What makes a good story?

[Dynamo_ZahnZee]

What makes a good
Football Manager story?
​

View attachment 353783

This is a question we've all come across. It's one of the no.1 pieces of sought after advice on
the forums because lets face it, good stories are awesome!!! They bring us all together as we
cheer on a stranger sitting behind a desk as he grows unnaturally attached to dots on a computer
screen. And there is nothing at all wrong with that!!!

I've written a few stories on this site but only ever had one story that is worth mentioning.
Every other story was, at the time, a good idea that I never quite pulled off or lost interest in
before I could really get to the point where I was playing the save I envisioned.

View attachment 353782

For me, storytelling is a skill. One I learned as a stand up comedian around Ireland.
You need to have complete faith in your ability to think of something, and then not
have that idea lost in translation as you speak/say it. 9 times out of 10, we miss a few beats.

We've all been there, remember that time your girlfriend said "I love you" for the first time and
you replied with "Maybe" . . . .

Really, no one else?
Okay, it must have been just me then.

But this still takes me to where I want to go. What was in my head wasn't what I said.
Learning how to articulate yourself and your ideas takes time, which is why I want to give
everyone some advice.

"Your first story will suck!"

View attachment 353774Even my man Barak knows this. Do you see him question me?


But this is not to say that every one of your stories will suck. It's like a kind of social test to see if you have it in you to keep going even though no one is paying attention. I learned this lesson when I was 19, doing a 10 minute stand-up set in Galway. I was a new comedian on the circuit for about 6 months and I thought I was
the shizz. I sucked!!! Oh God, it was brutal. But you know what, it made me want it more.

So I worked on my material and came back 6 months with a better set, more confidence and a thinker skin.
And I killed it. Now I preform there regularly once a month. What has this got to do with Football Manager Stories?

A lot of people are going to write "their first" story and then give up.
If you plug through and get your 3rd or 4th story out, eventually, you'll find your voice and write
a story that resonates with people. They will see your story and go "Oh yeah, I remember he tried a story 6 months ago, this one is much better" and before you know it, they are looking out for your name on the "Recent Threads" section.

View attachment 353765I can dream cant I.


So say you're here where I was a year ago. You've tried a few stories. Great ideas but somehow they
didn't get picked up and the thread fizzled out before the story even began. The first thing you should do
is read the other stories that have a big following! Learn what they are doing and study the style. I'm sure if you asked them how they got the following they couldn't tell you. They started a story and before they know it, people were commenting asking when the next update would be up.



Okay, lets start. The first you should do is find a comfortable place to think and decide a few things.

Who am I?
Where am I from?
Who taught me about Football?
Where do I want to go?

These are the questions you must ask yourself to have a save worth it's weight in salt.


Who am I:
This is you. Your Manager. Are you a boy or a Girl?
View attachment 353758

Where am I from:
This is for context and to develop your Manger. I enjoy being an Argentinian
Manager with Spanish parents. Having grown up poor, playing football on the Streets of Buenos Aires
money is not something that even enters my thinking. I never had it, Skill and gall are what attracted
me to the game and that's what I look for in my players. Technique, Determined with a winning attitude.

Who taught me about Football:
You can't work for Barcelona and Ajax without developing a love for youth development and creating a club
that values ability and attitude over age and reputation. Both sides employed systems revolving around a
midfield feeding one striker and teaching the kids this system definitely left it's mark on me: I favor a 4-5-1
with a DM acting as the water carrier.

Where do I want to go?
This is harder than it sounds. It's easy to take over Luton and say, "I'm bringing them back to the Champions League!!!" before downing a pint of Budweiser and ripping your vest off. I know how you guys play FM, and it's disturbing.

The aim of your save should be clear in your mind and don't go with generics.
​

• 
  [*=center]I will win the league
  [*=center]develop young players
  [*=center]Keep a healthy bank balance.

These aren't aims, these are common sense.
I'd expect you to do all of these things!

Where do I want to go? I want to make a club worth it's reputation. Sign players that emulate the style of football I love. I want to groom my youngsters to be able to handle the big games when they get thrown in. But most of all, I want to develop a philosophy where players choose me over someone else because of what we are building here.

View attachment 353752 I'm feelin' you ombre


Because in my humble opinion. No one wants to see a story where you say "Welcome, this is my save" and
then you list results, transfers and league tables. . . . .and nothing else. No picture, no opinion column, no promotional coupon to bait us in. What we want to see is the world you've created inside your head that centers around a collection of dots that move erratically for 90 minutes before reverting back to being an endless list
of letters in a database. FM Stories are about giving life to the lifeless, and that requires invention.

