Post by Zach Thomas on Nov 24, 2007 1:37:41 GMT -5
Hello, and welcome to the RP section here at AU! With the re-opening of the site in September, our RP section has steadily grown and attracted many members and thoughtful posts. It's been a blast to watch everybody grow as a writer.
But, if you're unsure of your writing ability, or just want to spice up your RP posts, look no further!
Grammar, Spelling, and Formatting
First off, the most improtant rule to follow when RPing (or writing anywhere on the forum, for that matter), is to use your best spelling, grammar, formatting, etc.
Format, punctuation, and capitalization: Please remember your simple rules of writing: format, punctuation, and capitalization. Text with improper format, punctuation, or capitalization looks cluttered and is hard to read.
is much easier to read and understand. Remember to capitalize the first letter of every sentence, the first letter of names and proper nouns, and every "I". Commas go where one would naturally pause in speech (between phrases and words in lists), and periods end every full sentence.
Also remember to break your writing up into appropriate paragraphs, and to place all speech in quotes:
"I love the colour green" he said.
When your character quotes another character, put the quoted speech within single quotes (') withing your character's speech, like so:
"I can't believe he was so rude. 'Get lost, nobody wants you here!'"
Remember that punctuation always goes inside of the quotes when in this format:
Zach sat down at his computer. "What am I going update on my forum today?" he mumbled to himself.
"I can't believe it's Christmas already!" he said.
If you want to place non-speech text between the sections of one unbroken phrase/topic, place a comma inside the quotes like so:
"I can't believe he ran off like that," she said, "it was really frightening."
"I can think of worse he could do," said Jack. "He could've hurt one of us."
The format, however, works differently if the speech is in form being quoted by the one speaking, as in this example:
"When RPing here, you should use your best English"?
When the speaker is, in a way, including a quote in his speech, and the quoted material makes up the entirety of the speech within the quotation marks, the punctuation goes outside of the marks, as it does not necessarily apply to the (quoted) speech itself, but to the manner in which the speaker says it.
-
Spelling: Proper spelling is another simple way to increase your ability as a writer. Use our built in spell checker here (to the right of "Preview" when posting through the "Reply" button) if you're not sure.
-
Grammar: Grammar is another subject entirely, and one more difficult to maintain and to teach to others. Generally, you can follow the rule that "if it doesn't sound right, then it isn't right." Some simple grammar rules include:
X Agreement between (and clarity of) pronouns and the people/things they refer to. For example, the sentence below has a pronoun that does not agree to the person it refers to.
"Anne is seven years old. They was born October 23rd, 2000."
Obviously, "they" should be "she" in order for the sentence to be coherent.
Also, make sure it is clear what pronouns refer to who in your sentences.
"Janet gave her candy to Jim, who gave some to Jill. He shared what was left over with John. She was happy to get all the candy from him."
The sentence above is not very clear in who its pronouns refer to. A better format would be:
"Janet gave her candy to Jim. Jim gave some to Jill. She was happy to get the candy from him. Jim shared the rest of the candy with John."
X Proper use of "Their", "There", and "They're". They all sounds the same, but all have different meanings. One is a posessive, another is directing to a location, and the last is a contraction of "they" and "are".
Generally, just follow your ears and learn from your mistakes.
Now, on to the realm of actual story-telling, or RPing....
The Actual Tips and Tricks!
Besides following basic rules of the English language, there is more to writing really well, whether it be in our RP, or in a story you write for school. Some tips to make your story interesting and fun to read are:
X To use vivid descriptors in your story.
"Xin Lang ran down the red hall. He stopped at the big door."
^ The above sentence is quite drab. Use good descriptors or adjectives to spice it up.
"Xin Lang sprinted down the bloodred hall. After a few moments, he skidded to a halt before the towering oaken door."
Keep it interesting, but don't over-do it. You've gone too far when a reader would have to pull out a thesaurus for more than one word in your text.
X To properly combine action, thought, and spoken word. You don't want your post to be all about your running down that hall, all about you pondering your next move, or entirely you talking to your ally. Try to find a good balance of all three "modes" of a story.
X To use varied sentence structure, starters, and syntax. If you start, end, and format every sentence in your post the same way, it's gonna be pretty boring.
