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Post by Mav. on Oct 18, 2021 23:24:34 GMT -5
Sup.
If you're wondering why this is here, I'm looking to hand out my knowledge of match writing in a much detailed enough fashion for everyone to understand. Simple as that, it's kind of explained early on in the prologue/first chapter of this thread.
This thread will be split between eight chapters, a short prologue and a short epilogue. I'll be releasing one per day. Kind of like a class thing, you know?
This thread will include: PROLOGUE: THE BASICS. CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIONS, ENTRANCES, AND BEGINNINGS. CHAPTER TWO: THE MATCH, AND HOW TO MAKE YOUR MATCH… A MATCH. CHAPTER THREE: CREATING MOMENTS AND MAKING THEM MEMORABLE. CHAPTER FOUR: VIOLENCE IS PERFECTION. CHAPTER FIVE: THERE’S MORE THAN TWO BODIES. CHAPTER SIX: FINISHERS, SIGNATURES, AND THE RIGHT AMOUNT. CHAPTER SEVEN: THE FINAL STRETCH BEFORE THE GRAND FINALE. CHAPTER EIGHT: THE GRAND FINALE. EPILOGUE.
Some will be long, some will be short. All depends on how the topic is when I begin writing. And that's pretty much it.
Take care, peeps. - Mav.
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Post by Mav. on Oct 18, 2021 23:25:07 GMT -5
Just wanna note before we begin that this is just for knowledge sakes, trying to put out my own opinion on the matter, and am not saying I am the perfect example of these things. There’s a much larger talented selection of writers within this circle, not just me.
PROLOGUE: THE BASICS. In today’s little ‘guide’ - if you insist on calling it such a thing - I will be showing you my how to’s, tips and tricks, and what nots about match writing. This doesn’t apply to everyone because you know, everyone writes their matches differently, but I feel as if - as someone that’s written matches throughout the past three years - I should open up my knowledge and let everyone else learn from my style.
Alright, let’s do this.
DING! DING!
^^ See this? This is how we begin our matches. Some people like to do three dings, some people like to do four dings, but me? I like to begin things with two dings. I also like to keep it bolded so it stands out as the beginning of the match - which also applies for the ending bell too - and is the most crucial part to a match.
Now with that basic task out of the way…
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIONS, ENTRANCES, AND BEGINNINGS. It’s no secret that the key to every match is the entrances, the introductions, who’s in the match and what kind of match this is. Is it a championship match? Is it a non-championship match? What gimmick have we pulled out of the bag of tricks for this one? All of these questions are mainly answered within the introductions/entrances bit of the match. All of these questions should be answered within the introductions of the match. If not, it’s going to be extremely confusing for anyone reading the content. Now, personally, I wouldn’t write the entrances until I have completed the match from bell to bell.
(To which, you’ll soon find out later on.)
But this should be filled with enough information to let people know what comes next for the reader.
“Now, how does one begin their introductions?” you might ask, and that’s a pretty straight-forward answer for you, my friend. I’ll show you.
Now, you don’t have to write out the whole name of the fed/brand/whatever when announcing the championship, but I like to add it in for my own touch to things. Kind of like how Justin Roberts announces the AEW World Championship sometimes as the All Elite Wrestling World Championship. It’s just my little thing to add in here and there. Also, another personal touch I like to do within these is the cap-locks on the match gimmick or even the championship name. I like to make sure that whoever is reading is seeing clearly what this match is, they know what championship is being defended, and when they see those in all caps? It’s going to stand out like a sore thumb.
Now that you have your beginning introduction started, let’s begin with the entrances. For this one, I’m going to pull out a match from my collection and give you the rundown of what’s being done to my personal preference and what you should take points in.
Match Reference: Jason Justice vs Frank Dylan James | NLW Southern States Championship | XHF Supremacy 2021
Let’s make note here, PLEASE use the entrances that are given to you on the application. Make small adjustments, add in a few things to keep the tension going for the match, but DO NOT just one line/paragraph because I’ve seen that happen many times before and it’s just so half-assed and lazy. Don’t be like that. Don’t be lazy with your entrances. And if there’s a day that you’re writing a match, and someone doesn’t have an entrance, or has a very short entrance? Then you fill it up more, or give them a pretty generic entrance, but I’m sure everyone’s got entrances to use.
