A small lesson on descriptive text.

From leaves rustling in the trees, to waves crashing against a rocky shore; a world exists around you at all times. This is true for role playing as well. Let this be a lesson, to teach you how to introduce your surroundings to your fellow role players. This will teach you what to incorporate into your role plays, without going overboard. One of the most important things to remember is, it doesn’t take a masterful writer to make a masterful role play. Knowing what to write, can make a masterful role play.

Let us start off with a simple post, and then work it up from there. A key thing to get down in a post, is a simple draft. Get what you want out while you remember what you want. In this case a boy, named Jest, is being run out of a village. Let’s just get the basic information down.

“Jest took off, he ran as far and fast as he could. He had been chased off by the bandits, now raiding his town. He was already exhausted from his struggle, doing what he could to save his family. His heroic actions were futile. With his family dead, and house burning, he now ran into the night. He prayed a new, peaceful life, may befall him.”

Alright, so we have some basic stuff. This is an okay post, this is something that you could reply with. However, it doesn’t really provide the reader any engagement. What I mean is. It leaves the reader filling in too many details. While filling in details is great, you can’t have them wondering too much, you need to guide them.

Let us take this post and fill in some details. Ask yourself, what does it feel, smell, look, sound, even taste like?

He took off running. Sound; His feet crunched along the dry leaves, as he ran through the thick forest.

He had been chased off by the (Look) filth covered bandits.

He was exhausted. Sound/Look.. He panted for what breath he could manage. He had struggled to save his family.

Cinder and ash filled the air, smoke clung to his lungs. (Taste, smell, and feel).

Let’s put these ideas, or any ideas you have into this post.

"The boy took off running. His feet crunched along the dry leaves of the, thick, forest floor. He had been chased from his village by filth ridden thieves. He gasped and panted for breath, only to take in smoke and ash. It clung to his lungs as he fled from the cindering and smoldering ruins. He had struggled to save his family, to no avail. He, Jest, ran for his life. With luck, it would be a new, peaceful life. "

With a small bit of detail added, and a bit of re-arranging we have taken an okay post and made it something more enticing to the reader. Nothing about this post is special, or beyond the grasp of an average role player or writer. All it took was re-reading my initial ideas and asking a few questions to myself.

So, next time you go to post, ask yourself… What does this, look/smell/taste/feel/sound like?