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Kitti
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Original poster
Brought to You By: Kitti
To begin, the definition of imagery: "The formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively".
Imagery is vital to any roleplay post, it establishes the vivid blood flowing through the veins of an otherwise barren, white skeleton. A good post should rely on the backbone to create but a piece of writing stripped of its imagery is tedious to read and offers the reader no way of connecting with what the author was attempting to convey.
First, have an image in your mind of what you're trying to write about. I don't think I could ever write about something without seeing it in my mind's eye first! Whether it be a train station or a ball gown, think about it and really focus in on the picture that you've conjured up! Let your creativity embellish on details so that you have a clear picture of what you'll be trying to share with the reader. Even the description of character actions can benefit from this if you plan in your head the way that a person would act. Often times, when I choose attire for my characters, I do not like to present images and rather challenge myself with trying to make others see what I see.
Second, attempt to involve as many senses as you can in your post! Sight is always important and quite a standby in describing. To really create a scene for others, details such as the smell of the place can create the difference between involvement or merely responding. You don't have to use all of your senses, typically it would get repetitive (especially if you stay in the same area). However, the taste of salt on a breeze, the smoky scent of old fires turned to ash, and the silky feeling of a woman's nightgown will often create an impact on the mind that wasn't previously there.
Third, word choice! The word you choose has a profound impact on what the reader envisions. When you say "The brown walls." your reader has an idea, but it's basic. "The mahogany walls." offers a different, better perspective that is simply more illuminating and gives the reader a better idea of what you're describing. However, just using the longest word in the thesaurus isn't going to get you anywhere either, since "The aithochrous walls." means very little to most people and won't conjure up an image at all while they read.
Spell check is a gift from you to Iwaku, a little love note telling people that you put in the time to craft for them a post with minimal errors so that they could read your post fluidly and makes your word choice all the more powerful when people know what you're saying.
Last, think real people! This is very much like the first point but I felt it could use a little more emphasis on the human aspect. No one has the emotional range of a child's doll, unless there's something the matter with them. People are not restricted to "smile", "frown", and "cry" so neither should your characters since we're trying to recreate the essence of real people through words. Experiment with how you would react to a multitude of situations. When you were told that you were attractive, was that the same smile that you used when you greeted customers in a homey bar?
Useful Iwaku Resources:
All in all, the point of writing is to enrich yourself with expressing yourself to others. It's a wonderful feeling when others are impacted by the words that you have written. These are simply tips and tricks for maximum impact on the audience. Most importantly, put a little sliver of emotion in it when you can. Passion tends to translate. Work hard and best wishes!
WORKSHOP EXERCISE
Exercise One: Try to describe the scene of a post using each one of the five senses.
Exercise Two: Write a post in a location as a narrator describing the scene. Do not use any character dialogue.
To begin, the definition of imagery: "The formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively".
Imagery is vital to any roleplay post, it establishes the vivid blood flowing through the veins of an otherwise barren, white skeleton. A good post should rely on the backbone to create but a piece of writing stripped of its imagery is tedious to read and offers the reader no way of connecting with what the author was attempting to convey.
First, have an image in your mind of what you're trying to write about. I don't think I could ever write about something without seeing it in my mind's eye first! Whether it be a train station or a ball gown, think about it and really focus in on the picture that you've conjured up! Let your creativity embellish on details so that you have a clear picture of what you'll be trying to share with the reader. Even the description of character actions can benefit from this if you plan in your head the way that a person would act. Often times, when I choose attire for my characters, I do not like to present images and rather challenge myself with trying to make others see what I see.
Second, attempt to involve as many senses as you can in your post! Sight is always important and quite a standby in describing. To really create a scene for others, details such as the smell of the place can create the difference between involvement or merely responding. You don't have to use all of your senses, typically it would get repetitive (especially if you stay in the same area). However, the taste of salt on a breeze, the smoky scent of old fires turned to ash, and the silky feeling of a woman's nightgown will often create an impact on the mind that wasn't previously there.
Third, word choice! The word you choose has a profound impact on what the reader envisions. When you say "The brown walls." your reader has an idea, but it's basic. "The mahogany walls." offers a different, better perspective that is simply more illuminating and gives the reader a better idea of what you're describing. However, just using the longest word in the thesaurus isn't going to get you anywhere either, since "The aithochrous walls." means very little to most people and won't conjure up an image at all while they read.
Spell check is a gift from you to Iwaku, a little love note telling people that you put in the time to craft for them a post with minimal errors so that they could read your post fluidly and makes your word choice all the more powerful when people know what you're saying.
Last, think real people! This is very much like the first point but I felt it could use a little more emphasis on the human aspect. No one has the emotional range of a child's doll, unless there's something the matter with them. People are not restricted to "smile", "frown", and "cry" so neither should your characters since we're trying to recreate the essence of real people through words. Experiment with how you would react to a multitude of situations. When you were told that you were attractive, was that the same smile that you used when you greeted customers in a homey bar?
Useful Iwaku Resources:
All in all, the point of writing is to enrich yourself with expressing yourself to others. It's a wonderful feeling when others are impacted by the words that you have written. These are simply tips and tricks for maximum impact on the audience. Most importantly, put a little sliver of emotion in it when you can. Passion tends to translate. Work hard and best wishes!
WORKSHOP EXERCISE
Exercise One: Try to describe the scene of a post using each one of the five senses.
Exercise Two: Write a post in a location as a narrator describing the scene. Do not use any character dialogue.
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