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| What is your biggest weakness with RP? |
| too blunt and plain with everything |
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13% |
[ 3 ] |
| can't get the set up right |
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4% |
[ 1 ] |
| actions are not louder than words |
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4% |
[ 1 ] |
| I want to have ALLLL POWER!!! |
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4% |
[ 1 ] |
| Things go too quick |
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36% |
[ 8 ] |
| Other....i just need Help! |
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36% |
[ 8 ] |
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| Total Votes : 22 |
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 Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:13 am
Okay so you want to RP with the big kids but they say in less of better terms that you are not so hot at it. What do you do? Hmmm well that is what I am here for along with a few of my friends to help you guys (the newbies) out with all of this.
This will help so you don't look like a N00b (much differnt that a newbie)
Read the posts for tips and updates on how you can improve your skills and have people beg to rp with you in the end. (okay so a little bit of gloating never hurt anyone)
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:16 am
Something everyone should know....Purple Pose
Purple Prose: What it is, and how to avoid it
1. What is Purple Prose?
a. History
The phrase "purple prose" itself was coined by Horace in his Ars Poetica, as he critiqued another writer's work. The translated passage reads:
Your opening shows great promise, and yet flashy purple patches; as when describing a sacred grove, or the altar of Diana, or a stream meandering through fields, or the river Rhine, or a rainbow; but this was not the place for them. If you can realistically render a cypress tree, would you include one when commissioned to paint a sailor in the midst of a shipwreck?
From the passage you can take Horace's point that purple prose is good or at least decent writing, just too much of it, and usually misplaced. As said in the last paragraph, it is often as out of place as someone painting a beautiful tree when they're supposed to be painting a shipwreck. Is it a pretty tree? Well, yes. But they're supposed to be painting a shipwreck, and bring the focus on the struggle of the sailor to survive.
The connotations of the word purple further denote that "purple patches" of writing are ostentatious and inappropriate - in other words, just as an ancient Roman would dress up in all his finery and purple linen to go out of the house (and look awful, but very rich), purple prose is the same thing with writing. It is a way to say, "I can write so much! Isn't it beautiful? Aren't I great?" even when the excess detail drags down the quality of the writing itself and seems out of place at best.
b. Modern use
The meaning of purple prose in modern times has shifted to writing that is just plain ridiculous in its ostentatious nature.
An example would be saying "As soon as the Promethean spark had been fully communicated to the lady's tube" instead of "Once the lady lit her pipe". The most famous example of purple prose is from The Garden of Cyrus by Sir Thomas Browne:
"But the Quincunx of Heaven runs low, and 'tis time to close the five ports of knowledge. We are unwilling to spin out our awaking thoughts into the phantasms of sleep, which often continueth precogitations; making Cables of Cobwebs and Wildernesses of handsome Groves. Besides Hippocrates hath spoke so little and the Oneirocriticall Masters, have left such frigid Interpretations from plants that there is little encouragement to dream of Paradise it self. Nor will the sweetest delight of Gardens afford much comfort in sleep; wherein the dullness of that sense shakes hands with delectable odours; and though in the Bed of Cleopatra, can hardly with any delight raise up the Ghost of a Rose."
In short, purple prose is overdone, overworked language where the author has forgotten that writing is a means of communication and is simply trying to show off.
It is also often called "thesaurus rape" or "paragraph for a taco syndrome".
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:21 am
Why should you care?
For play by post style, role-playing is writing. As I have said, writing is communication. If you don't know what the hell somebody just wrote, you can't have your character respond to them, now can you?
Furthermore, since role-playing is writing, it pays off for all of us to keep in mind what's good writing and what's not good writing. Role-playing is a great way to strengthen your writing muscles. You just don't want to learn how to write the "wrong way", or you will sorely regret it later.
Going against purple prose does not mean going against pretty writing or 'big words'. It means going against gaudy writing that is hard to understand, and going against seeing the English language abused.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:24 am
How can purple prose be avoided?a. Don't be scared off from vocabulary.
At first glance it may be easy to abandon all your big shiny words and say "ha, there, no purple prose for me." However, writing is all about striking balance, and sometimes those big shiny words do mean a lot. While people have different writing styles, it really does behoove you to keep your vocabulary up so you don't have to go searching for the perfect word.
b. Ask yourself questions when you use advanced vocabulary.
Big words - or advanced vocabulary - are analogous to spices in cooking. Without any at all, your writing is a little bland. Put too many in and you've cooked something nobody is able to eat. Strive for a pleasing blend to suit all literary pallets, not five-alarm chili.wink.gif
Ask yourself:
Does the word I'm using communicate anything more than the simpler word it is replacing?
If it does, do you understand the full connotations and denotations of the word? (Sienna is not a straight substitute for brown, for instance, it denotes a specific hue of brown. Muttering something is a different action than saying something.)
