Role playing should be in third person, past tense form, but biographies can be in any form you wish(Though avoid second tense because that would just be really weird and hard to read). Please avoid changing tense or changing from third to first person after you have started in one tense and person combination.
Also, add as much description to your writing as you can. Describe things like the weather, the temperature, sounds, sights, smells and tastes. Help the person who will be reading your posts visualize the scene.
For instance:
instead of this: The girl ran up the stairs crying. Johan turned and sighed.
Try this: The small girl's bare feet scrambled up the steps as her sobs could still be heard from behind her hands. Johan looked on just long enough to see her trip on the top step. Turning and letting out a sigh - which turned to steam in the cold air - Johan dropped his shoulders in disapointment.
Please note that I did NOT start each sentance with the same word over and over like a few authors i know *cough cough* Stephanie Meyer*cough cough*. To avoid confusion, put clauses that can be removed between dashes instead of commas because it is tipical for many authors to use a LOT of commas and it can get annoying *cough cough* Stephanie Meyer *cough cough*. Try to occasionally put a sentance kind of backwards to keep the reader from falling asleep.
Now to DIALOUGE which seems to confuse some authors *cough cough* Stephanie Meyer *cough cough*.
It is common for new and inexperienced *cough cough* Stephanie Meyer *cough cough* writers to just have the "Question, Answer, Question, Answer" format, which can be annoying. Try putting some just plain statements in there. Make your characters talk like REAL PEOPLE, please.
Instead of this: "Where do you want to eat?" Velgan asked.
"Soemwhere fancy." Val said.
"Like what?" Velgan asked.
"Something Vevelish." Val said.
Try this: "I'm hungry." Blurted Velgan mindlessly.
"You know, me too." Val returned.
"We should like, go somewhere to eat." Velgan waved one of his hands as he said this, almost hitting Valarie in the face. Dodging the wayward hand, Val replied,
"Where?"
"Hell, I don't know."
"What about somewhere fancy?"
You get the point. Avoid using the word "Said" as much as you can. Try to reverse the action and the subject every once in awhile, like say " 'what should we do?' Asked Johan" instead of just "Johan asked". Also, notice how after a little while I stopped saying thesubject and action because eventually the reader kinda gets it. That is all that I have to say for now, and I may make a few comments on yall's posts to give more tips in the RPGs.
(If you didn't notice, I'm not a big Twilight fan. Nothing against the love story, just the fact that Stephanie Meyer writes worse than a retarded squirrel monkey who has watched Underworld a few too many times.)
Sat Jan 03, 2009 2:17 pm