details,details,details..

[Faelina]

Okay since I see a pattern repeating itself I thought maybe I could post a bit about adding details in RP and why it matters.

Lets say you are doing a plot and you bring the guest into your house..they have never been there and have no idea what the rooms look like. To make the story flow they need to know what is in the room they see, furniture, try to describe what it looks like. Does it have windows? Curtains? What colors? Otherwise they can say they laid down on the purple leopard skin velvet sofa, that to you is not there.. but since you did not describe the room then they really have no idea what is and is not in the room.

Now in continuing the need for details, when describing yourself or other people we also need details. This is better: Her hair was a pale golden color and fell to her shoulders in tight ringlets, her eyes were black as coal and cold as ice. Her skin was like cut marble pale and cool..she had on a flowing black dress that had a slit to her hip, and a deep v neck that showed off her round firm D cup breasts. Than this: She has blonde hair and black eyes and had on a black dress.

I know that I can not be the only one that thinks this way.. and one last thing.. when doing an adult scene details are still important. This: She kissed him softly her lips pressed to his shyly.Her hands reaching to press her palms to his chest. Her black eyes locked on his blue ones. She steps backwards leading him to her bed without a word, the bed is a king size and it soft, almost to soft.It is covered in black silk sheets with several large body pillows. Not this: She kissed him and led him to the bed.

Do you see the difference details make? They pull the others into the story, when doing a text based RP like this there are no characters in a game to lend to the description of where they are so you have to make the scene for them in their mind. Try this if you wish, sit down and look at the room around you, then write down the details in a notepad or word document, then have a friend that has been in your room read it and see if they can tell that it is actually your room. The details make it more real.. I hope this is helpful and that it makes some of you understand why you need to add detail in the story.

Good luck and have fun..

 

[littlerooster]

Details are very important for a start a room can be used to describe the characters personality "they walked in to the bedroom, the walls covered with rock band posters, the bed a half made mess and a pizza box sitting on the floor" so you get this character is young without me even saying his age and you get that he is a slob and you get that he is most likely male lol. So all of that from the description which was pretty basic.

Same as physical appearance, it surprises me that I have to always ask what my partners character will look like, the way they look, their name, to me I try and build personalities around these descriptions, which is what annoys me about getting a photo of some 25 y.o when the character in question is a single mother of 38, "Melissa looked at her curvy yet tight body in the mirror, she was bigger than the women in the magazines but men still looked at her as she passed them in street, she thought about the young guy who hit on her yesterday, was he really out of her league? She put her long red hair up in a bun and decided that no, no, he wasn't out of her league and she would call him after all, she put on her black stilettos to highlight her killer legs and gave him a call."

So in 2 lines you get a full picture of what they look like and how they feel about themselves.

Also comes in handy when writing a love scene, what is my character making love to? Not just physically but emotionally?

By bringing your character to life you will have a far more interesting and engaging RP and avoid the one liner trap which most of us hate.

 

[darkangel76]

And this is when I say..... I <3 you both. XD Seriously, I do.

I couldn't agree more about details and try very hard to paint the picture in both description of character and environment when I write. I suppose it comes down to the art of 'showing vs telling' to some degree. And it's a difficult art to master. I know I'm still striving to perfect it, though I do think I've improved it from how I used to be. But I digress. Point is, details paint that picture, set that tone, give you that feeling. They let you know what is going on around you, as if you were there...give depth to that character who at one point was 2-dimensional but now has personality and comes alive. It makes everything on the page seem real as if you are a part of the story and world you are reading about. Now that is the stuff I want to read. That is the stuff I want to become a part of. And I will forever strive to perfect my writing to be able to do all of that.

 

[Faelina]

Thanks for helping to make my point you 2 at least I know I am not alone on this.

 

[Foxy Lady]

I love details, they can be so revealing, but just a word of balance. There can be too many and that can stifle the other player's imagination. I played with one guy who insisted on us being so specific about everything that it just broke up the flow. So yes I agree details are important, but in the right place and in the right amount.

 

[LoadStar]

Names of places, names of people, names of objects all lend more heft to an abstract world. If your character's going to carry "a pistol", have her carry a Beretta 9 millimeter. If your character's having "a drink", give him, specifically, a Budweiser or a Screwdriver. Yes, some detail is just filler. It's probably irrelevant how a character's shanks press the backs of his thighs when he sits cross-legged on the ground, or whether she stirs her Darjeeling counterclockwise or clockwise.

As for erotic writing: "She wrapped her lips around it, loving how it tasted and smelled." Great. But, how did it taste and smell?

The essence of erotic writing is the details. Period. Without details, erotica is just vaguely sexual. It's the particulars that draw the reader into the scene and make the reader feel what the characters are feeling, both emotionally and tactually.

I know this makes me sound all elitist, but I don't like the word smut. Smut suggests writing that's crude and terse, while erotica suggests nuanced writing that entices the reader through pacing and thoughtful detail.

 

[Traveler]

Thank you for bringing up the idea of writing versus throwing porn up on the screen. I think that is why I have grown so tired of 'smut'... it became an exercise in fulfilling the other person's sexual fantasies and fetishes, and the entire plot of the story was lost. There was no longer a plot. The characters all seemed the same, and any mention of motivation was met with 'because... SEX'. Of course, on this site if you say 'no smut' you get 'no role plays', heh.

One exercise I use to find out if someone has potential as a writing partner for me is to look at their past posts. Is their grammar decent? Do they take the time to develop their character's appearance, motives, and actions? Is the dialogue believable? I've discovered that one of my pet peeves is when people use the exact same character, down to the name, in every single role play. And every role play is the same variation of the same worn out plot.

Oh wait ~ this wasn't a rant thread. Apologies. *grins*

But thank you, Faelina, for bringing this topic up. And Loadstar? I'll be watching for your request thread.