Post by jel on Apr 9, 2011 16:59:23 GMT -5
You've already learned the basics - how to do this, that, vocabulary, length, blah blah blah ~ Time to move on from what any ol' writer can do. Anybody can write well, it's not that hard. But it takes talent to bring a feeling into a piece of writing. It takes skill to be able to make the reader empathize every single word. It takes practice to conjure a paragraph or two and transform it into art ~
IDENTIFY:
What do you want the reader to feel when they read this?
There are plenty of feelings that you can incorporate into a post. The character could be angry, sad, happy, confused, etc. But that's not necessarily what you would want the feeling to be, and you might not want your reader to pick up on that. Get what I'm saying?
A prime example would be when I use Dunjay. Now, a lot of the time, Dunjay is a smart-ass, nonchalant, sex driven stallion ~ Duh Jel. But that's normal for him. So he, as in the character, will feel normal, like an average day. But I never want my posts to be just another day for him. A lot of the time, I want to make the reader feel intimidated.
I know you have seen a person roleplay before and their character will claim to be "evil". And then you'll read their post and scoff under your breath - "evil, sure. my character can take him on" I know you all have at one point or another. Why is that? Because they didn't put that intimidating feeling into it. Your character can be rough and tough, bad ass, leather wearin' and cigar smoking, but to the reader, he could just be seen as something completely different.
So first, really think about what you want your reader to feel, cause chances are you'll get your point across much more dramatically.
SCENERY:
It's not all that. Sure, even I love to have Dunjay come in like a BAMF with lightning and thunder crashing around. It sets the scene, and makes things more exciting, I'm not going to lie. But we can't do this every time Dunjay comes into play, can we? It's not realistic, which can lose the reader's attention. I mean, Dun is so bad, he could have flames spitting out in a pathway of molten glory and whizzing sparks and colliding waves cause he acts so Godly. But nobody would want to roleplay with me if I had the mood always affected by the weather.
You should be able to determine an emotion no matter the scenery. Scenery is used to DECORATE the post, not DOMINATE. Whether fire is raining from the sky, or it's just an average overcast day, I still want you to feel intimidated by Dunjay.
Try this exercise if you feel up to it: Pick a feeling for your character and reverse the stereotypical scenery play by. Example:
"blah blah blah, Snake was rather morbid, blah blah blah, spring flowers bloomed around her."
Awful post, you get the picture though. Wow jel, you're the teacher, do better examples ~ Yeah yeah, I know.
WORD CHOICES & TIPS:
Feeling has a lot to do with style and how you write, mind games that put the reader in the spot of the character. For instance:
I. can. make. you. emphasize. words. without. even. trying. because. every. time. I. place. a. period. your. brain. is. trained. to. take. a. pause.
So, when something is getting a little intense, or painful, try putting in more periods and make those words pop!
You can also try alliteration and assonance, which emphasizes as well:
"Dunjay is a dirty and devilish dork" or "The secretive Snake sinuously slithered closer". Using the same beginning sounds is alliteration. "fleet feet sweep by sleeping geeks". Using the same vowel sounds, like rhyming, is assonance. Don't forget personification, which is giving human traits to an inanimate object -
"Snake was so repulsive when she acted on her temper - only the near-by tree would be kind enough to bow down her limbs and offer temporary shelter for the night". I gave the tree a human feeling of kindness and sympathy for pitiful Snake.
Last but not least, Onomatopoeia. I already see a lot of people using this, which is the simple "snap", "bang", "crunch", "moo". Using words to make a sound.
IN CONCLUSION:
Go forth and write ~
Don't expect to get better right away. Become familiar with these tips first, and you'll subconsciously realize you're improving. The readers will notice too. ;3
♥ Jel & her volunteers Dunjay and Snake
IDENTIFY:
What do you want the reader to feel when they read this?
There are plenty of feelings that you can incorporate into a post. The character could be angry, sad, happy, confused, etc. But that's not necessarily what you would want the feeling to be, and you might not want your reader to pick up on that. Get what I'm saying?
A prime example would be when I use Dunjay. Now, a lot of the time, Dunjay is a smart-ass, nonchalant, sex driven stallion ~ Duh Jel. But that's normal for him. So he, as in the character, will feel normal, like an average day. But I never want my posts to be just another day for him. A lot of the time, I want to make the reader feel intimidated.
I know you have seen a person roleplay before and their character will claim to be "evil". And then you'll read their post and scoff under your breath - "evil, sure. my character can take him on" I know you all have at one point or another. Why is that? Because they didn't put that intimidating feeling into it. Your character can be rough and tough, bad ass, leather wearin' and cigar smoking, but to the reader, he could just be seen as something completely different.
So first, really think about what you want your reader to feel, cause chances are you'll get your point across much more dramatically.
SCENERY:
It's not all that. Sure, even I love to have Dunjay come in like a BAMF with lightning and thunder crashing around. It sets the scene, and makes things more exciting, I'm not going to lie. But we can't do this every time Dunjay comes into play, can we? It's not realistic, which can lose the reader's attention. I mean, Dun is so bad, he could have flames spitting out in a pathway of molten glory and whizzing sparks and colliding waves cause he acts so Godly. But nobody would want to roleplay with me if I had the mood always affected by the weather.
You should be able to determine an emotion no matter the scenery. Scenery is used to DECORATE the post, not DOMINATE. Whether fire is raining from the sky, or it's just an average overcast day, I still want you to feel intimidated by Dunjay.
Try this exercise if you feel up to it: Pick a feeling for your character and reverse the stereotypical scenery play by. Example:
"blah blah blah, Snake was rather morbid, blah blah blah, spring flowers bloomed around her."
Awful post, you get the picture though. Wow jel, you're the teacher, do better examples ~ Yeah yeah, I know.
WORD CHOICES & TIPS:
Feeling has a lot to do with style and how you write, mind games that put the reader in the spot of the character. For instance:
I. can. make. you. emphasize. words. without. even. trying. because. every. time. I. place. a. period. your. brain. is. trained. to. take. a. pause.
So, when something is getting a little intense, or painful, try putting in more periods and make those words pop!
You can also try alliteration and assonance, which emphasizes as well:
"Dunjay is a dirty and devilish dork" or "The secretive Snake sinuously slithered closer". Using the same beginning sounds is alliteration. "fleet feet sweep by sleeping geeks". Using the same vowel sounds, like rhyming, is assonance. Don't forget personification, which is giving human traits to an inanimate object -
"Snake was so repulsive when she acted on her temper - only the near-by tree would be kind enough to bow down her limbs and offer temporary shelter for the night". I gave the tree a human feeling of kindness and sympathy for pitiful Snake.
Last but not least, Onomatopoeia. I already see a lot of people using this, which is the simple "snap", "bang", "crunch", "moo". Using words to make a sound.
IN CONCLUSION:
Go forth and write ~
Don't expect to get better right away. Become familiar with these tips first, and you'll subconsciously realize you're improving. The readers will notice too. ;3
♥ Jel & her volunteers Dunjay and Snake
