brainstorm a solution to a problem. For example, when you are trying to write out an outline, you might want to talk to someone who is well versed in the structure of writing- i.e. rising action, climax, falling action. Then, while going about that, having someone who is good at free writing to talk with might allow for better plot twists and other such plans. Through this method you would get a better product than if you had talked to only one or the other.

[Khadrian]

Hey Lishy, I actually just recently had a similar problem where I needed to know where my story was going. In the end what I ended up doing was taking Microsoft Word, switching to outline mode, and having my own little Q&A session. It's kind of like idea bouncing with yourself, but it's more about getting yourself to ask 'why'. It doesn't really matter where you start either, you can simply start by declaring the premise of the story or single scene/event. Questions and answers will often lead to more questions and hopefully more answers, but you don't always have to figure things out right away (I actually had a couple "I don't know yet." answers )

Here's an example:(names and premise created on the spot, please ignore the ridicularity of that word)

• Michael wants to see Meredith, but doesn't know how to proceed without seeming like a stalker.
  • Is there a time/place where they might see each other under normal circumstances?
  Meredith just recently started working at the same place as Michael, but he doesn't want to wait that long.
  • Then the only choice is to go directly to her house to see her!
  Meredith thinks that Michael is a stalker now, what should he do?
  • Apologize for pacing outside her house while he worked up the courage to knock on the door, and come up with an excuse for his visit like needing to borrow sugar.

Ok, ok, so despite how ridiculous that may have sounded, the method really does work, and the only side effect is the possibility of developing a habit of talking to yourself. But hey, all great writers/artists are a little crazy, right? ...right?

Anyway, all that being said, if you're still interested in finding an idea bouncer then I'd be happy to help. Though I can't promise that I could do more than just bounce idea's, as I have my own project to work on still.