Writing Guide: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:25, 24 September 2023

\Engaging in role-playing writing requires a foundational understanding of creative writing. If you are not well-versed in this form of writing, it is advisable to consult various guides and resources to enhance your skills. Below are some recommended readings:

Numerous books on the subject are also available. For the scope of this article, it is assumed that participants possess a rudimentary understanding of creative writing, even if they lack confidence in their abilities.

Perspective

The narrative style employed here is third-person. This approach offers several advantages, including readability and the ability to incorporate multiple perspectives. Instead of using first-person pronouns like "I" or "me," it is more effective to specify the character involved. For example, instead of writing, "I thought about picking the flower," one should write, "Joe thought about picking the flower." This clarity enhances the reader's understanding of the narrative.

Text and Context

A well-crafted role-playing text should contain two primary elements: the dialogue and the context surrounding it. This technique is often referred to as "emoting." For instance:

Lance was contemplating retiring to his room after an exhausting day but didn't wish to curtail the conversation prematurely. "Oh, no, I appreciate the thought; I'd love to," he responded, his smile concealing his fatigue.

This is in contrast to:

Oh, no, I appreciate the thought; I'd love to.

The former example provides a richer context, allowing other players to respond in a more nuanced manner.

Methods of Differentiation

Various stylistic choices can be employed to separate dialogue from context. While some players use italics, others may opt for bold text. However, the multi-line approach is discouraged as it can lead to confusion and disrupt the flow of the narrative.

Multiple Characters

Third-person narrative is not only reader-friendly but also facilitates the portrayal of multiple characters simultaneously.

Pure 3rd Person

For example:

Lance enters the bar and takes his seat. Finny approaches and inquires about his drink preference. "Just a beer today, Finny," Lance replies with a grin. "You got it, boss," Finny responds, fetching him a cold beer.

Here, both "Finny" and "Lance" are controlled by the same player. It is crucial not to dictate actions for another player's character without their consent.

Multi-Line 3rd Person

Alternatively, two characters can be played separately in different conversations:

Finny grins at Alouette and slides a plate of fresh tacos her way, saying, "Enjoy, Captain."
Lance nods at Scott, remarking, "That's an insightful point; I'm uncertain about the mechanics."

Screenplay Style

Some players prefer a screenplay or script format, which is also acceptable:

Finny: Smiles at Alouette and slides over a plate of fresh tacos. "Enjoy, Captain."
Lance: Nods at Scott. "That's an insightful point; I'm uncertain about the mechanics."