Some points to make about the entrance:
— VIDEOS BEFORE THE ENTRANCE. It’s not common, but sometimes it is, to have the video to the theme song of the particular character you’re writing before the entrance. This used to be a thing that I did, and still kept doing long after, when AXW was still around. It didn’t matter what fed that I was writing for, it didn’t matter if it was the global shows, I’d always have the video at the beginning to give people that taste of what song is being played.
— ITALICISED SONG LYRICS. People are going to have song lyrics in their entrance, it’s a given with some people, and what I’d like to do is differentiate them from the actions happening -- which leads to the lyrics being italicised. Sometimes - and I only mean it when I say sometimes - the lyrics are in colour. If you want to go down that route? That’s totally fine, there’s no harm in a bit of colour in your entrances or what not, but if you want to keep things on brand for the character? Use the same font colour that you use when writing RPs and/or segments.
— RING ANNOUNCEMENT BETWEEN THE ENTRANCE. Let’s be real here, it just makes sense to have it within the middle of the entrance. They’re coming down the ramp, they’re doing their thing, and the ring announcement is being played out for everyone to hear. In certain instances, it happens at the end of the entrance but I just don’t do that. Have it between the entrances. Not at the end, nor at the beginning. Please, don’t do it at the beginning and before the entrance, that doesn’t ever fucking happen.
(Yes, I’ve seen people write the ring announcements before the entrance and I constantly hated it. I’m sure you would be nitpicky about this too if you had seen it.)
Another thing to note, if they have multiple nicknames, you do not have to go all out and use each and every single one of them, it’s not necessary -- just use one or maybe two of them.
— NO NUMBERS (1, 2, 3 etc.), JUST TYPED OUT WORDS. I’m sure it might have caught your eye when it said “one hundred and ninety-five pounds…” and it’s not something that most people do when writing, but it’s my little thing to do. I just don’t type out the numbers anymore, not even in promos, so I type out the words of the number. When I see someone typing out the number, I imagine them saying “one-nine-five pounds”, and not “one hundred and ninety-five pounds”.
— COMMENTARY AFTER THE ENTRANCE. Again, it’s another logical thing much like the ring announcement. You’re not going to have someone like Michael Cole or Excalibur talk during the entrance or just as the ring announcement is about to happen. Which is why you leave the talking of the commentary to the end. I leave it to just one commentator speaking but you can have the commentators discuss in a conversation about the competitor if you’d like. Also, have them talk about the competitor. Talk about previous matches, previous title matches, previous encounters with the person they’re facing, etc. Keep on topic. Don’t dwindle off and talk about anything else.
It’s a pretty straightforward thing, if you ask me. There’s nothing special about this and as I said, I wouldn’t worry about this until after the fact that the match has been completed. But you’re free to begin your writing journey along this path if you’d like.
Now, to begin the match, you have to see what kind of styles you’re going to be working with. Check the movesets, see if there’s something within the application about wrestling style, and know what you’re preparing yourself for. You could be having a Technician vs a High Flyer, a Striker vs a Powerhouse, etc etc. Knowing these styles could be a pivotal point to how to begin your match. It’s something you’re going to question yourself as you begin writing.
Are you looking for a fast-paced beginning? Maybe a slow, traditional beginning? Are they going to soften things up with a few light strikes? Will they try to tackle their opponent down and keep them grounded? Would they attempt to use their strength to gain the opening advantage? Or is there a story to the match and things are going to go balls to the wall crazy from the get-go? There are so many ways you could begin a match. And it can be used heavily into how you pace things in the match. The beginning of the match is crucial to how the match plays out and having that perfect beginning is what makes a match more magical or memorable.
The best example of a great match beginning is Seth Dillinger vs Natasha at Road to Victory 2020. Fast-paced, no breaks, and pure violence within the storytelling. You could feel the tension. You could feel the emotion. You already knew you were going to get a fight and not a wrestling match.
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