Hi ! I'm writing a horror story of an abandon mine town with various anomalies and I've created a set of rules for the characters to follow to be safe as they can be while in the town/ how the town and different type of anomalies work. I can't think of a point in time or a scenario of when I should or how I should introduce the rules without it being predictable, or by who. BTW, my inspiration comes kind of from analog horror. Should I post the rules ? (I'm new to this forum thing, plzbenice)
This in conjunction with your avatar picture makes me immediately think of the Scream movies. Are you talking about something like the 'rules for surviving a horror movie' like they had? Is your story also a postmodern pseudo-comedy like the Scream movies? If you have characters talking about rules for staying safe, depending on how it's done, that could automatically make it postmodern—meaning the characters are aware they're in a story and talk openly about it. That can be hard to do, and it means sacrificing certain things.
Predictability isn't the bogeyman a lot of people think it is. A lot of times something is predictable because it makes the most narrative sense, and trying to deviate from it will make your story worse. If you have an idea of when to introduce the rules, but feel like you shouldn't because that'd be predictable, I'd say go ahead and do it then. If it really doesn't work then you can shift it around in a future edit. As for potential ideas, something about this plot set-up makes me think there will be that old hermit who has been living in/near the town for awhile now and knows the ins and outs of how to survive. At some point they cross path with the main characters and informs them how to survive. A helpful mentor character who, going by the tropes, is probably fated to die saving someone or something like that. Not sure if that's at all what is likely for your story, that's just where my mind immediately went to.
theres a genera on youtube called "analog horror". old news broad casts making the public aware of anomalies and precautions measures to take. it could be informational videos that start out normal slowly become darker and end up telling the viewer about the anomalies. to get a better understanding. content may be sensitive to some. https://youtube.com/c/LOCAL58TV https://youtube.com/c/GEMINIHOMEENTERTAINMENT
no, they are not aware of the rules, they decide to explore an abandon town and the anomalies end up trapping them in a space time
Sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Who makes the rules in the story? Who enforces them? What happens if you break them? Maybe it would be helpful if you post them here so we better understand what you're asking. And what do you mean by anomalies?
Then don't mention them at all. If you do, that's telling, not showing. Show the consequences when the characters break them.
sure ! this is a very rough copy so changes and a clean up will be done citizens/copy cat/mercy rules 1. there are several variants of anomalies be aware they act differently 2. they are highly active around people 3. it feeds off emotions 4. DONT KEEP PICTUES 5. if you see them/hear them its too late they know youre here, lock yourself away 6. if you see a person that has a biologically impossible characteristic, run 7. keep a headcount of your party every couple hours, if there are more than what you came in with, firmly tell the intruder that there is no more room and to leave 8. if you see a person that looks identical to you, run 9. if you hear a voice that sounds identical to yours, hide 10. mercy has a population of 0, however, there are “citizens”. “ citizens “ are rather harmless if you follow the rules 11. the person waiting at the bus stop isn’t real, the bus driver isn’t real, the neighbors aren’t real bus stop a. do not inquire out of script responses b. do not stare for too long c. do not get on the bus d. if the bystander asks you the time, no matter what time it is its 3:33 e. if it asks when the next bus comes as one is pulling up, tell him to ask the bus driver f. do not get on the bus g. if you do, don’t look at the driver upon entry. he will try to convince you otherwise. Don’t fall for it h. arrange your party so that you can’t see the bus driver in their mirror i. if you can see him get off the bus and continue other activities. try again the same time the next day the neighbors/your new house a. all houses are vacant unless one becomes occupied by humans b. they like to welcome in new residences c. do not open the door for them d. do not answer the phone e. they don’t bear gifts copy cats there are no known rules on the copycats, however, below are the cue’s, feelings, audios and visuals. a. audio gliches b. repeated words c. technology malfunctions. d. screaming e. doppelganger's f. nostalgia g. knocking h. faces i. there are faces in the window 12. we don’t suggest you saying a full 24 hours, specifically one (1) sunrise and nightfall cycle, however, if you choose to do so, or if you don’t see this in time ,take refuge. be prepared to stay a while. secondly, we recommend that your mental health be at its peak 13. if you come outside in the morning and its still dark, go back inside, they know. 14. if you arrive by foot skip #15 15. if you arrive by vehicle, (ie. means motorcycle, bicycle, ect.) park where your vehicle is always in site if youre resting, hide it, it wont be there in the morning, they’ve taken it 16. burn the bodies 17. don’t trust your gps system, it will lead you to the secret 18. do not seek to solve the secret 19. solve the secret 20. follow the eyes in the sky, theyre waiting 21. THEYRE ALWAYS SMILING 22. you need to open the door now 23. open the door 24. hey,[ redacted ] open the door, its – its your mom, i have a gift for YU – YUH you 25. I HAVE A GIFT 26. [ redacted ] can you hear me ? open the door i have fun things out here with me 27. look at me, im at the window. [ redacted ] please come here 28. leave us alone 29. you cant have her
Okay, thanks, I think I know what you mean now. This is a list of characteristics on how to recognize what you have been calling anomalies. Is that right? This seems too long of a list to work with. Choose the ten best ones that you can work into a plot element. Then show the "rule" being broken and show what happens when the rule is broken. Make it all part of the story. You may have to sacrifice some of your characters as rules are broken until you have your last character standing and they use the knowledge gained by seeing what happened to the others and come out on top! I hope this helps. If I have it all wrong, please let me know.
As @Naomasa298 said, you want to show the rules in action. Let the characters figure out the rules based on trial and error, like Westley and Buttercup in the Fire Swamp. And I agree with @Louanne Learning. You have too many rules. Cut the list down, way down. If you want these rules to be things that the characters and the readers eventually come to understand, then there needs to be fewer rules. I'd say 3 is probably the ideal number, and no more than 5. The more you add, the less impact each will have. Many of the things you listed are too specific. Even if the characters figure them out through trial and error, they are only applicable in very limited circumstances. The rules should be more general so that once learned, they can be applied to a larger number of situations. I would limit them to a list of things the characters should not do. Like in the movie Gremlins: 1. Do not expose to bright lights 2. Do not let them get wet 3. No feeding after midnight I would also try to tie the rules directly to whatever force is causing the anomalies. Have reasons behind why the rules are the rules. I don't know if you are planning to have the characters figure out those reasons as a way to stop the anomalies, but that's the route I'd likely go with it.
I like that. Maybe just one rule though. It shows at what cost the rules are learned. And now they have to set to work to figure out the next one...
Reading the rules makes me think of Live Action Role Play. Like the people pay to go into an amusement park that happens to be an abandoned mining town. Everyone reads the rules, like all the high level ones, and as they "play" the game sub-rules, or extra rules are revealed. I am probably way off the mark, but with all the rules and such, maybe that could be a way to go. That way you have posted rules and hidden rules the people find. Only things get deadly. Either way, your idea is intriguing.
