n00blet
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What most people don't realize is that there are certain things to writing, subtle little hints and mistakes that seem insignificant, but they can pile up and ruin what would otherwise be a good post. This goes for roleplaying as well as novels and short stories, and can make a wonderful story almost unbearable to read. Do not take these to apply at all times, nor take them as concrete rules upon which your writing should be founded. These are simply little hints and tricks that might improve your quality of writing.
DESCRIPTION
Just as well as there is such thing as too little description, there is also too much. You must go about describing without turning your prose into an instruction manual. For example, take the following versions of the same description:
Bad The oaken table was two feet high, and in its center sat a painted black wire cage, rectangularly shaped and about one foot high by three feet wide. The red tablecloth resting upon the polished wood surface stopped about two inches before reaching the floor.
Good The oaken table almost reached just past my knees, a rectangular cage that looked like it was used for carrying a small animal set in the middle. A red tablecloth covered the surface of the table, reaching almost to the floor.
Now, which one gave a better description, a clearer image in your head? The first one, obviously, since it was so precise. However, this is clunky and difficult to read, the measurements clashing with whatever description had come before it. Notice how in the second example, reference points were given rather than exact measurements, approximations that let the reader's mind more easily imagine what you are trying to say.
Note that it is also possible to over-describe, even following this previous rule. A famous example of this would the The Lord of the Rings series. While these books were wonderfully written, many people find them difficult to finish because of their overbearing description, giving details on every scene and object. There are some points where the reader can mostly assume what the room would look like, and some things that just need to be left to the imagination. It is up to you to determine where this would be, and something learned through experience in writing.
VOCABULARY
One of the most important thing in a writer's arsenal is vocabulary. The words you use to describe things must flow together smoothly, fitting together in a nice pattern and saying what you want them to say. Some writers possess a massive vocabulary, able to say whatever they want to say however they want with ease. Do not, however, go back after you have finished writing something and replace shorter words with long ones just to look impressive. This detracts from your writing, as you are saying something simply to show off rather than saying what you actually mean.
You must also work under the assumption that your reader knows what you are saying. Some writers ignore this, making their stories seem almost like a science book. Take, for example, this passage:
HP Lovecraft, At The Mountains of Madness The leathery, undeteriorative, and almost indestructible quality was an inherent attribute of the thing’s form of organization, and pertained to some paleogean cycle of invertebrate evolution utterly beyond our powers of speculation.
While this is a wonderful description, it may be difficult for some people to understand. In stark contrast to this, look here:
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath Some of the owner men were kind because they hated what they had to do, and some of them were angry because they hated to be cruel, and some of them were cold because they had long ago found that one could not be an owner unless one were cold.
Most of these words have only a single syllable, and while the grammar of the sentence is rather complex, the words hardly rise above a third-grade level. This too is great description, telling the reader exactly what they need to know as simply as it can.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE
This is somewhat difficult to describe. How you say something can have a large effect on how it is read. My main rule of thumb when writing is to avoid sounding passive as much as possible. This makes your writing sound dull and uneventful.
Ex.:
Bad The rope was thrown by John. Rescuing people was John's job.
Not only is that almost cringe-worthy, it is almost impossible to have longer sentences in that style. Instead, that same thing would go better like this:
Good John threw the rope. It was his job to rescue these people.
Doesn't that seem more exciting? It may not seem like much due to the context in which it was presented, but in the middle of your prose, this will improve your writing more than you can imagine.
WORD CHOICE
Always remember this: adverbs are not your friend. You don't know what adverbs are? Well, turn back the clock to grammar class, fifth grade. If you still need a reminder, they are essentially verbs with an -ly at the end. i.e., firmly, clearly, etc. Now, that is not to say that you should never use adverbs, but use them as sparingly as possible. "But Escher," you cry, "aren't those descriptive verbs? Can't they improve my writing?" While this may be true in some cases, it is really just proof of a lazy writer.
Take this for example:
Spoiler: click to toggle He shut the door firmly.
Now, you could say that this expresses a slight degree between He shut the door and He slammed the door, but shouldn't the description that had come before all of that told you how the man shut the door? What about all of the entertaining prose, the revealing of his thoughts and feelings? This should render "firmly" unnecessary.
Adverbs are mostly the result of a writer fearful that he is not getting through a clear message. If you are ever feeling this, go back and explain better. Don't rely on adverbs to do your job for you.
There are some cases where adverbs are especially superfluous.
Good “Put it down!” she shouted. “Give it back,” he pleaded, “it’s mine.” “Don’t be such a fool, Jekyll,” Utterson said.
Not that the writer uses simple words, realizing that the reader can tell from the verbs used how the sentence is being spoken. Many writers will instead do this:
Bad “Put it down!” she shouted menacingly. “Give it back,” he pleaded abjectly, “it’s mine.” “Don’t be such a fool, Jekyll,” Utterson said contemptuously.
These adverbs are unneeded, there only because the writer was afraid that they would not be understood. This is the writer's greatest enemy, and the leading cause of good writing gone bad.
This concludes my writing tutorial, I may add more if I feel it is needed. Thanks for reading, and I hope this helped.
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