Determining your writing level? Casual or Advanced?

[oOWonderKinOo]

How do you know what Rping level you are currently at? I understand that free is like one or two sentences and casual is typically a couple paragraphs right? How do you know if your casual or advanced? I like to type 1-2 paragraphs at least. When I write, it's more about their journey in the plot. I feel like I'm asking a dumb question and I'm sorry if I put this in the wrong forum.

[Lillian Thorne]

No, this is the right forum for this sort of question. If you look at the main page you will see our descriptions for the levels. I'll paste them here as well. You'll see that casual is generally one paragraph and Advanced is generally two or more. Not so strict as you would think. Keep in mind that GMs have the right to tweak the expectations of their own threads. I tend to go between Casual and Advanced, dependent on what strikes my fancy in either level. I hope this helps. Free: For roleplaying involving one-liners, few-liners, speed-posting, and for anyone who doesn't want to have to worry about standards. See individual GM for RP specific standards Casual: Roleplay here if you enjoy writing at least a paragraph or two, character development, and some depth. Grammar and spelling are encouraged. Generally one paragraph (a few sentences) per post. See individual GM for RP specific standards Advanced: Advanced RP focuses on longer posts, often with in-depth plots, character development and extensive settings/lore. Must make a dedicated effort to minimize typographical errors and to use good grammar. Generally two paragraphs, but usually longer. See individual GM for RP specific standards

[oOWonderKinOo]

Thank you, that helps a lot. :)

[Ellri]

Indeed. Nobody forces you to be in any one section depending on exactly how long you write. These days there's really far too few RPs thrown into the Advanced Section. Its not as if the section should scare anyone. We know there's a lot of players who don't dare venture into those depths, despite their average posts naturally fitting well into it.

[Dinh AaronMk]

There should be something like a PH test for that somewhere.

[Keyguyperson]

There should be something like a PH test for that somewhere.

@Dinh AaronMk

"Dip book into water of your soul. If book turns blue, then you are casual. If book turns red, you are advanced."

[Jig]

There is no difference in writing ability between the two forums. Both expect in terms of their required standards accurate grammar and spelling, but nobody is going to eat you alive if you let a typo slip. While Advanced is more thought-out and developed than Casual with longer posts, but none of these things are 'writing level'. Using the Advanced Section doesn't make you, or mean you are, a better writer than somebody in Casual: it just determines what you are looking for.

[TJByrum]

To me, I read some of the stuff the more advanced/experienced RPers write and I quickly come to the realization that I am nowhere as descriptive as they are. My vocabulary is not nearly as wide as some of the other people I have met. One of my biggest problems is describe something; even if I try really hard, I can't think of any good sensory words that can relate to what I am trying to describe. Others have a fantastic vocabulary and their descriptions can relay the sights, smells, sounds, and overall atmosphere of the subject matter. Until I can start writing like those guys, I won't consider myself 'advanced'.

[Syben]

