The Wordsmith

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

The Wordsmith

The Art of Self-Expression

 

 

While perusing our good ol' Tanki forums, it's come to my attention that users employ a lot of colloquial language. The need for short, snappy, and undemanding writing reveals itself in carelessly crafted sentences. The reader is bombarded by Slang. Jargon. Vernacular dialogue. 

 

 

And just plain misspellings.

 

 

Now this is all fine and good, and does not in any way point to the degradation of society in general, but there are certain benefits in learning to effectively express oneself.

 

 

For one, a reader is much more likely to sympathize with a well stated, carefully thought-out, properly punctuated statement.

 

(instd of smthing lke ths wth half the lttrs mising  :P  does anyone kno wht a comma is btw?) 

 

And for two, you get the joy of relaying exactly what you mean. No more. No less.

 

So, let me get to this topics 'raison d'être.' It is intended, in essence, as a brief look at the nitty-gritty how-to's of writing.

 

Let's dig in, shall we! 

 

Proper Punctuation: 

 

Oh, come now. That scathing look was unnecessary. Punctuation is a legitimate and overwhelmingly important part of the writing process. The period, comma, question mark, etc. can be considered the 'traffic signs' of prose, warning the reader of an upcoming pause, full-stop, or question. Without these guys, our sentences would be jumbled, senseless lines of unintelligible text!  

 

However, this topic is messy and much abused, so I'll stick to the bare minimum.

 

Capitalize the first word of every sentence. Place a period (question mark, exclamation point) at the end of every sentence. Avoid semicolons like the plague, and as for commas... 

 

Well, my best advice is to read your work aloud. Insert a comma wherever you pause for a breath. Keep in mind that that's the intrinsic purpose of commas: a temporary halt that allows the reader to mentally pause for a moment. 

 

 

 

Word Choice:

 

Drag your thesaurus out from whatever dusty closet it's been hiding it. Brush it off, give it a good thump...and don't just sit there, stupidly staring (ogling, gazing, watching, glaring) at the book. Use it! 

 

Powerful verbs are a powerful tool. (If you don't know what a verb is...just go, okay. Take a course in grammar.) They add life and sparkle to your writing.

 

They make a piece memorable.

 

So choose your words wisely. The English language is huge - the Oxford dictionary lists over 250 THOUSAND distinct words. Get outside your comfort-word-zone and experiment!  

 

 

Responsibility:

 

With great power, comes great responsibility. Just because you can use your new-found ability with the thesaurus to look up all eighteen synonyms of 'stupid', doesn't mean you should. Every word has a time and a place for use: don't throw them around disparagingly.  

 

 

In Summary:

 

Keep reading, and keep writing! The road to becoming a better writer isn't easy, but take heart in the fact that it's a worth-while endeavor. :) I hope this piece was useful, or at least enjoyable.  :wub:   

 

 

Best of luck!

 

 

 

Night-Sisters

Edited September 26, 2015 by Night-Sisters

[TriNitroToIuene 4,765]

You, ma'am (or is it ma'ams?) need to change your font style. Bradley Hand ITC may be a gorgeous font, but is hardly legible on the forum.

 

That aside, this is good stuff! ^_^

[robbiealdo 373]

The font is really anoying to read. I suggest you use another.

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

You, ma'am (or is it ma'ams?) need to change your font style. Bradley Hand ITC may be a gorgeous font, but is hardly legible on the forum.

 

That aside, this is good stuff! ^_^

Sorry, will do right away :)

[drazeruzumaki 5,021]

time to get a magnifying glass

but its a nice article :P

Edited September 26, 2015 by drazeruzumaki

[Rayyan 3,415]

You, ma'am (or is it ma'ams?) need to change your font style. Bradley Hand ITC may be a gorgeous font, but is hardly legible on the forum.

 

That aside, this is good stuff! ^_^

Yeah, the font is gorgeous but I can hardly read.

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

-facepalm-

 

Wrote about writing, and sacrificed legibility in the font choice.

 

Score one for Night-Sisters.

 

:blush:  :blush:

[sirogo 3,624]

Well written!

