Post by Rin Minigawa on Nov 20, 2011 16:35:52 GMT -5
When writing a post you always want to respond to everything that the last person said or did, react to the weather if they mentioned it, or to any other things they may have written, but NEVER just repeat what the other person wrote. That's bad. Here is an example:
It was a sunny day as Rin walked through the gardens tending her flowers. She was happy for once, with Rachel in her life and a new life before her, the way the sun shown seemed to accent her thoughts. Butterflies fluttered here and there, and the water droplets that fell from the watering can in her hands, shone on the leaves like dew. She wore a wide brimmed hat, and a long summer dress. What a good day it was.
Now for you, the person who would reply, when you read any post of any length, try to go through it sentence by sentence and try to answer these questions. If you have to, pull out a notebook and make lists for each question if you are trying to respond to a longer post.
Where are the two girls?
What is the weather like?
What is the other girl wearing?
What is the other girl doing?
What other things are in the setting?
To answer these this this post,
Where are the two girls?
Rin is tending to the garden so you might imagine you're walking up a path to her. You can now image where Rin is standing and where your girl is standing and use that in your post.
What is the weather like?
Rin's post said it's sunny, so you can imagine what your girl would be wearing, maybe talk about the temperature or maybe add a breeze. It doesn't ruin the weather she set up, but adds to it.
What is the other girl wearing?
The post says Rin is wearing a long summer dress and a wide brimmed hat, so in your post you might try to describe what the dress looks like, maybe describe how it looks on the other girl, or your girl's opinion of her outfit.
What is the other girl doing?
It says she's holding a watering can, so she's probably watering the flowers, and since she mentioned someone named Rachel, she's probably thinking. You can have your girl notice this.
What other things are in the setting?
Rin's post mentioned butterflies and leaves, and since its a garden it's safe to assume there are flowers and maybe bees. You can respond to the butterflies in your Post and maybe add your own creatures, maybe even a rabbit or a bird.
After you've answered these questions, it's not yet time to post. Next you need to answer questions about your character.
What is your character wearing?
What is your character thinking about before she sees the other girl?
What is your character thinking about after she sees the other girl?
How does your character react to the weather?
How is your character going to respond to the other girl?
So we answer these.
What is your character wearing?
Since Rin said it was sunny, I'll have Chiyo wearing a short red summer dress and black flip flops with her hair in the usual style.-When you post, you can talk about these things.
What is your character thinking about before she sees the other girl?
Since Chiyo is a character I have been playing for a while, she could be thinking about Arceia, her girlfriend, or about being Etoile, or maybe about her clothes. If it's your first time posting with a character, you might have her think about where she just came from, or what she was doing before she came here.
What is your character thinking about after she sees the other girl?
Since Chiyo would recognize Rin, and since she is now an Etoile, she would probably start thinking about what Rin looks like, and about the fact that she's now a teacher. However if you are posting with someone and don't know anything about them, you might just write about what the character looks like, and what they are doing.
How does your character react to the weather?
Since Rin said it was sunny, Chiyo is going to think it's hot. But to make it interesting, I'm going to add a slight breeze.
How is your character going to respond to the other girl?
Since Chiyo knows who Rin is, she'll probably go up and ask how she's doing. But you don't have to make your character talk to the other person in every post. If I wanted to, Chiyo could just stand at the edge of the garden and watch, she doesn't have to go and say hello, and she doesn't have to introduce herself either. Also, because Chiyo knows who Rin is, she might feel nervous. So you have plenty to work with, write about how your character feels and what they are going to do.
With all these questions answered, you have plenty to work with to write a great response. Sometimes, you won't be able to answer all of the questions, maybe the last person to post didn't say what the weather was like or what they were wearing, you can then fill in the blanks,
When writing your post you don't have to answer the questions in order, but for the sake of the tutorial, I will.
Chiyo was walking up the garden path and didn't notice the other girl several yards away. It was sunny out, a really nice day on Astraea Hill and it made the garden seem to sparkle. If Chiyo had looked, she would see the other girl in the long summer dress, her wide hat shadowing her face, and watering the flowers surrounded by butterflies.
