Post by Ace McCloud on Sept 30, 2007 17:54:32 GMT -5
First I would like to say that roleplaying is a skill one cannot master in a day, a month, or maybe even a year. It takes time and practice as well as an active imagination. Don't feel intimidated by good roleplayers. Read their posts and learn from mistakes you have made in yours that they do not. Each writer has their own style. You simply cannot copy the style of another writer and expect to have success because that wouldn't be you. For those of you who are having trouble with the basics of writing I have compiled a list of rules and reminders that I have found to improve my writing over time.
Rule #1 The very first rule of writing is probably the most important one: grammar! You must use correct grammar and spelling throughout all of your writing. When people misspell many words or don't use the proper punctuation or capitalization nobody is going to want to read it. www.dictionary.comis a gift from God for this purpose. While writing a roleplay, it's good to keep two windows of your browser open at the same time with one of them on that website. You can quickly look up words you think you might have misspelled. If you are just plain terrible at spelling, you might want to copy and paste your roleplay into a microsoft word document before posting it, and have that correct the spelling errors for you with spell check. Make sure to read through your roleplay as sometimes spell check might not make the wisest choices. There are words that might look similiar to the one you were trying to write but mean a totally different thing.
Spelling is just one part of the grammar rule. Using the right forms of such things as their they're and there or where were and wear are also very important. They're means they are as in "They are going to the store." Their shows ownership of something as in "Their store is neat." There refers to a place as in "I am going there."
The site I referred you to above has another function that is equally important in a persons writing as the dictionary, the thesaurus. The thesaurus can be used often when you feel you have become repetitive saying the same word over and over but you must do it. You must be careful using a thesaurus, however. You do not want to use words that you don't even know the meaning to and you want to avoid being over-elaborate. Do not be tempted by a twenty-dollar word when there is a ten-center handy, ready, and able. In this, as in so many matters pertaining to your style of writing, one's ear must be one's guide: gut is a lustier noun than intestine, but the two words are not interchangable, because gut is often inappropriate, being too coarse for the context. Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason.
Rule #2 The second rule pertains to the use of dialogue with roleplays. Throughout your writing someone will inevitably speak. You must make sure that the reader knows who is speaking at all times. Dialogue is useless if the reader doesn't know who's talking. They may become lost and want to re-read things to solve the mystery of who spoke those fateful words. You want to make sure your descriptive words such as "he said" or "John said", do not awkwardly interupt a spoken sentence. Place them where a break would come naturally in speech-that is, where the speaker would pause for a breath. The best test for placing an attributive is to speak the sentence. For example:
"What's more, they would never," she added, "consent to the plan."
Is incorrect as compared to:
"What's more," she added, "they would never consent to the plan."
A nifty trick I have recently learned in roleplaying is that it is useful to color dialogue using the color text feature. Make your character talk in one color and anybody else he or she runs into in another, more bland, color. Make them colors that are easy on the eye and readers can easily make the transition from the normal text to that. You don't want a rainbow, either. Be sure to use the same color for each of the strangers and a different one for your main character.
While on the subject of dialogue, I'd like to add a mistake I have found in many roleplays, even ones by experienced roleplayers. Do not end your dialogue in a period if you have a descriptive phrase like "he said" after it. The dialogue ends in a comma.
"That is probably for the best." said Tom.
Is incorrect as compared to:
"That is probably for the best," said Tom.
Rule #3 Speak english, people!
Rule #4 Don't fancy up your writing with adverbs. Do not write adverbs such as tangledly. Nobody says tangledly. Words that are not used orally are seldom ones to use in a roleplay. Do not dress up words by adding -ly to them. Also, be sparing in the use of adverbs after "he said," "she replied," and the like. Writing "he said excitedly"; "she replied grumblingly" is annoying and cluttered. Let the conversation itself disclose the speakers manner of condition. Inexperienced writers not only overwork their adverbs but load their attributives with explanatory verbs: "he consoled," "she congratulated." They do this, apparently, in the belief the word said is always in need of support, or because they have been told to by bad writers. On a final note, don't think saying "he said" or "she said" repeatedly is a bad thing. There's no reason people should be intentionally avoiding the word "said" as a descriptive word.
