Writer's Profile

[Tearen Wover]

Hello! I'm Nealaphh! You know this!

uh...

Anyway, I was thinking about how authors (or writers, if you wanna be humble) all have their own quirks that truly identify their work as their own; both specialties and their personal writing vices. So I made this thread where people can self-examine and learn more about their own and other authors' styles. Just to compare. There's no specific amount you need to write; just be honest!

So...something like this!

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Name: Aaron W.
Characters: Nealaphh, Kopaka
Writing Experience: 13 years, Avocational



Is there an author that influences you?

Yes, though they wouldn't get along at a dinner table. Robert Heinlein, Howard Lovecraft, Alan Steele and Iaian Banks have all contributed to my written voice. They all have a penchant for realism and realistic dialogue. Three out of four of them also wrote female protagonists to a few novels! To me they embody dedication to immersion and the thrill of a a desperate struggle.

Is there a genre you emulate?

Not in particular. Strange Fiction definitely permeates my writing as Nealaphh, but otherwise I adapt my tone and themes to the situation and character.

What do you feel defines your work?

To me, the world is a harsh and unpredictable place, so when I'm writing I always try to make it seem that a situation can go from good to bad, or vice versa, at the drop of a hat. I adore action sequences, and I try to capture the sweaty sort of panic that accompanies such scenes. As such, I like to beat my characters up. Though they usually succeed initially, hubris and complacency often come back to bite them.

Attention to realism and detail is another thing I tend to focus on. Being of a scientific mind, I try to maintain awareness of my own written environment. If something doesn't seem like it would make sense, I don't rely on suspension of disbelief to hand wave the issue. I explain the hows and whys in the story, usually through a character's internal monologue, to make sure the read understands my own logic.

What are your five main rules when you write?

1. Describe everything. We all have powerful minds eyes, but the more effort you put into setting a scene, the easier it is for the reader to follow the ensuing action. Use all of the senses to describe it: Taste, Touch, Smell, Sound, Color, Luminosity, Feeling of Paranoia, etc.

2. Don't repeat words. Obviously, words used to pull sentences together such as 'is' or 'the' are hard to avoid, but I always try to make sure I use consistently different adjectives and nouns, at least within a paragraph, in order to bring depth to the description...even if I'm describing the same thing over and over.

3. Give your character an inner voice. This doesn't mean to write constant soliloquys, but short interjections such as 'Of course' or 'Dammit' can really help a read bond with a character.

4. Be clever! Life (and writing) is not a videogame. We don't have to follow specific patterns or push specific buttons to get specific results. If there's a problem to solve, don't force your character to solve it a certain way when you yourself can think of a better one.

5. Don't be academic. We aren't writing for our teachers here. It's fine to break the mold of proper formatting and sentence structure if it benefits the emotional impact of a scene. One of my favorite things to do is have a flow of dialogue without always saying who said what. This can't be done for long conversations, but for short exchanges, it brings a sense of realism.

Do you have any recurring issues you work on?

I hardly ever proof read anything, so my work tends to be rife with typos. This is only exacerbated when I'm on my phone.

Sometimes I also dwindle too long on certain scenes, and pad out things that might be interesting to me but not the average reader. In turn, I also occasionally gloss over things that should be explained more in detail.

Do you have a few posts you're particularly proud of?

Leviathan is born:
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Nealaphh kills its first dragon:
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Nealaphh dreams of past conquests:
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[Jade Harley]

(Was looking for Demetri's Personality thread and found this. I'm just gonna.... yeah.)

Name: :psy: I've used this emoticon so much that it has become who I am.
Characters: Jade Harley and A. J. Crowley.
Writing Experience: Seven years, mostly because seven years ago was when I actually gained any serious interest in writing or reading.

Is there an author that influences you?

Brian Jacques, definitely. I absolutely loved all of his books, especially the parts where he described food. The grand Redwall feasts, man. Jules Verne, somewhat, because most of his writings were detail-packed with interesting back-packing to boot and I enjoyed every single step of the way. A smattering of Neil Gaiman here and there, because I generally like everything that guy writes and sometimes I get emotional if I think about it too much. See, look, there I go, getting emotional. Probably Andrew Hussie, totally by accident.

Is there a genre you emulate?

Probably children's fiction? Like, not even YA fiction. Usually of the fantasy variety. Other times I'm trying too hard to be funny and it's terrible.

What do you feel defines your work?

