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 Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 2:23 pm
This topic is dedicated to teaching illiterate RPer's how to improve. Literacy on Gaia is usually ranked like this:
Illiterate: mAny gramatical an spelin errorz wit ** or - - fer action an no kwotashun marks. also NO commas OR BASIC GRAMER RULEZ W4TS03V3R nt to mentin 1-2 sintincis. PLZ dnt p0st l13k this EVAR!!
Semi-lit: Few grammatical or spelling errors. Appropriate punctuation such as periods or exclamation points and question marks. Usually 3-4 sentences. you might miss a capitalization or comma every once in a while but this is still acceptable.
Lit: Very few to no grammatical or spelling errors. Always appropriate capitalization and punctuation, as well as commas and question marks in appropriate places. 5-8 DETAILED sentences, using adjectives and adverbs. This is the recommended level for correct roleplaying.
Adv. Lit: No grammatical or spelling errors. No capitalization errors, punctuation is pretty much always in the right place. Not only does this level of literacy mean using correct grammar; it also means using complex sentences such as this one. Semicolons, colons, 'single quotations', italics, bold, color, and different sizes to keep the post interesting and readable. Adv. Lit. posts are usually 8 EXTREMELY DETAILED sentences or more, sometimes up to 3 paragraphs.
In this topic I will describe the many ways you can achieve the different levels of literacy.
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 2:37 pm
Tips To be Semi-Lit:
1. Spell-check is your best friend. Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and a few other internet browsers offer free spell-check automatically. ALWAYS, ALWAYS ALWAYS!!! Use spell check.
2. Say the sentence aloud to yourself exactly as it appears. Does it sound like something you could read in a book? If not, chances are it's not right.
3. Don't get mad about people pointing out what's wrong with your post. Chances are, they're just trying to help you get better; that is, after all, what would make everything more enjoyable for everyone. Fighting defeats the purpose!
4. Try paying attention. If there's rules posted, follow them. They're usually easy. If they're not posted, don't be afraid to ask questions about the rules. Your guild captain/ VC's want everyone to follow the rules; they'll be happy to set you straight. Better now because you ask than later because you screwed up.
5. Follow the examples of your peers. When in Rome, as they say. Pick a person who knows what they're doing, and follow suit. They can't get on your case if you're just following their example.
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 2:55 pm
Tips to be Lit:
1. See Tips to be Semi-Lit.
2. Out of things to say? Fret not, there's a quick and easy solution to your problem. Instead of just actions like what your character is doing, add some detail. What is the surrounding area like? HOW is your character doing what he/she's doing? For example:
Don't: Johnny ran up the hill. He grabbed the treasure. Then he fell down the hill.
Do: Quickly sprinting up the hill, Johnny saw his objective. Lying in wait for him was the very thing he'd been hunting for so long... The treasure. It was pure golden, gleaming in the sunlight. Sparkling so bright, Johnny could hardly look directly at it. Swiping it up with one hand, he hardly had any time to admire his handiwork before misplacing his foot, causing him to slip and fall head-first down the hill.
3. Use the details from other people's posts. If it's there for their character, it's there for yours too.
4. Remember- your character is a person. They have thoughts, and feelings; make sure to include them in your post. If something dramatic happens, tell them how your character feels about it! What they think is important, too!
5. When in doubt, whip a thesaurus out! Usually there's one built into your Spell-Check, so don't be afraid to use a new word. For example:
Instead of: Good, bad, funny, dumb
Try: Amazing / incredible, horrible / disastrous, humorous / hysterical, idiotic / asinine
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 3:03 pm
Tips to be Adv. Lit:
1. See both previous tip lists.
2. Think like a storyteller. If you were reading a book about this happening, what would be in it? What would you want to read about? Try putting side-notes and off-track character opinions and ideas in. Don't be afraid to suggest your own ideas to the roleplay! It's only god-modding if you do it without permission.
3. Post Layouts. They're those nice little outlines and pictures that make posts pretty. Not necessary to be Advanced Literate, but they make it more interesting to look at.
4. Don't drag it out too long. Three paragraphs is plenty for anyone to want to read. We want it to be detailed, descriptive, definitive, then done. It's okay to have short posts, too; there is such a thing as writer's block, and not everyone can write a freaking essay for every post.
5. Help others. Make sure you're capable first, of course. But once you feel confident enough, don't be afraid to give pointers to newbies when they need it. Maybe by pointing some things out, you'll realize ways you can better yourself even further.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 5:03 pm
Epic Irony Sentence Types and Uses: 1. Simple Sentences: One independent clause. Example; The man ran. These sentences are good for getting simple ideas across without much effort... But they make you look dumb and they're really boring to read. Use sparingly. 2. Complex Sentences: One independent clause with one or more dependent clauses added. Example; The man ran because he was late. These sentences are good for explaining the reason behind the simple ideas. While slightly better than simple sentences, too many of these in a post make it really old, really quick. 3. Compound Sentences: Two or more independent clauses added together via semicolon or coordinating conjunction (ForAndNotButOrYetSo). Example; The man was late to a meeting; therefore, he ran. Good for making you seem smarter, get ideas across in a more interesting fashion, as well as save a little time. An all-around win. 4. Compound-Complex Sentences: Two or more independent clauses added with two or more dependent clauses. Example: Although the man had woken up late, and his car wouldn't start, he ran to work to make the meeting in time. The gold standard. These sentences are great, spectacularly awesome. They make you seem like a genius, as well as giving your post that little oomph it might be otherwise missing. As Mark Twain himself said, "The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug." It applies to sentences as well.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 5:10 pm
Epic Irony Capitalization and Punctuation Rules1. I is ALWAYS capitalized. No matter what. Always, forever and ever and freaking ever.
2. The first letter of every SENTENCE, not every word, is capitalized. One of the biggest mistakes people can make is thinking that Talking Like This Makes Them Seem Smart, Because They're Capitalizing Things. Wrong. Only the first letter of every sentence, otherwise leave it alone.
3. The first letter of PROPER nouns are capitalized. This includes names like Bob, Joe, Jill, Jimmy, Frank, Fred; or cities, such as San Fransisco, Atlanta, New York, Tallahassee; or states, like North Dakota, California, Maine, Nevada, etc.
4. Use commas to separate items in a list, or to attach dependent clauses to independent clauses with a subordinating conjunction (like the or found in this sentence, right after the comma).
5. Avoid hyphens (-) unless using them for hyphenated words (like self-assured, mid-September, all-inclusive, T-shirt). Hyphens DO NOT show pauses, they show connection (except in rare cases in dialogue, when they can sometimes show a complete stop mid-word. In case of interruptions, for example).
6. Punctuation always goes right after the word, never put a space between. It's as if the sentence were a body, and the punctuation a limb; the limb is connected to the body, otherwise it doesn't function at all. Just kind of lays there, dead, and if you chop your own arm off you tend to look kind of stupid.
7. Spaces. They're very important, ********. Seriously, spaces between words is extremely important. There's a reason the spacebar is the BIGGEST ******** KEY ON THE BOARD. Use them.
8. ALL CAPS IS THE CRUISE CONTROL OF COOL. Unfortunately, even with cruise control you need to steer. This means while, on VERY rare occasions all caps may be acceptable for emphasis, it should be used very sparingly if at all.
9. Punctuation goes OUTSIDE of parenthesis (for the most part). Sometimes, like when an ellipses (...) follows a sentence that is within parenthesis, no further punctuation is needed (for example, if a sentence was like this...) Although, it is unorthodox and normally not recommended that a sentence within parenthesis ends with an ellipses.
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