Pictures are the mother of all stories. I judge a story by how well the author
introduces everything not FM-Related, to the FM Content. And if something happens
in your save that is completely unpredictable and requires you to "make" the picture, do
not be afraid to try your hand at an image editing software.

View attachment 353744
Photoshop and GIMP are two of the best tools available to spice up your story and can really
add dept to an otherwise, average idea.

View attachment 353743Where else are you going to find a picture of (young) Fat Ronaldo?


Be more creative and realistic with your signings. I know you can spend 80 million on Fancy McDribbel Shoot
if you pay 10M now and offer 70M over 5 years, then play a tactic that exploits the ME to be sure you win 3
Champions Leagues in a row, thus paying off the investment.

While I've nothing against these sorts of moves, I feel they are more suited to a blog or a "post your success" thread. This kind of approach is more about you than the audience. Why should they read your story when you've done exactly what they did a few weeks ago? Only they did it better because their Mom just arrived home with take away pizza only seconds after they put on fresh underwear. You can't win here, they got you beat.

View attachment 353734She earned it dammit!

What I'm saying is that people want to be entertained. You know people; those needy freaks who sit at their computer screens giving out that the words are not more better like the way they like it? Well you're writing for them so you have to give them what they want. They want you to introduce them to something they've never heard before and if they have heard it before, they'll find someone who has a story they haven't heard before.


View attachment 353737 I met your mother on Speed dial. I wanted
Pizza but she twisted my arm.


If you sign a player, tell us why. Give us your plans for him. Is he a a squad player or
is he the reason why you've rang every bookies to tell them to make you favorite for the league.
I see too many people just list their signings (I'm guilty of this too) but you can really draw people in by explaining what kind of a club your building. Make them feel inclusive and even, if you trust them, ask them to suggest signings that could make the squad better.

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The main point I'm trying to make is, have fun. Go out there are let is into your world.
I'm a comedian so when I draw up my stories, I always try to have a humor twist to mine
and try to entertain people. You need to be yourself and stop worrying about everything.

It doesn't matter how many people are following you, write your story for you and eventually
will notice it. If they like it, they will follow, if not, who cares!
It's your story. Enjoy it since it's your time to shine.
​

 

[Lawking10]

Bravo to you for your effort, experience and time! Will give this a read later, looks very very good

 

[Dynamo_ZahnZee]

Bravo to you for your effort, experience and time! Will give this a read later, looks very very good

Cheers mate, hope you enjoy the read.

 

[Kaarto7]

Thanks for the read, it's made me pick up some things I need to improve in my inevitably bad first story.

 

[Dynamo_ZahnZee]

Thanks for the read, it's made me pick up some things I need to improve in my inevitably bad first story.

cheers. What I'm saying is, don't get disheartened. Everyone's got great stories in them, they just need to be patient while they're working towards them.

 

[coolmcool]

Number 1 priority for a story is to get an indestructible computer as a lot of them finish with and my computer has broken so i cant do it anymore.

 

[Maximus94]

Great read Brendn. I agree with a lot of what you said.

I (reluctantly) remember my first "story" was more like "here's my monthly results."

For me, a great FM story must be/have (in no particular order):

A) Realistic (don't go giving some Romanian 3rd div team 300M (unless you have a story that's realistic enough to back it up))
B) Seamlessly bridge the gap between FM and real football (perhaps the most difficult thing to achieve. Basically, ask yourself "would this happen IRL, do my graphics look like they do IRL ect.)
C) Aesthetically pleasing (if the first post is nothing but text, or the pictures are tiny/not centred, I'm not coming back)
D) Consistent (consistent use of layout, font, graphics ect.)
E) Creative (it's a ****** "Story" after all. Use the editor if you have to. It's your save, do whatever you want with it)
F) Have longevity (set long term goals)
G) Easy, but not too easy to read (get your spelling and grammar to at least, where none of your readers have to go back and re-read chunks. Use several chunks of text rather than a single huge paragraph)
H) Spaced out (find something to write about in between revealing results, or when you can't pay the save for whatever reason)

That's just a few ideas off the top of my head for anyone wanting to create a successful, beautiful and exciting story

 

[Kaarto7]

One that finishes!

I agree, it gets annoying when you want to follow a save and something makes them stop two game months in. I reckon you should play and pre-write at least a half or full season to make sure you are interested in the save and it at least gets off the ground. That makes the chances are going through with the save a little higher.