Better and Worse are truly matters of self opinion. Nobody can tell you how to view yourself, and your own writing, but it can be expressed through their viewpoint. I use these terms, but that only means that in some way I enjoy one particular style over another, that does mean someone is bad, or should be categorized. To me, Casual and Advanced are more like a genre, than a tested skill level. Casual is exactly as it sounds, with its tweaks. Typically people are more diverse and acceptant here, from my experiences. The standards of writing a bit more lax, and progression tends to happen faster, with variables of course. On the other hand, Advanced is more broad, but in the regards of definition. Here a player could expect a set of rules and expectations that are borderline strict. From what I see, and do, storyline progression happens slower, but the posts are detailed. Also there is a feeling of limitlessness in advanced, for me. I no longer feel constrained by social labels, there's nothing higher than advanced. Sure somebody could create pseudo-labels like "Elitist", or tell you that you're not good enough. But again, that all boils down to personal opinion. The biggest challenge I see that faces players when attempting to cross that unsteady bridge connecting casual and advanced, is the terminology. In society I was taught that people who were advanced were those in higher courses, special curriculums, at elevated job steps, etc, and these things can sometimes feel so far out of reach that the motivation to apply yourself to it at all can wither away, buried beneath self doubt. That and there is the social group aspect. For example, take high school cliques. A "nerd" does not typically wander over and begin to freely converse, comfortably with the "populars". Typically a person stays within their own group, who they know, people who accept them. We're a species of luxury and comfort, usually, and complacency is something everybody is guilty of, at some point, in some regard. I remember when I first made the jump. I felt I was a good writer, I had also been told so. I wrote a horror story (two pages) in eighth grade that made my teacher cry. I was still timid, I didn't feel good enough, these writers were my "betters", experienced and savvier in the craft of creative writing. Admittedly my writing was occasionally very far from par, and I didn't get accepted into many. Even then I would be near to last to post in the IC, the feeling of being unworthy sitting heavily on my shoulders. Eventually, I went back to casual. But I did read, I did learn how "advanced" players write, which gave me an expectation. A really, simple, expectation really. Google. "Define <word>" Is the search I input most often. I try to never use a descriptive word twice in the same post. Using that google search gives a great, brief explanation and a list of suitable synonyms. Then I expanded my mind; instead of thinking: "There was a wooden table against one wall, the evidence of a prior meal scattered on it. The man walked over to the table and leaned against it, trying to catch his breath." That doesn't really set the picture, if I was describing a movie scene to someone who was deaf, would that be justifiable? Now I write more along the lines of: "...A wooden table, crafted from heavier dark woods, was placed snugly against the far side of the cramped, dusty room. Grimy porcelain dishes littered both ends of the long table, a small cracked cup lay upon its side in one of the plush, red velvet chairs. A man of ample weight sauntered over to one edge, bracing his sweaty mitts upon its polished surface as he tried to catch his breath in ragged gasps." A little description, alright maybe a bit more than that, yet my scene has almost tripled in size. Let me break it down. "There was a wooden table {Made from what?} against {Synonym?} one wall {Can I set the picture better?}, the evidence of a prior meal {What kind of evidence?} scattered {scattered how?} on it{Can I set the picture better?}. The man {What kind of man? What's he look like?} walked {Synonym?} over to the table{Can I avoid reiterating (Repeating) that it was a table?} and leaned against it, trying to catch his breath {How?}{Can I set the picture better?}." Anyways, that's my process. I feel Advanced is more about putting in more time and effort, showing that you really care about this story and have an attachment to it. I also tend to stray away from very generic characters, trying to create someone who catches interest, but in a way pleasing to myself to portray. My vocabulary isn't actually very "wide", but I can stop myself and use google to "Define <word>" and find a synonym to avoid restating something excessively. To be hypocritical, because of that my vocabulary has increased substantially since my days of Warcraft and SoTDRP. My newest favorite word is Iniquitous, meaning unfair and morally wrong. I got that from defining "Evil", it's a synonym. Go google, you beautiful learning device{Googled it} implement you.

[Jig]

To me, I read some of the stuff the more advanced/experienced RPers write and I quickly come to the realization that I am nowhere as descriptive as they are. Until I can start writing like those guys, I won't consider myself 'advanced'.

@TJByrum

This is an important part of writing well, but by no means the only aspect, nor to be exclusively used. Describing everything in laborious detail does not make you a good writer. In fact, I'd go so far as to say, describing everything in laborious detail would probably make you a bad one.

[Syben]

This is an important part of writing well, but by no means the only aspect, nor to be exclusively used. Describing everything in laborious detail does not make you a good writer. In fact, I'd go so far as to say, describing everything in laborious detail would probably make you a bad one.

@Jig

It is indeed, a very fine line. Some appreciate when it's crossed, some don't.

[Lillian Thorne]

The site descriptions for casual and advanced mention depth and in the case of Advanced, character development and plot. I've received long, flowery posts with vivid descriptions and absolutely no plot movement or room for interaction. Is that advanced? Not so much in my book. I like a blend of description, movement and interaction. If you can get that to me in just a few paragraphs, sweet! If it takes longer, fine. I've been in a creative writing class this semester and we are working on micro-fiction. Trying to set a scene and tell a story in less than 300 words is such a great challenge. Each word counts, there is no room for fluff. And while writing fiction has different goals than RPing, I'd stack one of those tiny little fine-tuned tales I've been reading/writing up against any whopper of an advanced post any day. But then some people love long, lurid descriptions and don't mind extensive scene setting with lots of flashbacks and no forward motion. Fine too, there is room for all. After all the point of RPing is to have fun. That is one of the things I love best about RPG, room and fun for all to be had here.

[HeySeuss]

I've been in advanced for years, but I've been experimenting with brevity because those long, flowery expositions aren't all they're cracked up to be in my mind. As with anything, writing is a learning process. When I see someone that is overly satisfied with how great they are, I tend to think, "So, I see he's stopped actually writing." Sooner or later, I'll have to take some creative writing classes, I get the feeling I'll get a lot out of them. addendum: So write where you're comfortable. And remember that length =/= quality.

[Jannah]

I think the main difference between Casual and Advanced is how much depth is contained in the writing. Casual posts I think tend to focus more on the direct action occurring in the RP while Advanced posts tend to delve into past events and how the characters reacted to them and how it affects them now. In other words, the level of character development is different. At least that is what I have noticed.

[TJByrum]

I know there's a fine line between good description and to much description, but there's also a fine line between little to no description and enough description. I can read someone else's post and imagine it in my head pretty well, but I feel like I cannot convey the same sort of vivid imagery in my own writing, despite my action to do so.