Post by citizenmike on Feb 23, 2009 3:21:39 GMT -5
Citizenmike's RP School: Setting, Style, and Tone:
Now that you've cultivated your characters and know them, its time that you learn how to write for them and piece them together perfectly with the world around them.
First off, is the setting. Take stock of everything in that area your character is in and how he/she feels and interacts with that environment. Is it strange to him/her? Is he/she familiar with that place? Does he/she like it? Does it evoke memories? Would that character even hang out there?
Most people get by with over elaborating the area their in. Most new RP'ers start off their RP's with a kind of layered approach, in the sense in which first you read about the town, then the specific street, then the place their in, then the room their in... And so on and so forth. Some people actually write wonders with that style and I do like it because its got a nice peeling effect to the RP's. But I don't recommend it to guys starting off or anyone established, in that matter. It sometimes takes up to two-to-three paragraphs before anything ever happens, and at the end of it, at times, your just mostly treated to either a bland story or a mediocre monologue.
Skip all that. Skip it and get right into the story. The moment you get the readers pulled in by action over description, you're in. You've quickly got your readers attention- there's something going on, carry that and take it. You have them in now and all they want is to experience your story.
Don't over describe the area, we don't need to know every single little detail. Write what your character see's and feels about that place... Move on.
Style is very important.
Style is what creates you rp's atmosphere.
Its the way you, as writer, take everything you see in your head and put it into writing. There are different ways to write you RP. You can write in the first person, third person, first person-perspective of the third person. The way you write is only limited by your imagination.
The best way to develop a style is to read. Read everything you can. RP's, novels, short stories, articles, poems... Read everything. Find a writer you like and learn from him. I developed my style from the works of Elmore Leonard. He has such an amazing and simple approach that pulls you into his stories and into the heads of his characters. In fact, his characters are often so well rounded that its almost impossible to hate the bad guys. He hangs out with his characters, and even as he writes in the third person, he can still get into the deepest recesses of his characters head.
Writing that way came so naturally for me. Write with what ever feels comfortable for you. If you're comfortable writing like that, write like that. If writing in the first person works for you, do it.
Be yourself and be your characters, and then you will develop your tone. Tone all depends on how you ferment everything into a writing voice; the way you write.
Be cool.
Be witty.
Be gilded.
Be elegant.
Be earnest.
Be plain.
Be simple.
Its all up to you.
Now that you're developing your style, move away from the norm and add little garnisheeing's that set you apart from the rest. Play around and experiment. Not all RP's have to be the same. Distinct yourself in your storytelling and the way and manner you tell them.
There are so many ways to be different. You can write a reflective monologue, you can write a metaphorical sonnet that relates to what your character is going through; experiment with font styles, use different forms of art to complement your story: music, pictures, paintings... Whatever. The rp that established me as a writer and a dedicated rp'er started off with my own retelling of the Three Little Pigs. Again, the only limit you have is your imagination.
Have fun and keep on writing!
Now that you've cultivated your characters and know them, its time that you learn how to write for them and piece them together perfectly with the world around them.
First off, is the setting. Take stock of everything in that area your character is in and how he/she feels and interacts with that environment. Is it strange to him/her? Is he/she familiar with that place? Does he/she like it? Does it evoke memories? Would that character even hang out there?
Most people get by with over elaborating the area their in. Most new RP'ers start off their RP's with a kind of layered approach, in the sense in which first you read about the town, then the specific street, then the place their in, then the room their in... And so on and so forth. Some people actually write wonders with that style and I do like it because its got a nice peeling effect to the RP's. But I don't recommend it to guys starting off or anyone established, in that matter. It sometimes takes up to two-to-three paragraphs before anything ever happens, and at the end of it, at times, your just mostly treated to either a bland story or a mediocre monologue.
Skip all that. Skip it and get right into the story. The moment you get the readers pulled in by action over description, you're in. You've quickly got your readers attention- there's something going on, carry that and take it. You have them in now and all they want is to experience your story.
Don't over describe the area, we don't need to know every single little detail. Write what your character see's and feels about that place... Move on.
Style is very important.
Style is what creates you rp's atmosphere.
Its the way you, as writer, take everything you see in your head and put it into writing. There are different ways to write you RP. You can write in the first person, third person, first person-perspective of the third person. The way you write is only limited by your imagination.
The best way to develop a style is to read. Read everything you can. RP's, novels, short stories, articles, poems... Read everything. Find a writer you like and learn from him. I developed my style from the works of Elmore Leonard. He has such an amazing and simple approach that pulls you into his stories and into the heads of his characters. In fact, his characters are often so well rounded that its almost impossible to hate the bad guys. He hangs out with his characters, and even as he writes in the third person, he can still get into the deepest recesses of his characters head.
Writing that way came so naturally for me. Write with what ever feels comfortable for you. If you're comfortable writing like that, write like that. If writing in the first person works for you, do it.
Be yourself and be your characters, and then you will develop your tone. Tone all depends on how you ferment everything into a writing voice; the way you write.
Be cool.
Be witty.
Be gilded.
Be elegant.
Be earnest.
Be plain.
Be simple.
Its all up to you.
Now that you're developing your style, move away from the norm and add little garnisheeing's that set you apart from the rest. Play around and experiment. Not all RP's have to be the same. Distinct yourself in your storytelling and the way and manner you tell them.
There are so many ways to be different. You can write a reflective monologue, you can write a metaphorical sonnet that relates to what your character is going through; experiment with font styles, use different forms of art to complement your story: music, pictures, paintings... Whatever. The rp that established me as a writer and a dedicated rp'er started off with my own retelling of the Three Little Pigs. Again, the only limit you have is your imagination.
Have fun and keep on writing!