Post by Meadowlark on Sept 26, 2010 18:48:51 GMT -8
Having trouble thinking of what to post? Try some of these ideas:
Type as much as possible: You want people to get mad at you for typing too much, not because you don’t give them enough to work with.
•Details — Details are a wonderful way to lengthen, and add to a post. They're also a bit of a necessity, unless your characters are floating in a black abyss of nothingness. They can be as simple as describing the room, tossing in some adjectives like "old oak" in front of door, and maybe some touch like "felt like rough sandpaper". It's really that simple in the end. You can also add what your character thinks of said surrounds by the way you write it, which kills two birds with one stone.
Examples:
Munkustrap turned toward the noise, but relaxed and continued on his way when he realized what it was.
Vs
Munkustrap whirled sharply at the sound of a crash from the other side of the street. He sighed quietly, relaxing, as he realized the sound was simply that of a glass door slamming violently and not anything that meant immediate danger. He adjusted his felt fedora to shade his face and returned to the route he’d been taking, his gaze focused on the cracked and broken sidewalk beneath his worn shoes.
The same basic actions are covered in both, but which would you rather read? The second one gives us a look at the character and his surroundings. There’s no need to describe everything in one post, in fact I highly recommend saving things for later posts.
•Actions — Characters are people. I have yet to meet someone who isn’t moving somehow when they speak or interact. Everyone has something they do—I tend to tap my pencil when I’m thinking, if that’s not possible I’ll chew on the pinky nail of my left hand. Another way to help give a look at a character’s thoughts without voicing them is to simply describe how they’re breathing (after all, even fictional characters need oxygen). How are they breathing, why are they breathing that way? That could give you enough of a start.
•Senses — What can your character’s 5 senses see, hear, feel, smell, taste? Temperature is something to be described. You don’t need to state exact temperature (in fact since we’re working on the internet that tends to get confusing with Celsius and Fahrenheit being so different) but you could describe him shedding his coat because it’s growing warmer, or perhaps she wraps her arms tightly around herself to block some of the cold. Take nothing for granted about your character. They could like or dislike any number of things they discover with these senses, and they could have any number of reasons for it. You don’t have to tell everything, keep some secrets, but this might help some with fleshing out your posts.
•Hints —As mentioned above: secrets are allowed. I encourage them because they tend to make things more exciting. Perhaps your character has a deep secret that effects how they react to things in their daily lives. You don’t have to tell why, but let your readers (the other RPers) see the action they have in response to triggers. It will leave us guessing. For example: I have a character who cannot stand the sight of blood. If he nicks himself shaving he can usually handle it, but anything more than that and he comes very close to passing out: he pales, his breathing accelerates, and his heart rate increases massively. There is a reason for this, but since he never tells why should I?
•Appearance — This doesn’t have to match what’s in their profile (besides, not everyone reads profiles). Don’t change eye color or hair color or the like, but their clothes and expression are up for grabs in this sort of post expansion. Maybe your character didn’t have time to properly tame his hair this morning, or maybe she couldn’t find her make-up. Details about clothing actually can tell your readers a lot about your character.
For Example:
Coricopat was wearing a suit.
Vs
Coricopat wore a crisply pressed, white shirt under a dark grey vest with a matching suit coat over the top. The matching slacks contained ironed creases down the front that looked sharp enough to cut oneself on. The only color in his ensemble was the crimson necktie that ringed his neck, tucked under his starched collar and hanging at just the right angle to tuck into the front of the vest.
What can we learn from the second post that we don’t see in the first one? For one: he wears full suits, ever piece of the suit is there: the coat, the vest, the shirt the slacks and the tie. He keeps his wardrobe precise, and is very careful with how he appears. He’s not one for color, but when it shows up it’s a color that stands out. Likely he’s precise in his daily life, and he tends to be a bit of a perfectionist. Etc. Etc.
•Voice — Every character (unless they’re mute) has a voice and I don’t know about you all but I haven’t ever encountered two people who have the same exact voice and inflection. What does your character’s voice sound like? Is it different when they’re nervous? Do they have an accent? If they were born outside of the States this is very likely, but even within the US there are different sorts of accents. Describe the accent, it’s not necessary to type it out in every post, but perhaps a slight hint at it. Describing the tone a character uses when speaking can set up a way for your fellow RPers to try to catch a glimpse at your character’s thoughts and feelings.
•Mannerisms — Mannerisms and quirks are a great way to make your character come to life. Sometimes they show up without you realizing it, sometimes they’re planned. Ticks come into this category. Maybe your character talks in such a way when he’s drinking, perhaps she moves her hands in a different way when speaking. There’s almost always a reason behind a mannerism or tick, but it’s not necessary, and if there isn’t one that’s viable as well.
