Following a couple of conversations with a few RPers, I got inspired to write a small article with a few tips for how to improve writing. The two main tips I can give for producing a higher quality piece of writing are proof-reading and research. If you have to write about something you don't know about, research it first so that you know what you're talking about. Once your post is written, ask a friend or fellow RPer to proof-read it for you to weed out any errors.
Those are kind of common sense though. So, I thought I'd write out a few other ideas for improving writing skills generally.
- Plan your post before you write it. Most people don't do this, but it's actually a fantastic way of improving structure and can really help if you're trying to keep a continuous theme or emotion running through your post.
- Ask for a critique. Sometimes you need a different person's perspective. Post on the Workshop board and ask for a full review of your post, then try and implement the improvements suggested.
- Ask a better writer to do a thread with you. To improve at any skill, you need to practice against someone who is better at it. Ask a more experienced or advanced RPer if they wouldn't mind doing a thread with you, then really push your posts to try and be as good as theirs. Remember that length isn't everything!
- Get out of your comfort zone. Try something new! It doesn't necessarily have to be a new character - maybe put an existing character in a completely new situation. If you want to try out a completely new type of character but don't want to make it a permanent part of your life, remember that you can post any non-joined character in the Starground.
- Try a new style of writing. Do you usually post in past or present tense; third or first person? Try something completely new with a character to really shake up your writing style.
- Try to write a post with an underlying, continuous theme. Pick something obscure and work it subtly into your post. I read a short story once with the underlying theme of sweets/candy, and it used language like "the vanilla moon illuminated the trees, which stood like popsicles out of the ground". The theme is implied through similes, metaphors and adjectives. Try something similar in your writing!
- Try to write a post focused on invoking a specific emotion in your reader. Pick the emotion at the beginning (anger, sadness, mirth etc) and write your entire post with that theme in mind. Try to make your reader really feel that emotion.
- Brush up on grammar and punctuation. Very few people write a text without some errors or without room for some improvement. Read up on grammar and punctuation to help improve yours. Even if your grammar and punctuation is good, you might find out new ways to use advanced punctuation marks or come across a new way of wording a sentence which you might want to try out.
- Read, read, read! Read posts, books, poetry, short stories, magazines, newspapers, blogs - anything! Every time you read a text, you are learning. Many texts and authors are inspirational. Being a better writer isn't just about practising writing, it's also about reading published works to see how the professionals do it.
- Take your time. Fine art can't be rushed. Once you've written it, don't post it immediately; save it on your computer, walk away and come back to it in a little while. Reread it before you post it. Sometimes reading your posts from a fresh perspective can help you with editing and improving them.
- Add description. This is a tricky one, and it's really something which is quite individual. If you're a visual person, you can focus on the visual descriptions in your posts. If you're a social person, you may prefer to focus on social interactions and expressions. Figure out what comes easiest to you and describe it in detail in your posts to add depth to them. If you really want to challenge yourself, try describing something you wouldn't normally.
- But at the same time... keep it concise! There's a balance between not enough detail and too much detail. If you find yourself struggling to think of something to put in, just leave it. If you know you're someone who tends to put in too much description, try to reel your writing in. Give yourself a word limit if it helps.
- Expand your vocabulary. Every time you come across a word you don't know, note it down in a document along with its dictionary definition and a few synonyms. Using a variety of words in your writing can really add flavour to it.
- Take note of your inspiration. If something interesting happens in your day which provokes some kind of emotion in you, write it down in a notebook or word document. Diaries, blogs and journals are also good for this! A good writer is able to make everyday, ordinary things interesting to read. If someone tells you a funny joke or you hear something on the news which really gets you riled, jot down what it was and then try to analyse why it made you feel the way you did. You may be able to use that material in your writing.
- Test your writing. To make sure other people react the way you want them to react, run your post or parts of your post by your friends to see their reaction.
- Try different types of writing. If roleplaying is the only writing you do, try something new. Start a blog or write a non-fiction piece, or even a poem or short story. This will give you a different focus.
| [Be] willing to write really badly. It won't hurt you to do that. I think there is this fear of writing badly, something primal about it, like: "This bad stuff is coming out of me..." Forget it! Let it float away and the good stuff follows. For me, the bad beginning is just something to build on. It's no big deal. You have to give yourself permission to do that because you can't expect to write regularly and always write well. That's when people get into the habit of waiting for the good moments, and that is where I think writer's block comes from. Like: It's not happening. Well, maybe good writing isn't happening, but let some bad writing happen... When I was writing "The Keep," my writing was so terrible. It was God-awful. My working title for that first draft was, A Short Bad Novel. I thought: "How can I disappoint?" - Jennifer Egan |
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