Let's face it, there are quite a few illiterates on FeralHeart (-cough- Bonfire! -cough-). But there are a lot of literates too. Here are some grammar tips!
1. Don't use Wolf-Speak. What's Wolf-Speak, you ask? Wolf-Speak is the use of made-up (or different words) for a certain thing. For example, the word 'fae' is often used for the word 'female'. Fae does not mean female. Look it up. Any ways, even though it might make you look good, Wolf-Speak isn't literacy. Look at this sentence:
The damsel sat down on her pillars, her optics blinking. "What do you want?" She asked, tilting her cranium.
See? Not really literate. It looks decent, but...no.
2. You gotta dump the text talk in role-play. Off-topic is completely different, especially when you need to get off real quick. However, don't do this:
the shewolf blinkd her eys wht do u men she askd
See? It looks weird and it's hard to understand.
3. Don't use caps all the time. Remember, every beginning of every sentence begins with one capital letter, not twelve nor none. Add periods, question marks and other punctuation at the end of sentences to show you're done.
4. When you post a role-play post and you can't fit the entire post at once, I'd suggest you add '-c-' or '>'. If you're done, you could add '-d-' or nothing. That way people don't post before you're finished.
5. Try to keep in character. If your character happens to be dark and likes to be alone, don't have him walk up to everyone all bubbly!
6. Dear Hurgf reminded me of this rule too! Every time you use the word 'I', it should be capitalized. 'I'm' counts too!
Misused Words:
Their - Their dog
There - Over there
They're - They're leaving soon
Your - Your house
You're - You're welcome
Where - Where are you going
Were - We were going to watch a movie
To - We are headed to his house
Too - Me too
Two - The number two
I - Indicating to something about yourself. "I am going to the movies." This word should always be capitalized.
I'm - I'm excited too! This word is short for 'I am' and therefore should have a capital 'I'.
The words above are to be used in that proper way if you want to be literate! I even added sentences so you understand what their meaning is!
The FH 'Logo'
Illiterate - Illiterates are huge text talkers and usually use *s, -s or just plain nothing when role-playing. They don't understand literacy, or refuse it.
Semi-Literates - Semi-Literates are kinda in the middle. They can role-play, but often their posts are short and they can have a lot of mistakes (though they often correct them).
Literates - Role-players who have good grammar, long posts and spell very well.
TLKers - I just thought I'd add this. 'TLKers' are fans of the Disney movie The Lion King. There often TLK OCs and characters made from the movies. However, many people abuse The Lion King. There many illiterates and characters who look (or act) nothing like the characters. Many are illiterate, but sometimes there is a rare literate TLK role-player.
Help With Commas And Dialogue
Commas:
Commas are used to stretch sentences. For example, (see? Comma.) let's see what you would do for a list:
I like apples, bananas and limes.
Did you notice how there was no comma before the word 'and'? This is how you would end the sentance. Here's what you should not do:
I like apples, bananas, and limes.
However, this is okay:
I like apples, bananas, and limes and lemons.
'And' can be used more than once.
Dialogue:
Dialogue is when your character (or another's) is speaking. For example:
"Hi, my name is ___!"
Here's some tips for dialogue:
- 1. You should add a comma before your character speaks (unless the sentence has ended and the dialogue is the beginning of the next sentence).
2. The first letter of the sentence in dialogue should be a capital letter.
3. If another character is speaking after one has spoken, that should be the start of a new paragraph.
Examples:
The swift fox chuckled, "Why should I trust you?" he asked.
"Because," ___ replied, "I need help and you're the only one around."
"Alright," The fox sighed, "I'll help you."
Notice how I didn't use the word 'said' a lot? Yeah, you might want to do that too!
Thank you so much for reading! Have any questions? Feel free to ask![/list]
Thanks for the tutorial, very helpful. ;D
Interesting, you surely provided a lot of tips for a lot of roleplayers out there. Good job on this, Warroir-san.