•Thoughts — Characters think. They have opinions about things, so it’s quite alright to include your character’s thoughts like you would with dialogue. Usually thoughts are written in italics like this and without quotation marks (“”). This is yet another way to give a glimpse into what your character is actually like. My characters tend to think things they would never dream of saying out loud, because if they did it likely wouldn’t go well for them.
•Memories — Memories, like thoughts, can give us a glimpse at what your character is like. Unlike thoughts they can be done in many ways. They can be intertwined with the rest of your post, or you can put them in a separate paragraph and italicize them. It’s up to you. It's a great way to show past events without a long explanation by the character—it brings the situation to life for both the character and the reader.
Examples:
Mungojerrie froze at her words, his ears flickering. He’d seen this sort of thing happen before. Hadn’t this been the same sort of fight his parents had before his father walked out? He tried to divert his mind from those thoughts, but they kept coming, the memories tumbling one over the other like a cascading waterfall: the door slamming behind his father as the tom stormed out, abandoning his wife and kids; Teazer crawling into his bed the next night, a tiny little queen kit who couldn’t understand why her daddy had left; standing between his mother’s anger and his little sister and receiving the scar on his shoulder for his trouble. No, he wasn’t going to let this go on any longer.
Or
Rumpleteazer looked out over the speakeasy, her brown eyes lighting up as she smiled at the tom approaching her. She could still remember what it was like first meeting him.
She was standing at the bus station, waiting for her brother to bring their tickets. They were leaving Atlanta for good. Their mother had succumbed to drink and madness a few years before and their uncle had been nabbed for ‘Legging last month. The young queen stood on the platform when he approached.
She smiled shyly at him as he greeted her with equal shyness. Even then she knew he was sweet and she was convinced she would marry him when she grew up and Jerrie let her out of his sight.
•Dialogue — This seems like something I shouldn’t have to say, but there is a trick to it. A great way to lend importance to dialogue is to not just have your character say something, but to pay attention to what they don’t say as well. The way a character talks and how they choose what to say says a lot about them. Put thought into your dialogue if you’re having trouble with things. Try and use it to advance the plot.
Not every post has to have every element, but if you get stuck I hope these are at least somewhat helpful.
Type as much as possible: You want people to get mad at you for typing too much, not because you don’t give them enough to work with.
•Details — Details are a wonderful way to lengthen, and add to a post. They're also a bit of a necessity, unless your characters are floating in a black abyss of nothingness. They can be as simple as describing the room, tossing in some adjectives like "old oak" in front of door, and maybe some touch like "felt like rough sandpaper". It's really that simple in the end. You can also add what your character thinks of said surrounds by the way you write it, which kills two birds with one stone.
Examples:
Munkustrap turned toward the noise, but relaxed and continued on his way when he realized what it was.
Vs
Munkustrap whirled sharply at the sound of a crash from the other side of the street. He sighed quietly, relaxing, as he realized the sound was simply that of a glass door slamming violently and not anything that meant immediate danger. He adjusted his felt fedora to shade his face and returned to the route he’d been taking, his gaze focused on the cracked and broken sidewalk beneath his worn shoes.
The same basic actions are covered in both, but which would you rather read? The second one gives us a look at the character and his surroundings. There’s no need to describe everything in one post, in fact I highly recommend saving things for later posts.
•Actions — Characters are people. I have yet to meet someone who isn’t moving somehow when they speak or interact. Everyone has something they do—I tend to tap my pencil when I’m thinking, if that’s not possible I’ll chew on the pinky nail of my left hand. Another way to help give a look at a character’s thoughts without voicing them is to simply describe how they’re breathing (after all, even fictional characters need oxygen). How are they breathing, why are they breathing that way? That could give you enough of a start.
•Senses — What can your character’s 5 senses see, hear, feel, smell, taste? Temperature is something to be described. You don’t need to state exact temperature (in fact since we’re working on the internet that tends to get confusing with Celsius and Fahrenheit being so different) but you could describe him shedding his coat because it’s growing warmer, or perhaps she wraps her arms tightly around herself to block some of the cold. Take nothing for granted about your character. They could like or dislike any number of things they discover with these senses, and they could have any number of reasons for it. You don’t have to tell everything, keep some secrets, but this might help some with fleshing out your posts.
