Mitchell Roslyn (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} pyro_madness) wrote in ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} chaosu_ooc,@ 2008-11-02 10:25:00 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Current mood: | nervous |
| Entry tags: | creativity, important discussions |
I wrote this a few weeks ago, and I recently brought this to the mod for permission to post this opinion piece. I’m not pointing fingers here, but I’ve been noticing something in CU that is a little worrisome. Here is a quote from the CU rulebook:
“The community will be using a post and comment system of roleplaying on the community page. One character begins a scene, and other characters may reply and interact. Please make your posts more than a sentence or two long. Go into detail on what your character is doing, thinking, whatever. You can have short posts, but having multiple one-sentence posts frustrate other players and are difficult to interact with. You will receive warnings.”
I realize that not all roleplayers are the same, and I enjoy the variety of writers here. But I’m noticing this trend of short posts in the threads.
Why Rule Eleven?
- The main goals of CU are character interaction and growth, and story/plot development. The threads here are very much like short stories or scenes in cinema/film. This means that there is quite a bit of writing involved, and it’s not only expected, it is encouraged.
- One-sentence posts are not good enough. There’s no way that one can write a post of quality with just one line. It is simply too problematic for the other players involved because too many details will be missing: the right IC actions and reactions, the thoughts of the character, descriptions of the character’s appearance, surroundings, body language, etc., etc. One or more of these details are needed for the other player to make a response of quality.
- This one is blunt: short posts are seen in CU as lazy and rude. They are also discourteous to players who do put effort into their posts.
- CU is not a forum of just instant-messaging. “Instant-messaging” in this sense takes place in journal entries where players write and respond in first person as the characters. CU does not support or approve of IM-ing in the third-person threads because the posts tend to be too short. CU uses a mixture of both, but for story threads, IM-ing should ultimately be saved for AIM, chat rooms, or other forums that allow this style of roleplay. – Side Note: potentially, an entire thread can be written over IM and posted on the main board as a whole scene as long as proper grammar, punctuation, and paragraphs are in-tact.
Post Length
The maximum length for a post is all that a player can fit inside the comment box. The minimum length is NOT one line.
There is no minimum length specified, but let’s go with a solid paragraph. The traditional paragraph contains between three and five complete sentences. A truly strong paragraph would contain between five and seven sentences (in my opinion), but for organizational purposes, this isn’t always so. A “paragraph” could be one topic sentence (i.e., a character coming to a sudden realization about something), but the rest of the post needs to have other, fuller paragraphs. Varying the lengths of paragraphs will also add more sentences.
Tips for Writing
- Time constraints can be easily solved. Wait until you can find the time. If you’re in a last-minute project for school, for example, or are about to be late for work, you might as well not post at all. The stress and anxiety that comes by rushing and/or attempting to multitask will not produce quality writing. It’s simply better to wait. It’s not against the rules in CU if players take a day or two to respond to threads, and players should not harass others if a mere few days go by with no response. However, if a week or two passes by, the players involved in a particular thread should let each other know that it’s a currently inconvenient time, post a hiatus notice, etc.
- Show, Don’t Tell. This is the cardinal rule of writers in general, and should be the rule for roleplayers in particular. This rule will help with writer’s block, guaranteed. Just remember: Description, description, description. The bare basics lie with the questions, who, what, when, where, why, and how, but one can become even more specific. These are a few questions players can use to lengthen their posts: Where are the characters? What are they wearing clothing-wise, or what are they holding (weapons, food, etc.)? What are they thinking/feeling? Can character A infer what character B’s mood is, if character B is acting/behaving/moving in certain ways? If the character is sad, how does he show that he feels that way? How does body language reveal/hide the character’s emotion, and why? Is there a memory in her past that could explain why she is behaving like she is now? Can you demonstrate the effect? – Not all these questions allow for other players to respond (especially since characters are not mind readers), but the additional information will make for an interesting read, and the players will learn more about the characters.
- Action = Reaction. Have the character respond in some way to what the other player wrote. Threads that contain fighting are easy, but others may not be so. “Show, Don’t Tell” applies here as well: how would your character respond to an insult/compliment? Will your character act upon an earlier action of another character? Is there something worth commentary on, either internally (thinking, as character or as narrator speaking for character) or externally (questioning, reprimanding, debating, talking, etc.)? If one character is physically showing tension, will the other also feel tensed or relaxed, and why? If one isn’t sure how players would feel about a certain action to be made, discuss the action and consequences over email or over the OOC board. Planning ahead will help divert confusion down the line.
- Quantity =/= Quality. Many posts do not equal quality posts. A thread containing twenty posts can be just as good as one containing forty. This is mostly up to the players’ preferences, but if one player feels that a scene is “dragging on” after the main purpose of the thread has concluded, then the thread should close. Also, if one has the time to post over a dozen short responses in one day, then one has time to post quality replies in half that number of posts and still have a successful thread.
- Communication. I include this one because this has happened to me. Spontaneity is a fun element, but when some extreme action is about to occur, be sure to ask permission from the other player to avoid frustration and confusion later. This is also another way to help generate ideas so that a thread doesn't die off too soon. What we don’t want here is a “failure to communicate.”
Most of you probably don’t need these tips or reminders. I know that I do, though. If anyone else has any other tips/suggestions/critiques, please be sure to share here~
Disclaimer
· No specific players/characters were mentioned in the writing of this article.
· No players/characters were bashed/insulted/ridiculed.
· This article does not tell players to change their unique writing styles or how to write, but to generate writing ideas so that players can avoid breaking rule number eleven.
TL;DR - Too many short posts are cropping up here lately, it seems, and under the cut are a few suggestions on how to lengthen posts...
|
|