Scenery. As in, really in-depth, sort of poetic scenery, like I'm trying to paint something and need to make everything come together nicely. Dab a little sky blue there, but not too much so the color of the canvas shows a bit. Lightly brush in some poofy white clouds and let them bleed a little so the whole thing looks flowy and like smoke. Sprinkle some glitter, try to use good word choice and not make myself seem like a total fool.

Also, too many commas. Way too many.

What are your five main rules when you write?

1. Try not to be repetitive-- basically, avoid describing the same scene twice using slightly different words at all costs.

2. Start the sentences or paragraphs that are nearest to each other differently. Anything less is unacceptable.

3. Try to keep sentences from being too difficult to read. No one likes it when they have to re-read over something because it made no sense. Unfortunately, I sometimes skip over this rule and throw caution to the wind.

4. PUNS.

5. Less puns than expected.

Do you have any recurring issues you work on?

AHAH. Ahahahahahaahhaahhaahahahahahahahahdskkajh. I make a lot of beginner's mistakes all the time, and it just keeps happening. Because of that, I have to sit around and grill over my writing for hours before I post anything, but mistakes still crop up. I'm also very bad at keeping things condensed and clear to understand. There are times when I will be writing something that is meant to be short and sweet.... and it just.... continues on into the dreary realm of boring..... until eventually I grow so tired of it that I either delete it entirely or have to rework it several times before I am happy.

Do you have a few posts you're particularly proud of?

A Lullaby for Gods, even if I have only made one post so far. I currently have over twenty five posts planned, most of which I really like, so it'll be a fun thread to write in every once in a while.

Frostbound. I really wanted this thread to go on until around thirty posts, but I am glad it stopped where it did.

[Gamzee Makara]

Name: Jesse [DATA EXPUNGED]

Characters: Gamzee Makara, Edward Richtofen, and (hopefully soon to be) Henry

Writing Experience: PFFFT what experience? :awesome: Nah, but Man I dunno. I suppose I took a serious interest in it about three or four years ago.

Is there an Author that influences you?

I think to some degree, Rick Riordan has inspired me to really focus on and buckle down with my writing. I think for my more serious and battling/description scenes, I definitely draw on him.

Sherilyn Kenyon is one of my favorites. Lots of my humor and dialogue probably has hints of her in it, though I could never really do her justice. To be fair, some of my humor is also Riordan inspired.

I guess it would be pretty unfair to say that Andrew Hussie does not hold some control over the movements of my fingers across this old, broken keyboard.

Is there a genre you emulate?

Man I dunno. I guess I have been known to be pretty comedic and blunt with my writings, so comedy? I guess? I do enjoy flights of fantasy, however. Man dude, I dunno, I just write. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes its action-y.

What do you feel defines your work?

What do I enjoy, or what am I good at? I suppose my dialogue is pretty entertaining, most times, though the grammar often bites me in the ass. And not just in dialogue either, like, my grammar is MEH. But I enjoy making people laugh. Whenever someone tells me that one of my posts, works, stories, or whatevers made them laugh, it makes me feel hella good and kinda warm and fuzzy, so there you have it. Comedy and Dialogue.

What are your five main rules when you write?

1. For the love of God, don't be boring. Make the audience feel something. I mean sure, a couple lulls in the story and action are okay, but don't let it get carried away. Whether my audience is on the edge of their seat, or leaning back and busting a gut, something needs to be going on. This applies to things other than plot as well; don't use boring words, tired/worn out plots/characters, yadayadayada

2. Be funny. Comedic timing, character interaction, unlucky idiots, those are the name of the game. Again, use in moderation.There should be a balance between Seriousness and Comedy. However, when something serious is happening I definitely aim to play with emotions. When something funny is happening, I definitely aim to make you laugh.

3. Puns are nice Figurative language is your friend.

4. Always stay true to the character. OOC is public enemy number one on my laptop.

5. Try not to screw up the grammar -Proceeds to put in too many commas, uses the wrong format, font's too small, parenthesis instead of hyphens, grammatical errors galore.-


Do you have any reoccurring issues you need to work on?

I think everyone has room to grow and blossom. For me, that's definitely grammar, grammar grammar grammar. I also sometimes struggle with word choice or repetition of certain terminologies and the like. I believe I definitely also need to learn to commit to writing. Sometimes, when I start on a piece or a story or what have you, I'll just up and quit.

I got to meed Ransom Riggs, the author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (and some other pretty renowned wordsmiths) at a convention panel once. I got to go up and ask the authors a question.

Me: "So like, how do you get through that like, patch in writing? Like, you know when you start on something really good, and then you lose steam all of a sudden? Do you have any tips on how to overcome apathy when writing?"