Just then, A butterfly landed in Chiyo's hair and she laughed. (this sentence answers the last question about Rin's post and now transitions to let me answer the questions about Chiyo's post). Her red dress ended just above her knees and the fabric swished as she moved to try and touch the small winged creature, her ed Etoile pendant sparkled on her chest.. She wished Arceia were here with her, but at the same time it was nice to be walking on her own. When she saw the other girl, she recognized her immediately as Rin, the last Etoile and current garden sensei. She froze and felt herself become nervous. (here you can talk about WHY she is nervous, it would make the post better. But I won't here.) She couldn't bring herself to approach the other girl, but she didn't want to just walk away either, so she stood there, watching her.
After answering all of the questions I have written a nice reply that acknowledges everything the other girl wrote without exactly copying her post and my girl reacts to it all. There are several ways I could have responded, I could have mixed up the questions and started the post with what she was thinking, or I could have had her watch storm clouds gathering in the distance, and talk about how it is sunny now, but she knew it would rain later.
The point is you can answer all these questions in your post in any order as long as you can answer, or fill in the blanks to all of them. This way the other person doesn't feel like you've missed anything, and in turn you've talked about your character enough so that when they respond, they can answer the same questions about your character and find answers to them.
Explain WHY your character is doing or thinking or wearing something adds depth and makes your character more believable.
With enough practice you'll be able to write and make the sentences flow together too but if you're just starting out, just try to answer every question in you own post, but do it in a way that sounds good.
Here is an example of the wrong way to respond.
Chiyo walked up and saw the other girl a few feet away. Chiyo noticed it was sunny. Chiyo saw the other girl was wearing a long summer dress and a hat. Chiyo saw the other girl was watering the garden. Chiyo saw there were butterflies in the garden. Chiyo was wearing a short red summer dress and flip flops. Chiyo was thinking about Arceia before she saw Rin. After she saw Rin she got nervous. Chiyo thought it was hot outside. Then Chiyo froze and started at the other girl.
That was a horrible post. It sounded robotic, it did not flow at all, it was boring, and even though every question was answered it does not create a scene. Always try to add details, and reasons to things. It's not just sunny, Talk about what the sun makes the garden look like. And Chiyo isn't just wearing a red dress, maybe talk about why she picked it, maybe red is her favorite color.
Anyway, if you have questions just ask. I'm happy to help.
It was a sunny day as Rin walked through the gardens tending her flowers. She was happy for once, with Rachel in her life and a new life before her, the way the sun shown seemed to accent her thoughts. Butterflies fluttered here and there, and the water droplets that fell from the watering can in her hands, shone on the leaves like dew. She wore a wide brimmed hat, and a long summer dress. What a good day it was.
Now for you, the person who would reply, when you read any post of any length, try to go through it sentence by sentence and try to answer these questions. If you have to, pull out a notebook and make lists for each question if you are trying to respond to a longer post.
Where are the two girls?
What is the weather like?
What is the other girl wearing?
What is the other girl doing?
What other things are in the setting?
To answer these this this post,
Where are the two girls?
Rin is tending to the garden so you might imagine you're walking up a path to her. You can now image where Rin is standing and where your girl is standing and use that in your post.
What is the weather like?
Rin's post said it's sunny, so you can imagine what your girl would be wearing, maybe talk about the temperature or maybe add a breeze. It doesn't ruin the weather she set up, but adds to it.
What is the other girl wearing?
The post says Rin is wearing a long summer dress and a wide brimmed hat, so in your post you might try to describe what the dress looks like, maybe describe how it looks on the other girl, or your girl's opinion of her outfit.
What is the other girl doing?
It says she's holding a watering can, so she's probably watering the flowers, and since she mentioned someone named Rachel, she's probably thinking. You can have your girl notice this.
What other things are in the setting?
Rin's post mentioned butterflies and leaves, and since its a garden it's safe to assume there are flowers and maybe bees. You can respond to the butterflies in your Post and maybe add your own creatures, maybe even a rabbit or a bird.
After you've answered these questions, it's not yet time to post. Next you need to answer questions about your character.
What is your character wearing?
What is your character thinking about before she sees the other girl?
What is your character thinking about after she sees the other girl?
How does your character react to the weather?
How is your character going to respond to the other girl?
So we answer these.
What is your character wearing?
