SkeletonRobots
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- Posted: Mon, 02 Apr 2007 02:35:00 +0000
This is a little guide I decided to create for helping to present your written work, whether essay, fiction, non-fiction, whatever, even just presenting a discussion thread. This is only applying to presenting them on Gaia, and this is only my own interpretation, but it may be well-suited for other people reading your work. I hope to help you present yourself as a good writer.
I'll be giving basic examples to help give you better representation. I'll be using some of my old writing, which I'll edit specifically for each phase. This is also my first tutorial in the Writing Forum. smile
Sit back, grab some popcorn, enjoy. Please fasten your seat belts, as the flight is about to begin.
Also, please refrain from quoting the entire post. It's horribly long.
~*~
I'll be giving basic examples to help give you better representation. I'll be using some of my old writing, which I'll edit specifically for each phase. This is also my first tutorial in the Writing Forum. smile
Sit back, grab some popcorn, enjoy. Please fasten your seat belts, as the flight is about to begin.
Also, please refrain from quoting the entire post. It's horribly long.
~*~
1st Phase.
We all see this, one day or another on Gaia. We run across a person who has not proof-read their own work, or created it right on the spot without using their spell check, nor even just going over it one time.
If you want to be taken seriously, you have to make it attractive to the eye, because if someone thinks it's going to be tedious to read by its layout, they won't be happy.
Quote:
she opened her rubie red eyes seeing a never-ending desert. what seemed to a small space craft was only ft away from her The suns rays refected off the shortwings and hull fo the greyish crystal color of this piece of machinery. The windsheild had broken w/ jaged peices of glass littering the ground.
Sorry, but 'hot off the press' is often riddled with errors. If need be, find an internet spell-checker to peel through your work.
Now, let's look at it with some revisions.
Quote:
She opened her ruby red eyes, seeing a never-ending desert. What seemed to be a small spacecraft was only feet away from her. The sun’s rays reflected off the short wings and hull of the grayish crystal color of this piece of machinery. The windshield had broken, jagged pieces of glass littering the ground.
Better, isn't it?
~*~
Phase 2:
Now, also, color and size of your text can be a problem. Do not make the text too large or too little. On Gaia, the default grey is still nice, I myself sometimes prefer black or a darker color (Though it can possibly distract readers.). but here's some colors you probably shouldn't use in your text:
Quote:
She opened her ruby red eyes, seeing a never-ending desert.
These colors are FAR too bright for your readers, and may cause migraines in people with slight disorders.
And as for size, too large and too small is bad, we do not want to strain your readers in any way. fonts between 10 and 12 will work well. I myself sometimes prefer 10. Though some Gaians use larger resolutions on their computer screen, it can be best to stay with 12 when just putting up a story.
Quote:
She opened her ruby red eyes, seeing a never-ending desert.
Now, let's look at a revised sentence with a nicer darker color and a medium text size. Basically, if you don't have squint or lean in to the computer screen to read it, it's decent. Also, Gaia's default for color and size will work perfectly fine.
Also, several Gaians have mentioned BLACK text is easiest to use, either that or gray. Black is considered very professional.
Quote:
She opened her ruby red eyes, seeing a never-ending desert. What seemed to be a small spacecraft was only feet away from her. The sun’s rays reflected off the short wings and hull of the grayish crystal color of this piece of machinery. The windshield had broken, jagged pieces of glass littering the ground.
~*~
Phase 3:
Now, on to clutter. Clutter is never nice to see in a thread post. In fact, it tends to drive people away, at least it does for me. Don't underestimate the power of a double space between two paragraphs or between character's dialect.
If you have noticed, I double space between all of my paragraphs. When you do this, it makes it seem more spacious, and allows the reader to feel more relaxed and not overwhelmed, so they can easily go paragraph to paragraph.
Below, here's an example of what not to do.
Quote:
"It's the only one of its kind, a hybrid of an ice-draken and a mountain phoenix. This dragon is perfect, in a way."
Comet looked at the man strangely, "did you say dragon? And who are you?"
That man looked back at her, his eyes steady like a hawk.
"Yes I did say dragon, and how rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Sakoro Mishakia," he said, and he offered his hand to her, "Captain of the R.O.S.E."
Comet grabbed his outdrawn hand; he started to pull her hand to his mouth to kiss it (in courtesy). Comet instantly started to shake his hand with hers. Sakoro looked suddenly stunned at her action but tried not to show it.
"I'm Comet; can you tell me where I am, and what time it is? I personally don’t have a clue as to what’s going on." Comet said, letting go of Sakoro’s hand.
Sakoro looked stunned at her words. Probably wondering how she didn’t know much of anything.
Comet looked at the man strangely, "did you say dragon? And who are you?"
That man looked back at her, his eyes steady like a hawk.
