User blog comment:Blankslate/Regarding the FC/@comment-2182964-20151103102015

Site-wide stories are always an issue. Even stories that incorporate three to four people suffer from the problems you've outlined above, but they can be mitigated somewhat. N's touched on a good number of potential fixes below, as has Blank, so I'll avoid saying anything about protagonists and antagonists, and focus on my own observations. Anyways, to my point.

I don't know how much of the FC was set in stone, but I read the stories and related blogs and was familiar with the direction it was taking. It struck me that it appeared to not have any "checkpoints" if you will. I mentioned it in a previous blog to Brave, but any story -- whether its an RP or a story on a grander scale -- needs to have clear structure, and this structure needs to be known by all involved. These checkpoints give everyone something to work towards. The parts between those checkpoints is when an individual role-player can shine, make the role their own, but everyone is still working within the confines of those checkpoints and taking the story forward.

They are there to keep everyone within the project grounded. Between those checkpoints is also when characters who are "sitting on the sidelines" can be shown to be doing something related to the story, even if its a short chapter separate from the main project. They could have gotten their ass handed to them at the beginning, and maybe don't return until midway through the arc for example. Do a solo chapter or two, or one with another role-player involved in the project, and give that person some exposure away from the main plot. This can also allow you to add some side-story, but make sure it supports the main plot. This also adds the foreshadowing that was mentioned below, but keep it within the checkpoints of the main segment so you aren't running away with it and getting carried away.

So, case in point. Have a clearly defined structure. You can roll with the punches between those checkpoints, sure, and have a helluva lot of fun for by, but everyone needs to know what's going on or things fall apart before they ever build up steam. This is where something like a GM would come in. If anything gets out of hand they step in and redirect it towards the plot and issue at hand, before things spiral downwards.

Just my two cents.