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| Beflexor's Writing Tips; Bring Salt | |
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| Topic Started: Mar 9 2008, 12:21 PM (1,276 Views) | |
| ~beflexor~ | Mar 9 2008, 12:21 PM Post #1 |
I just _____ in the _____.
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I didn’t know where else to put this since it’s entirely my own opinion, and I don’t want people to get the wrong idea that I’m some kind of expert writer, so I stuck it here. I want to make it very clear that none of this is a direct attack at people or their characters. I admit that much of this is inspired by people, but it has been over a long period of time and by many different people, even some of the senior members. If you recognize that it might have been taken from something you did, I would actually like to thank you personally. People don’t just make tips and advice from thin air, they have to come from somewhere. When I read, my brain is fitting words together of what I want to say at the same time, by reading your work (yes, yours) I am able to fit the pieces together into something I can write. If you make a mistake, and people learn from it, hey, you’re a teacher. You’re, like, the dude that invented penicillin (unless of course I’m wrong, and you look it up, you’ve just learned about penicillin because I’m stupid) I will post a comments page. In there, feel free to correct me, argue my points, add your own tips/links/snippets. Writing can be hard, RP writing can be harder (it can be a lot more fun too!) There are things you need to keep in mind with RPing that you don’t in normal writing. I’ll be writing my own tips and posting one a day until I eventually run out of ideas or every single person in the whole is a better writer than me, whichever comes first. Some of said tips are RPing exclusive from what I’ve learned over my time writing with all these really great people. They’ve taught me what I know, whether they said it outright to me or not. I’m just condensing what I know into a quasi-coherent list. I will also be providing links to information that I find very helpful to my own writing as well. And, finally, I will have a writing practice for those that want to write something to keep their skill sharp, but can’t think of anything. With that, let’s get started on our Tip of the Day! Don’t Tell Me, Show Me Trisha has brown hair and grey eyes. She is very emotional. Versus: Trisha ran her fingers through her cinnamon brown hair as she slid down the wall, her vacant, storm-grey eyes filling with tears as she let out a mournful sob. Saying something is brown, or angry, or tall, or a bounty hunter, is easy, it’s lazy. Don’t tell me someone is a jerk, show me how much of a jerk someone is by making them to jerkish things. On a similar note, don’t make people read your character’s bio if you can avoid it. People need to know what your character looks like, but keep in mind there’s going to be a dozen other characters, no one wants to have to stop in the middle of reading an RP to have to read up on who John Doe is. Make reading it as optional as possible. Saying something like “just read the profile” is rude. Character profiles aren’t meant to be read to find out who the character is, it’s meant for keeping track, for organizing, not for you to just slovenly point to when you don’t feel like describing someone. Today’s Link: http://www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htm I posted this on the old site I think, but I want to post it again. This is a Mary-Sue quiz for your characters. Take it. Take it for each and every character you have. You don’t have you tell anyone what the scores are, but write them down and take a good, hard look at each one of them. I know that people are defensive about their characters, and it can feel like an attack to some, but let me say it’s pretty darn accurate. Keep in mind that it's mostly for fantasy characters, so do something like minus ten points if your character is sci-fi. If you don’t know what a Mary-Sue is, look it up, read, immerse yourself in it. Know thine enemy. It can sneak up on you and it’s far more noticeable to others than it is to you quite often. Today’s Practice: Eat something, describe the flavor, texture, how the crumbs fell onto your lap, etc. Don’t just eat an apple and write “it tasted like an apple” |
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| ~beflexor~ | Mar 10 2008, 06:33 PM Post #2 |
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I just _____ in the _____.
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Where Are We? Much like Show Don’t Tell, you need to describe where people are. Bars aren’t just bars. Jessie walked into the bar and sat down. Versus: Jessie pushed open the door, noticing it was new compared to the rest of the building. Recently replaced because of a brawl no doubt. The scent of alcohol, vomit, and sweat permeated her sense of smell, and she could have sworn she even tasted the odors as well, they were potent enough. After a quick assessment of the patrons, she took a seat in a booth, feeling herself sink into the vinyl-cracked cushion. Be careful about describing places that either don’t belong to your character, or are in an RP you’re not the maker of. Someone might already have a description in mind, and you don’t want to ruin their high-class establishment by describing an old bloodstain on the floor. Today’s Link: http://www.hollylisle.com/fm/Workshops/suckitudinous.html How to Write Suckitudinous Fiction, by Holly Lisle (understand this is written with a humorous streak. It should go without saying, but far too many people have taken me seriously, and I can see them taking a published author seriously even more so.) Today’s Practice: Describe how someone sounds when they talk. Here’s an example: The sound of her voice was shrill and excited, like a squirrel that had drank the full amount of a hummingbird feeder and decided to top it off with a tank of helium. Her speech was scattered at best, punctuated with long silences and overuse of the word ‘um’, followed by laughter that she didn’t realize sounded nervous. (that’s me describing myself by the way) |
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| +transcon+ | Mar 11 2008, 05:00 AM Post #3 |
Metroid Specialist
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From someone who has heard your voice before, I'd say it sounds more like a nitrogen chaser than a helium cocktail. I'm really liking these tid-bits. Keep up the good work, and perhaps the young'ns will pick up the hints. 
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| +Aiko+ | Mar 11 2008, 10:06 AM Post #4 |
Roffel House!
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Keep in mind that only RPers can see the Book Previews area (we set it up that way to protect copyrighted material). Maybe we should move this to the Beginner's Start Here section? Just a thought. |
 Courtesy of EP | |
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| ~Lt. Jessie~ | Mar 11 2008, 10:53 AM Post #5 |
Silent Sniper Huntress
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Yeah, this sounds more like a beginner's topic since it does contain a lot of helpful things that might allow them to improve more. |
 Join the Black Phoenix as she and the other Knights of Light prepare for the War of the Fomors and Dark Knights | |
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| ~beflexor~ | Mar 11 2008, 06:27 PM Post #6 |
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I just _____ in the _____.