"Masagoutii ran towards the source of the noise. He got to the source when, suddenly, the noise stopped. He was curious to discover its originator."
^ The above sentence uses pretty much all the same format and beginnings of sentences. The below sentence has a more mixed, and more pleasing variety.
"Masagoutii ran towards the source of the noise. Suddenly, it stopped, right as he arrived at where it seemed to have come from. He was curious to see what caused it."
Varying your sentence starters and structure can make a good post into a great one.
-
Have you Noticed? (The proper RPing way)
THIRD PERSON: This portion of the thread is basically stating the obvious. Have you noticed that each and every example was in third person? If you have, you deserve some beef jerky. (If you don’t like beef jerky, then I’m sorry! You’d get whatever you want to get.
) If not, then you might want to go back and re-read the examples. This is because typing, replying, posting, etc… in third person is very important.
I’m sure you’ve read books that had the usage of first person, or rather, the usage of “I”, “my”, or “me” to talk about the main character. (ex. I wasn’t sure what to do—Kyle was getting angry!) However in RP, it’s different. Since RP stands for role play, this means that you play a role. In other words, the character isn’t you. He or she is a different living creature, so you must talk in third person. Basically, you’re using the words “he”, “she”, or your own character’s name/role’s name to express what your character is saying or doing.
X Example of first person (Incorrect!): I felt dizzy for some odd reason as I picked up my pace, my feet padding softly on the concrete. The sun was probably the cause of it, making me feel tired after five minutes getting into the race.
X Example of third person (Correct!): Mackenzie ran confidently, speeding pass the other students in a flash. After five minutes, she was already on her third lap, getting ready to finish the mile run. Everyone else was behind, all except the other girl a few inches behind her. Mackenzie growled, annoyance flickering across her face as she glared at the girl.
Now after reading this, please tell me you’ll start posting in third person! It would make things so much easier!
Remember to have fun RPing in third person!![/b][/u]
-
I hope you have found this little session informative and useful. With practice, anybody can become a great writer! Keep an eye out for additions to this piece. If you spot any obvious errors, please tell me! ^^
Also, if you have any tips you'd like to share, feel free to post 'em below!
But, if you're unsure of your writing ability, or just want to spice up your RP posts, look no further!
Grammar, Spelling, and Formatting
First off, the most improtant rule to follow when RPing (or writing anywhere on the forum, for that matter), is to use your best spelling, grammar, formatting, etc.
Format, punctuation, and capitalization: Please remember your simple rules of writing: format, punctuation, and capitalization. Text with improper format, punctuation, or capitalization looks cluttered and is hard to read.
"hi my name is zach, and i run a forum called avatards united Its pretty cool it has, chat and a really neat rp Section"is ghastly to read. The corrected version:
"Hi, my name is Zach, and I run a forum called Avatards United. It's pretty cool, it has chat and a really neat RP section."
is much easier to read and understand. Remember to capitalize the first letter of every sentence, the first letter of names and proper nouns, and every "I". Commas go where one would naturally pause in speech (between phrases and words in lists), and periods end every full sentence.
Also remember to break your writing up into appropriate paragraphs, and to place all speech in quotes:
"I love the colour green" he said.
When your character quotes another character, put the quoted speech within single quotes (') withing your character's speech, like so:
"I can't believe he was so rude. 'Get lost, nobody wants you here!'"
Remember that punctuation always goes inside of the quotes when in this format:
Zach sat down at his computer. "What am I going update on my forum today?" he mumbled to himself.
"I can't believe it's Christmas already!" he said.
If you want to place non-speech text between the sections of one unbroken phrase/topic, place a comma inside the quotes like so:
"I can't believe he ran off like that," she said, "it was really frightening."
"I can think of worse he could do," said Jack. "He could've hurt one of us."
The format, however, works differently if the speech is in form being quoted by the one speaking, as in this example:
"When RPing here, you should use your best English"?
When the speaker is, in a way, including a quote in his speech, and the quoted material makes up the entirety of the speech within the quotation marks, the punctuation goes outside of the marks, as it does not necessarily apply to the (quoted) speech itself, but to the manner in which the speaker says it.
-
Spelling: Proper spelling is another simple way to increase your ability as a writer. Use our built in spell checker here (to the right of "Preview" when posting through the "Reply" button) if you're not sure.
