+ + + Writing Tips

[THE SPIRIT]

Greetings writers!

Struggling to write a post? Don't know where to start? Or what to say? Need to elaborate more on your word count?

Writing can be extremely tough, especially when you are suffering writers block. I thought I'd write a little something to help you out. I'm no professional writer, nor do I do this as a living, but I have role-played for close to nine years now, and I have posted a lot, and read a lot on role-playing sites throughout the years. The guide lines I've written is based on experience, and what I consider as a perfectly-written post.

Now this is mainly for beginners, or people who are new to this style of role-play. But really, this could be handy for anyone. Writing comes with experience, and not everyone will get it on the first go. And also, everyone has their own writing style, so not everyone is required to write the same. Remember, we've all had to start somewhere and even intermediate writers have their bad days.

So I hope these guidelines will help keep your creativity flowing, and give you some ideas. I will continually add to them, but I will let you know when it gets updated.

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> Be descriptive of your surroundings
I find this is always a great start to any post. It also helps to visualise the scene in which your character is located, and gives a better understanding and to how they wandered there. In this case, the more detail you give the better. Plus, it also makes it easier for the next poster to write a reply as well.

Where is your character? Are they outside, or inside? If they are inside, elaborate on the buildings interior. Is it an old building? What is the color scheme? Is it full of antiques, or modern furnishings? Any paintings on the walls? Large building? Small building? Hospital? Prison? House? School? Shopping complex? You could even go into more detail to explain the condition of the building. Are there cracks on the walls? Moth-eaten curtains? Holes in the floor? Are the rugs torn-up? Scratch marks on the furniture? Feel free to go in as much detail as you like.

If your character is outside, are they amongst a crowd, or alone? Are they sitting at a park? Walking along the beach? A garden? Perhaps they are lost in the woods? Or maybe just having a stroll in the city. Is your character walking through a pristine, upper-class side of the city? Or the rough, rural low-class areas? I won't go into too much detail here, as it's quite straight forward.

For example - Helen Magnus took careful, quiet steps as she continued along the abandoned corridors of one of Old Cities most notorious schools. The floor was littered with printed paper, while books lay collecting dusk amongst the dented and trashed lockers in the hallway. Thick scratch marks lined the old pale walls, in one swift motion. Every window had been smashed to thousands of pieces, as glass covered every inch of the floor. Everything was quiet. Not a voice could be heard.

> Be descriptive of your character's appearance
In most cases, character wear and appearance is not important. Actually if anything, I like to think it helps the writer visualise the character more. Especially if you are controlling a canon character - Are they staying in character style? For example, you will not find Helen Magnus wearing bright colours, or highly revealing raunchy clothing. Nor will you ever see Kate Freelander in a skirt, or Henry Foss in a Tuxedo. It just doesn't seem right.

Then feel free to describe how they manage their hair. For female characters - It is messy? Wavy, and hug over the shoulder? Pinned up? Braided? Again, feel free to elaborate as much a you want. Maybe even describe their hair color and texture. Is it soft? Frizzy? Naturally wavy?

For example - Helen sat at her desk in the late hours of the night, consumed in the piles of paperwork that appeared to be doubling overtime. She had been sitting here for over five hours now, and by this point, she had already kicked off her black heeled stilettos. Today she chose to wear her favourite charcoal pencil skirt, which stopped at knee length, and her light grey collared business shirt, neatly tucked. Small silver earrings hung from her earlobes, and a diamond-encrusted pearl necklace sat comfortably around her neck.

> Try to describe emotions as best you can
This is always a tough one to explain. Emotions are not all black and white. Sometimes it's more interesting delving deeper in your characters emotions, and unmasking what makes them tick. What elevates them, or what brings them down. Complexity is the key. Are they anti-socially depressed? Are they overly happy and bubbly, but have trouble seeing oncoming danger? Are they quiet and silently judging, but difficult to talk to? Perhaps they might have a great humorous outlook to life, but is going through constant stress. Or a person who gives lots of advice, but have far too many problems of their own. Do people go to them with dark secrets? Do they have murderous thoughts? What makes them happy?

This is a great opportunity to give an insight of your characters personally as well, and perhaps compare them to the emotions they are currently feeling. Maybe they are usually the calm and collected type, but finding it difficult to cope with a certain situation? Or someone who is usually very witty and outgoing, but is at a sudden loss for words.

With emotions, comes with describing facial features. And perhaps even personal habits. When they smile, do they have prominent laugh lines and/or wrinkles? Do they raise an eyebrow when they scold? Do they often bite their lip? Or get fidgety? Do they have a dimple on their cheek when they laugh?

For example - Helen's cheeks flushed a light pink, as she clenched her jaw tightly, unwilling to let Adam Worth hurl more harsh mockery her way. He breaths were short and shallow, like a bull at a cage. One snap, and she would charge ahead. She pursed her lips, and listened to the child-play coming from a deranged man who has long surpassed his time. Much like she has.

> The weather
This isn't always necessary at the time, but it helps to further visualise the scene. And in some cases, it can further affect your characters performance. It could be raining heavily, with thunderstorms. Snowing. Hailing. Humidity. Huge amounts of fog. Or the heat of the sun during Summer.

For example - Helen pelted through the thick mud of the fields, in her pursuit of the lizard-like Abnormal who has just slaughtered three people. Her gun was cocked at her side, ready to disable the creature before it was too late. Tranquilliser darts was useless, as it failed to piece it's thick skin and take effect. The fog has rolled in lightly in the morning, but by this point it became so thick and heavy that she failed to see even ten metres in front of her. She knew this was a dangerous call, but she continued anyway without a second thought.

> Character senses
This is quite an interesting topic and can really bring the scene to light. Try to place your mind within your character, and try to grasp what he/she must be sensing. Sight, hearing, smell and touch are the main ones and can be used to your advantage.

Can your character smell blood? Can they hear the scurry of rats from the sewer grate below? Does the sound of a train rattle in the distance? There is so much that you can describe, and it really is endless.

For example - The smell of three-week old rotting flesh was enough to make Helen wince in disgust as she crinkled her nose. She has seen a lot of horror in her time, but things like this still sickened her to her core. The metallic tangy smell of blood wafted through the long-abandoned apartment, and the sounds of flies buzzing around every inch of the rooms, still made Helen feel uneasy.

> Dialogue
Character dialogue is always fun to write, but it is always good to keep it reasonably decent. By saying this, not all characters talk a lot. Sometimes short and sweet is the key, but most importantly it's always better to have your character cut straight to the point. Unless your character loves to ramble, of course.

> Make connections to your characters past.
I find that with any character, this is quite an interesting thing to elaborate on. To clarify, I personally like connecting current events with events that may seem familiar to your character in the past. Parallels. Obviously this doesn't always happen, but as they say...sometimes history repeats itself. Perhaps your character helped someone recently, who reminded them of someone in their past? Even little things will suffice.

For example - It was not the first time that Helen had encountered an Elemental in her time. Not only were they now running freely in host bodies as they did with John, but they were using innocent people to unleash their long-dormant energy. That reminded Helen of the dangers that posed when the fire Elemental became a threat back in World War II. It was a relief that she had Watson by her side to help contain it, but after all this time, she had thought the creature was safe within Carentan. She could not have been more wrong.

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* * * Character references used are related to the Canadian-based show Sanctuary * * *