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eveglassA few days ago, I started roleplaying on a forum-based game called The Continuum. I've only written five in-character posts, but I've already been complimented on my writing style. Browsing over the old forum posts, I've been thinking a lot about what makes separates exceptional forum-based roleplayers from the rest of the pack. Here's what I've come up with.
Please note: this is very long (about 1800 words). I don't expect everyone to read it, and I'm mostly doing this as a dry run before maybe convincing someone else (nudge, nudge,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
terheyt) to post it on the forums for me.
1. Write right! Right? (Spelling, punctuation, and grammar)
a. Basic spelling, punctuation, and grammar
Basic SP&G includes things like making sure you've used spell-check and that all your sentences have subjects, verbs, and periods. It also means you know the difference between "there" and "they're," "it's" and "its," and "your" and "you're." This is the minimum level of aptitude you're looking for from any native-English speaker, and should be the lowest level non-native speakers should strive to achieve. You'd be amazed how many people still haven't figured these out. It should go without saying that "u" should never be used for "you."
b. Writing in the third person
I am constantly amazed by the number of creative ways people have figured out to demarcate character speech, thought, and action. Just a few examples: italics for actions or speech, asterisks (*) for actions or speech, ellipses (...) between actions and speech, and the ever-popular no distinction at all (leaving readers to guess where speech begins and actions end).
It's simple: when you're writing in-character, imagine you're reading it in a book. Actions go outside of quotation marks, speech goes inside them. For example:
c. Advanced SP&G: tenses, voices, and flow
Compare the two following examples:
Advanced SP&G also means keeping your tenses the same. If you're writing in the present, stick to the present. If you're writing in the past, stick to the past. Don't mix them up unless you're talking about actions that take place at different times (flashbacks, for example).
2. Let your words speak (word choice)
a. Fewer adjectives, more evocative nouns and verbs
Compare the following two examples:
When you're writing, try to find evocative nouns and verbs instead of tired adjectives, and see how your writing starts to sparkle.
b. "Said" is such a boring word
Time for another comparison! Finish the sentence: "She turned to her companion and...
Along with "said," watch out for "walked." Try the following instead: strode, trudged, tiptoed, inched, sprinted.
3. Follow the yellow brick story (free-form roleplaying)
a. Don't power-game
When you're playing over forums or email, there are generally no rules. Unlike traditional table-top games, forums don't usually have stats, character sheets, or dice-rolling. Consequently, it's easy to get caught up in the theoretically unlimited power presented by the medium and make yourself omnipotent. But here's a hint: omnipotence is boring! If your character has no weaknesses, or if she's able to take out hundreds of enemy soldiers single-handedly, she's no fun to play. There's nothing to do. Moreover, it makes things boring for your fellow players if you come in and solve all their problems in a single post.
Everything I've said so far should be common sense. Power-gaming has a more subtle side, though. That's when your character is pretty good at many things, or when they're very good at one thing. There can only be so many rare characters (elder vampires, arch-mages, legendary swordsmen) in a thread before things start getting cliched. In fact, it's often a lot of fun to play very low-powered characters: they have lots of room to grow and need to figure things out by wits, not raw strength.
b. Don't meta-game
"Meta-gaming" means taking out-of-game knowledge and giving it to your character. When a brawl breaks out at the tavern across town, your character doesn't "intuitively sense" that they may be needed. It's fine to invent in-game reasons for your character to know (eg: a boy tore down the street and nearly ran into Derek, his breath in deep gasps, "they need you at the tavern!"), but at least go to the trouble of inventing that in-character reason.
Similarly, your character does not know: 1. what other characters are thinking or whispering to someone next to them (unless you're playing a telepath), 2. foreign or secret languages (unless you've given him a reason -- see "don't power-game" above), 3. modern science, technology, or processes (if you're in a fantasy or medieval game). This is one of the easiest rules to break, but also one of the easiest to fix if you know what you're looking for (and now you do).
c. Don't write for other people
This one annoys me a lot, which is a shame because it's very hard to fix. There is a fine art to roleplaying with other people and not actually writing for them. Assume you're playing a new woman in town, and another character is writing his post. Which would you rather he write?
Writing with, but not for, other characters takes practice and time. A few hints:
a. write your own character's thoughts about what the others will do (instead of the others' actual words or actions)
b. generalize and be vague (despite what I wrote earlier, vaguer is generally better when writing for other characters, since it gives them a chance to back out of whatever you wrote)
c. never, ever write direct dialogue for someone else, or make decisions for their characters unless it's completely obvious that it's the decision they'd make
d. leave things open ended (eg: he walked to the door and waited for her, ready to lead her to the stables. Note: the next player could then follow this up with, they walked together to the stables, because it's clear that the first player intended it.)
d. Finding your pacing
Last one for today, I promise. Stories have fast and slow parts. They have beginnings, middles, and ends. It takes time and practice to realize when you should be slowing down a story to give people a chance to catch their breath, and when you should be pushing forward with the large (read: complex, many-character) offensive.