Rule #5 Revise and rewrite your work. Revising is part of writing. Few writers are so great that they can create what they are after on the first try. Usually by re-reading something you have written you will find that someone should have said something different or you forgot to add a scene or cut one that would allow the piece to better flow. Almost 100% of the time, there are grammatical errors you will find and correct after reading and re-writing. Once you post your roleplay, you should take the time to re-read it immediately. Good writers will often find themselves clicking the edit button at least once and sometimes even more to make anything from minor to major changes. You will seldom find a roleplay by me without seeing the words "Last Edited:" at the bottom.
Rule #6 Write in a way that comes easily to you, using words that come readily to hand. Don't use complicated words when smaller ones can get the job done just as easily. The use of language begins with imitation. Though you should never imitate consciously, do not worry about being an imitator; try instead to admire good writing. This goes along the lines of what I said in the beginning of this page of "You cannot copy another's style". This is not because it is wrong to steal but because it will make it harder for you to write. Then when you write in a way that comes naturally, you will find it easier to write longer roleplays.
Rule#7 Write roleplays in the past tense and in the 3rd person narrative. I have found this rule out the hard way and have learned it is a critical ingredient to good roleplaying. While there are many good novels and stories written in the 1st person, roleplays are not one of them.
"Tom runs down the hallway. He hopes to find his way out of the maze that he is trapped in."
Is incorrect as compared to:
"Tom ran down the hallway. He hoped to find his way out of the maze he was trapped in."
Think of your roleplay as a story being told. Roleplays that are not written in the past tense can annoy the reader and they might be tempted not to read it at all.
Rule #8 Paragraph formatting is just as important in writing as grammar and spelling. When a new person talks, a new action is done, or a description of a new setting is written, you would normally create a new paragraph and indent it. In roleplaying, indenting is not used but instead you leave one blank line between paragraphs. This makes the roleplays easier to read and also serves to separate the paragraphs as indenting would.
Rule #9 Always continue the story with your posts. I've seen it over and over of people who respond to peoples roleplays as if they are taking steps. In the beginning they might write what they did during the beginning of someone elses post. In the middle they might reply to a question or sentence someone elses character said in the middle of their post. The problem with this is that it does not progress the story at all because it's just rehashing a story we've already read. The most you should ever re-cap is the last sentence or two of the last persons post before creating original content to contribute to the story.
Rule #1 The very first rule of writing is probably the most important one: grammar! You must use correct grammar and spelling throughout all of your writing. When people misspell many words or don't use the proper punctuation or capitalization nobody is going to want to read it. www.dictionary.comis a gift from God for this purpose. While writing a roleplay, it's good to keep two windows of your browser open at the same time with one of them on that website. You can quickly look up words you think you might have misspelled. If you are just plain terrible at spelling, you might want to copy and paste your roleplay into a microsoft word document before posting it, and have that correct the spelling errors for you with spell check. Make sure to read through your roleplay as sometimes spell check might not make the wisest choices. There are words that might look similiar to the one you were trying to write but mean a totally different thing.
Spelling is just one part of the grammar rule. Using the right forms of such things as their they're and there or where were and wear are also very important. They're means they are as in "They are going to the store." Their shows ownership of something as in "Their store is neat." There refers to a place as in "I am going there."
The site I referred you to above has another function that is equally important in a persons writing as the dictionary, the thesaurus. The thesaurus can be used often when you feel you have become repetitive saying the same word over and over but you must do it. You must be careful using a thesaurus, however. You do not want to use words that you don't even know the meaning to and you want to avoid being over-elaborate. Do not be tempted by a twenty-dollar word when there is a ten-center handy, ready, and able. In this, as in so many matters pertaining to your style of writing, one's ear must be one's guide: gut is a lustier noun than intestine, but the two words are not interchangable, because gut is often inappropriate, being too coarse for the context. Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason.
Rule #2 The second rule pertains to the use of dialogue with roleplays. Throughout your writing someone will inevitably speak. You must make sure that the reader knows who is speaking at all times. Dialogue is useless if the reader doesn't know who's talking. They may become lost and want to re-read things to solve the mystery of who spoke those fateful words. You want to make sure your descriptive words such as "he said" or "John said", do not awkwardly interupt a spoken sentence. Place them where a break would come naturally in speech-that is, where the speaker would pause for a breath. The best test for placing an attributive is to speak the sentence. For example:
"What's more, they would never," she added, "consent to the plan."
