Saturday, December 13

Pros and Cons of Roleplaying


amandaonwriting:



100 Beautiful and Ugly Words
by Mark Nichol
One of the many fascinating features of our language is how often words with pleasant associations are also quite pleasing on the tongue and even to the eye, and how many words, by contrast, acoustically and visually corroborate their disagreeable nature — look no further than the heading for this post.Enrich the poetry of your prose by applying words that provide precise connotation while also evoking emotional responses
Beautiful Words
Amorphous: indefinite, shapeless
Beguile: deceive
Caprice: impulse
Cascade: steep waterfall
Cashmere: fine, delicate wool
Chrysalis: protective covering
Cinnamon: an aromatic spice; its soft brown color
Coalesce: unite, or fuse
Crepuscular: dim, or twilit
Crystalline: clear, or sparkling
Desultory: half-hearted, meandering
Diaphanous: gauzy
Dulcet: sweet
Ebullient: enthusiastic
Effervescent: bubbly
Elision: omission
Enchanted: charmed
Encompass: surround
Enrapture: delighted
Ephemeral: fleeting
Epiphany: revelation
Epitome: embodiment of the ideal
Ethereal: celestial, unworldly, immaterial
Etiquette: proper conduct
Evanescent: fleeting
Evocative: suggestive
Exuberant: abundant, unrestrained, outsize
Felicity: happiness, pleasantness
Filament: thread, strand
Halcyon: care-free
Idyllic: contentedly pleasing
Incorporeal: without form
Incandescent: glowing, radiant, brilliant, zealous
Ineffable: indescribable, unspeakable
Inexorable: relentless
Insouciance: nonchalance
Iridescent: luster
Languid: slow, listless
Lassitude: fatigue
Lilt: cheerful or buoyant song or movement
Lithe: flexible, graceful
Lullaby: soothing song
Luminescence: dim chemical or organic light
Mellifluous: smooth, sweet
Mist: cloudy moisture, or similar literal or virtual obstacle
Murmur: soothing sound
Myriad: great number
Nebulous: indistinct
Opulent: ostentatious
Penumbra: shade, shroud, fringe
Plethora: abundance
Quiescent: peaceful
Quintessential: most purely representative or typical
Radiant: glowing
Redolent: aromatic, evocative
Resonant: echoing, evocative
Resplendent: shining
Rhapsodic: intensely emotional
Sapphire: rich, deep bluish purple
Scintilla: trace
Serendipitous: chance
Serene: peaceful
Somnolent: drowsy, sleep inducing
Sonorous: loud, impressive, imposing
Spherical: ball-like, globular
Sublime: exalted, transcendent
Succulent: juicy, tasty, rich
Suffuse: flushed, full
Susurration: whispering
Symphony: harmonious assemblage
Talisman: charm, magical device
Tessellated: checkered in pattern
Tranquility: peacefulness
Vestige: trace
Zenith: highest point
Ugly Words
Cacophony: confused noise
Cataclysm: flood, catastrophe, upheaval
Chafe: irritate, abrade
Coarse: common, crude, rough, harsh
Cynical: distrustful, self-interested
Decrepit: worn-out, run-down
Disgust: aversion, distaste
Grimace: expression of disgust or pain
Grotesque: distorted, bizarre
Harangue: rant
Hirsute: hairy
Hoarse: harsh, grating
Leech: parasite,
Maladroit: clumsy
Mediocre: ordinary, of low quality
Obstreperous: noisy, unruly
Rancid: offensive, smelly
Repugnant: distasteful
Repulsive: disgusting
Shriek: sharp, screeching sound
Shrill: high-pitched sound
Shun: avoid, ostracize
Slaughter: butcher, carnage
Unctuous: smug, ingratiating
Visceral: crude, anatomically graphic
Notice how often attractive words present themselves to define other beautiful ones, and note also how many of them are interrelated, and what kind of sensations, impressions, and emotions they have in common. Also, try enunciating beautiful words as if they were ugly, or vice versa. Are their sounds suggestive of their quality, or does their meaning wholly determine their effect on us?
By Mark Nichol
Source for Article 
Source for Image
VIA Pinterest--(isn't everything?)

   For those of you who are not familiar with Roleplaying, let me give you a quick overview of what it is. A group of people associate via an online group, and write a story together using paragraphs per individual. For example:
Player one: Caroline rips the sword from the beast morphing before her, glancing over at Peter. "We have about ten minutes 'till this place lights up like Pompeii during doomsday."

