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  1. MrInvisible

    MrInvisible Banned

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    Camping Scene

    Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by MrInvisible, Sep 25, 2017.

    I'm currently working on chapter seven of my novel and i'm after some ideas for a camp out in a grassy area with some stone buildings and my characters have to use what is around them for shelter and to sit on and for ligting a fire
     
  2. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    you need to be more specific what is it you want to know - per your 'tie up games' thread , no one has any interest in playing twenty questions
     
  3. MrInvisible

    MrInvisible Banned

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    That is as specific as it gets I'm afraid
     
  4. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    Then you're not going to get much help - we can't write your book for you, so if you want any meaningful advice you need to ask people for specifics - e.g if you were asking , how can they build a shelter ? you'd need to specify what materials they have available to them, likewise if you want to know how to light a fire we need to know what fuel is available and whether you are talking about lighting it with lighters/matches or if you want advice about using a firebow or something

    My advice is just write the scene and post it for critique ... if we are back in 'not giving the story away' territory then you are wasting your time, and ours

    That aside your best bet is to look at some camping/survival sites or forums and get some ideas that way
     
  5. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

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    You can sit on literally anything you can get your butt on top of and you can burn anything that's either flammable or inflammable. So, hopefully there are some things like that in your grassy area.
     
  6. MrInvisible

    MrInvisible Banned

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    Hence why I'm asking because I don't know the specifics myself, DUH!
     
  7. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    but its your story - as I said we can't write your book for you

    instead of going round in circles lets see if we can move this forward with some questions to think about

    a) What sort of materials are scattered around .. wood, plastics, old roofing sheets etc ?
    b) what sort of condition are the buildings in, why not just use them for shelter ?
    c) do any of the characters smoke (ie do they have matches/lighters)
    d) are there woods/trees etc around that they can get dry twigs etc
    e) why are they camping is it just a camping trip, otr a survival situation or what
    f) did they bring any supplies with them and if so what ?

    To stress these aren't for you to give answers to for us to then write the scene, they are things you need to think about so that you can write it

    also a couple of things for research starters

    https://scouts.org.uk/media/581688/Victorinox-Survival-Skills-Resource-Building-a-Fire_Final-Proof.pdf

    http://www.skilledsurvival.com/survival-shelters/
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2017
  8. Jipset

    Jipset Member

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    S'mores.
     
  9. MrInvisible

    MrInvisible Banned

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    Why do I even bother, the scene involves the teens coming across the aforementioned area hence the request for ideas
     
  10. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    Crisco.
     
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  11. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    You also need to lose the attitude if you want any help.... if you don't want to be 'bothered' with posting these threads there is an obvious solution

    That aside ..So teens come across an area where there's some buildings and grass , and you want advice about what happens next ?

    As I said originally that is far too general for anyone to give you ideas without knowing what the story is about, what the story arc is ? etc really as I've said before you need to write something and post it for critique or ask some specific questions that people have a chance to answer
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2017
  12. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    In that case, you're going to need to do the research yourself ...which I recommend in any case, really. This is your story, not ours.

    You're giving us nothing much to go on other than grass, stone building and 'characters.' Google is your friend. Figure out what kind of terrain you're in ...dry African grassland, somebody's front lawn, the middle of rainy Scotland ...and research what's available. Is it hot or cold? Can they use hot sunlight to start a fire with a piece of glass and dry kindling, or is it the middle of the night when they can't even see much at all? Is it likely to rain? Has it been raining? Have your characters got fire-lighting equipment? Will there be sticks around? Trees nearby to provide fuel? If not, will they need to cut, dry and burn peat? Maybe dried animal dung? And who are the characters, and how experienced are they? You don't even mention 'teens' until pretty far down this thread.

    Do your research and decide what your scenario is. If you get stuck, do ask us specific questions, but this post is way too general for us to want to dive in. It's the equivalent of saying "I've got people in a boat on the water. What do I do next?" We're not in the mood, really, to start asking you a million questions to figure out what's going on with your story—especially as you seem very reluctant to answer them. Without this information, we can't really be of help.
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2017
  13. newjerseyrunner

    newjerseyrunner Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    It is extraordinarily difficult to light a fire from scratch, way harder that people make it look on television or Youtube. I can make a friction fire every single time in my backyard with the drill I've used a hundred times. Finding the right stuff and making it in the field though, is a crap-shoot.

    A tinder bundle is the most important thing, it should be very thin and very dry. Usually up hanging in the wind is best. Adding certain types of flammable sap can also be a big help. You need a super soft, but super dry piece of straight wood for a spindle and a flat piece of harder dry wood for a base. The spindle can not have any sap in it.
     
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  14. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    "In one of the buildings they find a drum of naptha ... they soak a load of timber in it and spark a lighter ... with a huge boom a ten meter wide fireball ignites killing two of the teenagers and leaving the other two with life changing injuries ... the rest of the story is devoted to how they cope with plastic surgery and coming to terms with the deaths of their friends "

    "In one of the buildings they find an egg, when they gently heat it, it hatches and a dragon emerges"

    "the teenagers get completely shit faced on Mogen David wine then decide to play at tying each other up, one of them gets tied up and left and dies of hypothermia - the other three get convicted of his murder and taken into youth custody"


    And that should demonstrate why ideas given without any info about story arc or content are going to be useless
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2017
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  15. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    Are you, perhaps, aware that the members of this forum are not actually paid to do your writing for you? Has anyone ever taught you that when asking a favor, it can be useful to behave politely?
     
  16. Komposten

    Komposten Insanitary pile of rotten fruit Contributor

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    @MrInvisible
    The others are right. Your question is too vague. We don't really know anything about the situation (surviving a zombie apocalypse, just some teens out camping together, running from the police), the setting (savanna, clearing in a forest, planet X23-47), the genre, etc. We can give you nothing but questions at this point. We need something a little more specific to be able to give you proper ideas.

    @Everyone else
    :stop:
    Come on, guys, you're taking this too far! Just because you don't like another member's posts (whatever the reason), it doesn't give you the right to be aggressive and insulting. That behaviour ends here and now!

    I'm re-opening the thread for the time being. If it doesn't work, it will be closed for good.
     
    Last edited: Sep 27, 2017
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