Post by - [s][w][a][y] - on Feb 5, 2008 13:29:44 GMT -5
Okay, there are many ways you can become a literate roleplayer. Here is a small list:
These are just a few ways. I will be posting some bad posts and some good posts.
Bad Posts[/u]
1) sahra smiles
2) she w@lks 0v3r 2 tha table n sitz d0wn.
3) walking into the room sahra sits down and smiles the lights shone in her eyes and she squinted at their radiance she puts a hand up to cover them
Good Posts
1) Sahra smiled as she followed her friend. Life had taken a great turn for her and she was now able to live on and remember the good times instead of dwelling within the bad. She had her friends, she had her family, she had a life. No more depression, no more hatred, no more lost hope. Despite the fact her home had been destroyed by the fire, she still wore her smile.
((----NOTE---- This is only one paragraph of what would be a good post for that line))
2) She walked over to the table and sat down.
3) Walking into the room, Sahra sat down and smiled. The lights shone in her eyes, so she squinted at their luminescence and raised a hand up to shield them.
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Don't have Word? Here are some tips to do your Spell Checking and Grammar Editing!
Notepad does not have a spellchecker. However, those who do not have Microsoft Word, a majority of which would be Mac Users, would have other means to spell-check their documents. Among those options would be Works, Word Perfect, Firefox, and a thousand other applications with this built-in feature. My favorite option has to be Mozilla's Firefox, as it spell-checks your writing as you write within the browser window. This is an excellent thing for those who frequent forums.
As for tips for writing, I have the following to say:
1.) It’s not what you say, but how you say it.
Ex:
"It'd be healthy for you if you came with us, Ms. White"
-or-
"It'd be.... healthy... for you if you came with us, Ms White"
The pause automatically adds emphasis to the word, and an implied threat that might not be apparent out of context.
2.) Avoid adverbs and adjectives in conjunction with dialogue in favor of good word choice. It's better if you can say something that SOUNDS condescending rather than saying, "she said condescendingly"
Ex:
"My employees are clean,” she said condescendingly.
-or-
"None of My employees would do such a thing. They wouldn't even spend time with the likes of you, let alone criminals. Not that I'm discriminating."
It often takes more words, but using the latter is a lazy writing technique. It's only fit for use when draft writing to be later replaced with better word choice in subsequent drafts.
3.) Just like in Kindergarten, if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. Nice is being construed as 'good' in this instance. I know this sounds like giving up, but it isn't. As long as you come back and finish it later. Don't fight the writer's block, just go and get yourself a cup of coffee or hot cocoa and muse over what you wanted to say. If you reflect on it enough, you'll find that "HOW" to say what you want to say will be easier when you finally get back to it. This can be ten minutes, or a couple days. Whichever works for you. Besides, a sub-par post on your part makes it more difficult for your fellow forum members to come up with a quality reply.
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These are just a few tips some fellow roleplayers and myself have come up with. If you have anything to add, please feel free to do so!
Hope this helps you out in your roleplaying!
- Use complete sentences. It bugs many other roleplayers if you write like the following. 'walks up to the door. knocks.'
- Use proper grammer. 'dont type like this and leave out capitals and commas and whatever else should be here its difficult to tell where a new sentence begins and where the last one ends if you type this way'
- Don't use Chatspeak. 'It gets rly ann0ying if u talk lyke this all the time. ppl dont lyke it.'
- Try not to do one liners. Make your posts descriptive and interesting. If you're going to use dialogue, put more to it than just words. What is your character doing? What are their facial expressions? What is their voice tone? Spice it up!
These are just a few ways. I will be posting some bad posts and some good posts.
Bad Posts[/u]
1) sahra smiles
2) she w@lks 0v3r 2 tha table n sitz d0wn.
3) walking into the room sahra sits down and smiles the lights shone in her eyes and she squinted at their radiance she puts a hand up to cover them
Good Posts
1) Sahra smiled as she followed her friend. Life had taken a great turn for her and she was now able to live on and remember the good times instead of dwelling within the bad. She had her friends, she had her family, she had a life. No more depression, no more hatred, no more lost hope. Despite the fact her home had been destroyed by the fire, she still wore her smile.
((----NOTE---- This is only one paragraph of what would be a good post for that line))
2) She walked over to the table and sat down.
3) Walking into the room, Sahra sat down and smiled. The lights shone in her eyes, so she squinted at their luminescence and raised a hand up to shield them.
------------------------------
- Its always a good idea to read the roleplay before you join it if there is one already started. This will allow you to follow topic and stay within the plots and ideas and conversations that are unfolding within the roleplay you are choosing to join.
- It doesn't hurt to proof read. I know this isn't english class, but double checking prevents spelling errors, grammar errors, and it might even help you add a few more sentences.
- Here's another hint, type up your post in Microsoft Word before you post it. MSW has spelling and grammar check that helps you out. But just remember if you bold or italicize any words in MS Word, it won't show up that way when you post it on the forum. You have to insert the forum code in the proper area.
------------------------
Don't have Word? Here are some tips to do your Spell Checking and Grammar Editing!
Notepad does not have a spellchecker. However, those who do not have Microsoft Word, a majority of which would be Mac Users, would have other means to spell-check their documents. Among those options would be Works, Word Perfect, Firefox, and a thousand other applications with this built-in feature. My favorite option has to be Mozilla's Firefox, as it spell-checks your writing as you write within the browser window. This is an excellent thing for those who frequent forums.
As for tips for writing, I have the following to say:
1.) It’s not what you say, but how you say it.
Ex:
"It'd be healthy for you if you came with us, Ms. White"
-or-
"It'd be.... healthy... for you if you came with us, Ms White"
The pause automatically adds emphasis to the word, and an implied threat that might not be apparent out of context.
2.) Avoid adverbs and adjectives in conjunction with dialogue in favor of good word choice. It's better if you can say something that SOUNDS condescending rather than saying, "she said condescendingly"
Ex:
"My employees are clean,” she said condescendingly.
-or-
"None of My employees would do such a thing. They wouldn't even spend time with the likes of you, let alone criminals. Not that I'm discriminating."
It often takes more words, but using the latter is a lazy writing technique. It's only fit for use when draft writing to be later replaced with better word choice in subsequent drafts.
3.) Just like in Kindergarten, if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. Nice is being construed as 'good' in this instance. I know this sounds like giving up, but it isn't. As long as you come back and finish it later. Don't fight the writer's block, just go and get yourself a cup of coffee or hot cocoa and muse over what you wanted to say. If you reflect on it enough, you'll find that "HOW" to say what you want to say will be easier when you finally get back to it. This can be ten minutes, or a couple days. Whichever works for you. Besides, a sub-par post on your part makes it more difficult for your fellow forum members to come up with a quality reply.
-----------------------
These are just a few tips some fellow roleplayers and myself have come up with. If you have anything to add, please feel free to do so!
Hope this helps you out in your roleplaying!