What kind of story would you want to see?

[Kalkris]

I'm enrolled in a Craft of Ficton course in my college set for next semester and I would like to write a short story about some sort of goings on in Malifaux. I'm not looking for a story with any named characters, but is there some sort of trope that YOU would want to read about in the fluff? Is there any particular faction you feel is neglected, or overdone, or optimal to use in a story?

What would you like to read in a short story set in Malifaux?

~Lil Kalki

[Mako]

I think the best advice I've ever been given regarding topics to write about is pick one you're excited to write about. That tends to make it easier to stick with, and shows through in the final draft.

So I guess I'd say that the question is really one for you - what do you want to write about, and feel like you could have fun with? What plot hooks, ideas or lines do you have in your head?

Definitely agree on avoiding named characters, they're too easy to get wrong and that really jars me as a reader. Much more restrictive as well.

(Also, since edonil hasn't got to the thread yet, Iron Quill. Just sayin... *grin* )

[edonil]

Damn you Mako, you modding ninja... >.> lol

In all seriousness, Mako is absolutely right. Pick tropes that you want to write about. It's very hard to write a story that isn't about something you like. The Iron Quill is something I'm always going to recommend because the ingredients are being picked by the authors, so there's always a lot of variety. Especially in Malifaux you've got a lot of freedom to be creative and get in some seriously odd tropes.

[Kalkris]

That's just the issue though... I am not sure what I want to write about besides Malifaux itself. And that seems like a rather difficult, if not possibly mundane, topic for a short story if it plays out like it does in my head right now lol

I want to add characters but I know they cannot be named. I don't think I even want to mention the named characters if I can, but I digress.

Here's another question I will fire in y'all's general direction: Can a person safely add a trope to Malifaux without mucking it up too much? I *kind of* want to write a Sweeney Todd-esque serial (haha "serial" - as in "serial killer"!) but I wonder if that can easily fit into Malifaux's canon (while being a safe distance from it, obviously).

Is there any way to find a compendium of locations in the doomed City or thereabouts beyond the Breach? Or do I have to wait all that time for TtB to come out...? D: If it's of any solace to me, can you name urban areas of Malifaux for me? I'm not especially versed in the locations...

Thank you!

~Lil Kalki

EDIT: Found the Map but I'm not sure where best to situate a tonsorial parlor or the like. Maybe downtown?

Edited December 17, 2013 by Kalkris

[edonil]

Sweeney Todd would definitely fit in. Keep in mind, Seamus is based on Jack the Ripper. So there's definitely room for serial killer stories and such. Nathan's signature kinda sums up what you can fit into Malifaux-

I'm often asked what genre and elements make up Malifaux ... that's simple, its: Steamvictoriohorrorwestpunk! Hope that clears it up for you.

Honestly, about the only things that won't fit in some roundabout way would be pure scifi or pure fantasy. Just about anything else, you can find some way to interpret into the setting and it'll fit.

As far as locations, there's this:

After that, not too much is known. I know in some of my short fiction for Malifaux I've played on the idea of the pioneer towns, and just kept them fairly generic.