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The Basics of Writing

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The Basics of Writing Empty The Basics of Writing

Post by Keyblade Warrior Terra Thu May 14, 2015 8:30 am

The Basics of Writing Default_zpsafb8571b

Part 1: The Bare Basics
Part 2: Improve Your Writing!


The Basics of Writing DaysMoogle
DISCLAIMER, KUPO!

There is NO "Right" or "Wrong" way to RP. There just isn't. Everybody has their own style. I've even seen people write their posts as if it were a screenplay! This is JUST A TIP SECTION to help improve post quality if you WANT TO. None of this is mandatory!




Let's start at the very beginning...
Spelling and Grammar:
First, speeling afd grammer is impootaint. Waftch were yor keeys r and try nott to use any slang, dawgs.

When you're trying to communicate feelings, thoughts and ideas through text, it's important that people understand what's going on, because otherwise...you're gonna have a mess. Missing something like capitalization or even a comma, can seriously change the way a sentence is read.

The Basics of Writing Tumblr_mh8cm4JGPq1r04u2ao3_250

PAR EXAMPLE:
Right-->  "Sora helped Jack off the ground, with a smile."
Wrong--> "Sora helped jack off the ground with a smile."
(so so so SO wrong. Wrong. Just...wrong.)



...See what I mean? The sentence can really change if you don't watch what you're doing!

Q: But Terra, how do I fix this issue?! I'm not the best speller...
A: That's easy--You can use the following programs:



  • Microsoft Word has automatic spellchecking!

  • Mozilla Firefox has automatic spellchecking!

  • Google Chrome has automatic spellchecking!

  • Opera web browser has automatic spellchecking!



Grammar is your FRIEND:

So you know that commas and semicolons are IMPORTANT to have in a sentence, but the question is...how do you use them?

The Basics of Writing CH_yuffie "Time to hunt for some treasure!"

A nifty comic that teaches you all about Semicolons! ( ; ) <--that thing.
Here are a lot of words that people commonly misspell!
How to use an apostrophe correctly! (') <--this.
How to use the phrase "I.E" correctly!

Why thank you, Yuffie; you've been extremely helpful.



Things you definitely want to AVOID:
The Basics of Writing CH_larxene
"How pathetic..."

Short Stuff:
As everybody knows, one sentence replies are a big no-no (it's in the rules, so it's super serious business!) But while the definition of "short" can vary from person to person, there's a difference between a short post that's "okay" and a short post that is clearly just being lazy.

Lemme show you an example.

Bob from KHCMV4@PROBOARDS WROTE....


And that should be enough..

Bob stood at the banks of te Styx holding two scrolls and wicked smile all at once. On the ground sat two skeletons. Each of the said chosen person, Bob was looking for. Unlike the Amatuer Frank, Bob could control his darkness and bring back the said people he wanted. With a quit mumble of a forgotten language the bodies began to grow blood and meat around themselves, soon skin would also form around the two "ex-heroes". Both would be nude of course until givin clothes. Luckily Bob had brought both Organization 13 cloaks so that they could cover up their bodies at least until they got out of the underworld. Watching the organs fill into sockets Bob grinned. First eyeballing what the spell had accomplished, the throwing the cloaks over to the two, still unfinished, bodies. Unfortunately for the two they would have nothing else to wear at first.

Luckily, Bob's control lately has been off and on... "I never would have gotten to where I am without it HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH!"


This is a pretty decent example of a short post; it tells you all the important information, including some details, enough where someone else can jump into the topic and reply without being completely lost. There were some minor details with spelling (it happens to everybody though, so no post is perfect,) and a SERIOUS issue in red (that we'll get back to in Part 2,) but other than that, the post is good.

So how do you know what information to include and what not to include in your posts?
That's the next part.

A post should typically be at least a paragraph: that's about 4~5 decently long sentences. You should NEVER (ever) post anything like...


Bob Wrote:
I sit down at the table in my house having spaghetti for dinner.  The table has chairs  for 6 his two brothers. His sister and his mother.... All gone.... He sighs and looks at a calendar he has on the wall only to feel worse. It's been three years since the accident.... Since his whole family died. He eats his dinner in silence and cries himself to sleep only to wake the next morning and walk outside. He feels as though he's been doing the same thing over and over for weeks. He wishes someone would come visit him like they said they would.

Bill Wrote:
Today is the day. he said as he walked to his friends house. It has been 3 months after I changed. he sighed as approach the house. He hoped that his friend Bob could cheer him up.

