Requesting assistance (not really a recruitment)

[Lady Blackwell]

Hey althanians,

i have been around since pre crash actually 2 days before the crash, but anyway's. i have been trying to improve my natural writing abilities and after reading and writing many different things, (including taking a creative writing cource at school) i still don't think it's up to snuff with the rest of the in-nate abilities of people here.

i was wondering if the Great Writers of Althanas can give me suggestions? if you want to look at my current thread's there is one in teh peaceful promenade(Angel Rose Debates) and one in Scara Brae(scourge of the red ship)

Any help at all would be nice.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

I'll get back to you on this later tonight.

I'm posting here now because if I don't, then I'm likely to forget to look at your threads >.>

[Alydia Ettermire]

When I was a judge (as Karuka), some of the advice I nearly always gave was: run your posts through a word processing program before you've posted them and run a spelling and grammar check. After that, proof read it. Ask a friend or the other person in your thread to proof read it. Leave it alone for a couple of days, proof read it again and see if there's anything you can improve about it. If you can, do so. Run it through a spelling and grammar check AGAIN. Proof read AGAIN, have someone else proof read it AGAIN.

I can't count how many of my own posts have been drastically improved by this method.

Aside from that, before you do any thread or when you're coming back to it after a long time, re-read your character's profile. Get re-acquainted with him/her, especially if you've since leveled up. You don't magically become level 3 in a thread you started as a level 0, you remain a level 0. This prevents powergaming and makes what you're doing with your character more realistic.

Also remember that this story is not taking place in a vacuum, either in time or space. If you just have your character in, say, Scara Brae and suddenly have to go save the day for some long-lost Raiaeran princess, you should have some explanation as to why you're in SB (not your whole life story, just touch on it enough that no one's going 'WTF, what is he doing and why is he doing it?'), how the princess became long lost, and why you feel compelled to rescue her. At the end, we should also have some idea of where you're going, what's in store for our intrepid hero next.

Likewise, if you're running to save the princess, what are you running to and through? Are you running through the woods, or are thick brambles catching on your cloak, clawing at you and slowing you down as you race through the trees spaced so close together you aren't sure if that really is the castle in the distance? Further more, it always impressed me when someone added in texture or scent to their setting.

And that's about all I can think of for now.

[Lady Blackwell]

Well, i thank you both. just the fact is i recently had to re-format the machine and have misplaced my microsoft office CD, so at the moment i have to proof read, grammar and spelling check with my eye's, and well i think i have done a somewhat good job, just its the style that i find lacking.

like i have gotten more and more into descriptive writing, cause well my first threads on teh site were basic, like the room was grey and cold. and i used to avoid getting my character hurt.

but now i somewhat enjoy having him injured and have to over come that injury to save not only himself but people around him, and to take out his assailant if he can.

but honestly thinking about it now, all i want is very deep criticism both negative and positive, however your advice (where in the World) has me now blitzing my apartment, and my room mate's room for that CD.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Should you not be able to find your Office cd, you could always invest ten or fifteen bucks into a style handbook. I myself have "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. I also have the AP style handbook for one of my classes. They can help immensely.

[Alydia Ettermire]

I'm pretty sure you can also download Microsoft Office from the internet.

[Lady Blackwell]

hmm, i have never heard of said 'style handbooks' what exactly are they?

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

A style handbook is best described as a book that helps you out with the intricacies of writing--its basically a manual grammar check. It goes over proper punctuation, capitalization, italics, abbreviations, and general tips on how to write better.

[Lady Blackwell]

Well that certainly is Different that's for sure, but i think i will stick to my microsoft office 2007 it works bundles when it's installed.

[The Mathemagician]

Well, the point of the handbook is that if you really understand the rules of punctuation and grammar, you won't need a computer to check it for you. It's not a bad idea, since Word is far from perfect and misses a ton of stuff. Plus it's just stuff everyone should know. AP style is especially good, though I have to use a specific style handbook specific to the university I attend for journalistic writing there.

Although I would argue that simply reading, and reading a lot, is probably a better way to improve your writing than reading a style book. You'll pick it up naturally that way, rather than trying to force yourself to learn writing. That and making sure you write every day, incessantly. Even when you don't want to, even when it's hard, even when you've got a mental block. Overcoming those places is how you improve.

Depending on a computer to do your work for you isn't a great measure. Word can help you find stuff that you might have missed, yes, but it shouldn't be a replacement for a healthy knowledge of sentence construction, grammar, and style.

Finally, it's my personal belief that spelling and grammar products have dramatically reduced the quality of the average person's writing since their inception. People are too dependent on them, and they never learn the rules themselves. Truth is, Word is terrible when it comes to grammar checks. Terrible. Human proofreading takes longer but is of much higher quality. Don't become dependent on the machine to do your work for you! And knowing the rules deeply yourself will make your writing flow and just sound better overall.

Sorry, that was a bit of a rant! Didn't mean it to be.

[Lady Blackwell]

haha, dont worry i know the rules and i think pretty well, but sometimes when post's just flow out of me, i type too fast to get as much grammar as i would like. but again it i think i have improved but i would like some constructive critisism on my current threads? sending a pm with the critique would be great

[Alydia Ettermire]

Truth is, Word is terrible when it comes to grammar checks. Terrible. Human proffreading takes longer but is of much higher quality.

Case in point.

Anyway, Mathy, I agree that knowing the basics and beyond of grammar is potentially the most vital skill anyone could ever have, I just know too many people too lazy to learn it right, so they think they can do it and you wind up wanting to gouge out your eyes. Hence, I recommend word processing FIRST, as irritating as it can be, AND human proofreading. Multiple humans. Multiple proofreads.

[Cyrus the virus]

When you learn intricacies about language, you need to pay very close attention to them. For instance, you use apostrophes in places they don't belong. When you learn a new word, make sure to look it up and know exactly what it means and how it's spelled (in-nate is innate, but you used it properly).

[Yari Rafanas]

If you can't find your Microsoft Word CDs I suggest substituting that program with OpenOffice. It's free, and will give you the basics for word-processing.

You're best bet is just to practice and read everything you write before you submit it. If you can read your post out-loud to yourself and feel good about it, then I think that's all that really matters. It's all for fun anyways.

http://download.openoffice.org/

^ hookin' a (bandit) brother up.

[Lady Blackwell]

Well i do have a shot memory, so i can remember what words can get used in certain area's just sometimes i forget how to spell them

EDIT: Why thank you Yari i shall use that until i can find my damn office and my windows vista CD

[Cyrus the virus]

area's

This is my point!

[The Mathemagician]

Case in point.

*wince* I'm ashamed. But I don't read through my OOC posts really, only IC posts, so it's not surprising. Doesn't matter as much if you slip up occasionally on an OOC board. Errr, unless you're trying to sound smart and then it just makes you look like a moron. >_<


area's

Hmmm, yeah, I've noticed too that you do that a lot. Apostrophes don't just go anywhere. They either have to show possession of something or as a shortener of words. Not to indicate plurals. That's known as the "greengrocer's apostrophe" (for some reason.) If it's a plural, you just write "apples" not "apple's" That sort of thing is good to watch out for.

Open Office is nice. Takes a little getting used to if you usually use Word, but it's still a very solid program. Plus, hey, it's cheap. Can't get much cheaper than free.