Post by Basil on Mar 27, 2013 19:17:45 GMT -5
Welp, here it is, a weak attempt at sharing my writing tips with other people. I've never attempted to do this before, since it's an incredibly difficult task. But anyway...let us begin.
1. Descriptions:
I think descriptions are a very important aspect of writing. A good description can add incredible depth and richness to a place, a character...anything, really. This applies particularly well to the Zone as it's a dark and gloomy place filled with mystery and wonder, but also horror. When reading some posts I feel that a lot of the Zone's atmosphere is lost due to the absence of descriptions.
Here's an example:
"Piotr walked through the Red Forest for a while before finally reaching the anomalous area he'd been told about. Taking out his detector and a handful of bolts, he made his way through the anomalies, finally finding a Soul artefact."
And here's another version:
"Piotr slowly made his way through the Red Forest's thick undergrowth. The trees around him blocked out the sun with their twisted, claw-like branches. Every now and again, some unseen creature would go bounding off through the bushes, and Piotr had to force himself not to turn tail and flee. Finally, he heard the soft, rhythmic sound of several whirligig anomalies, and, after going through a bush, he reached the anomalous area.
The ground there had been torn up by some unnatural force, leaving a wide, barren area dotted by several particularly large anomalies. On the barren ground Piotr saw bones and bits of rotting flesh, grisly testimonies to the anomalies' danger. He felt rather sick as he took out his detector and a handful of rusted bolts. If he made even a single mistake, his guts and bones could end up adorning the anomalous clearing.
He took a deep breath and entered the anomalous clearing, his old boots crunching in the dirt and bones. He tossed a bolt in one direction, and when it landed unharmed on the ground, he followed in its path. He repeated the same action several times, feeling his guts turn to ice whenever a bolt hit an anomaly. The power of the Whirligigs was such that they easily tore a steel bolt into shreds.
Finally, after several minutes of fruitless searching, Piotr's crude detector started beeping. Piotr looked wildly about him, hunting for a sign of the artefact that lay nearby. Suddenly, he spotted a small, shimmering orb weaving between the anomalies, almost as if it had a will of its own. Carefully going between the Whirligigs and tossing bolts to make sure the path was clear, Piotr finally reached the desired artefact.
With trembling hands he picked up the object and held it up. It was a small, almost perfectly shaped ball of some blue crystalline material. The artefact glowed in his hands, casting light over his dirty face and Sunrise suit."
As you can see, the first example is bland, lifeless and utterly devoid of atmosphere. It is not at all immersive, and the character's presence is barely felt. A reader will probably skip right through it and not think much of it. The second example is longer and might be tiresome to read, but it's immersive. The reader can follow and empathise with the character's actions and appreciate the eery, dangerous atmosphere of the place being explored.
2. Emotions:
Emotions are an incredibly important aspect of writing, and yet they are constantly overlooked and ignored in favour of action. Emotions lend humanity and depth to a character who would otherwise be a boring robot or a generic action hero (no, that is NOT a good thing).
I'm not saying that all characters should be whimpering princesses. That's another extreme that should be avoided at all costs. What I'm saying is that a good mix of emotion and action will have greater effect on a scene than only action.
Let's take a fight against mutants. Your character pulls out his gun and shoots them all. Maybe he'll have to knife one of them if he's a "badass" (I really hate this word). This is an extremely boring way to do things and drains the danger and tension out of a scene that should be full of it.
How do you spice things up?
Just add fear. Fear is a universal emotion and instantly adds a feeling of danger to a mutant attack. A good thing to do is to try and put yourself in your character's place and imagine what you (your unidealised, weak self) would do against a pack of hungry pseudo-dogs. Combine his with clipped, horrific descriptions of the enemy (focus on nasty aspects like the jaws, the eyes, the ugly fur...) and you'll get a pretty intense encounter.
Evidently, just saying "Bartok was very scared" doesn't cut it. You're just telling the reader what Bartok is feeling, and this usually falls flat on its face. You need to show it. Try describing the physical effects of fear on poor old Bartok: his heart pounding in his chest, the cold tingle on his skin, his breathing growing ragged.
This applies to all other emotions. Using the environment to magnify your character's mood is also very effective when used correctly.
Example: "Adder woke to a day as gloomy as her own mood."
3. Dialogue:[/u]
Dialogue is a complicated thing to get right. Most people opt for bland but clear dialogue that gets the point across but removes personality from their characters. How do you bring life to your character's talk?
-First off, try to make it sound natural. How would you tell that stalker that there are snorks in the area?
-Secondly, avoid awkward wording. Many roleplayers try to make their character sound cool or cultivated by adding fancy words or formulating their sentences in a particular way, and this almost always fails.
-Use slang and familiar language where possible. Stalkers live and work in the Zone, and probably use familiar terms to talk of certain things.
Example: "There's a bloody snork nest up in those hills, stalker. I wouldn't go back there for all the booze in the world."
