What Makes a Good Dynasty Report?

kq76 · 11-10-2005, 01:02 PM

From a reader's perspective, what makes a good dynasty report and which ones best exemplify those qualities? I imagine humour and interactivity are probably two big factors, but maybe they're not that important, maybe others are much more important.

I imagine this must have been discussed before, but maybe I just wasn't using the right keywords.

ifspuds · 11-10-2005, 01:28 PM

I think the answer you'll find given most often is: whatever fits your style and what you want to do with it.

Not everyone is funny. Craig (Pale Hose) is, and humor works very well for him. I'm not that funny, so I try and avoid trying to be funny in my dynasty reports. Not everyone is good at writing stories, so they do stat dumps. Not everyone is interested in stat dumps, so they do stories. Some people are good at both of the previous two, or at least they're comfortable with them, so they do both. That's what I do, usually.

It also depends on the dynasty. Something like metsgeek's 20th Century Baseball Chronicle was more focused on the stats of the forum members that signed up players, so there wasn't much sense in him spending a lot of time trying to write stories for it. My Outpost League dynasty is trying to tell the story of a league and a society, so I spend more time (or try to) on the stories in the background as well as describing the progress of the league.

The *best* dynasties are the ones that the authors enjoy writing. When they enjoy writing them, they put more time and effort into them. And that draws the reader in. A successful dynasty combines this and -- in my opinion -- an author's dedication in keeping ahead of the game and having an idea of where they want to go with it. This includes keeping a few posts ahead so that when the inevitable lull in interest or creativity comes about, you've got a backlog to fall back on. A successful dynasty also doesn't just disappear into the background. If it has a logical end point, it reaches that end point and stops. If it doesn't, it comes up with an end point -- even if it's just the author saying "I've lost interest in this, so I'm going to stop writing now. If you want to know anything about players, teams or the league, ask now and I'll answer." It keeps the respect of the reader in mind.

Anyway, those are just my general thoughts. Hope that helps.

Tandem · 11-11-2005, 12:28 AM

ifspuds hit the nail on the head when he mentioned the best dynasty
reports are those the author thoroughly enjoys writing. you can tell
which dynastys are a labor of love and which are just rote regurgitation
with stats and league leaders. Humor is good but not a requirement.

11-10-2005, 01:02 PM	#1
kq76 Global Moderator Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 12,009	What Makes a Good Dynasty Report? From a reader's perspective, what makes a good dynasty report and which ones best exemplify those qualities? I imagine humour and interactivity are probably two big factors, but maybe they're not that important, maybe others are much more important. I imagine this must have been discussed before, but maybe I just wasn't using the right keywords. __________________ My OOTP Wishlist \| My FAQ List OOTP Wiki \| Your Recommended Team Nicknames, By City (A Crowdsourced Project) For Beta/Devs: Full screen (1920x1080)

11-10-2005, 01:28 PM	#2
ifspuds Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 2,117	I think the answer you'll find given most often is: whatever fits your style and what you want to do with it. Not everyone is funny. Craig (Pale Hose) is, and humor works very well for him. I'm not that funny, so I try and avoid trying to be funny in my dynasty reports. Not everyone is good at writing stories, so they do stat dumps. Not everyone is interested in stat dumps, so they do stories. Some people are good at both of the previous two, or at least they're comfortable with them, so they do both. That's what I do, usually. It also depends on the dynasty. Something like metsgeek's 20th Century Baseball Chronicle was more focused on the stats of the forum members that signed up players, so there wasn't much sense in him spending a lot of time trying to write stories for it. My Outpost League dynasty is trying to tell the story of a league and a society, so I spend more time (or try to) on the stories in the background as well as describing the progress of the league. The best dynasties are the ones that the authors enjoy writing. When they enjoy writing them, they put more time and effort into them. And that draws the reader in. A successful dynasty combines this and -- in my opinion -- an author's dedication in keeping ahead of the game and having an idea of where they want to go with it. This includes keeping a few posts ahead so that when the inevitable lull in interest or creativity comes about, you've got a backlog to fall back on. A successful dynasty also doesn't just disappear into the background. If it has a logical end point, it reaches that end point and stops. If it doesn't, it comes up with an end point -- even if it's just the author saying "I've lost interest in this, so I'm going to stop writing now. If you want to know anything about players, teams or the league, ask now and I'll answer." It keeps the respect of the reader in mind. Anyway, those are just my general thoughts. Hope that helps. __________________ Jeff Watson Former dynasty writer and online league player, now mostly retired

11-11-2005, 12:28 AM	#3
Tandem Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 55	ifspuds hit the nail on the head when he mentioned the best dynasty reports are those the author thoroughly enjoys writing. you can tell which dynastys are a labor of love and which are just rote regurgitation with stats and league leaders. Humor is good but not a requirement.