"Yes I did say dragon, and how rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Sakoro Mishakia," he said, and he offered his hand to her, "Captain of the R.O.S.E."
Comet grabbed his outdrawn hand; he started to pull her hand to his mouth to kiss it (in courtesy). Comet instantly started to shake his hand with hers. Sakoro looked suddenly stunned at her action but tried not to show it.
"I'm Comet; can you tell me where I am, and what time it is? I personally don’t have a clue as to what’s going on." Comet said, letting go of Sakoro’s hand.
Sakoro looked stunned at her words. Probably wondering how she didn’t know much of anything.
Now, you see, I bet a lot of Gaians might have cringed seeing all of the clutter. Now, here's a revised version.
Quote:
"It's the only one of its kind, a hybrid of an ice-draken and a mountain phoenix. This dragon is perfect, in a way."
Comet looked at the man strangely, "did you say dragon? And who are you?"
That man looked back at her, his eyes steady like a hawk.
"Yes I did say dragon, and how rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Sakoro Mishakia," he said, and he offered his hand to her, "Captain of the R.O.S.E."
Comet grabbed his outdrawn hand; he started to pull her hand to his mouth to kiss it (in courtesy). Comet instantly started to shake his hand with hers. Sakoro looked suddenly stunned at her action but tried not to show it.
"I'm Comet; can you tell me where I am, and what time it is? I personally don’t have a clue as to what’s going on." Comet said, letting go of Sakoro’s hand.
Sakoro looked stunned at her words. Probably wondering how she didn’t know much of anything.
Comet looked at the man strangely, "did you say dragon? And who are you?"
That man looked back at her, his eyes steady like a hawk.
"Yes I did say dragon, and how rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Sakoro Mishakia," he said, and he offered his hand to her, "Captain of the R.O.S.E."
Comet grabbed his outdrawn hand; he started to pull her hand to his mouth to kiss it (in courtesy). Comet instantly started to shake his hand with hers. Sakoro looked suddenly stunned at her action but tried not to show it.
"I'm Comet; can you tell me where I am, and what time it is? I personally don’t have a clue as to what’s going on." Comet said, letting go of Sakoro’s hand.
Sakoro looked stunned at her words. Probably wondering how she didn’t know much of anything.
I know my old writing sucked, but at least it's aesthetically pleasing. It is far easier to read to the average person.
~*~
Phase 4:
This may or may not count, but I'll put it in anyway. When trying to impress an average Gaian, I sorely suggest you do not beg, whine, or moan. In example:
Quote:
Example 1:Hi, I have this story, and I will only update it if people review! Don't flame me, or I will hate you and stalk you and-
Example 2: Well, missy know-it-all, my work is just fine with me, so you can **** off!
Example 2: Well, missy know-it-all, my work is just fine with me, so you can **** off!
Guess what, if people have something to say about your story that is actually valid, or if they are trying to help you, I suggest you at least gripe about it nicely. I can understand anger at a flame, but you can just as easily later wittily retort back at them.
Here's something a bit more civilized. If you claim you are smart, act like it. You can't gain respect by ritin l33k tis an dis, It just doesn't happen.
Quote:
Example 1: Well, I don't see why you would say that, I mean, you don't really justify yourself-
Example 2: I see your point... Well, I don't know if I would change it, but thanks for your input.
Example 2: I see your point... Well, I don't know if I would change it, but thanks for your input.
~*~
!New! Phase 5: Updating your Work.
I've been seeing this happen a LOT. Authors will post one peice, and then later, after receiving comments, they will again update, but in a new post. I'd say this is also a No-No.
It can create confusion for a reader.
My suggestion: If you MUST update your work, you can do a few things:
1: Update in the original Post. This is simpler than you think. Press 'Edit', and then you may go ahead and go below the original work: Put in whatever is new and finish editing. You can even put the date somewhere to show this is new material. Or:
2: You may go ahead beforehand and create a Reserved post. Simple press "Post", and in the post, just write "Reserved Post" or something of a similar nature. It puts all of your updates in a neat, chronological order so readers won't have to look through several pages for updates. And if you don't use it when you are finished, you can still keep or delete it.
~*~
Remember, there is also that little button on the end of a page that says preview, if you're not sure on how the final post will look, press that. :3
Now, I'd like to hear all of your input. If you have anything to add or say about this, please do post it, and if I like your point, you might end up here, with your own little section, and maybe with some of my own thoughts with it.
~*~
Other's Suggestions.
This is helpful information that other Gaians have suggested to me. It'd be very good if you read what they say, too.
Endrael
One thing you may want to add, though, is mention that the double space between paragraphs has become the internet default because first-line indenting for paragraphs is generally not supported on the web, especially with message boards of any sort. Normally, first-line indenting is enough to indicate that a new paragraph has started, but lacking that feature online, something else had to be used, hence the standardization of double spacing.