Before anyone can pipe in, Ransom Riggs leans into his mic, looks me dead in the eye, and says:

Riggs: "It's called the middle of the story. You kinda just get over it and power through."

I was so mortified :froggonk: :froggonk: :froggonk:

Do you have any posts you're proud of?

Haven't been here very long, but there are these:

These two posts were so much fun to write. S'Just Gamzee Goofing off.

Gamzee beats up some Orcs and summons Karkat Vantas to the Omniverse. This one is a good example of a balance between humour and seriousness.

It would also be irresponsible of me to go through this without mentioning THIS GLORIOUS DISPLAY OF RHYME AND SKILL ----->>>>> <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://omniverse-rpg.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2898&p=37311#p37311">viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2898&p=37311#p37311</a><!-- l --> RIP McNinja, I miss you so much

It would be unfair of me to end this without saying I'm proud of writing as Richtofen. This was my favorite post made as him. <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://omniverse-rpg.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=3614&p=38292#p38292">viewtopic.php?f=22&t=3614&p=38292#p38292</a><!-- l -->

[Dean Winchester]

Name: Dollard
Characters: Dean, Brother Devon
Writing Experience: On and off for fun since high school, so basically a long ass time. You would think I would be better at it?



Is there an author that influences you?

Yep. Robert Heinlein, Niel Gaiman (who is clever and witty as fuck!), and one Sir Terry Prachette (also clever, witty, and super fucking funny.)

Is there a genre you emulate?

Eh? I would be lying if I said that the book Good Omens by Prachette and Gaiman didn't influence my writing a little bit, I do love that book after all.

What do you feel defines your work?

I have no idea, honestly. I just write when I feel the mood come over me to do it and then I hope other people like it. If one thing I would like to think that I was decent enough at giving characters their own voices, or even being able to emulate the voices of predefined characters. If you are reading something and can HEAR Crowley or someone saying it in your head then I did my job.

What are your five main rules when you write?

1. WRITE! Do not procrastinate! Get at it! NOW! Stop being lazy you ass!

2. As you are writing dialogue try and say it in the characters voice, if it fits then keep it otherwise start again!

3. Make it fit the situation, do not interject too much comedy in a serious moment or vice versa. A little bit might work but try not to be a douche and destroy the tone.

4. Make it not suck, please? At least try!

5. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo! Why did you do that?! Think about this for once! Try again! Damn you....

Do you have any recurring issues you work on?

I tend to just talk about things sometimes instead of describing them. I also have a problem of over describing certain things that I should be talking about how the character feels about them sometimes. I don't know, grammar also need work.

Do you have a few posts you're particularly proud of?

Eeehhhhhhhhhh, they are ok. Go hunt them down and read them if you so wish.

[Roger Smith]

Name: Shawn "let's not reveal any last names m'kay"

Characters: Colonel, Adam Gaite (NPCs: Erik Whitman, Captain Crow)

Writing Experience: I've been writing off and on for over a decade. Probably about 12-13 years if I had to give a number. How much of that qualifies as "experience" is debatable, though.

Is there an Author that influences you?

Influences me....hooo, I really couldn't say. I don't really have many authors I could say I really let myself be influenced by, at least not knowingly. But...there are always a few that come to mind when I think of reasons why I came to enjoy reading and writing as a dual process, and who I try to keep in mind when I write more seriously, I guess. The big ones in that regard would be Brian Jacques, Piers Anthony, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Terry Brooks. Obviously none of their particular styles are evident in anything I write, to my own eyes, but it's kind of what got me started on this whole crazy road to begin with, I guess, so they might count as influence.

Also when it comes to Adam (and NPC Erik, to a lesser extent) I suppose the whimsy of Andrew Hussie and the style of Homestuck in general miiiiight play a sort of influencing role...

Is there a genre you emulate?

I....don't really know. I've tried to write a little bit of everything now and then. I'd imagine I do better at some than others, but I don't really stick to any one particular genre or style in my entire works. I do generally try to make an effort to make anything I write readable or understandable by anyone, but I don't know if that counts.

What do you feel defines your work?

I honestly have no idea. From what I've heard people say, I do a good job of getting in my character's head, letting them flavor a scene strongly while remaining outside and third-person? Like I guess I have a strong "color" to my work....if that makes sense. I try to adapt each thing I write to the tone of the character it focuses on, and to an extent the tone and setting, rather than focusing solely on context or the scene as a whole, which I guess could be called the big "thing" I do, or something.