•Hints —As mentioned above: secrets are allowed. I encourage them because they tend to make things more exciting. Perhaps your character has a deep secret that effects how they react to things in their daily lives. You don’t have to tell why, but let your readers (the other RPers) see the action they have in response to triggers. It will leave us guessing. For example: I have a character who cannot stand the sight of blood. If he nicks himself shaving he can usually handle it, but anything more than that and he comes very close to passing out: he pales, his breathing accelerates, and his heart rate increases massively. There is a reason for this, but since he never tells why should I?
•Appearance — This doesn’t have to match what’s in their profile (besides, not everyone reads profiles). Don’t change eye color or hair color or the like, but their clothes and expression are up for grabs in this sort of post expansion. Maybe your character didn’t have time to properly tame his hair this morning, or maybe she couldn’t find her make-up. Details about clothing actually can tell your readers a lot about your character.
For Example:
Coricopat was wearing a suit.
Vs
Coricopat wore a crisply pressed, white shirt under a dark grey vest with a matching suit coat over the top. The matching slacks contained ironed creases down the front that looked sharp enough to cut oneself on. The only color in his ensemble was the crimson necktie that ringed his neck, tucked under his starched collar and hanging at just the right angle to tuck into the front of the vest.
What can we learn from the second post that we don’t see in the first one? For one: he wears full suits, ever piece of the suit is there: the coat, the vest, the shirt the slacks and the tie. He keeps his wardrobe precise, and is very careful with how he appears. He’s not one for color, but when it shows up it’s a color that stands out. Likely he’s precise in his daily life, and he tends to be a bit of a perfectionist. Etc. Etc.
•Voice — Every character (unless they’re mute) has a voice and I don’t know about you all but I haven’t ever encountered two people who have the same exact voice and inflection. What does your character’s voice sound like? Is it different when they’re nervous? Do they have an accent? If they were born outside of the States this is very likely, but even within the US there are different sorts of accents. Describe the accent, it’s not necessary to type it out in every post, but perhaps a slight hint at it. Describing the tone a character uses when speaking can set up a way for your fellow RPers to try to catch a glimpse at your character’s thoughts and feelings.
•Mannerisms — Mannerisms and quirks are a great way to make your character come to life. Sometimes they show up without you realizing it, sometimes they’re planned. Ticks come into this category. Maybe your character talks in such a way when he’s drinking, perhaps she moves her hands in a different way when speaking. There’s almost always a reason behind a mannerism or tick, but it’s not necessary, and if there isn’t one that’s viable as well.
•Thoughts — Characters think. They have opinions about things, so it’s quite alright to include your character’s thoughts like you would with dialogue. Usually thoughts are written in italics like this and without quotation marks (“”). This is yet another way to give a glimpse into what your character is actually like. My characters tend to think things they would never dream of saying out loud, because if they did it likely wouldn’t go well for them.
•Memories — Memories, like thoughts, can give us a glimpse at what your character is like. Unlike thoughts they can be done in many ways. They can be intertwined with the rest of your post, or you can put them in a separate paragraph and italicize them. It’s up to you. It's a great way to show past events without a long explanation by the character—it brings the situation to life for both the character and the reader.
Examples:
Mungojerrie froze at her words, his ears flickering. He’d seen this sort of thing happen before. Hadn’t this been the same sort of fight his parents had before his father walked out? He tried to divert his mind from those thoughts, but they kept coming, the memories tumbling one over the other like a cascading waterfall: the door slamming behind his father as the tom stormed out, abandoning his wife and kids; Teazer crawling into his bed the next night, a tiny little queen kit who couldn’t understand why her daddy had left; standing between his mother’s anger and his little sister and receiving the scar on his shoulder for his trouble. No, he wasn’t going to let this go on any longer.
Or
Rumpleteazer looked out over the speakeasy, her brown eyes lighting up as she smiled at the tom approaching her. She could still remember what it was like first meeting him.
She was standing at the bus station, waiting for her brother to bring their tickets. They were leaving Atlanta for good. Their mother had succumbed to drink and madness a few years before and their uncle had been nabbed for ‘Legging last month. The young queen stood on the platform when he approached.
She smiled shyly at him as he greeted her with equal shyness. Even then she knew he was sweet and she was convinced she would marry him when she grew up and Jerrie let her out of his sight.
•Dialogue — This seems like something I shouldn’t have to say, but there is a trick to it. A great way to lend importance to dialogue is to not just have your character say something, but to pay attention to what they don’t say as well. The way a character talks and how they choose what to say says a lot about them. Put thought into your dialogue if you’re having trouble with things. Try and use it to advance the plot.
Not every post has to have every element, but if you get stuck I hope these are at least somewhat helpful.