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Post by Justin on May 8, 2020 16:32:25 GMT -5
Somebody told me this in the late 90s or early 00s, and I couldn't even tell you who it was.
Maybe it was Ken Jansen. *shrug*
Anyway, this changed the way I went about my dialogue and was the beginning of my being a better writer in a time where by and large everybody was doing the same shit everywhere you looked.
Anyhow, here goes:
Seriously. You think you're hot shit? Read your work back to yourself. If it sounds clunky, blocky, herky-jerky or any of a thousand other ways that these things can sound, then it takes away from the experience of the reader.
If you write with all the big words you can find and try to stuff in two times the needed adjectives and flowery description just to hit a word limit or sound like the smartest guy in the room, chances are your work is mediocre at best, or subpar at worst. Ten times out of a ten I can guarantee you a reader (especially a roleplay judge) will respond better to an easy to read piece of prose than an overly produced pile of word vomit and html.
So, in conclusion, natural dialogue is as easy to come up with as saying it out loud. If you have never heard anyone speak the way that you write, then try writing the way people speak! Watch yourself start churning out better and better work and picking up more and more wins in the process!
My name is Justin, and this has been my Ted Talk.
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Post by ForeverKuroi on May 8, 2020 16:42:15 GMT -5
That is great advice.
The best piece of advice I got was from a wise man. He told me, "You should get a green screen."
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Post by Dave D-Flipz on May 8, 2020 18:00:56 GMT -5
Didn't I accidentally put that idea into your head?
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Post by Mongo the Destroyer on May 8, 2020 18:10:07 GMT -5
Didn't I accidentally put that idea into your head? Well now I know who to blame
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Post by ForeverKuroi on May 8, 2020 18:11:20 GMT -5
Didn't I accidentally put that idea into your head? It was completely intentional. You want the best for Viper. That's why you were in the promo. That's why you brought me out to the bowling alley. That's why you brought me out to the falafel. You wanted to wine and dine me before you gave me the idea I needed to fuck over the competition. I couldn't have done it without you, bud. Because of you, I beat The Nihilists and became the XHF Tag Team Champion.
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Post by Dave D-Flipz on May 8, 2020 18:12:01 GMT -5
...... I ... I need to go rethink my life ...
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Dylan but too lazy to log in
Guest
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Post by Dylan but too lazy to log in on May 8, 2020 18:34:48 GMT -5
DAAAAAAAVE!
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Post by IMMORTALS on May 10, 2020 5:48:02 GMT -5
Reading your promo aloud is solid advice. As someone who relies heavily on thesaurus.com (think of that Friend's clip where Joey swaps every word, but more wrestley), this is a great way to know if you sound obnoxious, conceted, arrogant or straight up amateur.
Read your post like others would- aloud, in their inner voice. It can't scream, it can't cry, it's always the same volume. Consider your reader at all times, cos likely they are reading this loud to themselves.
My name is Hype, and thanks for coming to MY Ted Talk.
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Post by Robbie A on May 10, 2020 7:47:31 GMT -5
In recent years I’ve preferred to write the rp and then come back a day later to read it back. Looking at it cold quite often allows me to spot areas where things don’t flow or just sound wrong. Obviously that’s not always going to work allowing for deadlines but even going away, having lunch and taking another look can be okay!
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h2f
CAR Pit Crew
Vroom, Vroom, Female Dogs
Posts: 1,359
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Post by h2f on May 10, 2020 13:24:38 GMT -5
come back a day later to read it back. I do this too but I change the font and typeface color. I end up catching things like tense (run vs ran) and a lack of articles (the, & a vs an)
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Post by Justin on May 10, 2020 19:44:54 GMT -5
Reading your promo aloud is solid advice. As someone who relies heavily on thesaurus.com (think of that Friend's clip where Joey swaps every word, but more wrestley), this is a great way to know if you sounds obnoxious, conceted, arrogant or straight up amateur. Read your post like others would- aloud, in their inner voice. It can't scream, it can't cry, it's always the same volume. Consider your reader at all times, cos likely they are reading this loud to themselves. My name is Hype, and thanks for coming to MY Ted Talk. Cosign! Next piece of advice: thesaurus.com is your BEST friend! Write that shit down, it's on the test.
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warpig
.::XHF Newcomer::.
Posts: 33
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Post by warpig on Aug 5, 2020 8:30:00 GMT -5
Also...don't beat the 4th wall down like it's your bitch. These promos aren't "written". They're watched on TV or a computer. We don't "read" them.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2020 10:58:21 GMT -5
Also...don't beat the 4th wall down like it's your bitch. These promos aren't "written". They're watched on TV or a computer. We don't "read" them.
Really? Then I guess deaf people are expert lip readers and don't need subtitles to watch promos. The 4th Wall can be interpreted and played with in many ways.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2020 11:05:41 GMT -5
Effedding has two 4th Walls. The First one, is the wall between the character and the fictional audience. The second one, is the wall between the character and us! While a character cannot claim that the fictional audience is reading their promos, it can claim that we are, because well.. we are reading promos. The key is knowing what wall is being broken when reading the promos.
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Post by anthonycaffrey on Aug 5, 2020 16:07:48 GMT -5
Somebody told me this in the late 90s or early 00s, and I couldn't even tell you who it was. Maybe it was Ken Jansen. *shrug*Anyway, this changed the way I went about my dialogue and was the beginning of my being a better writer in a time where by and large everybody was doing the same shit everywhere you looked. Anyhow, here goes: Seriously. You think you're hot shit? Read your work back to yourself. If it sounds clunky, blocky, herky-jerky or any of a thousand other ways that these things can sound, then it takes away from the experience of the reader. If you write with all the big words you can find and try to stuff in two times the needed adjectives and flowery description just to hit a word limit or sound like the smartest guy in the room, chances are your work is mediocre at best, or subpar at worst. Ten times out of a ten I can guarantee you a reader (especially a roleplay judge) will respond better to an easy to read piece of prose than an overly produced pile of word vomit and html. So, in conclusion, natural dialogue is as easy to come up with as saying it out loud. If you have never heard anyone speak the way that you write, then try writing the way people speak! Watch yourself start churning out better and better work and picking up more and more wins in the process! My name is Justin, and this has been my Ted Talk. This really actually just helps me from writing long-ass run-on sentences with too many compound words and adjectives that no objectively reasonable human being could possibly speak in one sentence without having to either gasp for a few rather awkward breaths in between thoughts or having gigantic lungs.
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