What are your five main rules when you write?

1. Don't force it, you blithering idiot. Trying to force writing to come is unnatural and in my own experience usually produces sub-par, unsatisfying work even if you do push it through to completion. It's why I sometimes take so long to get anything written.

2. When the writing mood DOES strike, don't hesitate. When I sit down to write and I get those first few sentences or whatever done, and the words just start flowing, that's when I know it's time to buckle down and kick into high gear. Don't stop until it's done, or until the flow wanes again. When the chance there, don't waste it.

3. Stay true to character. Sometimes it's difficult for me to do, but I try to keep it together. Sometimes you may not want your character to do something, but it's a thing they would do regardless because it's just who they are. Do it anyway. Don't stray from character just because it's inconvenient or tough.

4. Don't constantly stick to familiar ground. I try to at least occasionally step out of my "comfort zone", as it were, and try new things from a writing standpoint. I won't say what that happens to be, because I'm lame like that. But sticking only to what you already know is no way to expand your horizons and grow as a writer.

5. Keep a watch for grammar. I'll be the first to admit, my grammar isn't fantastic sometimes. It's punctuation and spelling that kill me, and if I don't keep a constant watch out during and after my writing, my posts can end up littered with painfully obvious errors.


Do you have any reoccurring issues you need to work on?

Ahahaha....yeah. Yeah I do. I find my biggest one is description. Describing a scene properly. I tend to gloss over details, leaving out things that are obvious -- to me -- because I already know exactly what I'm describing, when the whole idea is to try and paint a clear, complete picture of the scene in question, not just a rough sketch and outline. I struggle with really forming a cohesive and whole story, at times. It's not always easy to keep things moving in a clear, consistent way and direction, for me at least.

Do you have any posts you're proud of?

Ah, I uh...I don't really have anything I'm particularly proud of, no, not really. I'm kind of proud of some of the stuff I wrote for the Secondary Saga, but I'm not proud of any one post or other on their own. I'm not really confident/proud of anything I write as a whole, to be perfectly honest.

[Demetri Malius]

Name: Domonick. As far as you know.
Characters: Demetri Malius, Crash muthafucking Bandicoot
Writing Experience:On and off for about five years

Is there an author that influences you?
ALL OF YOU GUYS

Seriously, I actually haven't read a good book in so long. Plus, it was reading a few posts when I first found this site that I actually felt the need to write again. Every so often I click on one of those links in chat and just read, doesn't matter who it is. Most of the time, I have no fucking idea what is going on, but IT'S GOOD. I mostly skim through, honestly, a bad habit I have developed somehow, probably from wanting to get as much info in as little time as possible. However, there are a few writers who force me to stop and actually read each word for them juicy details. :roll:

Is there a genre you emulate?
I have no fucking idea. I just make character and send them off into god knows what. If I was god them man would the people I am supposed to guide be fucked. seems like most characters I throw out there just stumble and fight their way through the world I put them in and they go from there. I have to say though, I believe I lean more towards humorous fantasy and horror, depending on the character.

What do you feel defines your work?
My character and their actions. Before I write, I always need to get the point of view for my character, to see the world through the eyes of Crash, Demetri, or any other character that I am writing. But it's hard, and takes practice. There have been times where I post and realize that I forced a small detail in there about my character or I added in something they shouldn't know, but I think I do pretty well overall.

What are your five main rules when you write?

1. See through the eyes of your character. This is number one for me. If you aren't describing the scene before you like your character would see it, you are doing something wrong. If they are a happy-go-lucky character and you show everything as dark and hopeless, the reader isn't going to understand the character. You have to step away from yourself sometimes and dig deep, as your character's thoughts become your own and you become them. Maybe I am kinda crazy for doing this but that's what I do. :frog:

2.Add a touch of humor having a bit of humor in your writing is great. I mean, don't have puns in every sentence(unless that's who your character is), but add a little joke that plays on your character's personality.

3. Word choice. Again, back to the character. With Demetri I tend to use medieval comparisons and references to his past(which are a part of his astral posts) and with Crash I compare enemies he sees to enemies he has fought already(tiny tiger :awesome. This helps establish a character's perspective.

4. Don't get repetitive.I try to not use the same word over and over again in my posts, although sometimes I find it hard when trying to describe Demetri or a reoccurring person. Each unique description adds to the qualities of the character, and the reader doesn't get burnt out on the same words.