IMPORTANT NOTE: avoid stereotypes. While stereotypes may seem natural, they are actually total shit and a surefire way of fucking up. You need to see your character as an individual, not as a cardboard cut-out.
1. Descriptions:
I think descriptions are a very important aspect of writing. A good description can add incredible depth and richness to a place, a character...anything, really. This applies particularly well to the Zone as it's a dark and gloomy place filled with mystery and wonder, but also horror. When reading some posts I feel that a lot of the Zone's atmosphere is lost due to the absence of descriptions.
Here's an example:
"Piotr walked through the Red Forest for a while before finally reaching the anomalous area he'd been told about. Taking out his detector and a handful of bolts, he made his way through the anomalies, finally finding a Soul artefact."
And here's another version:
"Piotr slowly made his way through the Red Forest's thick undergrowth. The trees around him blocked out the sun with their twisted, claw-like branches. Every now and again, some unseen creature would go bounding off through the bushes, and Piotr had to force himself not to turn tail and flee. Finally, he heard the soft, rhythmic sound of several whirligig anomalies, and, after going through a bush, he reached the anomalous area.
The ground there had been torn up by some unnatural force, leaving a wide, barren area dotted by several particularly large anomalies. On the barren ground Piotr saw bones and bits of rotting flesh, grisly testimonies to the anomalies' danger. He felt rather sick as he took out his detector and a handful of rusted bolts. If he made even a single mistake, his guts and bones could end up adorning the anomalous clearing.
He took a deep breath and entered the anomalous clearing, his old boots crunching in the dirt and bones. He tossed a bolt in one direction, and when it landed unharmed on the ground, he followed in its path. He repeated the same action several times, feeling his guts turn to ice whenever a bolt hit an anomaly. The power of the Whirligigs was such that they easily tore a steel bolt into shreds.
Finally, after several minutes of fruitless searching, Piotr's crude detector started beeping. Piotr looked wildly about him, hunting for a sign of the artefact that lay nearby. Suddenly, he spotted a small, shimmering orb weaving between the anomalies, almost as if it had a will of its own. Carefully going between the Whirligigs and tossing bolts to make sure the path was clear, Piotr finally reached the desired artefact.
With trembling hands he picked up the object and held it up. It was a small, almost perfectly shaped ball of some blue crystalline material. The artefact glowed in his hands, casting light over his dirty face and Sunrise suit."
As you can see, the first example is bland, lifeless and utterly devoid of atmosphere. It is not at all immersive, and the character's presence is barely felt. A reader will probably skip right through it and not think much of it. The second example is longer and might be tiresome to read, but it's immersive. The reader can follow and empathise with the character's actions and appreciate the eery, dangerous atmosphere of the place being explored.
2. Emotions:
Emotions are an incredibly important aspect of writing, and yet they are constantly overlooked and ignored in favour of action. Emotions lend humanity and depth to a character who would otherwise be a boring robot or a generic action hero (no, that is NOT a good thing).
I'm not saying that all characters should be whimpering princesses. That's another extreme that should be avoided at all costs. What I'm saying is that a good mix of emotion and action will have greater effect on a scene than only action.
Let's take a fight against mutants. Your character pulls out his gun and shoots them all. Maybe he'll have to knife one of them if he's a "badass" (I really hate this word). This is an extremely boring way to do things and drains the danger and tension out of a scene that should be full of it.
How do you spice things up?
Just add fear. Fear is a universal emotion and instantly adds a feeling of danger to a mutant attack. A good thing to do is to try and put yourself in your character's place and imagine what you (your unidealised, weak self) would do against a pack of hungry pseudo-dogs. Combine his with clipped, horrific descriptions of the enemy (focus on nasty aspects like the jaws, the eyes, the ugly fur...) and you'll get a pretty intense encounter.
Evidently, just saying "Bartok was very scared" doesn't cut it. You're just telling the reader what Bartok is feeling, and this usually falls flat on its face. You need to show it. Try describing the physical effects of fear on poor old Bartok: his heart pounding in his chest, the cold tingle on his skin, his breathing growing ragged.
This applies to all other emotions. Using the environment to magnify your character's mood is also very effective when used correctly.
Example: "Adder woke to a day as gloomy as her own mood."
3. Dialogue:[/u]
Dialogue is a complicated thing to get right. Most people opt for bland but clear dialogue that gets the point across but removes personality from their characters. How do you bring life to your character's talk?
-First off, try to make it sound natural. How would you tell that stalker that there are snorks in the area?
-Secondly, avoid awkward wording. Many roleplayers try to make their character sound cool or cultivated by adding fancy words or formulating their sentences in a particular way, and this almost always fails.
-Use slang and familiar language where possible. Stalkers live and work in the Zone, and probably use familiar terms to talk of certain things.
Example: "There's a bloody snork nest up in those hills, stalker. I wouldn't go back there for all the booze in the world."
IMPORTANT NOTE: avoid stereotypes. While stereotypes may seem natural, they are actually total shit and a surefire way of fucking up. You need to see your character as an individual, not as a cardboard cut-out.
