Writing Guide

From Tazlure Gaming System Wiki

Writing Style

In a forum game (also known as play by post or PBP) there are some preferences as to how we write: third person, past tense (though present tense is allowed), without chatcodes and using paragraphs. In effect it is a form of creative writing, like writing a novel.

PBP is a creative writing game, not table top or chat. You need the write your part of the story as if you are writing a book. You can't take a shot at it in advance by simply telling the Moderator what you are planning and expecting the mod to do all the writing in one final determination. This includes sentences like "If he walks to the right I will hit him on the head but if he stops I will wait". You are running ahead of the story if you do that, instead of being a writer. Sequences like the one described take a few posts to resolve. At other times you may gloss over a long period of time. When only mundane things happen without anything noteworthy it is not really necessary to provide all the details in endless posts, for instance "they walked around for hours before they arrived at their destination".

While you do not have to be a native speaker, players and especially moderators should have a firm grasp of English so that ideas, fun and creativity can be clearly communicated. Players that use abbreviations like "u w8 for me 4ever?" or chat codes like putting actions as ::action:: are never tolerated. Our PBP's use normal English sentences. We also ask for a capital letter at the start of each sentence and a full stop at the end. Interpunction is the start of readability.

The number one tip for writing online is doing your posts beforehand in a word processor, which enables you to check it for spelling and otherwise proofread it. The later Word versions even check for passive sentences and readability.There is a limited spell checker on our forums. If you have Firefox as your browser, that comes with a fairly good spell checker as well.

Lay Out

You can use the BB codes to highlight, italicize, or underline text. There are several ways you can use this to improve the readability of the text. For instance:

Use bold to highlight the name of the player you are posting an action for. Especially in larger group threads this will prevent a player overlooking part of the post that was aimed at him.
Use italics to indicate emphasis, like "That... was totally uncalled for".
Use italics to indicate direct surface thoughts from the first perspective. A player may not use these thoughts unless he can read minds, but it will give more depth to the post.
Use underline to indicate the name of an establishment if you want to call attention to it.

Other Lay Out tips:

Put the speech of your character between "question marks"
Do not use colours to indicate a difference in thoughts or speech as it disrupts the flow of reading.
In multi player threads use a subjectline to indicate the group you are with
In your signature provide a link to your charactersheet. Keep your signature small and non-disruptive. No huge flashing images.

Words to Avoid

Words that are extremely overused and overrated and should be replaced with something better:

more
and
but
as
that
though
most
very
seems to be

Show, don't tell

Don't tell your readers what it looks like. Invoke such a strong image that they automatically come to that conclusion based on the clues you are providing.

Verbs that are often used to tell instead of show are:

Seem to be
Look like
as if

Example
TELLING: Sean seemed angry when he said "That was totally uncalled for"
SHOWING: Sean's eyebrows were drawn together and there was a dangerous glint to his eyes. "That.. was totally uncared for," he growled in a low baritone voice.

Don't overuse anything ending in –ly

There is a time and place for everything. You do not need an adverb to every verb. It becomes very boring indeed. Instead, try to vary what verbs you use by using a thesaurus to find synonyms. It makes your writing more powerful, active.

Compare the following:

TOO MUCH LY: She said softly, she said loudly, she said angrily
VARIATIONS: She whispered, she screamed, she fumed

Commonly confused words

Non-native speakers in particular have a tendency to mix up words that sound the same: affect/effect, there's/theirs, which/witch. So check your writing for this before posting. Does it really say what you want it to say?

Word Choice

Word choice is very important when writing a post.

Be sure that your words are an exact match for what you want to say

Everyday speaking language sometimes contains roundabout, vague ways of describing things, that should not be used in a novel as it interferes with the flow of the reading. Word should be used with precision.

Red Alert words are:

similar to
almost
kind of
sort of
just
really
only

These are modifiers, false groupers and apparent modifiers. They can often be replaced by more accurate wording, which makes your work fresh and lively.

Be sure you know all your words are appropriate for the setting

Be aware of anachronisms if you are writing fantasy or historically based novels:

Arrows are loosened not fired, nor do medieval commanders shout "Hold your Fire" (no gunpowder is used)
Adrenaline, hormones and the working of the brain are all recent discoveries, as are modern medicine concepts like bacteria. So don't let them slip accidentally in the dialogue of your characters.
The concept of equality was a post-Renaissance invention, and to a medieval mind was an alien thought.

Don't use words or even whole dialects that you are not familiar with

Avoid the thee's and thou's if you cannot do it realistically. Be careful with Scottish or lowbrow dialects. If you are not sure how to do it, but are set to use it for flavor, research first. Google is your friend! Especially in fantasy, sci-fi and historical genres, many readers are self-appointed experts on the subject, and your mistakes will rudely awaken them from their suspension of disbelief, making them unable to escape in your book while they mutter about your errors.

Language Consistancy

As obvious as this might be, it is very easy to mix up past and present tense. It jars the senses. Most writing in PBP is kept to the past tense, though that is not an official rule. Some players and moderators very successfully use the present tense to convey a certain sense of immediacy.