Is incorrect as compared to:
"What's more," she added, "they would never consent to the plan."
A nifty trick I have recently learned in roleplaying is that it is useful to color dialogue using the color text feature. Make your character talk in one color and anybody else he or she runs into in another, more bland, color. Make them colors that are easy on the eye and readers can easily make the transition from the normal text to that. You don't want a rainbow, either. Be sure to use the same color for each of the strangers and a different one for your main character.
While on the subject of dialogue, I'd like to add a mistake I have found in many roleplays, even ones by experienced roleplayers. Do not end your dialogue in a period if you have a descriptive phrase like "he said" after it. The dialogue ends in a comma.
"That is probably for the best." said Tom.
Is incorrect as compared to:
"That is probably for the best," said Tom.
Rule #3 Speak english, people!
Rule #4 Don't fancy up your writing with adverbs. Do not write adverbs such as tangledly. Nobody says tangledly. Words that are not used orally are seldom ones to use in a roleplay. Do not dress up words by adding -ly to them. Also, be sparing in the use of adverbs after "he said," "she replied," and the like. Writing "he said excitedly"; "she replied grumblingly" is annoying and cluttered. Let the conversation itself disclose the speakers manner of condition. Inexperienced writers not only overwork their adverbs but load their attributives with explanatory verbs: "he consoled," "she congratulated." They do this, apparently, in the belief the word said is always in need of support, or because they have been told to by bad writers. On a final note, don't think saying "he said" or "she said" repeatedly is a bad thing. There's no reason people should be intentionally avoiding the word "said" as a descriptive word.
Rule #5 Revise and rewrite your work. Revising is part of writing. Few writers are so great that they can create what they are after on the first try. Usually by re-reading something you have written you will find that someone should have said something different or you forgot to add a scene or cut one that would allow the piece to better flow. Almost 100% of the time, there are grammatical errors you will find and correct after reading and re-writing. Once you post your roleplay, you should take the time to re-read it immediately. Good writers will often find themselves clicking the edit button at least once and sometimes even more to make anything from minor to major changes. You will seldom find a roleplay by me without seeing the words "Last Edited:" at the bottom.
Rule #6 Write in a way that comes easily to you, using words that come readily to hand. Don't use complicated words when smaller ones can get the job done just as easily. The use of language begins with imitation. Though you should never imitate consciously, do not worry about being an imitator; try instead to admire good writing. This goes along the lines of what I said in the beginning of this page of "You cannot copy another's style". This is not because it is wrong to steal but because it will make it harder for you to write. Then when you write in a way that comes naturally, you will find it easier to write longer roleplays.
Rule#7 Write roleplays in the past tense and in the 3rd person narrative. I have found this rule out the hard way and have learned it is a critical ingredient to good roleplaying. While there are many good novels and stories written in the 1st person, roleplays are not one of them.
"Tom runs down the hallway. He hopes to find his way out of the maze that he is trapped in."
Is incorrect as compared to:
"Tom ran down the hallway. He hoped to find his way out of the maze he was trapped in."
Think of your roleplay as a story being told. Roleplays that are not written in the past tense can annoy the reader and they might be tempted not to read it at all.
Rule #8 Paragraph formatting is just as important in writing as grammar and spelling. When a new person talks, a new action is done, or a description of a new setting is written, you would normally create a new paragraph and indent it. In roleplaying, indenting is not used but instead you leave one blank line between paragraphs. This makes the roleplays easier to read and also serves to separate the paragraphs as indenting would.
Rule #9 Always continue the story with your posts. I've seen it over and over of people who respond to peoples roleplays as if they are taking steps. In the beginning they might write what they did during the beginning of someone elses post. In the middle they might reply to a question or sentence someone elses character said in the middle of their post. The problem with this is that it does not progress the story at all because it's just rehashing a story we've already read. The most you should ever re-cap is the last sentence or two of the last persons post before creating original content to contribute to the story.