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I put it in Book Previews because I didn't want anyone to think my tips held any golden to-the-letter merit, but since you guys seem to be accepting of it, I went ahead and moved it (zomg Beflexor moderated!?) Anyway, time for today's entry! New RP, New Introduction This also somewhat stems from the Show Don’t Tell tree. Just because I described Trisha in Crash and Burn doesn’t mean I can just run her like she’s as familiar as your Nana in future RPs. RPers come and go, even if everyone is as familiar with your character as you are, it doesn’t hurt to give them a new description early on in the RP. Even in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth book into the series, Rowling still describes Harry’s dark hair and glasses. This is something all writers undoubtedly do, and you should as well. Today’s Link: http://www.hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/saving_the_world.html Saving the World Through Typing, by Holly Lisle. Not really relevant to writing RPs, but it’s got a funny quiz, and it might just stomp the egotistical dreams of someone who thinks they can change the world. Today’s Practice: Write an action scene, any action scene, save it and don’t open it until a week later. Read through it. See what you can possibly improve. |
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| ~beflexor~ | Mar 12 2008, 10:19 AM Post #7 |
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I just _____ in the _____.
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Huh, yesterday's tip title was missing. Talking Head Syndrome “Where are we?” Trisha said. “On the ship” Ben said. “Oh, okay then.” “Hungry?” “Not really.” I could continue this, but you should get the point by now. In real life, people don’t just talk, they’re always doing things, even if they’re sitting down and not mobile. Nobody’s a statue (okay, Transcon is in RE Heroes, but even he gets appalled when someone’s poking him) people don’t just stand still when talking. Next time two people are talking, and you’re not a part of it, watch what they do. Here’s a better example, with the dialog unchanged. ”Where are we?” Trisha said, opening her eyes and noticing she was in her bed. Ben stepped over to her and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “On the ship.” “Oh” Trisha sighed, rolling over to her side. “Okay then.” “Hungry?” He jerked a thumb backward, in the general direction of the kitchen. Trisha drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “Not really.” It’s still kinda wonky. In reality, I would have put a whole lot more before, after, and in between. Heck, I could make an entire post with just this for dialogue. Today’s Link: http://www.fwbookstore.com/category/writers-digest Here are some really great books, I own two of them, Body Trauma, and the Book of Poisons. Both of them are a lot of fun to read and can you can learn quite a bit. Body Trauma really helps out with that inevitable bar explodes with your character still inside it. I DON’T recommend Body Trauma to hypochondriacs. I’m totally sane in that department but, after reading that book, I crapped my pants a little when something bad happened because I knew what could potentially happen. Today’s Practice: Too many beginner people rely on the opening and closing of their character's mouths. Write a practice RP post (or an actual RP post if you prefer) without a word of dialog. I know you might think that this is counterproductive to today's tip, but it isn't. When you can write without dialog, you can write well with dialog. |
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| ~beflexor~ | Mar 13 2008, 02:28 PM Post #8 |
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I just _____ in the _____.
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Get Comfortable Go pee, grab something to eat, make sure you’re not in a hurry. Something takes a lot longer to write than it does for someone to read. If you’re in a hurry, it’ll show. To make a well-thought and creative post, make sure you didn’t just drink five gallons of water and that you’re not sitting on a chair make of angry cats. Today’s Link: http://dianapeterfreund.blogspot.com/2006/08/tale-of-two-stories.html A Tale of Two Stories, blog post by Diana Peterfreund. This is a good article that I found quite enlightening toward my own novel writing. So, which kind of novel are you writing? Today’s Practice: Write a description of someone, be as blunt and honest as possible (but for God’s sake, don’t let them find it!) |
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| ~beflexor~ | Mar 14 2008, 03:24 PM Post #9 |
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I just _____ in the _____.
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You are Your Worst Critic You really are. I suck, my suckitude causes light to redirect itself from a freaking black hole and towards me. Everyone else is so great and I’m just writing about my characters bumbling around like a bunch of drunken jackasses. Everyone else on RE don’t seem to realize that though… On the flipside, know that you’re not the best writer too. You have your flaws, and you must acknowledge them. By doing so you can improve them through practice, just don’t beat yourself up in the process. Today’s Link: http://www.freedict.com/onldict/jap.html English to other languages translator. Because Nick can speak Japanese. I can’t. Today’s Practice: Reread someone else’s post you absolutely loved and write down what it is about it you like, study it. |
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| ~beflexor~ | Mar 16 2008, 09:26 AM Post #10 |
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I just _____ in the _____.
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(Hahaha, I missed yesterday...) I am About to Explained my Tenses to You That almost sounded like the caption to an lolcat picture. Writing is in the past tense with very few exceptions. Past Ben reached over and grabbed his staff. Present Ben reaches over and grabs his staff. Future Ben will reach over and grab his staff. Of course, there are grey areas. Memories, dreams, thoughts, and plans are some examples. Fight scenes are not made any more suspenseful by making it present tense. I once read a book written in present tense. It annoyed the hell out of me. When in doubt, write in the past tense. Today’s Link: http://www.hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/wc1-5.html Apples, Bananas -- The Writer's Need for Experience by Holly Lisle. This is the number one think I read that has changed the way I think about my writing. Today’s Practice: Much like the other day's, but with an exception. Reread one of your posts you absolutely loved and write down what it is about it you like. |
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8:23 AM Nov 30
