Post by brooklyn raleigh on Oct 5, 2008 14:59:21 GMT -5
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE !!
This guide was created for the purpose of roleplaying and to help everybody get better at it. It also goes over things that you should probably already know. But I do know that nobody is perfect and we al make mistakes. :]
HOW TO MAKE YOUR POSTS LONGER
[/blockquote][/blockquote]Some people may not know it, but it's a huge nuisance for somebody to reply to a post with only one sentence. Or two short sentences. It doesn't give the person you are roleplay with something to work with. However, if you add more description, you won't be stuck with a mad Admin yelling at you over your short posts. To add more description, throw in some prepositional phrases (in the forest, over the trees, behind the mall). Then you add more adjectives (vibrant, piercing, gigantic) to your post. There is always something to write about. What is your character listening to? What is your character smelling? What is your character seeing? Is your character eating anything? Is your character doing anything? If you use your five senses, you might be able to come up with at least 3-7 good sentences.
BAD EX: Alex ate her sugar powdered donuts, and then looked up,"Hi!" she said to the girl in front of her.
GOOD EX: Alex shoved a thousand sugar powdered donuts into her mouth at the same time. Her lips were covered in powdered sugar, but she didn't notice. In front of her stood a fair blond with twilight blue eyes. Not really knowing what to say, she looked up and said,"Hi!"
HOW TO PROPERLY PUNCTUATE IN DIALOGUE
[/size]I'm hoping that everybody knows that each sentences ends with a punctuation mark. (!.,?) But it get's confusing whenever you are using it in dialogue. Whenever you use dialogue, you need to know how to punctuate your sentences.
BAD EX(s): "Hey, Christina" said Chelsea.
"Hey, Christina." "What are we doing today?" "Are we going to the mall?"
"Hey, Christina." she said looking at her watch.
GOOD EX(s):
"Hey, Christina!" said Chelsea.
"Hey, Christina. What are we doing today? Are we going to the mall?"
Hey, Christina," she said looking at her watch.
Now, let's look at the bad examples. The first bad example left out the exclamation point. The punctuation is ALWAYS inside the quotations, not outside. You know your sentences isn't right if it looks like this "How are you doing"?. In the second bad example, there is more than one sentences. That does not mean that you have to start EVERY SENTENCES with quotations and end it with quotations. As long as the same person is saying this, then it is alright. In the third and last bad example, the person used a period instead of a comma or an exclamation mark. Don't do that. It's bad bad bad. Now look at the good examples; that's how the sentences should look.
USING SPACES
PLEASE use your spaces. Just in case people need to be reminded, you use spaces in between every word.
BAD EX: Hey, howareyoudoing?
GOOD EX: Hey, how are you doing?
Along with this, remember to use spaces after punctuation.
BAD EX: I found a penny on the ground.Should I keep it?I don't think I should.Maybe it belongs to somebody.
GOOD EX: I found a penny on the ground. Should I keep it? I don't think I should. Maybe it belongs to somebody.
In the bad example, there were no spaces after the punctuations. The good example is how the sentences should look.
HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
I know you are probably getting tired of me talking about punctuation and all, but it's important. Some people don't know how much is too much to use. It's actually quite simple.
BAD EX: Was she alright alright?It was a huge fall!!!!!
GOOD EX: Was she alright? It was a huge fall!
Yeah...don't use a thousand question marks and a thousand exclamation points, unless it is adding emphasis to dialogue. A long with that...
BAD EX: She was on the floor a few seconds ago......................
GOOD EX: She was on the floor a few seconds ago...
The bad example shows a person using to many periods.
YOUR THOUGHTS
It's hard to tell that your character is thinking if it is just a regular sentence. Italicize your character's thoughts.
EX: Ew, look at those last ugly wedges.
MAKING YOUR POSTS ORGANIZED
How do you make your posts organized? It's really easy. All you have to do is to use blockquotes and make your posts size 1 or size 0. And if you want to go above and beyond, then make your dialogue bold. Also, use some of the tips that I have given you.
SPELLING!
Well, I am certainly guilty as charged when it comes to not using spell check. But it really is a good habit to get into, especially if you know you aren't very good at spelling. It does help to use it, and most of the time it is correct. On proboards, there is always a spell check, so don't feel discouraged to click on it. But I'm not saying for you to make a rough draft and final copy of each of your posts. Just be simple. :]
If you have read all of this guide and apply it to each and everyone one of your posts, then you should be a great roleplayer. Thanks for reading, and remember I can and will update these things at any time. =]
