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DagomarsWritingGuideEntirely Useless Overblown Preamble Ah, the subtle yet powerful art of writing, a deceptively simple technology that lifted us from the depths of savagery. It may well do the same for your lifetime average. A Handy Link In case you're looking for more than a few hurried tips and hints, one of the best places to look - other than your nearest University - is William Strunk's Elements of Style. Strunk's guide "aims to give in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style." You can find this remarkably clear and concise guide at http://www.bartleby.com/141/. Yes, I think Dagomar actually expects you to read this. It's so cute. Why Bother? It's a rhetorical question, of course, since writing with some semblance of skill is increasingly essential to anyone looking for any standard of education or status in life. However, writing is, of course, especially important on this site. Battlereports relying entirely on flashy images and creative formats eventually grow dated, as graphics technology continues to advance and standards keep rising. However, fine writing is timeless. .Praetor's reports would be as good today as they were when published, as writing rarely makes the quantum leaps in quality that PhotoShop has bestowed to images. In general, reports lacking a certain standard of writing simply do not achieve the highest ratings: the difference between a report and a replay, after all, is the author's communication with the reader. Kicking Ass . . . and Writing Well If you aren't seeking to use this website as a springboard to a glorious career in (fan)fiction, then you're probably writing battlereports. As with every decent bit of writing, your battlereport with need structure: an introduction, a body consisting of several major turning points and status reports, and a (hopefully climactic) conclusion. A major difference between forgettable, rambling submissions and ones that truly stand out lies in the presence of a clear, flowing structure. Battlereports do differ from many short fiction pieces in that they typically rely on a far more informal style. Although some battlereporters try to endow their descriptions with the same dramatic style found in the best fanfictions, others rely heavily on occassionally immature humour, or slang, or a mixture of many different styles. New reporters in particular can benefit from not taking their subject matter too seriously and relying on a more informal style, at least until they perfect the many myriad elements that constitute a good battlereport. In general, reporters have described their battles either as simple competitions between two rather ordinary people, or the vicious clash of fictional armadas. Some describe praetors or commanders in one sentence, only to resort to bashing the intelligence of a nerdy virgin in the next. Finding the right balance is something that takes time, and it is certainly easier to stick to one style at first. Alt Text, Collage Titles, and Other Details Alt-text is an excellent addition to most reports, but writing it well is a tricky thing. It absolutely has to be concise. It's best if funny, or at least marginally related to the report, although some authors have found success by prattling on about something entirely bizarre or random. Text in collages is much the same: almost always best if short, funny or at least dramatic, and very frequently botched. An important rule of thumb: if you can read and understand the point of a collage with one, fleeting glance at its text, you've done something right. Of course, it's important to remember that collages or images in general don't necessarily need textual accompaniment at all: if it feels right, do it, otherwise it's best to simply present the most striking image you can produce. |