Also, this involves knowing how often people generally post. If it seems to be a once-a-day forum, don't post seven times. The very first time I joined a roleplaying forum, I happened to be online with a few other new people, and we inadvertently usurped an ongoing thread and posted several hundred times in a single night. The old-timers were not happy with us, I assure you. On the flip side, if people are waiting for your response (because they're being good and not writing for you), respond! Or, if you can't respond for a while, at least let them know, so the story can continue without you.
Okay, thus ends our venture into "good vs. great" forum-based roleplaying. Thank you for reading, and hopefully this will make your writing (whether forum-based, email-based, or simple fiction) more compelling.
Please note: this is very long (about 1800 words). I don't expect everyone to read it, and I'm mostly doing this as a dry run before maybe convincing someone else (nudge, nudge,
terheyt) to post it on the forums for me.1. Write right! Right? (Spelling, punctuation, and grammar)
a. Basic spelling, punctuation, and grammar
Basic SP&G includes things like making sure you've used spell-check and that all your sentences have subjects, verbs, and periods. It also means you know the difference between "there" and "they're," "it's" and "its," and "your" and "you're." This is the minimum level of aptitude you're looking for from any native-English speaker, and should be the lowest level non-native speakers should strive to achieve. You'd be amazed how many people still haven't figured these out. It should go without saying that "u" should never be used for "you."
b. Writing in the third person
I am constantly amazed by the number of creative ways people have figured out to demarcate character speech, thought, and action. Just a few examples: italics for actions or speech, asterisks (*) for actions or speech, ellipses (...) between actions and speech, and the ever-popular no distinction at all (leaving readers to guess where speech begins and actions end).
It's simple: when you're writing in-character, imagine you're reading it in a book. Actions go outside of quotation marks, speech goes inside them. For example:
She walked into the tavern and found the bartender. "How much for a decent mug of ale in this place?" The coins rattled in her purse.
c. Advanced SP&G: tenses, voices, and flow
Compare the two following examples:
1. The beer was slammed on the counter. A circle was drawn in the middle of the bar and cleared of chairs and tables. The circle was emptied for the two men.Okay, which of those sounds better to you? For me, it's #2, hands-down. Hopefully it is for you, too. #2 is more engaging than #1 because it's written in the active voice. Simply put, the active voice means that the subject does the action. It's the difference between "he slammed the beer on the counter" (active: "he" does the action) and "the beer was slammed on the counter" (passive: "the beer" does not do the action).
2. He slammed the beer on the counter and pushed his way into the middle of the bar. He drew a circle around himself, throwing aside chairs and tables. The other patrons moved back, giving the men room.
Advanced SP&G also means keeping your tenses the same. If you're writing in the present, stick to the present. If you're writing in the past, stick to the past. Don't mix them up unless you're talking about actions that take place at different times (flashbacks, for example).
2. Let your words speak (word choice)
a. Fewer adjectives, more evocative nouns and verbs
Compare the following two examples:
1. The girl had a heavy pack and old, faded clothes.Okay, I hope that you liked #2 better than #1. At the very least, I hope you found it more evocative. Now let's play a game called "count the adjectives." #1 contains 3 adjectives out of 10 words, #2 has 1 ("doubled-over") out of 28 words. Yet #2 is more evocative because it uses better words. "Clanked," "trudged," and "doubled-over" all give a sense of the pack's heaviness even when I don't use the word "heavy." "Patches" and "holes" let you know the clothing is old and worn; I don't need to tell you.
2. The pack clanked on her back as she trudged, doubled-over from its weight. Wind hissed through the holes in her tunic and around the patches of her cloak.
When you're writing, try to find evocative nouns and verbs instead of tired adjectives, and see how your writing starts to sparkle.
b. "Said" is such a boring word
Time for another comparison! Finish the sentence: "She turned to her companion and...
1. ...shouted,With #1-4, I don't need to tell you anything else about what's going on, and you've already got a sense of the scene. Person #3 is doing something momentous, or maybe boasting about it. Person #4 is caught in some unpleasantness. But person #5? Who knows? That's because "said" tells you nothing. It's one of the most overused and least helpful words in writing. True, it's possible to go overboard with descriptive talking words, and often a simple "said" is all you need. But if you're trying to set the scene, go for something a little punchier.