5.COMMAS. I love commas. A bit too much. This one is more of a subconscious rule than one i implemented myself. In fact, I think, that perhaps, I sometimes use a bit, or maybe a lot, of extra commas, or I use unnecessary ones.(maybe i tried to hard making a point there :roll But still, I love my commas.

Extra: Also(and I'm pretty sure this is because I may be partially insane), but i sometimes get super inspired and get chills in order to put energy into something creative. With this I NEED TO WRITE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. If i don't do something creative I get really antsy, can't focus on anything, and then ramble a lot. Seriously, I get into this hyperactive mode where I can completely see the world through my characters' eyes and IT'S FUCKING AMAZING. Closest thing to a visual Omniverse that I can get to. That's probably as much as I will reveal about my insanity and weird things I do, until further notice.


Do you have any recurring issues you work on?

Rule number 5. :frog:

Do you have a few posts you're particularly proud of?
Hmm..
It would probably be my most recent posts, since I had one of my creativity sparks. But, I really enjoyed writing the summoning of IRIS for Demetri back in the Vasty Deeps.

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[Demetri Malius]

Edited my response in NOW BUMP

-delicately shoves thread with 1 attack-

[Zalgo]

Name: Osorio

Characters: Zalgo, Pandatron

Writing Experience: None. I want to write to practice my english.

Is there an Author that influences you?
The guy that wrote my English class's books

Is there a genre you emulate?
No

What do you feel defines your work?
Lack of experience.

What are your five main rules when you write?
I have none currently.

Do you have any reoccurring issues you need to work on?
I'm not aware of any currently

Do you have any posts you're proud of?
Yes, my first post.

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[Corporal Light]

I feel like reigniting this thread, so that's what I'm gonna do!

Name: Alex S.
Characters: Ballad, Sans
Writing Experience: I have no idea.


Is there an author that influences you?

If I were to choose, I would say the author Rick Riordan is the one that has influenced me the most, or at least the one to get me interested in writing in general. I read his Percy Jackson and the Olympian series (still a fan to this day,) and I got hooked. My attempts at trying to put in humor within the chaos of Ballad is pulled straight from Rick Riordan.

Is there a genre you emulate?

I'm not entirely sure. I feel like I don't emulate any genre in particular, as I just write whatever interests me more.

What do you feel defines your work?

I feel like the characters I write about are THE defining points of my work. My general writing is probably average given this site, but I'm willing to say that, if I try hard at anything while I write, its to make a character interesting and flesh ALL of them out as much as I can.

What are your five main rules when you write?

1. Don't overuse words. I learned this the hard way (shout out to Thaal Sinestro for pointing it out to me.) Ever since the Colosseum I've tried my hardest to make the words I use more varied so that it doesn't grow stale.

2. Proofread. I don't follow this rule often, but I plan on doing it each time I post something so my posts can be the best they can be. I'll quadruple proofread if I have to.

3. Define the character. This is my big one. If I try to do anything in my posts, it's to make sure my characters personalities, traits, ambitions, and the inner workings of their minds get through to the player. I already have a fine idea of some ways I can increase the complexity of Ballad that I plan to use at some point thanks to this rule.

4. Make every character interesting to some degree. Now, I obviously don't want to make every character I interact with three-dimensional, complex characters that are worthy of their own story. However, I strive to make EVERY character that I encounter have a level of personality, complexity, and dimension to them so that, instead of simply being side characters that I probably won't ever use again, they are actually fucking people.

5. Stay true to the character. I dislike out of character moments for characters, especially if its required for a story. I always try to do things that I think Ballad would do, even if it costed Ballad an arm and a leg in the process. I wouldn't write Ballad petting kittens and acting all nice to people just because I didn't want him to die. I'd have him be himself, and have him probably die in the process.

This rule doesn't just apply to Ballad. I do this to all characters, from NPCs, to other player primes. I think I've done this to varying degrees of success.

So, if at any point you see Ballad doing something you don't expect someone like him to do, it's probably for a reason.


Do you have any recurring issues you work on?

Description. I will be the first to admit that I am not the best with description. I CONSTANTLY feel like I have to write more than I probably need to, and when I don't, it's usually not enough anyway. Tense shifts are probably my biggest issue by far, as I STILL have a hard time sticking to one tense. Hence why I'm trying to proofread constantly.

Do you have a few posts you're particularly proud of?

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The first two posts are the ones I made after losing. I took the criticism to heart and I think it shows. I focused on description, I made each character have personality, and overall I think it's my best post on the site.

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Pretty much this entire thread I'm proud of. I got to use what I learned in combat, and I think I did pretty well throughout.