Wait...what?! That's THREE, seriously short sentences from Bill! That's not a short post; that's just being lazy. Having long sentences (or several) in a short post makes it at least look like you're trying to communicate something to other people--a post that short not only tells me that you're not trying, it tells me that you don't care--if you don't care, why should anybody else?


Godmodding:
Godmodding was already discussed in the general rules section, but I'll go over it again--so what is Godmodding?

The Basics of Writing DaysMoogle "That's an easy one, Kupo!"

Godmodding is doing something that is way too powerful for a character, or doesn't really make any sense. You have to remember that not all characters are on the same level of strength, and that not everything is possible in the reality of the Kingdom Hearts universe.

As a basic example:

Elsa ripped off Xemnas's head and stuffed it full of pillow fluff.

There are so many things wrong with this post, that it's actually almost funny. Can you list them?



  • Elsa is way too weak to rip off anybody's head, let alone Xemnas's.

  • Ripping off someone's head is an insta-kill, which is illegal unless given permission.

  • Where did Elsa even get all that pillow fluff from?




But let's go back to a previous example.



And that should be enough..

Bob stood at the banks of te Styx holding two scrolls and wicked smile all at once. On the ground sat two skeletons. Each of the said chosen person, Bob was looking for. Unlike the Amatuer Frank, Bob could control his darkness and bring back the said people he wanted. With a quit mumble of a forgotten language the bodies began to grow blood and meat around themselves, soon skin would also form around the two "ex-heroes"
Look at the sentence in RED. Bob is an OC character, and is standing at the River Styx in the Underworld, raising people from the dead. What's wrong with that picture?
The Basics of Writing Leon_Yuffie_find_Sora--article_image


First off, Bob is an OC. The only people we, without a shadow of a doubt as it's been proven in KH lore, know that can bring people back from the dead are: Hades (Lord of the Dead, big duh there,) Maleficent (who brought back not only herself, but Oogie Boogie,) and the Xehanort crew (via twisty time loops.) Second, the Darkness cannot bring people back from the dead, unless your name is Maleficent, and even then it's going to take a LOT of power to do it--probably more than your three day old OC can muster up. Bob is essentially telling us that his character is as strong as both Hades and Maleficent...which I am going to call crap on. You can't just waltz in and raise people from the dead. I am throwing down the godmod stamp.

While one CAN bring people back from the dead, it's not as easy as just walking on in and saying "Yo Darkness gimme some of dat hero booty." It takes a lot of effort, and a lot of training, and at the VERY LEAST, T3 Magic.


Autohitting:
Autohitting is like a sub-category of Godmodding. It basically does exactly what it sounds like; it hits a character without them really being able to react to what you posted.

Basic Example:

Xehanort grappled Sora's arm and hurled him into the air mercilessly, firing a projectile of Blizzard that froze his gizzard almost immediately.
Besides the blatant godmodding of freezing poor Sora's digestive track, Master Xehanort not only grabbed Sora, but he allowed his cryo-spell to automatically hit him without him even being able to get the change to dodge. That's a perfect example of autohitting.


Autododging:
Another sub-category of godmodding is the magical ability to never get hit by anything in a post. Be realistic here; in Kingdom Hearts, Sora gets hit in combat, even if it's up against regular enemies. It doesn't matter HOW fast you are; nobody is perfect. If you dodge everything, not only is it horribly boring, but absolutely unrealistic in the sense of KH's universe. Even Xemnas couldn't dodge that final beam from Sora and Riku's attack in KHII, and he is considered one of the most powerful characters in the entire lore.
Keyblade Warrior Terra
Keyblade Warrior Terra
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The Basics of Writing Empty Re: The Basics of Writing

Post by Keyblade Warrior Terra Thu May 14, 2015 8:32 am

PART 2:

Self Improvement


Alright, so now that you have an idea about the basics, let's talk about how to improve your posting. Remember that there's really no right or wrong way to post--everybody's got their own style--but nobody's perfect.


Hang out with your Vocabulary
(He's actually cooler than he lets on.)
So what makes a post boring? Well, a lot of things; nothing interesting happens, it's long-winded and full of fluff, or it's redundant.
What makes a post redundant? When you keep repeating the same idea, phrase, or worse...the same word...over and over and over again.

Here's an example:
Billy went to the store, excited for his first day of work. He was so nervous that he almost forgot to put on his pants that morning. He walked past the bakery and said hello to the Manager, and he continued to walk. He almost ran into a cat on his way over. He was fifteen minutes late. He was immediately fired for trying to eat all of the puffed marshmallow.