Since Rin said it was sunny, I'll have Chiyo wearing a short red summer dress and black flip flops with her hair in the usual style.-When you post, you can talk about these things.
What is your character thinking about before she sees the other girl?
Since Chiyo is a character I have been playing for a while, she could be thinking about Arceia, her girlfriend, or about being Etoile, or maybe about her clothes. If it's your first time posting with a character, you might have her think about where she just came from, or what she was doing before she came here.
What is your character thinking about after she sees the other girl?
Since Chiyo would recognize Rin, and since she is now an Etoile, she would probably start thinking about what Rin looks like, and about the fact that she's now a teacher. However if you are posting with someone and don't know anything about them, you might just write about what the character looks like, and what they are doing.
How does your character react to the weather?
Since Rin said it was sunny, Chiyo is going to think it's hot. But to make it interesting, I'm going to add a slight breeze.
How is your character going to respond to the other girl?
Since Chiyo knows who Rin is, she'll probably go up and ask how she's doing. But you don't have to make your character talk to the other person in every post. If I wanted to, Chiyo could just stand at the edge of the garden and watch, she doesn't have to go and say hello, and she doesn't have to introduce herself either. Also, because Chiyo knows who Rin is, she might feel nervous. So you have plenty to work with, write about how your character feels and what they are going to do.
With all these questions answered, you have plenty to work with to write a great response. Sometimes, you won't be able to answer all of the questions, maybe the last person to post didn't say what the weather was like or what they were wearing, you can then fill in the blanks,
When writing your post you don't have to answer the questions in order, but for the sake of the tutorial, I will.
Chiyo was walking up the garden path and didn't notice the other girl several yards away. It was sunny out, a really nice day on Astraea Hill and it made the garden seem to sparkle. If Chiyo had looked, she would see the other girl in the long summer dress, her wide hat shadowing her face, and watering the flowers surrounded by butterflies.
Just then, A butterfly landed in Chiyo's hair and she laughed. (this sentence answers the last question about Rin's post and now transitions to let me answer the questions about Chiyo's post). Her red dress ended just above her knees and the fabric swished as she moved to try and touch the small winged creature, her ed Etoile pendant sparkled on her chest.. She wished Arceia were here with her, but at the same time it was nice to be walking on her own. When she saw the other girl, she recognized her immediately as Rin, the last Etoile and current garden sensei. She froze and felt herself become nervous. (here you can talk about WHY she is nervous, it would make the post better. But I won't here.) She couldn't bring herself to approach the other girl, but she didn't want to just walk away either, so she stood there, watching her.
After answering all of the questions I have written a nice reply that acknowledges everything the other girl wrote without exactly copying her post and my girl reacts to it all. There are several ways I could have responded, I could have mixed up the questions and started the post with what she was thinking, or I could have had her watch storm clouds gathering in the distance, and talk about how it is sunny now, but she knew it would rain later.
The point is you can answer all these questions in your post in any order as long as you can answer, or fill in the blanks to all of them. This way the other person doesn't feel like you've missed anything, and in turn you've talked about your character enough so that when they respond, they can answer the same questions about your character and find answers to them.
Explain WHY your character is doing or thinking or wearing something adds depth and makes your character more believable.
With enough practice you'll be able to write and make the sentences flow together too but if you're just starting out, just try to answer every question in you own post, but do it in a way that sounds good.
Here is an example of the wrong way to respond.
Chiyo walked up and saw the other girl a few feet away. Chiyo noticed it was sunny. Chiyo saw the other girl was wearing a long summer dress and a hat. Chiyo saw the other girl was watering the garden. Chiyo saw there were butterflies in the garden. Chiyo was wearing a short red summer dress and flip flops. Chiyo was thinking about Arceia before she saw Rin. After she saw Rin she got nervous. Chiyo thought it was hot outside. Then Chiyo froze and started at the other girl.
That was a horrible post. It sounded robotic, it did not flow at all, it was boring, and even though every question was answered it does not create a scene. Always try to add details, and reasons to things. It's not just sunny, Talk about what the sun makes the garden look like. And Chiyo isn't just wearing a red dress, maybe talk about why she picked it, maybe red is her favorite color.
Anyway, if you have questions just ask. I'm happy to help.
