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I have created a site proposal on Area51 for questions regarding plot, story, and character development. Such a site would be a valuable complement to both Worldbuilding and Writers.

Please participate in that proposal, if you are interested in asking or answering questions on:

  • character development: personality, backstory, relationships between characters, character arc, goals, flaws
  • plot development: filling in plot holes, organising parallel storylines, finding a fitting resolution, increasing suspense through turns of events, deriving a plot from a setting, character, or other idea
  • story development

While all these topics are on topic on Writers, Writers takes a more theoretical approach to them, requiring questions and providing answers that are useful to all writers. Examples on Writers are only meant to illustrate the question.

This site, on the other hand, is a brainstorming and idea generation site for individual writing problems. What Worldbuilding does for worldbuilding, this site does for plot, story, and characters.

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    $\begingroup$ "While all these topics are on topic on Writers" That's what i thought, but thanks for clarifying it. But... "brainstorming and idea generation site" This is not appropriate for the stack exchange network. $\endgroup$
    – Vincent
    Nov 15, 2017 at 14:48
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    $\begingroup$ I see that you are pretty new to the site (and also that you profile page says "delete me"). You should take a moment to read to rules and what kind of questions are accepted here and on other sites of the Stack Exchange. Other sites have similar guidelines. worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/help/dont-ask $\endgroup$
    – Vincent
    Nov 15, 2017 at 14:50
  • $\begingroup$ @Vincent Woldbuilding is a brainstorming and idea generation site. I was proposing to do for plot and character what Worldbuilding does for worldbuilding. Why is this okay for one aspect of writing/narrative art (worldbuilding), but not another (plot, character)? $\endgroup$
    – user44801
    Nov 16, 2017 at 15:55
  • $\begingroup$ @Vincent I am not new to SE. I have been a member for more than five years now. I was one of the highest rep users on Writers. I deleted my accounts because I was unhappy with how that site developed. $\endgroup$
    – user44801
    Nov 16, 2017 at 15:56
  • $\begingroup$ As sphennings said, opinions are not always a problem if there are criteria to judge the quality/usefulness of the answer, $\endgroup$
    – Vincent
    Nov 16, 2017 at 20:10
  • $\begingroup$ I did not know, but it look like you deleted you account again? Your just going to leave because things don't go your way? $\endgroup$
    – Vincent
    Nov 16, 2017 at 20:14

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The proposal was rejected:

Sites soliciting broad idea generation is not a model on which we wish to build a Stack Exchange site. See On Proposals soliciting reviews, recommendations, comparisons, etc

Brainstorming and idea generation are universally frowned upon across the entire Stack Exchange network. Stack Exchange functions on a question and answer format, with specific and answerable questions. Asking for help brainstorming is incompatible with such a format.

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  • $\begingroup$ Worldbuilding.SE is an idea generation and brainstorming site dedicated to worldbuilding. Why is idea generation and brainstorming a fitting model for one aspect of narrative art but not for other aspects such as plot and character? $\endgroup$
    – user44801
    Nov 16, 2017 at 15:57
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    $\begingroup$ @user44801 To quote the help center on what not to ask "You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face. Chatty, open-ended questions diminish the usefulness of our site and push other questions off the front page." Brainstorming questions are open-ended. I'm unsure where you got the idea that this site was for idea generation and brainstorming. Can you provide a link to the page that says "Worldbuilding.SE is an idea generation and brainstorming site dedicated to worldbuilding"? $\endgroup$
    – sphennings
    Nov 16, 2017 at 16:07
  • $\begingroup$ For context idea generation used to be an option for VTCing questions until it was folded into too broad and primarily opinion based to reduce confusion. $\endgroup$
    – sphennings
    Nov 16, 2017 at 16:10
  • $\begingroup$ The closest I could find in the Area 51 meta post linked above is the category "idea exchanges". No mention of brainstorming or idea generation specifically, although they could be lumped in under "idea exchanges". What worries me is the fact that Worldbuilding SE as a whole seems to be an idea exchange. Could we be treading on thin ice? $\endgroup$
    – a4android
    Nov 19, 2017 at 12:15

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