-
Grammar: Grammar is another subject entirely, and one more difficult to maintain and to teach to others. Generally, you can follow the rule that "if it doesn't sound right, then it isn't right." Some simple grammar rules include:
X Agreement between (and clarity of) pronouns and the people/things they refer to. For example, the sentence below has a pronoun that does not agree to the person it refers to.
"Anne is seven years old. They was born October 23rd, 2000."
Obviously, "they" should be "she" in order for the sentence to be coherent.
Also, make sure it is clear what pronouns refer to who in your sentences.
"Janet gave her candy to Jim, who gave some to Jill. He shared what was left over with John. She was happy to get all the candy from him."
The sentence above is not very clear in who its pronouns refer to. A better format would be:
"Janet gave her candy to Jim. Jim gave some to Jill. She was happy to get the candy from him. Jim shared the rest of the candy with John."
X Proper use of "Their", "There", and "They're". They all sounds the same, but all have different meanings. One is a posessive, another is directing to a location, and the last is a contraction of "they" and "are".
Generally, just follow your ears and learn from your mistakes.
Now, on to the realm of actual story-telling, or RPing....
The Actual Tips and Tricks!
Besides following basic rules of the English language, there is more to writing really well, whether it be in our RP, or in a story you write for school. Some tips to make your story interesting and fun to read are:
X To use vivid descriptors in your story.
"Xin Lang ran down the red hall. He stopped at the big door."
^ The above sentence is quite drab. Use good descriptors or adjectives to spice it up.
"Xin Lang sprinted down the bloodred hall. After a few moments, he skidded to a halt before the towering oaken door."
Keep it interesting, but don't over-do it. You've gone too far when a reader would have to pull out a thesaurus for more than one word in your text.
X To properly combine action, thought, and spoken word. You don't want your post to be all about your running down that hall, all about you pondering your next move, or entirely you talking to your ally. Try to find a good balance of all three "modes" of a story.
X To use varied sentence structure, starters, and syntax. If you start, end, and format every sentence in your post the same way, it's gonna be pretty boring.
"Masagoutii ran towards the source of the noise. He got to the source when, suddenly, the noise stopped. He was curious to discover its originator."
^ The above sentence uses pretty much all the same format and beginnings of sentences. The below sentence has a more mixed, and more pleasing variety.
"Masagoutii ran towards the source of the noise. Suddenly, it stopped, right as he arrived at where it seemed to have come from. He was curious to see what caused it."
Varying your sentence starters and structure can make a good post into a great one.
-
Have you Noticed? (The proper RPing way)
THIRD PERSON: This portion of the thread is basically stating the obvious. Have you noticed that each and every example was in third person? If you have, you deserve some beef jerky. (If you don’t like beef jerky, then I’m sorry! You’d get whatever you want to get.
) If not, then you might want to go back and re-read the examples. This is because typing, replying, posting, etc… in third person is very important. I’m sure you’ve read books that had the usage of first person, or rather, the usage of “I”, “my”, or “me” to talk about the main character. (ex. I wasn’t sure what to do—Kyle was getting angry!) However in RP, it’s different. Since RP stands for role play, this means that you play a role. In other words, the character isn’t you. He or she is a different living creature, so you must talk in third person. Basically, you’re using the words “he”, “she”, or your own character’s name/role’s name to express what your character is saying or doing.
X Example of first person (Incorrect!): I felt dizzy for some odd reason as I picked up my pace, my feet padding softly on the concrete. The sun was probably the cause of it, making me feel tired after five minutes getting into the race.
X Example of third person (Correct!): Mackenzie ran confidently, speeding pass the other students in a flash. After five minutes, she was already on her third lap, getting ready to finish the mile run. Everyone else was behind, all except the other girl a few inches behind her. Mackenzie growled, annoyance flickering across her face as she glared at the girl.
Now after reading this, please tell me you’ll start posting in third person! It would make things so much easier!
Remember to have fun RPing in third person!![/b][/u]-
I hope you have found this little session informative and useful. With practice, anybody can become a great writer!
Keep an eye out for additions to this piece. If you spot any obvious errors, please tell me! ^^Also, if you have any tips you'd like to share, feel free to post 'em below!