Don't see it yet? Let's try making it easier to spot.

Billy went to the store, excited for his first day of work. He was so nervous that he almost forgot to put on his pants that morning. He walked past the bakery and said hello to the Manager, and he continued to walk. He almost ran into a cat on his way over. He was fifteen minutes late. He was immediately fired for trying to eat all of the puffed marshmallow.

He, he, he, he, he! How boring! Billy is more than just a male, you know! He's got a personality--and so does your character. A better way to avoid the he/she trap, is to really take some time to think about who your character really is. As an example, let's take a look at King Mickey:

King Mickey is:
A Keyblade Master
A King
A Mouse
A Warrior
An Apprentice
Brave
Kind
Friendly
Outgoing

So instead of saying:
"King Mickey went to the store after Billy's marshmallow feast and was disappointed that the store was now out of his favorite puffed junk food. He then went to Xehanort's house to borrow some for his home-made Rice Krispies Treats. He was greeted by Xigbar, who mistakenly gave him anchovies instead. His treats were completely ruined."

You could instead replace all the nouns with...
"King Mickey went to the store after Billy's marshmallow feast and was disappointed that the store was now out of his favorite puffed junk food. The friendly mouse then went to Xehanort's house to borrow some for his home-made Rice Krispies Treats. The apprentice of Yen Sid was greeted by Xigbar, who mistakenly gave him  anchovies instead. The Keyblade Master's treats were completely ruined."

Not only does adding different kinds of description show that you know your character, it also makes your posts slightly longer!


Q: "But Terra! What if I'm using the same word and it's describing something?!
A: Well, there's an amazing invention on the interwebs these days....called...

THESAURUS.COM

This guy is seriously super helpful. Not only can it give you synonyms (words that mean the same thing as the word you're using over and over and over again,) but it can also tell you the definitions of words, too!
So let's say you're describing something...blue.

Oh look I just typed in the word blue and...

See how many words you can come up with? Look to those to help inflate your vocabulary and not only improve your posts, but your speech! It's crazy!



USE YOUR SENSES!
The Basics of Writing Tumblr_ljv8thq7ce1qh9rg6o1_500
"I smell something..."

And you should, Zexion! Using your senses is probably one of the best ways to lengthen your posts and communicate your character's situation...as well as understanding and connecting with that character!

Q: "But Terra--what do you mean by senses?!"
A: Well, I mean...


  • Sight: (What does your character see? What's around you right now? What colors are they? What textures are around you?)


  • Sound: (There is ALWAYS background noise, unless the situation is special. What noises does your character hear around them? Are they loud? Are they soft? Does your character find them pleasant or annoying?)


  • Touch: (You ALWAYS feel things, whether you're touching them directly or not. There's ground and stuff beneath your feet. Is it hard? Is it easy to walk on?  There's wind around you! Is it hot? Is it cold?)


  • Smell: (Everything's got a scent! What objects around you could give off a smell? What does it smell like? How does your character feel about it?)


  • Taste: (Not usually a common one, but--how does the object taste? What's it's consistency?)


  • Thoughts: No, this isn't one of the five senses, but it's just as important! What does your character think about their surroundings? Their situation? The people they're around?


  • Feelings: What does your character feel about their situation, the people they're around, their past, their present, their possible future, where they are, who they're with?




The Basics of Writing Tumblr_mjit1kSM9Q1rumpjqo8_r1_500
Well, it has everything to do with everything.

All of these things are important (not needed, but important) to give more depth to your character! People like interesting people, and the more you describe about your character, the more people understand who they really are, and really get to know that character! Everybody will always play a character slightly different than someone else, which means everybody has their own unique style on the same person--it's getting your style across that will make you memorable.


The Basics of Writing Tumblr_mz8vimBGlD1qhvngto1_250"Got it memorized?"
Think about what your character has been through! Think about how it would impact you! Try to channel that into what you say and how you act as your character, and that will bring it to life in a snap.



And now, for my final, and most important tip. Have fun posting. Don't stress so much over-- "omg too long" "omg too short" "omg not fancy enough!"
This website is old. It keeps growing, and expanding, and the stories we all make as a group will go on long after we've left this place, and new people take our place. That's the whole point--it's not about the posts, it's the stories that those posts make!

So don't worry about it! Just...enjoy yourself.
Keyblade Warrior Terra
Keyblade Warrior Terra
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