This format clearly delineates who is speaking and what actions they are taking, making it a viable option for many players.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Writing for the purpose of role playing can be difficult, before coming here a person should at least be somewhat familiar with the act (art) of creative writing.  If one is not terribly familiar with creative writing, I suggest reading a few writing guides.
+\Engaging in role-playing writing requires a foundational understanding of creative writing. If you are not well-versed in this form of writing, it is advisable to consult various guides and resources to enhance your skills. Below are some recommended readings:
 * [http://www.writerstreasure.com/creative-writing-101/ Creative Writing 101]
@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 * [http://www.dailywritingtips.com/creative-writing-101/ Another Creative Writing 101]
-There are also hundreds of books on the subject.  For our purposes we will assume that the players have some idea of what creative writing is and how to do it (even if they don't think they do it well at all).
+Numerous books on the subject are also available. For the scope of this article, it is assumed that participants possess a rudimentary understanding of creative writing, even if they lack confidence in their abilities.
 == Perspective ==
-We use a 3rd Person narrative.  That means generally speaking one should write as if they are narrating someone else's events and refrain from using personal pronouns like ''I'' or ''me'' in the narrative text.  This allows us to do a few things, for one, a consistent format makes it easier for everyone to read, and secondly it allows more variations as multiple points of view can be expressed easily.  Rather than saying "I thought about picking the flower." and have no one know who "I" is referring to, it is better to say, "Joe thought about picking the flower."  Now everyone knows who is thinking about picking a flower.
+The narrative style employed here is third-person. This approach offers several advantages, including readability and the ability to incorporate multiple perspectives. Instead of using first-person pronouns like "I" or "me," it is more effective to specify the character involved. For example, instead of writing, "I thought about picking the flower," one should write, "Joe thought about picking the flower." This clarity enhances the reader's understanding of the narrative.
 == Text and Context ==
-In any chunk of text there should be two primary elements when something is being said.  There should be text and context for the text.  That is to say, when you're reading a book you don't usually just see characters blurt things out without something about what they are thinking, doing, feeling, as they are speaking.  So when typing, on average, a good role player with have some way to differentiate the two parts.  This is sometimes called '''emoting'''.
+A well-crafted role-playing text should contain two primary elements: the dialogue and the context surrounding it. This technique is often referred to as "emoting." For instance:
 <pre>
-Lance was thinking about heading back to his room, it had been a long day today but he didn't want to end the conversation too early, "Oh, no I appreciate the thought, I'd love to." he responded, the smile hiding how tired he was.
+Lance was contemplating retiring to his room after an exhausting day but didn't wish to curtail the conversation prematurely. "Oh, no, I appreciate the thought; I'd love to," he responded, his smile concealing his fatigue.
 </pre>
-That is in opposition to:
+This is in contrast to:
 <pre>
-Oh no I appreciate the thought, I'd love to.
+Oh, no, I appreciate the thought; I'd love to.
 </pre>
-See how much information is left out?  With the first one we have a context, he's tired.  We can imagine that his eyes have a bit of a tired look, we can think perhaps his attention or body language shows he's a bit tired and wanting to head back.  The smile might appear forced.  This gives the other players so much more to work with in coming up witht heir own responses.
+The former example provides a richer context, allowing other players to respond in a more nuanced manner.
-=== Ways to Differentiate ===
+=== Methods of Differentiation ===
-We are not very strict, so any player is going to see a mix of ways to separate what is being said and the context.  A lot of people use italics.
+Various stylistic choices can be employed to separate dialogue from context. While some players use italics, others may opt for bold text. However, the multi-line approach is discouraged as it can lead to confusion and disrupt the flow of the narrative.
- ''Lance was thinking about heading back to his room, it had been a long day today but he didn't want to end the conversation too early'' Oh, no I appreciate the thought, I'd love to. ''he responded, the smile hiding how tired he was.''
+== Multiple Characters ==
+Third-person narrative is not only reader-friendly but also facilitates the portrayal of multiple characters simultaneously.
-It is a little bit clunky, but it does in fact work.  Other methods such as bold text are also used, but less frequently.
+=== Pure 3rd Person ===
+For example:
-What we'd like to stay away from is the multi-line approach:
 <pre>
-Lance was thinking about heading back to his room, it had been a long day today but he didn't want to end the conversation too early
+Lance enters the bar and takes his seat. Finny approaches and inquires about his drink preference. "Just a beer today, Finny," Lance replies with a grin. "You got it, boss," Finny responds, fetching him a cold beer.
-Oh, no I appreciate the thought, I'd love to
-he responded, the smile hiding how tired he was.
 </pre>
-Where each lines is on its own, that can get confusing and ping people multiple times for one action.
+Here, both "Finny" and "Lance" are controlled by the same player. It is crucial not to dictate actions for another player's character without their consent.
-== Multiple Characters ==
+=== Multi-Line 3rd Person ===
-Third person text makes for the easiest read.  However, it is not the only method which makes it clear who is being played, what they are saying and doing.
+Alternatively, two characters can be played separately in different conversations:
-=== Pure 3rd Person ===
-Writing in the 3rd person also facilitates writing for multiple characters at the same time.
 <pre>
-Lance walks into the bar and slides into his seat, Finny comes over and asks him what he wants.  "Oh, just a beer today Finny." Lance says with a smile, Finny responds, "You got it boss." and goes to get him a cold beer.
+Finny grins at Alouette and slides a plate of fresh tacos her way, saying, "Enjoy, Captain."
+Lance nods at Scott, remarking, "That's an insightful point; I'm uncertain about the mechanics."
 </pre>
-In this example, we know who is saying what and to whom.  It should be noted in this case that both ''Finny'' and ''Lance'' would be being played by the same person, one should not automate someone else's character by posting actions for their character without permission.
+=== Screenplay Style ===
+Some players prefer a screenplay or script format, which is also acceptable:
-=== Multi-Line 3rd Person ===
-Another example is playing two characters separately:
 <pre>
-Finny smiles at Alouette and slides over a plate of fresh tacos, "Enjoy Captain."
+Finny: Smiles at Alouette and slides over a plate of fresh tacos. "Enjoy, Captain."
-Lance nods at Scott, "That's a good point, I'm not sure the difference in how it works."
+Lance: Nods at Scott. "That's an insightful point; I'm uncertain about the mechanics."
 </pre>
-Now we have two characters being played by the same person, but both of them are in separate conversations, by specifying the name of who is saying what to who, it is clear to everyone who is talking and who they are talking to.
+This format clearly delineates who is speaking and what actions they are taking, making it a viable option for many players.
-=== Screenplay Style ===
-When doing multiple characters sometimes people would prefer a screenplay or script style of writing, this is perfectly acceptable.
- Finny:  ''Smiles at Alouette and slides over a plate of fresh tacos'' Enjoy Captain.
- Lance:  ''Nods at Scott'' That is a good point, I'm not sure the difference in how it works.
-This style makes it clear who is talking, what they are doing, etc...  It can be easier for a lot of players to do as well.
 [[Category:OOC]]