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Felt rather bored and decided to make a guide for those looking to improve their writing. Before going any further, I am not the best writer, nor do I even consider myself a good writer. All of the tips I'm going to share are things I try and work on myself, and I believe they can help you improve. This thread will mostly cover tips for being a better writer, not a better roleplayer. However, becoming a better writer can/will improve your roleplaying to a certain extent. Also, the last tip covers both aspects of being a better writer and roleplayer.
The Basics:
This section mostly includes things that people should already know when it comes to writing a post: good grammar, spelling, and etc. Despite knowing this, everyone makes mistakes from time to time, which is perfectly fine! The simple way to combat easy mistakes is by proof-reading your post a few times. Many people, including myself, get into the habit of creating a post without proof-reading it because they get excited. Just try and remember to proof-read your post one time before posting. It can also help to download Grammarly, a browser app that can point out your spelling and grammar mistakes. However, the app does not catch all mistakes so it is still important to proof-read your work.
Add Details:
Many people have heard of "show and tell", but when it comes to writing you only want to show. Basically, do not tell someone the aspects of something, but show it. For example, instead of saying "John is evil." you can show how he is evil by saying "John has burned down multiple villages, leaving no survivors; women and children were not spared." By showing exactly how someone has a certain characteristic, it helps whoever you are RPing with really visualize the character and they get just as immersed as you. However, it is important to remember that each character has their own viewpoints than the creator. Give the reader the facts, and let them decide how their character views the situation.
Add extra details wherever you can fit them; the tiniest of details can improve your roleplay/story immensely. For example, instead of saying "John entered the cave." you could say "John slowly crept into the ominous cave which appeared pitch-black." This can be applied to everything and anything. If your character picks up a lantern, is it made of glass or paper? If your character sees a new pair of armor, is it shiny, old, ugly, or too expensive? By adding in small details, you are able to create an endless amount of possibilities in your writing. If your character has a paper lantern, he/she could then accidentally drop the lantern, which then spills oil, and then a fire starts.
Fancy vs. Good Writing:
You do not have to write with elegant prose to have good writing. While having a unique writing style may appear good, it is the contents that make the writing good. The sentence "Rose petals seemed to fall from the heavens as if a being unbeknownst to myself was enchanting me." and "Rose petals fell from the sky as if nature was giving me a gift." are essentially saying the same thing. The only difference is that the first sentence is attempting to appear better. Also, prose can make your writing difficult to understand. It is all about the contents of your writing, not the appearance of your writing. (However, it is still a good idea to try and make your writing appear nicer.)
The story comes first:
(The word "story" also refers to threads, but threads are essentially mini-stories. Keep this in mind when reading through this section.)
This point is going to be somewhat controversial. I am a believer that the story is more important than the character within the story; the story shapes the character, not vice versa. However, some people believe that the character is what shapes the story. However, this point is not going to be used to argue between the two ideas. I am merely going to explain why I believe that the story is more important.
For starters, the characters within a story are bound to the rules, concepts, logic, or etc. of the story. The characters are able to have an impact on the story, but they cannot entirely change the story itself. Let's use the Avengers movies, specifically endgame, as an example. No matter who the characters are or how they act, they still have one mission: defeat Thanos (This is a generalization of their goal, I know there is more to it than just "defeat Thanos"). You could completely remove Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-man from the entire movie and the goal of the story would still be the same. You could also change the way the characters are in the story. You could make Captain America a girl or turn Spider-man into Spider-girl; the main plot will still be the same. No matter the impact the characters will have, the story will stay the same.
You may now be asking "Ok the story is important, now what?". Well, now you know how to begin your roleplays. Many people fall into the habit of thinking "I have this amazing character, now what should I do with them." instead of thinking "I just came up with an amazing story that I can use my character in." The big difference between the two thoughts is how they can shape the growth of your character. When you create a story FOR a character, you merely create a story that is centered/tailored around them; there is no room to grow. When you create a story that can USE your character, you give your character the opportunity to go through uncomfortable/strange situations allowing them to grow through the journey. This can be hard to imagine at first so here are some examples that will help you visualize my message:
"I have a character that is big, strong, and full of courage, however, I can't think of a story for him. Hmmm, let's have him go on a mission where he has to fight through hordes of monsters and kick ass."
"I have a story about attempting to escape from a slave ship after being tortured for 4 months. How will my big, strong, and courageous character deal with the situation and how will he change?"
In the first example, the story is created to show the characteristics of a character that everyone already knows. In the second example, the character is having to go through a situation and nobody knows how the character can change. Will the character stay the same? Will the character go insane? Will the character's attempt to escape fail? These are the questions that you should strive to make readers, and yourself, ask.
Final notes:
So in a brief summary, your writing should be: Correct, clear, descriptive, and provide a good story. You can have all sorts of amazing characters, but those characters do not matter at all if the stories they are in do not add to their character.
