Constitution Writing Workshop 102
It's time for the next workshop part! If you would like to check out our Writing Workshop Part 1 - first part again, you can do that. We talked about the importance of descriptions and focusing your character's view in your sims by removing other people's descriptions and rewriting them from your own special point of view.
Today we delve a bit more into descriptions and how to make them greater than they already are. We gave you a few links for advancing in your descriptions in part 1, now let's build on that.
One thing that can bring life into description is to describe your character's work and your senses. For example:
1: Ensign Tobler One grabbed his tools and began his work.
2: As Ensign Tobler One's fingers dug into the guts of the ship, he took a closer look at the wiring, making sure that nothing was loose, causing the malfunctions. A strong odor of burnt plastic floated into his nose. He followed the scent and the problem was found a moment later. It was not in the connections, but the isolinear chips. With a keen eye, he had developed for his trait of Engineering the slightly bent chip couldn't hide from him. A grunt of frustration escaped his throat as he couldn't remove it. .oO Molten. Bugger Oo.
You see the difference in these emotes. One paints a picture, the other leaves us not knowing what Ensign Tobler One is doing. In the second example we get a glimpse into the world, his work, his skillset. We also use more of his senses like smell and sight; you can also find a way to add more senses if you like.
So this is a part of making your descriptions tell us more: Do some research and use your senses.
Since we do not live in 2393 all these things are new to us unless you are a real Star Trek Buff eating the manuals and databases for breakfast. ;) So check resources on the web for your character's tasks and profession, see if you can add a little bit of it in your posts. Technobabble, medical details, security and tactical maneuvers, Science talk and so on. And then imagine what you could hear, feel, smell, taste and see. It might take some getting used to in the start, but it can be quite amazing what you can find to write.
Some more reading on that you can find here:
And here you can find a few more interesting tutorials about keeping things real:
And a bit more about the special experience of writing an alien character, which can add a spin to your writing:
As always, give it a try. Take your time thinking about your writing and enjoy the ride. You will be surprised how much depth you can add to your own sims, bringing that character and the story to life as you imagine it in your head!