[dilsharox 2,395]

nice

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

Thanks :)  :wub:

[B.R.A.V.E 734]

 

Proper Punctuation: 

 

Oh, come now. That scathing look was unnecessary. Punctuation is a legitimate and overwhelmingly important part of the writing process. The period, comma, question mark, etc. can be considered the 'traffic signs' of prose, warning the reader of an upcoming pause, full-stop, or question. Without these guys, our sentences would be jumbled, senseless lines of unintelligible text!  

u means i cannot writz lik im replig to yur topiv?

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

u means i cannot writz lik im replig to yur topiv?

Umms, I'm going to take the diplomatic route...could you repeat the question?  :lol:

 

P.S. Please don't be offended...the thing's a bit of a spoof.  ^_^

[Mr.Cashier 1,622]

Nice! Well written! ;)

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

Nice! Well written! ;)

Thanks! : )

[GHOST68INVINCIBLE 152]

nice

Really u always say nice when somebody has written a perfect topic haven't u got another word bro? <_<

[GHOST68INVINCIBLE 152]

Beautifully written i think u could be qualified as a reporter in the tankinewspaper. :)

[dilsharox 2,395]

Really u always say nice when somebody has written a perfect topic haven't u got another word bro? <_<

what do you want me to say?

[GHOST68INVINCIBLE 152]

what do you want me to say?

A short descriptive answer on how beautiful he has written this topic with emojis.Just see how others write their compliments for good written topic. :) (bro u are not mad at me are u)

[dilsharox 2,395]

A short descriptive answer on how beautiful he has written this topic with emojis.Just see how others write their compliments for good written topic. :) (bro u are not mad at me are u)

lol this ought to do it

 

Beautifully written i think u could be qualified as a reporter in the tankinewspaper. :)

[GHOST68INVINCIBLE 152]

lol this ought to do it

Hey copy cat!? u cannot steal others posts :p

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

A short descriptive answer on how beautiful she has written this topic with emojis.Just see how others write their compliments for good written topic. :) (bro u are not mad at me are u)

Em...quick edit.

 

Beautifully written i think u could be qualified as a reporter in the tankinewspaper. :)

And wow...high praise.  ^_^ Made my day there  :D  

[GHOST68INVINCIBLE 152]

Em...quick edit.

 

 

And wow...high praise.  ^_^ Made my day there  :D

 

Umm...guys a girl has written this topic :O (amazing writing skills)

[golden5648 1,686]

Well written! :)

 

Just some teeny tiny advice... I prefer that you should use the font "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Tahoma" or "Trebuchet MS"... :) In short words, just don't use Comic Sans. ;)

 

​Back to the topic: Yes, the thesaurus part is correct of yours...  :wub: But I think I should tell you my trick, it's Google!  :P Yes, no joke... Google is great for hunting for synonyms and it won't waste your time. :) 

[golden5648 1,686]

Umm...guys a girl has written this topic :o (amazing writing skills)

We don't know if she or he is a girl, but ok, your guess is sorta right...  :ph34r:

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

Well written! :)

 

Just some teeny tiny advice... I prefer that you should use the font "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Tahoma" or "Trebuchet MS"... :) In short words, just don't use Comic Sans. ;)

 

​Back to the topic: Yes, the thesaurus part is correct of yours...  :wub: But I think I should tell you my trick, it's Google!  :P Yes, no joke... Google is great for hunting for synonyms and it won't waste your time. :) 

Thanks, and thanks for the advice...this piece was my very first attempt at 'starting a topic', so I'm still working out the formatting kinks and trying to find a style that's all my own. ^_^   :ph34r: 

 

I agree that Google (and Microsoft word) has excellent thesaurus options. But there's also nothing like sitting down with a thesaurus and hunting the pages for the expression you want. 

 

But you're right. Google does save on time  :P 

 

 

We don't know if she or he is a girl, but ok, your guess is sorta right...  :ph34r: 

Yes, I am a 'her'. Female. Girl. Señorita. Puella. Fille. Mädchen

 

I mean, people don't have to take me at my word, but things could get fairly confusing, fairly quickly if they didn't

 

Besides, how do I know you're not an alien???  :lol:  :lol:

Edited September 28, 2015 by Night-Sisters