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Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:26 pm
Alright guys, as an editor, I do have to fix posts that look a like a train wreck before I can post. So here a few things I've noticed and hopefully some of you roleplayers improve. Please help me out, I wanna have fun too. So here we go (it looks long, but please read it). I'm going to try to update by either adding on to the tips or adding new points, so check back often.
Please don't put actions between ** or --. Honestly, it's a little confusing and looks ugly. Don't do it, it's more work for me trying to figure out what you mean to say and retype it. However, it's okay to use those whenever you're out of character.
Don't be lazy and use "u" or "r" or anything stupid like that. I don't care if you chat outside our little roleplaying world like that, but please, when you are roleplaying, be literate. "U r so cool!" DOES NOT CUT IT! Type the word out! Don't be lazy because it's the internet. If you want to try that then by all means, do what you want but you probably won't be roleplaying here anymore.
Please use periods or some kind of a punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. This bothers me a lot and it's hard to explain without an example. So here we go:
Link put his sword away "Alright then " he said.
It would be better with some periods and a comma in there: Link put his sword away. "Alright then," he said.
Do you see it now? I also hate to see run on sentences, or basically sentences that don't ever seem to end except for one period at the very end. Please use periods and separate your ideas. You have no idea how annoying run on sentences are I dare you try to read this out loud without a break because I didn't put in any commas so you're screwed aren't you? Different ideas means different sentences, and that means the use of periods!
Dialogue and quotes must always be between equation marks ("")! Dialogue, if you don't know, is what your character says. Need an example?
"I'm just going to go to the store." That's it! The quotation marks go around the first letter of the first word and punctuation mark at the end. If you want to make it look pretty, people like to make it bold. It's not necessary, as I certainly don't do that. Please, however, don't forget the quotation marks.
Please note that dialogue isn't the end of a sentence:
"I'm going to the store," he said.
Because the dialogue wasn't at the end in that example and there is more afterwards, the dialogue ends with a comma and the subject after is in lowercase.
People and places have a capital letter in their name. So please put Link instead of link. It's the same thing for everyone else and their characters. Names always have a capital! Places do too, but only if it has a name. This includes Castle Town as a name, so both castle and town are capitalized.
Contractions! Remember those apostrophes! I don't know if people are lazy, or they forgot, or they don't see it, but words like "don't" or "let's" do have the apostrophes. Usually, the apostrophes mean that something is missing. It's the same thing for anything that has to do with possession as in "Link's sword" so don't forget about that either. "Link's sword' actually means "Link his sword" and "let's" means "let us". If you have to say out loud, then put in the apostrophe, you probably should. If an name ends in an 's', like "Chris", and you want to say Chris owns something, you can use either "Chris's" or "Chris'". Both mean the same thing, neither is wrong, but I always prefer the latter option.
Apostrophes can be used in other ways from removing words or letters. For example, "because" can be shortened to " 'cause " but " 'cause " needs the apostrophe. "Until" works the same way, removing the first two letters can bring you " 'til ".
Finally, "It's" is a contraction meaning "it is" and not a possessive term. If you want to use a possessive "it" subject, the proper term is "its".
You're is different from your like threw is different from through. Homophones are a little tricky but I thought I would address it. It's okay if you mess up on them, especially if English isn't your first language! Homophones are words that sound the same but they have completely different meanings. "Bare" and "bear" sound the same, but they mean different things. See it now? It's hard to help someone with these, since it's up you to know these, there's not special rules for these. I'll list common ones I see:
Your = Your book, your game... You're= You are (note that the contraction rule here too. Turning "You are" into "You're" involves taking out the the "A" and replacing it with an apostrophe!) Through= Like going through a door Threw= Past tense of 'Throw'
If possible, use spell check! It's your best friend! Spell checks are really good for roleplaying, so use them if you can. They help if you forget an apostrophe and provides a screening for typos. The best way to get a spell check is to download a browser that has it (such as Firefox or Chrome) or use a program like Microsoft Word, then just copy and paste to Gaia. Openoffice and Google Docs are good alternatives to Microsoft Word. Just be careful not to add the improper spelling to your dictionary.
Also, don't depend spell check alone. It helps with your spelling, not your grammar.
Read it out loud! If it sounds funny, fix it! You may feel stupid but it has the best way to check your work or post. Your brain is used to patterns, so you will merely skip over simple mistakes because your brain knows what it should be. Reading it out loud can help you catch those mistakes that you may miss otherwise.
Ellipses are not twenty periods long! Ellipses are those three dots (...) that show a little pause or if you're using a quote, you can uses ellipses to cut off the parts you don't need! I see a lot of "....................and then..............." NO! They only have THREE periods.
Fragmented sentences are no-nos! I don't these happen very much, but I've seen them here before. Fragmented sentences are sentences that lack a subject (I, you, he, we, she, they, it, etc.) or anything else that's a key component to the sentence, like verbs. It's an incomplete thought and at the same time, an incomplete sentence.