2. ...whispered,
3. ...announced,
4. ...moaned,
5. ...said,
Along with "said," watch out for "walked." Try the following instead: strode, trudged, tiptoed, inched, sprinted.
3. Follow the yellow brick story (free-form roleplaying)
a. Don't power-game
When you're playing over forums or email, there are generally no rules. Unlike traditional table-top games, forums don't usually have stats, character sheets, or dice-rolling. Consequently, it's easy to get caught up in the theoretically unlimited power presented by the medium and make yourself omnipotent. But here's a hint: omnipotence is boring! If your character has no weaknesses, or if she's able to take out hundreds of enemy soldiers single-handedly, she's no fun to play. There's nothing to do. Moreover, it makes things boring for your fellow players if you come in and solve all their problems in a single post.
Everything I've said so far should be common sense. Power-gaming has a more subtle side, though. That's when your character is pretty good at many things, or when they're very good at one thing. There can only be so many rare characters (elder vampires, arch-mages, legendary swordsmen) in a thread before things start getting cliched. In fact, it's often a lot of fun to play very low-powered characters: they have lots of room to grow and need to figure things out by wits, not raw strength.
b. Don't meta-game
"Meta-gaming" means taking out-of-game knowledge and giving it to your character. When a brawl breaks out at the tavern across town, your character doesn't "intuitively sense" that they may be needed. It's fine to invent in-game reasons for your character to know (eg: a boy tore down the street and nearly ran into Derek, his breath in deep gasps, "they need you at the tavern!"), but at least go to the trouble of inventing that in-character reason.
Similarly, your character does not know: 1. what other characters are thinking or whispering to someone next to them (unless you're playing a telepath), 2. foreign or secret languages (unless you've given him a reason -- see "don't power-game" above), 3. modern science, technology, or processes (if you're in a fantasy or medieval game). This is one of the easiest rules to break, but also one of the easiest to fix if you know what you're looking for (and now you do).
c. Don't write for other people
This one annoys me a lot, which is a shame because it's very hard to fix. There is a fine art to roleplaying with other people and not actually writing for them. Assume you're playing a new woman in town, and another character is writing his post. Which would you rather he write?
1. He walked into the deserted tavern and saw the strange woman. She spun around and jumped when she realized she wasn't alone, her eyes wide. He said to her, "you won't find anyone here, I'm afraid. Everyone's either fighting the enemy or at the hospital." The woman spoke sincerely, "but I was hoping for a hot meal!"You see the subtle differences, I hope. In #1, the man is writing for the new woman, giving her expressions, actions, and even words. How does he know she was hoping for a meal? Maybe she was here for something entirely different. Maybe the woman's player was going to ask for water for her horse or announce that a second wave of enemy was coming from the east. Maybe she's a grizzled veteran who would never jump to hear someone enter a deserted room with her. But the writer has denied her player that choice by writing for her.
2. He walked into the deserted tavern and saw the strange woman. His boots crunched in the silence; no doubt she was surprised to see anyone here at all. He told her, "you won't find anyone here, I'm afraid. Everyone's either fighting the enemy or at the hospital." He hoped she wouldn't be too disappointed. Most new travellers were hungry, and there was no one to give her a meal.
Writing with, but not for, other characters takes practice and time. A few hints:
a. write your own character's thoughts about what the others will do (instead of the others' actual words or actions)
b. generalize and be vague (despite what I wrote earlier, vaguer is generally better when writing for other characters, since it gives them a chance to back out of whatever you wrote)
c. never, ever write direct dialogue for someone else, or make decisions for their characters unless it's completely obvious that it's the decision they'd make
d. leave things open ended (eg: he walked to the door and waited for her, ready to lead her to the stables. Note: the next player could then follow this up with, they walked together to the stables, because it's clear that the first player intended it.)
d. Finding your pacing
Last one for today, I promise. Stories have fast and slow parts. They have beginnings, middles, and ends. It takes time and practice to realize when you should be slowing down a story to give people a chance to catch their breath, and when you should be pushing forward with the large (read: complex, many-character) offensive.
Also, this involves knowing how often people generally post. If it seems to be a once-a-day forum, don't post seven times. The very first time I joined a roleplaying forum, I happened to be online with a few other new people, and we inadvertently usurped an ongoing thread and posted several hundred times in a single night. The old-timers were not happy with us, I assure you. On the flip side, if people are waiting for your response (because they're being good and not writing for you), respond! Or, if you can't respond for a while, at least let them know, so the story can continue without you.
Okay, thus ends our venture into "good vs. great" forum-based roleplaying. Thank you for reading, and hopefully this will make your writing (whether forum-based, email-based, or simple fiction) more compelling.