I hope these tips can help you become a better writer, and they have helped me quite a bit from when I originally started roleplaying. The last and most important tip I can give is to not be discouraged by your writing. Everyone has to start off somewhere, and I guarantee you no one on this website is a master writer (Please don't take this as an insult, there are many good writers on this site but objectively no one is on the same level of Mark Twain, Aristotle, and etc.) Your writings will improve the more you write, so stay motivated to roleplay!
The Basics:
This section mostly includes things that people should already know when it comes to writing a post: good grammar, spelling, and etc. Despite knowing this, everyone makes mistakes from time to time, which is perfectly fine! The simple way to combat easy mistakes is by proof-reading your post a few times. Many people, including myself, get into the habit of creating a post without proof-reading it because they get excited. Just try and remember to proof-read your post one time before posting. It can also help to download Grammarly, a browser app that can point out your spelling and grammar mistakes. However, the app does not catch all mistakes so it is still important to proof-read your work.
Add Details:
Many people have heard of "show and tell", but when it comes to writing you only want to show. Basically, do not tell someone the aspects of something, but show it. For example, instead of saying "John is evil." you can show how he is evil by saying "John has burned down multiple villages, leaving no survivors; women and children were not spared." By showing exactly how someone has a certain characteristic, it helps whoever you are RPing with really visualize the character and they get just as immersed as you. However, it is important to remember that each character has their own viewpoints than the creator. Give the reader the facts, and let them decide how their character views the situation.
Add extra details wherever you can fit them; the tiniest of details can improve your roleplay/story immensely. For example, instead of saying "John entered the cave." you could say "John slowly crept into the ominous cave which appeared pitch-black." This can be applied to everything and anything. If your character picks up a lantern, is it made of glass or paper? If your character sees a new pair of armor, is it shiny, old, ugly, or too expensive? By adding in small details, you are able to create an endless amount of possibilities in your writing. If your character has a paper lantern, he/she could then accidentally drop the lantern, which then spills oil, and then a fire starts.
Fancy vs. Good Writing:
You do not have to write with elegant prose to have good writing. While having a unique writing style may appear good, it is the contents that make the writing good. The sentence "Rose petals seemed to fall from the heavens as if a being unbeknownst to myself was enchanting me." and "Rose petals fell from the sky as if nature was giving me a gift." are essentially saying the same thing. The only difference is that the first sentence is attempting to appear better. Also, prose can make your writing difficult to understand. It is all about the contents of your writing, not the appearance of your writing. (However, it is still a good idea to try and make your writing appear nicer.)
The story comes first:
(The word "story" also refers to threads, but threads are essentially mini-stories. Keep this in mind when reading through this section.)
This point is going to be somewhat controversial. I am a believer that the story is more important than the character within the story; the story shapes the character, not vice versa. However, some people believe that the character is what shapes the story. However, this point is not going to be used to argue between the two ideas. I am merely going to explain why I believe that the story is more important.
For starters, the characters within a story are bound to the rules, concepts, logic, or etc. of the story. The characters are able to have an impact on the story, but they cannot entirely change the story itself. Let's use the Avengers movies, specifically endgame, as an example. No matter who the characters are or how they act, they still have one mission: defeat Thanos (This is a generalization of their goal, I know there is more to it than just "defeat Thanos"). You could completely remove Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-man from the entire movie and the goal of the story would still be the same. You could also change the way the characters are in the story. You could make Captain America a girl or turn Spider-man into Spider-girl; the main plot will still be the same. No matter the impact the characters will have, the story will stay the same.
You may now be asking "Ok the story is important, now what?". Well, now you know how to begin your roleplays. Many people fall into the habit of thinking "I have this amazing character, now what should I do with them." instead of thinking "I just came up with an amazing story that I can use my character in." The big difference between the two thoughts is how they can shape the growth of your character. When you create a story FOR a character, you merely create a story that is centered/tailored around them; there is no room to grow. When you create a story that can USE your character, you give your character the opportunity to go through uncomfortable/strange situations allowing them to grow through the journey. This can be hard to imagine at first so here are some examples that will help you visualize my message:
"I have a character that is big, strong, and full of courage, however, I can't think of a story for him. Hmmm, let's have him go on a mission where he has to fight through hordes of monsters and kick ass."
"I have a story about attempting to escape from a slave ship after being tortured for 4 months. How will my big, strong, and courageous character deal with the situation and how will he change?"
In the first example, the story is created to show the characteristics of a character that everyone already knows. In the second example, the character is having to go through a situation and nobody knows how the character can change. Will the character stay the same? Will the character go insane? Will the character's attempt to escape fail? These are the questions that you should strive to make readers, and yourself, ask.
Final notes:
So in a brief summary, your writing should be: Correct, clear, descriptive, and provide a good story. You can have all sorts of amazing characters, but those characters do not matter at all if the stories they are in do not add to their character.
I hope these tips can help you become a better writer, and they have helped me quite a bit from when I originally started roleplaying. The last and most important tip I can give is to not be discouraged by your writing. Everyone has to start off somewhere, and I guarantee you no one on this website is a master writer (Please don't take this as an insult, there are many good writers on this site but objectively no one is on the same level of Mark Twain, Aristotle, and etc.) Your writings will improve the more you write, so stay motivated to roleplay!
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