Player two: Peter wipes his brow; beads of perspiration mixed with onyx blood trickling down his face, "you think I don't know that?!" He bellows across at her, wondering if this will be the last time he has the chance to speak with another human being.
   They're coming now, faster than ever. Through the shattered window to his left, he sees them flooding across the landscape below. Spreading like a dark spill across a pristine canvas.
   Coming to take their humanity from them.
    As you might imagine, Roleplaying is incredibly fun if you can get the situation right. Instead of just writing with your own pool of ideas, you are able to loop others' creativity into your plots in a seamless manner!
   Putting aside all the glitter and gold however, it's the darker side of Roleplaying that has urged me to write this post. You can say it's my way of both warning and inviting, future prospects looking into the tumultuous networked world of Roleplaying.

(Though you can find roleplays anywhere, I've always used Goodreads.com; just because people are more literate there, and tend to be aspiring authors.)

_______CONS:

   ✘ The Addiction
   I think the hardest part of getting into a fantastic Roleplay, is that it's hard to separate real life from fantasy. I'm super guilty of repeatedly refreshing my Goodreads tab to check if anyone replied to my post over the course of a few seconds. Which is not a great thing for those who actually have lives, and in particular: schoolwork.

   The Excessive Amount of Pansies
   When I say pansies, I mean people who melt down every three seconds with some fit spurred on by some serious background problems. The amount of people who are overly concerned with intentionally getting their feelings hurt so they can start a drama fest is just ridiculous. I've been tempted to quit Roleplaying several times because of the preschool tantrums that go on there. Let me tell you, It's excruciatingly aggravating.

   Getting Looped Into Roleplays With People Who Can't Write 
    Everyone has their own style; I get that. However, there are quite a few people whose style happens to be:

Player one: caroline blinked
Player two: Sam at on da prk bench
Player one: Ur not sittin on da chair rit Sam like stop
Player two: ok
Player one: Caroline blinked
Player two: he sighed
Player one: "what is wrong Sam?
Player two: nothing
Player one: ok then"
Player two: I like you
Player one: Kisses Sam me to
   I am NOT joking right now. This is literally the dialog that some people waste time Roleplaying with. You'd think that the individuals writing this tragedy would get bored, but no! They have more diligence in hammering out their two word responses than I have for spewing out praises for Brandon Sanderson and Lindsey Stirling; and that is saying something! I wouldn't mind this situation so much if these people didn't tend to end up in 1x1s with me. (It makes escaping harder.) I can live with one liners doing their thing amongst each other, but when they try and reply with one word to my arduously detailed passages--things do get messy. 
   
 ✘ Roleplayers Who Take Three Years To Reply
   Oh wait... I'm one of them.

 ✘ Character Templates That Require You To Write A Novel
 This gets really aggravating. Some groups become so infatuated with the concept that if people are willing to write ten pages in pre-background for a character, they'll surely have some skill in actual writing. Ironically, I've found this not to be the case. For some reason, quite a few individuals seem more adept at making character templates look fancy, than actually turning those templates into characters.
   *It's also my firm opinion that any group requiring more than basic information from a template isn't taking into account that characters are born while writing, and not while planning

_______PROS:

Amazing Roleplayers
   There is nothing on this earth quite like getting into a great Roleplay. It's nearly as exhilarating as riding on a euphoric moment while writing your novel; that moment when suddenly the world at your fingertips just comes alive. Not only that, but there is someone with you to share your passion for the story, and who can give it the inspiration needed to carry the plot over rough spots that would usually leave most sitting at a desk overcome with writer's block.
   To be quite honest, this is the sole reason I Roleplay at all.

ღ Getting To Know Other People
   There really is so many flavorful personalities out there, and over networks such as Roleplaying, that becomes very evident. I find that people generally are very accepting of who you are as a person when you share writing in common; and not just who you are as a Roleplayer. You can just drop into chat threads, and start up friendly conversations with strangers as though you've known them for years. 

ღ Having Something To Do That Isn't Incredibly Wasteful
  Though Roleplaying itself really has no point, the writing practice that you can gain through it IS helpful. Getting to read experienced writers posts, can in some ways enhances your skills as a writer too. 

___________________________________

   I hope those of you who are familiar with Roleplaying were able to empathize with this post, or at least have a good laugh at some of the items addressed here. Do understand that I intended no offense to anyone in writing this; this is just some of the things I find annoying/enjoyable about a particular hobby.
 Thank you your support, and for sharing these posts with your followers! 
 It means a lot!