adPost by patrick on Jan 27, 2018 12:31:29 GMT -5
tips
WRITING LONGER POSTS
Thank you to an off-site friend, Devi, for allowing us to use her tips for writing longer roleplay posts!
Sometime's it can be pretty daunting and at times appalling to see those really long four to six paragraph posts. You'll probably even ask yourself 'how in the world did this person even do this?!' And while there are many different writing styles out there - some that will come more naturally to you the more you write, I figured I'd type up this post to help nudge those of you who wish to better their skill at the written word. The aim and general goal of this topic is to help you write longer and more detailed post's that you can be proud of, but just need that extra help. I know how it feel's to write those one or two liner post's; we all have been there and while experience is a general way to go about thing's, having a rules of thumb to go by is always helpful. It might have even saved me some of the trouble to learn these tips way back then. Do note that these tips come from my own perspective and are in no way, shape or form "professional". Some people may disagree with these methods, this is just simply helpful advice. You can take it or leave it. <3
First off there are three things that you need to familiarize yourself with;
- Character Emotions
- Atmosphere Mood/setting
- Descriptive words/Attention to detail
Extra things you should consider doing/adding;
- Setting a goal
- Synonyms/word replacements
Now you may be wondering what are descriptive words? You can be an English major for all I care or like me, someone who does creative writing all the time, yet we all still have to look up the definition of descriptive words. Descriptive words are, in a nutshell, the reader's (or in our case our character's) five senses - touch, sight, taste, smell, and hearing. When used properly these descriptive words can help the writer either entertain, persuade, educate or inform the reader. Makes sense? These descriptive words are very important when it comes to making longer posts because they essentially bring life to your character. They make your character more relatable to the reader or spark other kinds of emotions. Descriptive words help paint a picture in a reader's mind and they also help explain an environment or setting. Attention to detail kind of coincides with descriptive words when it comes to describing your character's five senses.
- Example 1: Pinefur walked in the Pine Forest, alone with nobody to disturb him.
Or you could add more to that one liner and get something like this:
- Example 2: Pinefur walked alone in the Pine Forest, the leaves and dried pine needles crunching under his paw pads. Hazel pool's glanced up at the Evergreen's thick canopy, the pungent stench stinging his nose.
Another thing to take note on to help you perfect your writing skills is learning how to essentially be your character. I like to think of it like you're immersing yourself into the roleplay as it makes it easier when trying to describe your character's thoughts and feelings. Essentially you want to make your character feel real to the reader and a way you accomplish this is by having them ask rhetorical questions that they think to themselves or describe what they are feeling in a certain situation. If they have a backstory and depending on the circumstances you can maybe have your character relate to it. It may seem hard the first few times, but it'll get easier the more you practice and do it! You'll want to go for something along the lines of this:
- Example: Pinefur walked alone in the Pine Forest, the leaves and dried pine needles crunching under his paw pads. Hazel pool's glanced up at the Evergreen's thick canopy, the pungent stench stinging his nose. As he walked his thoughts drifted towards the future. He thought about his kits. They were warrior's now and no longer required his care and attention like they used to when they were kits. He wondered what they were doing now and if they were enjoying themselves. The thought of them no longer needing him had him feeling slightly down and mopey. What did he do now? For the past few moons his life revolved around them and now it felt like he had nothing to do. It just fell apart. It hurt and yet he felt such pride and happiness knowing that he did well at raising them despite being a single father. He did well, that much was true and despite his inner conflicts about his kits growing up, he was learning to let go. To watch them walk on their own for once.
Lastly, is creating your mood and/or setting for your post. Sometimes when you don't know what to write I suggest writing about the mood or setting of the environment or atmosphere your character is currently in. It's fairly easy to do and at times can be fun when you're trying to set up a specific setting for a thread. The environment really is the selling point of any kind of thread and personally, I think it's one of the most important things that people tend to under rate and overlook. A setting largely affects the mood and actions of your character's - this is something very important to consider and while roleplay is roleplay it's still something that naturally happens. The setting help's make your post feel more relatable or real and alive to the reader. It's also good to keep tabs of this specific setting or atmosphere that you've created while the thread goes on. Setting up a setting will look like something along the lines of this:
- Example: Pinefur walked alone in the dimly lit Pine Forest, the leaves and dried pine needles crunching under his paw pads. Hazel pool's glanced up at the Evergreen's thick canopy, the pungent stench stinging his nose. The sun's rays tried to break through but failed miserably. As he continued on with his walk his thoughts drifted towards the future. He thought about his kits. They were warrior's of ThunderClan now and no longer required his care and attention like they used to when they were tiny helpless kits. He wondered what they were doing now and if they were enjoying the life of a warrior. The thought of them no longer needing him had him feeling slightly down and mopey. What did he do now? For the past few moons his life revolved around them and now it felt like he had nothing to do. It just fell apart. It hurt and yet he felt such pride and happiness knowing that he did well at raising them despite being a single father. He did well, that much was true and despite his inner conflicts about his kits growing up he was learning to let go. To watch them walk on their own for once. Sighing, Pinefur breathed in the fresh air of the forest. Despite its gloominess and somber atmosphere, he found it rather relaxing and matching of his mood. It complimented him well that was for sure. The rustle and bustle of forest life brought him out of his thoughts. In the very least he wasn't alone. The forest's rhythm was alive and beating strongly with the chirping birds and skittering mice and squirrels.
Some other suggestions are using replacement words or lack for a better word, synonyms. These can help enhance your writing and mix it up a bit so you're not using the same old boring words. Not only that, but you'll also be expanding your vocabulary if that's not reason enough! While this might not work for everyone sometimes setting a writing goal for yourself can help you accomplish writing longer posts. You never know until you try it out!
Now that you have read these basic tips for writing longer, more in depth roleplay post's I challenge you to try it out! Let me know if these tips worked out for you or not! :3
MEL @ ADOXOGRAPHY
