Grammar and Role Play Helps

[NPC]

Writing is always a work in Progress:

Sentence Review

• A predicate is the part of a sentence that tells what the subject does or is, or what is done to the subject.
  
• Phrases are groups of related words that are missing either a subject or a predicate.
  
• Clauses are groups of related words, with a subject or predicate, that are part of a longer sentence.
  
• Sentences express a complete thought and have a subject and predicate.
  
• Paragraphs should be unified around a central idea.
  

Tips for Writing Good Sentences

• Punctuate!! Place a period at the end of every sentence.
  
• Capitalize the first word in every sentence.
  
• Use quotation marks to identify quotes.
  
• Punctuation usually belongs inside the quotation marks.
  
• Fix run-on sentences by rewriting the sentence or adding punctuation between two independent clauses.
  
• Correct sentence fragments by adding the missing subject or predicate to phrases or subordinate clauses.
  
• Combine short, choppy sentences and vary word order for a smooth style.
  
• Commas should be used to join introductory clauses, after introductory clauses and phrases, and between items or modifiers in a series.
  
• Experience and a dictionary can help you choose the correct idiom when writing.
  

Tips For Using the Parts of Speech

• Capitalize proper nouns.
  
• Make nouns plural by adding -s or -es in most cases.
  
• Make nouns possessive by adding -'s to singular nouns (dog's bone) or the apostrophe alone if the noun is plural (the Smiths' home).
  
• Singular nouns require singular verbs.
  
• Plural nouns require plural verbs.
  

Improving the Role Play Process

• Be aware of who you're writing the thread for and what it's focus is going to be.
  
• Introductions of new threads should catch the reader's attention and provide a general orientation.
  
• The end of a post should leave the reader an opening or something to play with/against.
  
• Always carefully edit and revise your posts.
  
• Spell check is your friend. Use it.
  
• Use common courtesy. Don't let a lot of action go on in a thread and run away with it before all the people involved get an opportunity to post.
  
• Allow the thread to develop into a story, not a bunch of quick posts that are shallow and un-meaningful.