This is true. When you write it in a word document, you have tabs. But unfortunately, Gaia has yet to support indentations.
princessMeep
It might be worth adding that authors notes should be at the end of the work, not in front of it, unless there's something that's crucial for the reader to understand and enjoy the text. (So, if it's part of a larger work, and written with the assumption that the reader is already familiar with the characters, that should be stated before the story. Anything else belongs after it, at least in my opinion.)
It could just be me, but I don't want to read your thoughts on the story until I've read it and have had time to form my own.
One last bit, if you really feel the overwhelming need to indent your paragraphs, you can do five underscores, and make them white. (This only works on forums where there's only one skin; I wouldn't recommend it on forums where the default text/background color changes from skin to skin.
It could just be me, but I don't want to read your thoughts on the story until I've read it and have had time to form my own.
One last bit, if you really feel the overwhelming need to indent your paragraphs, you can do five underscores, and make them white. (This only works on forums where there's only one skin; I wouldn't recommend it on forums where the default text/background color changes from skin to skin.
She has a very good point. really long Author's notes should usually be at the end of the text, unless you have something crucial to state. Partially, I don't care if it's at the beginning or end, but some people might be a bit picky that way. And her tip of indenting is good, also. It's not as easy, but it works, too.
TrashKnight
The thread seems to cover the most important aspects for a first impression, yet I lack any mentioning of using caps lock with modesty. (That is, only when someone is screaming, in dialogues.)
In short, this is a guide to follow to avoid unneccessary flaming and instant-headaches for the readers. Thumbs up, that is if I had one of those emos, for this thread. cheese_whine
In short, this is a guide to follow to avoid unneccessary flaming and instant-headaches for the readers. Thumbs up, that is if I had one of those emos, for this thread. cheese_whine
Another good point. Caplocks imply screaming, though a simple '!' will work, some like to use caplocks... a lot... it looks silly, and it is easier to use in moderation, or possible as little as possible.
Baron_Jark
I like what you have going here. It's an easy to follow guide. I found it a little short but I'm assuming you'll build on it in the future. smile
I have to say the single thing that makes me cringe is small text. It's not easy on my eyes at all. (Default is perfectly fine.) Also, paragraphs are your friends people. I cannot stress that enough. I was surprised to find a good number of prose (not just at Gaia but on other sights) that don't include any at all. O.o
What I was thinking was concerning the title, or naming of the thread. Maybe some brackets would come in handy. Something that indicates what sort of story, poem whatever, the user can expect upon clicking the thread.
For eg,
Temptation waits [Horror/mystery]
You could even add the length of the piece as well by putting an estimated word count.
[500Approx] Or: [Ch's 1-5]
As for putting a message before the actual writing, I'd definitely suggest to keep it short and sweet. A few sentences would be fine.
I have to say the single thing that makes me cringe is small text. It's not easy on my eyes at all. (Default is perfectly fine.) Also, paragraphs are your friends people. I cannot stress that enough. I was surprised to find a good number of prose (not just at Gaia but on other sights) that don't include any at all. O.o
What I was thinking was concerning the title, or naming of the thread. Maybe some brackets would come in handy. Something that indicates what sort of story, poem whatever, the user can expect upon clicking the thread.
For eg,
Temptation waits [Horror/mystery]
You could even add the length of the piece as well by putting an estimated word count.
[500Approx] Or: [Ch's 1-5]
As for putting a message before the actual writing, I'd definitely suggest to keep it short and sweet. A few sentences would be fine.
Those are very good tips. Yes, I would like to know what I am going to read, which is handy. And some prose, maybe poems, can be left without double-spacing. But when you have paragraphs, double-spacing for you!
TillyMT
Another thing is a writer should make it clear what type of criticism they are looking for. For instance, if they want to know whether the story is entertaining or not, they would say something like this:
"Hi! This is my story/poem/prose/whatever, and I want to know what you, the reader, generally thinks. Is it boring? What parts of it are entertaining? Have any hints of how I can make the story more interesting?"
Or, if they want to know what's wrong with it, rather than what's good, they say: "Hi! This is my story/poem/prose/whatever, and I really want to know what I could do to improve this."
That way, there are no misunderstandings, and less arguments occur. biggrin
I think this is useful- if you want to avoid steaming post wars, it'd be best to put why you have it up, if for anything, but remember, be courteous.
Endrael
Guy on Page 3
Three cheers for elitist bastards!
Three cheers for people who know what they're doing, I say. stare If readable formatting is elitist, then you'd best change your posting style, neh?
Not much reason to this: I find it funny how his head works.
That is all.
Love and Kisses,
Star~Trail
Warning: Content is subject to change. And this took me forever to write. D:<