Definitely = Certainly! Definitely is probably one of the most misspelled words around. Definitely is the one you want, meaning certainly, without a doubt, etc. Definately, defiantly, or whatever other spellings you may make up, are not the words you are looking for.
We're not all American! This has little to do with grammar, but I thought it was kind of fun. I'm Canadian, so my English differs slightly than an American's English. Canadians tend to add extra letter (the Us) to words that American people wouldn't. "Favourite" and "Colour" are good examples of these rule. It doesn't make sense, but that's the spellings I grew up with and it's something that teachers enforce.
I'm not out to get you all, in fact, I just want to have fun too. The less I have to edit, the more I can post. Don't think I'm all that perfect either, that's not what I want to imply. I even have to go back and edit my own post because I did something wrong. We all make mistakes, but now is your chance to fix them.
Updates: - July 26, 2014: Updated the language, mostly, but also added the "it's" and "its" to the contraction section and the word definitely got its own section!
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Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:40 pm
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Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:42 pm
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Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 8:24 pm
Thanks Dioji. I'm a little literate, but these tips help thanks!
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Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:04 pm
Quote: Please don't put actions between ** or --.Honestly, it's a little confusing (to me at least) and looks ugly. Don't do it, it's more work for me trying to figure out what you mean to say and retype it. Heh... whoops... I do that all the time when typing! XD Though, I do see your point... it can get confusing in an RPG... I guess everyone should just go with narration; "Link put the cap back on his bottle of lon-lon milk and set the bottle down. He felt his strength slowly returning from its nutrients." would sound better than "Link was wounded -takes out milk and drinks feeling better from nutrition-." Granted, the word choice in each example was different, but I still hope that got the point across... If that even makes sense... sweatdrop
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 4:40 am
I'm sorry, I haven't been helping much. sweatdrop I'll step up my game, though I won't be online much anymore.
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 1:57 pm
Quote: Heh... whoops... I do that all the time when typing! XD Though, I do see your point... it can get confusing in an RPG... I guess everyone should just go with narration; "Link put the cap back on his bottle of lon-lon milk and set the bottle down. He felt his strength slowly returning from its nutrients." would sound better than "Link was wounded -takes out milk and drinks feeling better from nutrition-." Granted, the word choice in each example was different, but I still hope that got the point across... If that even makes sense... sweatdrop I've seen it like "-Hides in tree- Hello I'm Link.-" Likes, it deathly confusing for me becuase I'm used to having dialog but quotation marks and it's really confusing when it isn't! And you have to admit, it looks a lot better. 3nodding
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:08 pm
awww... this means i shall have to proof read... darn... just kidding. Thanks for the tip. when role playing, my brain talks faster than i can type so sorry if i leave a couple of words here or there, but I shall start proof reading so HOPEFULLY that won't happen...
hehehee... no guanuntees... i can't type to save my life... '^.^
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:19 pm
Lisaya awww... this means i shall have to proof read... darn... just kidding. Thanks for the tip. when role playing, my brain talks faster than i can type so sorry if i leave a couple of words here or there, but I shall start proof reading so HOPEFULLY that won't happen... hehehee... no guanuntees... i can't type to save my life... '^.^ Right now I just want to see improvements. sweatdrop Take baby steps if you have to, I really can't inspect people to type perfectly over night (but it would be really nice!).
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:49 pm
How have I been doing Dioji?
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:55 pm
xx-ii Silver ii-xx How have I been doing Dioji? You weren't too bad in the first place. I didn't have to edit yours too much at all. 3nodding
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:17 pm
Dioji xx-ii Silver ii-xx How have I been doing Dioji? You weren't too bad in the first place. I didn't have to edit yours too much at all. 3nodding ^.^ I have my friends to thank for that. But the tips helped anyways XD
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Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 2:54 pm
Your right. Many people cannot use correct dialogue when they are typing. Maybe it's lazy teachers -_-. I don't know, but my teacher taught me this stuff in 5th grade to be more precise with run on and fragmented sentences. Also when using speech in sentences. Explain yourself clearly members, and the RPG story can be understood. Good Job Dioji. you explained it for what it needed to be.
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Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 3:35 pm
Beast IV Your right. Many people cannot use correct dialogue when they are typing. Maybe it's lazy teachers -_-. I don't know, but my teacher taught me this stuff in 5th grade to be more precise with run on and fragmented sentences. Also when using speech in sentences. Explain yourself clearly members, and the RPG story can be understood. Good Job Dioji. you explained it for what it needed to be. Same situation here! Our teachers at least weren't lazy! Dioji, you have no clue how much I liked you putting this in here! I hate it when people make stupid grammatical errors because they can't bother to look it over.
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Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 8:12 pm
xXGummi MaciXx Same situation here! Our teachers at least weren't lazy! Dioji, you have no clue how much I liked you putting this in here! I hate it when people make stupid grammatical errors because they can't bother to look it over. Over they can't be bothered to try at all. I don't think it's exactly the teachers, but people think they can be lazy because it's the internet; not English class. You're welcome, I made this thread because I was sick of it too. Now, it would be nice if some of the train wreck typers would come and look.
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