Has anyone any pointers for writing a duel in a YGO fan fic?

[cindy_73]

Other than knowing the characters decks and how to play the game is there any ideas, suggestions and pointers to write a believable duel? I am going to have to write at least one duel scene for my NaNo fic that there is no way out of because it is vital to the plot, but any tips and pointers will be nice.

Comments

[killyoudead]

Since I don't know the card game itself as inside and out as many others, I usually ask my friends to help me pick the order of turns, and write from there.

I think the main 'trick' of it, if there is one, is to let the overall motive/emotions behind the duel lead the action. Like... if it's a match for fun, you don't have to focus as much on the mechanics, and can instead put more detail into the overarching conversation the players might be having - periodically interrupted by opening traps and dismay of suddenly losing an ace monster because they were too focused on Unrelated Plot Point Q.

If it's an actual battle duel, then I think it becomes more interesting when you focus on the psychological aspects of it. (after all, your characters aren't really going anywhere - unless they're dueling on horses/motorcycles/skateboards, you won't be able to draw very much attention to the changing surroundings/circumstances.) Most YGO characters are pretty smart when it comes to dueling, so they'll be running calculations and probable

[cindy_73]

Thanks for the great advice. I have a few friend who play and they are taking notes down for me and all. It's almost similar to a fight scene which are not easy to write, but are great when they turn out right. ^^

[killyoudead]

It's almost exactly like that! And while what everyone else is saying about writing notes and keeping track of LP/cards in hand/card effects/etc, it can really bog your scene down if you try to include all those details superfluously. I've seen a lot of written duels where it will read something like "I tribute-summon the Dark Magician (Level 7/2500/2000/Dark/Spellcaster/Holo-rare)!" Now, while some of that information may be useful, trying to do something like that for every card played will drag the pace down so much.

A way to make it more dynamic is a trick the original series writers use all the time: use the narrative power of an in-scene audience. Instead of rattling off all the stats every time, have other characters point things out if they may be important. (like, "What's Yugi doing, playing a card like that?" asked Tristan in a furtive whisper, hand cupped conspiratorially around his mouth, "His attack points are too low to do any damage to any of Pegasus' monsters!")

Only not as predictable as that, of course.

[cindy_73]

That is the key to a fist fight as well. What I have plan is Hell Kaiser Zane loosing a duel to a real dragon in human form. I have one die hard Zane fan that is writing the notes for me about each of Zane's cards and Zane's strategies while another friend is making up a deck to beat Zane's Hell Kaiser deck with strategies to match. So wish me luck. ^^

[aphotic]

Along with the above mentioned things which I completely agree with, planning out the duel is also important so it makes sense and you don't inadvertently break any rules or anything. If you have no idea how to start, I'd suggest grabbing someone who knows how to duel decently well to help you out, both of you downloading a copy of YVD, and dueling over the internet, noting down the moves as you go along, or changing them where necessary. It's what I usually do when I have to write a duel, anyway

[cindy_73]

I've been playing with a couple of friends from twitter and that has been helping a lot. And I'm also taking notes on the main characters' decks as well.

[frenziedpanda7]

If you have access to episodes on you tube or DVD's, you might want to watch episodes where the character in question dueled. At one time or another, all the main characters had at least one duel so you can get an idea of their styles and level of experience.

You could also check out pojo.coms Yu-Gi-Oh web site. they have alot of information on cards, deck building and rules of play.

Hope this helps

[cindy_73]

I've been watching GX on YouTube and I got the DM on DVD so I have been watching them to. And I have been taking tons of notes.

[kiya_kiya_chan]

Well, my boyfriend's writing YGO stuff, he usually first writes out a word document that keeps track of all his hands and cards used, # of cards in the deck, # cards in graveyard, lifepoints, everything. This is so he makes sure a player doesn't, oh say, use up 4 cards on his/ her first turn and then next turn miraculously have 5 cards in the hand again next turn without drawing or such. He's really meticulous, so he has to write that out before writing the actual story to make sure that everything is correct.

What's also helpful in his case is he builds all the decks he plans to use, so he can run through practice games and stuff. As far as the writing out the duel, below is a link to a chapter where he did:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4948669/4/Duel_of_Time

[aphotic]

Building the actual decks costs money though, and not all cards get published into the OCG anyway. I would just as soon recommend YVD for virtual deck building. There's an online function, but it's just as easy to use for keeping track of cards in hand/graveyard/on the field/life points and stuff like that when you're writing a duel.

[kiya_kiya_chan]

Cool, I hadn't heard about that before. Thanks for sharing that.

[cindy_73]

The link has been a great help thank you. ^^

[shipperamy]

Good question! I'm looking forward to reading the responses, as I am also attempting Yu-Gi-Oh fic for my first NaNo, and I've played the card game all of five times in my life... >_<;;

[cindy_73]

I've played before but I'm a bit rusty and I wish you luck on NaNo as well. Maybe we can be writing buddies. ^^

[shipperamy]

Heck yes! :D

[cindy_73]

Cool. I need more writing buddies. ^^