As far as I know, I was the first to come up with the idea of a visualizing page. This was 'way back in 1998 sometime, and even though I had been to a lot of BSB pages, I never saw any sort of visualizing-type things. That's part of the reason why I decided to go with my idea and create a visualizing page for each guy. And from what I've seen recently, I'm still the only person to write my visualizing stories using "you" instead of "she," like many sites have done. So, even though I don't think it's that hard to make one of these, I'm going to give you a few pointers on how I do it.

First off, saying "you do this" or "you do that" is infinitely more personal--in my opinion--than saying "she did this, she did that." This is because, when the reader sees the word "you," it automatically registers in their mind that whoever wrote the story is talking to the reader, instead of talking about some nameless girl. So I like using "you" to make it more personal.

Second, make sure you have as many sensory sentences as possible. "Sensory" basically means "senses," so what I'm trying to say is, keep the five basic senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound) in mind while you're writing. Don't overdo it, but make sure you have enough to create the scene you're trying to paint. For example, for the first story I wrote ("The Beach"), I talked about how the sand felt beneath your feet, and how the seagulls overhead were calling out in a sort of lonely way, and I also talked about the bright neon lights of the boardwalk. In my Nick story ("The Docks"), I used the sense of smell when I talked about the pungent smell of the ocean. Things like this will help your reader to better picture the scene you want to create. If you just say, "You walk along the beach, and the water was cold when it touched your skin," it's nowhere near as vivid as if you were to say, "goosebumps form on your skin as chilly ocean water laps gently against your feet." That's not the best example, but you get the idea.

Another tip is to write your story in present tense. If you write, "you danced in his arms," then for the reader it won't be as realistic as if you wrote "you dance in his arms". Putting everything in the present tense puts the idea in the reader's mind--this is usually subconsciously--that the events of this story are happening right now, which will make everything that much more vivid.

And the biggest mistake you could ever make is to put specifics in your story. By specifics, I mean information that only someone who lives in your city or town (or even state) would know. I read a visualizing story awhile ago that talked about specific radio stations and things of that nature. That's the easiest way to ruin the scene for your reader. If you want the scene to take place in an amusement park, then all you need to describe are the sounds of people screaming and laughing on rides, the smell of food in the air, etc. Don't name a specific park (i.e. Dorney Park), because anybody who's never been there won't know what you're talking about!

Use of other things to help in your visualizing story (such as JavaScripts) is up to you. I used a JavaScript in Nick's story, because it made the story that much more personal. If you're going to use a script like I did, make sure that it's going to aid, rather than detract, from your story. And don't overuse the script, either! Not all browsers can handle JavaScript!

Other than that, be creative! The best stories are often the ones that come from your own daydreams...I know "The Beach" was a scene I used to daydream about ALL the time, and so putting it into words wasn't too hard. ;) And if you just come up with an idea off the top of your head, take some time to dream out what's going to happen, and what sorts of things you feel in that scene. The more vivid it is to you, the easier it will be to put it in writing!

And that does it for this "How To" guide! Hope you found it helpful! If you did, why don't you drop me a line and tell me? :)