Does it enhance the sentence to switch out a larger word? Does the sentence still 'flow'?
Most good writers stare down their sentences and ask themselves this already while they are writing. However, if someone accuses you of writing purple prose, consider reviewing these. Does the advanced vocabulary you are using truly contribute to your meaning, or are you just trying to show off?
c. Use great detail for dramatic effect.
Purple prose as a term originated from florid, overpowering description in a completely silly place. Simply put - don't be the guy who paints trees in great detail when you're supposed to be painting a shipwreck.
If you are going into a paragraph or multiple paragraphs of description in a scene, remember that role-playing is a social game. People don't want to read what isn't important. If you are describing a place in which role-play is going to take place within the entire thread - fantastic, describe away, your fellow role-players need to know where their characters are. However, they do not really need to know three paragraphs about the NPC who appears for two seconds to hand out drinks and then disappears to never be seen again. That's painting trees in the middle of shipwrecks. That's wasting your fellow role-player's time. That's purple prose.
d. Before you launch into great detail, ask yourself questions.
IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Does the detail you are writing about provide some information to other role-players that they can then use later on during the role-play?
-Are you describing a common setting that their characters will then be introduced into?
-Are you revealing something about your character through what s/he focuses on?
-Are you hinting at plot by describing certain items in the room?
-Are you giving the other players some useful, relevant fact they can then use later in a post?
Whether something is useful and relevant is very situation-specific. In a High School game, a character's clothing might indeed merit its own paragraph of description. In a cyberpunk post-apocalyptic game where characters are more focused on gunning each other down, probably not. (But a character's arsenal of weapons would probably merit description, while a High School character's would hopefully not.)
If you are writing just because you like describing the scenery your character is looking at while on a train ride, that is not useful information. (It can become useful information if your character gets on a mental tangent on his feelings about sheep, which another role-player can then use to ensure her character meets the other at the train station with her faithful pet lamb.)
e. How to fix purple prose.
Fixing purple prose is very simple.
-If you are describing something, especially in great detail, that is not important for other role-players to know, LEAVE IT OUT.
-When you use big words, make sure you know what they mean.
-Advanced vocabulary should be used when it really needs to be used and when it can enhance your writing, not just because you are trying to look smart.
If you keep those three things in mind while writing, not only do you cure "paragraph for a taco syndrome", you also become a better writer. Writing is communication, and staying away from purple prose makes it easier for you to communicate to others.
Resources consulted...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_prose
http://www.debstover.com/purple.html
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:26 am
The Lists Of Tips
1.
First of all, to keep your post easy to read it is very important that you use commas and periods after each statement. It also helps to separate the character's thoughts and speech from the actions and such by making them a different color or making them bold or italic. I always make my speech a different color, bold, and put it in quotes. I make the speech of others a different color too, but also different from my own. Then the thoughts I put in italics without quotation marks around them.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:27 am
2.
Next, the content. How do you add details? Think about the five senses, what does your char hear, smell, feel, taste and see? Write what the char is thinking about, that is good info. Describe your surroundings and actions well.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:29 am
3.
Another thing is action, action is what makes RP interesting. It is fine to go sit and a bar and just order a tea, but it is hard for others to work with it from there. If you instead have a unique purpose or are in some kind of danger, it makes it easier to reply to and more fun to play with.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:32 am
4.
Fly by the seat pants is fun but don't just state what your character does, give some reasons why or write about them weighing their options first.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:34 am
5.
To give a better view of what your character is up to, write about where they are, how they got there, why they came, what they were doing before they came that led them there, that type of thing. It gives the readers a better sense of what is going on and sometimes helps to give you ideas on what to write about later.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:36 am
6.
When replying to a topic that someone had made where they are in danger, it is not a good idea to just walk in and kill their opponent in the first or second post. That is too close to god-moding and then removes the danger that made the post fun and interesting. You should always battle with it for a while or something first.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:37 am
7.
Don't be afraid to let your character get hurt, they will live. Injuries and weaknesses add to the difficulty of fighting and put your char in more danger, making RP better.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:39 am
8.
One thing that will attract attention to your post is a good title. It is best to write your story first, then think of a title that tells a little bit about what the other chars will be reading. Certain words will draw people in too look at your topic, words that suggest the action or danger that you have hopefully put into your story.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:40 am
9.
Try not to RP in every topic, it gets tiring RPing with the same person or people all the time.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:48 am
10
If someone posts a medium to long post, try to match the length. It is extremely annoying to have typed out a huge, descriptive post and get "Billy walked into the tavern and sat on a stool. He said hi to the girl sipping a drink. She was pretty." Just... no. A post for a post. What you type is what you're likely to get. So the more description and length, the better.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:50 am
11
Push yourself by RPing with more advanced members. It will mentor you to make your own posts longer. See what they do and copy that. If you have any questions, I'm sure they'd love to answer them. Your fellow RPers are your teachers.
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