Writing Tips and Tricks
Sept 22, 2019 12:47:54 GMT -8
Post by Meds on Sept 22, 2019 12:47:54 GMT -8
Hello, to all old and new members. If you're feeling unsure about the level of literacy required here at Blisswood, please feel free to use this resource! I'll be posting a few common mistakes and how to avoid them, and if you have any specific questions or tips of your own, go ahead and share them.
*Please remember that I'm not an English professor, and that I make mistakes myself. Don't take all of these examples as law. This is just to help the members that may need a little bit more information on general punctuation and grammar.
1. General English terms:
Noun: Person, place, or thing (sister, the forest, a rock).
Proper noun: A noun with an actual name (Dracula, Blisswood, Coca Cola).
Pronoun: Words to replace nouns, instead of saying them over and over again (he, it, I, them, us).
Adjective: Describing word (fluffy, fast, dead).
Verb: Action word (laugh, jump, bite).
Adverb: Like adjectives, but used to modify verbs (walked slowly, jumped far).
2. A common mistake is forgetting proper capitalization and punctuation.
When to use quotation marks ("): Used mostly to mark the beginning and end of speech ("I know," He said).
When to use capital letters (AHH): When typing out character or place names, at the start of every new sentence, and at the start of speech. Similarly, when characters are speaking, or if the writer is using a first-person point of view, 'I' is always capitalized (example: Then I laughed).
When to use commas (,): Commas can be tricky, and even trickier to explain without it sounding like jargon. Don't worry though, we aren't going to be out here with a red-pen marking you wrong; however, without proper comma use, things can be confusing sometimes. Example:
"Let's eat Dad." VERSUS "Let's eat, Dad." Without a comma in this example, we might think your character was a cannibal.
A SUPER basic explanation of commas, and one that I used to use, is to just put one anywhere that I would pause when talking out loud. Example:
"He smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. For some reason, though she wasn't sure why, it felt like he was hiding something."
When to use apostrophes ('): With contractions. Contractions are the combined versions of two words (don't=do not, they've=they have, they'll=they will).
Also used to indicate possession. Use 's if something belongs to somebody (example: Betty's sandwich). If the word already has an s at the end, it only needs ' (example: The Betas' den). If the word does not already have an s, it needs 's (example: children's toys).
When to use a dash (--): The em dash (or just 'dash') can be used instead of a comma or parenthesis to give writing more impact (example: He reached out--even though he knew he shouldn't--and grabbed hold).
Speech notes: When characters are speaking, it is commonly accepted to end the speech with punctuation AND a final quotation mark. This means, basically, that if what the character is saying is the end of a sentence, give it a period. If you want to add something else to the sentence, give it a comma. ("She always does that," He said.) OR: ("She always does that.")
It is also typically accepted that any new speech starts a new line. Example:
("Why are you here?" He asked. "It looks suspicious."
"I'm not doing anything. I just got here," She replied loudly.)
3. We require members to use only ONE tense and point of view in their posts, so here is a crash course in that!
The common tenses are past, present, and future. I will be using a third-person point of view in my examples.
Past-tense example (preferred): She walked into the room and smiled.
Present-tense example: She walks into the room and smiles.
Future-tense example: She will walk into the room and smile.
The common points of view (POV) are first, second, and third-person. I will be using the past-tense in my examples.
First-person POV example: I walked into the room and smiled.
Second-person POV example (very unpopular): You walked into the room and smiled.
Third-person POV example (preferred): She walked into the room and smiled. *Alternatively, you can use the character's name: Betty walked into the room and smiled.
This is just the beginning, I can add more tips and tricks to this at any time. It's just something to get us going! Please, please feel free to PM staff or reply to this thread if you have any questions not answered here!
*Please remember that I'm not an English professor, and that I make mistakes myself. Don't take all of these examples as law. This is just to help the members that may need a little bit more information on general punctuation and grammar.
1. General English terms:
Noun: Person, place, or thing (sister, the forest, a rock).
Proper noun: A noun with an actual name (Dracula, Blisswood, Coca Cola).
Pronoun: Words to replace nouns, instead of saying them over and over again (he, it, I, them, us).
Adjective: Describing word (fluffy, fast, dead).
Verb: Action word (laugh, jump, bite).
Adverb: Like adjectives, but used to modify verbs (walked slowly, jumped far).
2. A common mistake is forgetting proper capitalization and punctuation.
When to use quotation marks ("): Used mostly to mark the beginning and end of speech ("I know," He said).
When to use capital letters (AHH): When typing out character or place names, at the start of every new sentence, and at the start of speech. Similarly, when characters are speaking, or if the writer is using a first-person point of view, 'I' is always capitalized (example: Then I laughed).
When to use commas (,): Commas can be tricky, and even trickier to explain without it sounding like jargon. Don't worry though, we aren't going to be out here with a red-pen marking you wrong; however, without proper comma use, things can be confusing sometimes. Example:
"Let's eat Dad." VERSUS "Let's eat, Dad." Without a comma in this example, we might think your character was a cannibal.
A SUPER basic explanation of commas, and one that I used to use, is to just put one anywhere that I would pause when talking out loud. Example:
"He smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. For some reason, though she wasn't sure why, it felt like he was hiding something."
When to use apostrophes ('): With contractions. Contractions are the combined versions of two words (don't=do not, they've=they have, they'll=they will).
Also used to indicate possession. Use 's if something belongs to somebody (example: Betty's sandwich). If the word already has an s at the end, it only needs ' (example: The Betas' den). If the word does not already have an s, it needs 's (example: children's toys).
When to use a dash (--): The em dash (or just 'dash') can be used instead of a comma or parenthesis to give writing more impact (example: He reached out--even though he knew he shouldn't--and grabbed hold).
Speech notes: When characters are speaking, it is commonly accepted to end the speech with punctuation AND a final quotation mark. This means, basically, that if what the character is saying is the end of a sentence, give it a period. If you want to add something else to the sentence, give it a comma. ("She always does that," He said.) OR: ("She always does that.")
It is also typically accepted that any new speech starts a new line. Example:
("Why are you here?" He asked. "It looks suspicious."
"I'm not doing anything. I just got here," She replied loudly.)
3. We require members to use only ONE tense and point of view in their posts, so here is a crash course in that!
The common tenses are past, present, and future. I will be using a third-person point of view in my examples.
Past-tense example (preferred): She walked into the room and smiled.
Present-tense example: She walks into the room and smiles.
Future-tense example: She will walk into the room and smile.
The common points of view (POV) are first, second, and third-person. I will be using the past-tense in my examples.
First-person POV example: I walked into the room and smiled.
Second-person POV example (very unpopular): You walked into the room and smiled.
Third-person POV example (preferred): She walked into the room and smiled. *Alternatively, you can use the character's name: Betty walked into the room and smiled.
This is just the beginning, I can add more tips and tricks to this at any time. It's just something to get us going! Please, please feel free to PM staff or reply to this thread if you have any questions not answered here!