12-06-2017, 09:40 PM
I think I'm pretty good at writing motion and description (You can correct me if you disagree). I try to visualise each step of the action and describe it in the most literal way possible, and then add emotions and things that are happening to specific motifs. Just try not to get lost and keep track of the limbs I guess. It's hard to describe my process on this because motion kind of comes naturally to me. What I will do is "dope" my descriptions, use a simple word to begin with and then on my second pass go through a thesaurus and add something more complicated, or simply expand the description.
Try and avoid word repetition. I've seen some guys write "He smiled", "He smiled", "He then smiled" and I just want to gouge my eyes out. I like to switch between 3 or 4 adjectives if possible because even if you have an awesome action scene it can be boring if you're not mixing up your vocabulary. A thesaurus is your friend.
I find dialog the hardest, but in theory there should be some subtext, like reaffirming a bond or some conflict, even in exposition. My English teachers drilled into me that dialog was shit (Which to be fair, in a short story it is) so I try and keep it as brief as possible. I suppose a lot of people also find dialog because rarely do I read a romantic arc that players have written and not want to blow my fucking brains out. I'd use Ash and Desman as an example of doing it right though, because there is a bit of contention between them in how degenerate sexually liberal Ash is compared to Desman. I don't want to read your fantasy about your perfect waifu or husbando, I WANT FUCKING DRAMA, and not drama for drama's sake but as a consequence of fundamental differences in character.
Sometimes short sweet and to the point is better than a 5000 word scene, though the omniverse heavily favors the latter of those two, which is unfortunate.
Doki Doki literature club has good example of complexity verses simplicity
You've got Yuri who likes her Lovecraft and in general suffering, and tends to write complicated poems with hidden meaning
[spoiler]
It happened in the dead of night while I was slicing bread for a guilty snack.
My attention was caught by the scuttering of a raccoon outside my window.
That was, I believe, the first time I noticed my strange tendencies as an unusual
human.
I gave the raccoon a piece of bread, my subconscius well aware of the consequences.
Well aware that a raccoon that is fed will always come back for more.
The enticing beauty of my cutting knife was the symptom.
The bread, my hungry curiosity.
The raccoon, an urge.
The moon increments its phase and reflects that much more light off of my cutting
knife.
The very same light that glistens in the eyes of my raccoon friend.
I slice the bread, fresh and soft. The raccoon becomes excited.
or perhaps I'm merely projecting my emotions onto the newly-satisfied animal.
The raccoon has taken to following me.
You could say that we've gotten quite used to each other.
The raccoon becomes hungry more and more frequently, so my bread is always handy.
Every time I brandish my cutting knife the raccoon shows me its excitement.
A rush of blood. Classic Pavlonian conditioning. I slice the bread.
And I feed myself again.[/spoiler]
And then you've got Natsuki who uses simple language that's pretty much too the point.
[spoiler]
Monkeys can climb
Crickets can leap
Horses can race
Owls can seek
Cheetahs can run
Eagles can fly
People can try
But that's about it[/spoiler]
And out of the 2 I found the latter more memorable and remember chucking at the end, with the former I was too preoccupied with reading between the lines and interpreting the symbolism. Poetry is different, of course but I think the key to interesting writing lies somewhere between the two, with a simplistic reading possible but deep symbology for re-reads.
The other thing that I've been told is that rather than tell a story, you're using your characters as a vehicle to explore a concept. This kind of happens naturally in group RPs because everyone has an input, but when you're going solo it can be easy to lose sight of that.
Try and avoid word repetition. I've seen some guys write "He smiled", "He smiled", "He then smiled" and I just want to gouge my eyes out. I like to switch between 3 or 4 adjectives if possible because even if you have an awesome action scene it can be boring if you're not mixing up your vocabulary. A thesaurus is your friend.
I find dialog the hardest, but in theory there should be some subtext, like reaffirming a bond or some conflict, even in exposition. My English teachers drilled into me that dialog was shit (Which to be fair, in a short story it is) so I try and keep it as brief as possible. I suppose a lot of people also find dialog because rarely do I read a romantic arc that players have written and not want to blow my fucking brains out. I'd use Ash and Desman as an example of doing it right though, because there is a bit of contention between them in how degenerate sexually liberal Ash is compared to Desman. I don't want to read your fantasy about your perfect waifu or husbando, I WANT FUCKING DRAMA, and not drama for drama's sake but as a consequence of fundamental differences in character.
Sometimes short sweet and to the point is better than a 5000 word scene, though the omniverse heavily favors the latter of those two, which is unfortunate.
Doki Doki literature club has good example of complexity verses simplicity
You've got Yuri who likes her Lovecraft and in general suffering, and tends to write complicated poems with hidden meaning
[spoiler]
It happened in the dead of night while I was slicing bread for a guilty snack.
My attention was caught by the scuttering of a raccoon outside my window.
That was, I believe, the first time I noticed my strange tendencies as an unusual
human.
I gave the raccoon a piece of bread, my subconscius well aware of the consequences.
Well aware that a raccoon that is fed will always come back for more.
The enticing beauty of my cutting knife was the symptom.
The bread, my hungry curiosity.
The raccoon, an urge.
The moon increments its phase and reflects that much more light off of my cutting
knife.
The very same light that glistens in the eyes of my raccoon friend.
I slice the bread, fresh and soft. The raccoon becomes excited.
or perhaps I'm merely projecting my emotions onto the newly-satisfied animal.
The raccoon has taken to following me.
You could say that we've gotten quite used to each other.
The raccoon becomes hungry more and more frequently, so my bread is always handy.
Every time I brandish my cutting knife the raccoon shows me its excitement.
A rush of blood. Classic Pavlonian conditioning. I slice the bread.
And I feed myself again.[/spoiler]
And then you've got Natsuki who uses simple language that's pretty much too the point.
[spoiler]
Monkeys can climb
Crickets can leap
Horses can race
Owls can seek
Cheetahs can run
Eagles can fly
People can try
But that's about it[/spoiler]
And out of the 2 I found the latter more memorable and remember chucking at the end, with the former I was too preoccupied with reading between the lines and interpreting the symbolism. Poetry is different, of course but I think the key to interesting writing lies somewhere between the two, with a simplistic reading possible but deep symbology for re-reads.
The other thing that I've been told is that rather than tell a story, you're using your characters as a vehicle to explore a concept. This kind of happens naturally in group RPs because everyone has an input, but when you're going solo it can be easy to lose sight of that.