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Struggling to find words.

Simon Seville

Planetoid
Joined
Jun 23, 2015
Location
Fuck Mountain
hello everyone out there in BMR land, as you may or may not know if you've read my introduction I am a resident of this virtual community for theraputic reasons, namely I have an overwhelming sense of guilt and self loathing for having certain 'fringe interests' shall we say. the short version is i'm having trouble finding a partner, and It is of my honest opinion it's due to my lack of grammatical skills not only in writing normal scenarios but sex scenes as well. this could be in part due to the fact that I have memory issues when dealing with such things, but I think has more to do with my lack of linguistics. if anyone wishes to give me a few pointers please reply, however if you feel like coaching me through RP-ing please PM me, and I will gladly try my best.

all the love in the world
-0.0- Simon
 
Heyo, Simon! Understandable, if this is your first time venturing into rping, that you'd feel a little insecure about your skills. Do not fret or feel discouraged, this is a natural part of the process. Partners come and they go. Even someone like me who has been here for many years and feel pretty confident in my handle on storytelling, even I get dropped occasionally. It just happens.

If you truly feel like your skills might be the problem, then I'd recommend 2 things for your proposed problem: 1. read. Not joking. I used to write homoerotica in HS before I even knew what a prostate was and it shows in my old notebooks. Then I started reading gay fanfiction online and getting trashy romance books from the bargain bin at the used book store near my house. Stuff like Christine Feehan, because I liked the dark tone and vampire plots but there's plenty of options out there now. Sometimes reading all of that flowery language and gushy, emotional writing can give you a feel of the tone and details you want to go for. You can read it and either go "oh yeah, that's really hot, I like that!" or roll your eyes and decide when the writer has gone too far into "throbbing member/length and plowing fields" territory, picking and choosing from the text what directions sound best.

If that's a step you've already taken or you're in more of a hurry to "get good", then, another thing you could do to find the right words, if you already have them and can't bring them to mind, is use dictionaries.

My favorite is http://www.onelook.com/ It's a collection of links and search engines that all tie into dictionaries that are available online. Not just reg dictionaries either. You search for a word and it'll bring up entries available on medical, architectural, mathematical, baby name, slang, etc. dictionary sites. So, you get a pretty well rounded view of what the word you're looking up means. But it's also useful for finding a word that you don't know but are looking for.

Like, you can't think of the word but you know how it starts, just put in a search for "sh*" without the quotes and it'll bring up words that start with "sh". Or how about, you know what the definition of the word is, you can use the Reverse Dictionary option, which allows you to type in words and bring up a list of words that fit those descriptions or have those words in their definitions. Or, let's say you're looking for a word like "chained" but NOT chained, you don't want chained for the spot you're looking for, you need a word that you can't think of but you know chained is very similar to it. Look up chained in the regular search bar and go all the way to the bottom of the page of entry results. you'll find a little link that says "Words similar to chained" and "Words with chained in them". That will bring up lists of synonyms that you can click through and see if the word you're thinking of is in there.

Also, there's http://chir.ag/projects/tip-of-my-tongue/ as well, which describes the exact same functions except it's specifically for that. I personally, find that site to be a bit lacking, though, as far as searching for something and finding options to choose from, because I'm a very broad searcher and my memory will often make really vaguely related connections, so, more options for definitions suits me better than a focused approach.

Anyway, good luck, hope these help. If I had more time and patience, I'd help you out with the personal tutoring thing. Even still, the best I can offer, rather than subjecting you to my tyrannical teaching method, is to suggest you read. Read like a fiend. Replicate. :thumbs up:
 
As an added comment to the above...if you want to work on your RP skills, I'd have a look at scene building. I don't mean you whip out the hammer and nails and start constructing massive sets for your RPing pleasure...I mean find a couple of things around the character and describe them.

eg 1 - You could say "Simon threw open the curtains and looked out at the grass." Yeah, okay. But..."Simon lazily reached for the curtains and quickly pulled them open; through the window he could see the thick grass outside, lush and green, the mildew sparkling in the morning light."

eg 2 - You could say "Simon got in the car, turned the key in the ignition, and drove off." Again, okay. Or..."Simon slid into the driver's seat and pulled the door closed behind him. He pushed the key into the ignition and turned it, and was immediately rewarded with the sound of the engine roaring its eagerness to get moving. A gear was selected, a pedal pushed down to the floor...and the car quickly vanished in a cloud of dust."

I'm tipping I haven't used any words you don't already know...but I'll bet the second statement in each example is superior to the first. You don't have to do that all of the time, but descriptions can greatly enhance your RP.

It's an unwritten truism in RP-gaming circles that if the NPC has a description, it means the GM has put effort into it, and it will therefore be a tougher challenge. Likewise, if you put effort into your descriptions, they'll be more rewarding for both you and your writing partner. It will mean you write more, yes...but the more you write, the better you'll get at writing.
 
Reading is definitely key to broadening your writing style. Even just reading other role players RP in threads - you can see how they write and learn from it.

But honestly, one of my not-so-secrets is that I often use www.thesaurus.com.
Not even kidding! I dislike repeating words per post, so I'll find different ways to say what I need whilst looking for word alternatives on any thesaurus website! The one I listed is particularly good, because it often lists not only alternative words, but sayings/expressions too. This way my two sentences never sound/ read the same. It diversifies the post and makes it more articulate.

Good luck!
 
Words have to become second nature to you while writing. When I'm writing for folks, I'm rarely even thinking about the words I'm typing. I just do it, following Nike's moto and such. Other than what's been mentioned above, I've found over the years something strange, and rather helpful for learning new words. Music, normally of the lyrical sense. You're more likely to remember a word through song, rather than just reading it in a book or forum. A good example of this, let's take.. "Flobots- Panacea For The Poison"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq2FC5FJCxM

Lyricaly sound, plenty of useful almost poetic words strung together. Listening to songs like this has helped me over the years refine my writing style a great deal. Blue Scholars is another you might look at.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qi3ZBUxC7U

Not sure if using music and lyrics will help you, but it's been a wonderful boon to me over the years. Good luck to you!
 
Good sir. Music and lyrics are how i buy my groceries. I don't think i've pondered the similarities between conjuring verse and writing a paragraph. thank you for opening my eyes. no i'm not making light of this it's actually a monumental help. Thank you very much.
 

1). I second the usage of thesauruses, because it is a very easy way to refine what you want to say into something much more interesting. My favorite thesaurus is the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus which comes with iOS/OSX, but there are other great ones too.

2). Read aloud what you've written after you're done writing it. Does it sound like something you'd say? Does it sound awkward? This is probably one of the most important things you can do to help improve your "flow".

3). Metaphors are <33333. You don't have to abuse them like crazy, because they're like icing on a cake, but they can really help you with painting a vivid and dynamic scene.
 
You guys are rad. this is all helping a great deal and i should hope to one day put everything to use when i decide to finally write a book.
 
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