Especially in first drafts, it is easy to forget what point of view, perspective, and tense you are writing in. In fact, you will find that switching from past tense to present tense is very easy to do, even in a sentence: e.g. He went to the store and gets some bread. While these are technically grammar corrections it is easy to miss when you are checking for spelling and verb-subject agreement.

Never change tense mid-sentence or paragraph and if you do in a single piece, have a very good reason. Choose a tense you are most comfortable writing in and make sure that all of your sentences comply with that tense. Present tense tends to create urgency within a work, whereas past tense creates a sense of permanence. Likewise, never change your point of view. If you start in third person, end in third person.

Possibly the most difficult language inconsistency to spot are problems with perspective. To keep flow and avoid looking like an inexperienced writer, never ever change perspective during a scene. For example, if you are writing from John's point of view, do not suddenly switch to Susie's point of view in the same section. Changing perspectives is absolutely okay as long the changes are separated by section marks or chapters.

Example of shifting perspectives in a section:

John loved cars. He really, really loved cars. In fact, John remembered one time he bought a car after saving money for three years. Finally saving enough money, he bought the car and was thrilled. Against his better judgment, John let Susie drive the car and she got into a car accident. It was a complete accident and Susie felt terrible, but she didn't think John should have cared about the car more than her.

The writer is taking this from John's perspective and then suddenly at the end it is written from Susie's perspective. This is disruptive to a reader and inconsistent in the language. It would be better to phrase the last sentence in a way that John perceived that Susie felt terrible, etc.

If you choose to write third-person omniscient, then you really cannot bring the writer's opinion or the character's opinion into your narrative. Writing from this perspective detaches the writer from the character's thoughts and only reports facts. You can certainly convey a character's thoughts by using facial expressions and gestures, but thought must be completely avoided, signified in italics or with section breaks. Many writers will move from third-person omniscient to a person's perspective, but like any perspective change, you must separate the two so the reader is not confused.

One way to cultivate your perspectives is to write the piece in first person. You will find that you no longer shift perspectives to someone else and end up with more colourful thoughts, opinions and characterizations. After you've written it that way, simply change it back to third person and you will not only have eliminated perspective shifts, but probably added more depth to your narrative as well.

Comma Usage

This article deals with the various use of commas, colons and semicolons. Note that this is punctuation dealing with sentences, not the details of a letter such as date or salutation.

Introductory dependent clause/phrase, followed by the rest of the sentence/idea

Upset by the turn of events, Cassie swallowed hard and stepped up to the gate.

Sen-, non-essential clause/phrase, -tence

As Cassie glanced around the room, heart beating wildly in her chest, she noticed a dark man standing in the corner.

Sentence: listings

(Colons are only used after a complete thought/sentence.)

Dignitaries from many countries sat around the table watching the king: Count Loedred of Synchburg, Lady Gatherly of the House of Cards in Wynnchester, and Duke Isick of Port Charles.

Sentence: sentence

Where the two thoughts are closely linked together.

Dignitaries from many countries sat around the table watching the king: the results of the king's investigations were paramount to their plans.

Sentence, conjunction sentence

(Examples of conjunctions: and, but, for, or, yet, so, nor.)

He wanted to go left, but instead he went right because there was a large angry dog on the left corner.

Sentence; transition (conjunctive adverb), sentence

Cassie had come with the intent of taking his life; unfortunately, his charm was making that difficult for the young woman.

Sentence, list of things in a series

Putting a comma before the "and" is optional. See Wikipedia's article on the subject for more details.

A scan of the room's contents revealed a large wooden chest, a small table with two chairs(,) and a side table containing a washbowl.

Creating Good Flow

Flow refers to how effortless the reading experience is. This can refer to the words themselves and how they read on a page, but can also refer to the plotline. A piece with good flow allows the reader to move through the pages without having to stop at an awkward phrase or plot inconsistency.

On the first read of your first draft, note any spots where you had to stop and reread a sentence. Also take note of any time you set the reading down and moved onto something else (for whatever reason). Also pay attention to your plot; note any time you had to go back and reference something because you were unsure about how a plot point related. Finally, pay attention to anytime you skimmed or even flipped the page to see how much of the section was left. These are all places where flow is interrupted.

Usually flow is interrupted because of passive sentences, awkward phrases, extra material that does not contribute to the story, or run-on sentences. Examine the places you marked for those things. If the sentence, paragraph, or word does not actively contribute to your story, plot, character, or setting, delete it. You will find that by killing all irrelevant content the flow smooths out greatly.

Another thing that interrupts the flow of a piece is repetition. If you find that you use the same word, phrase, or symbolism repeatedly, this will not only create a boring read, but will also create "reading hiccups".

For example:

"John went to the grocery store. John went to the bakery. John bought bread at the bakery. John went home."

Those accurate and simple sentences are very hard for a reader to get through because of its repetition.

Rephrasing things and choosing different words leads to this:

John arrived at the bakery in the grocery store. He bought bread and then headed home.

You've conveyed the same idea but made the flow smoother.

Simply fixing the flow of your piece will greatly improve its readability and ultimately the reader's experience.