***Cinders General Posting Guide

Grumblegrumble, everybody is stealing my job XD Wolf Tears summed it up pretty well.

Anyways I'm going to continue on using WTs example here:

Scenery-- Wolf Tears described the crabs, which I count as scenery. Mentioning time of day, weather, animals, other people just walking by, all in detail helps. The sky is a pretty safe bet if your charry is outside, because everybody knows what the sky looks like.

the sky is blue could equal

Jane Doe noticed the blue of the sky seemed more vibrant today, perhaps it was simply because it had been cloudy the past few weeks or maybe John Doe's presence was heightening her senses. She felt more alive than ever.

POV-- If your character is a pessimist, then what they say, how they see the world, and who they interact with will be gloomy. The crabs scuttling around, of course, will die soon at the hands of the fisherman who live in District Four. Describing that from a sour-faced characters point of view infuses their opinion on the world while also describing the mundane. A playful person might be cheered up by the dancing crabs who seem to be having just as a great a day as they are having.

Vocab-- You liked how I said 'infuses' and 'mundane' during that POV paragraph, eh? Switching out 'whatever' to 'I don't care' is a simpler version of what I'm trying to say. Basically the longer more imaginative words you use, the more muse you seem to have. I personally find myself wanting to describe the world with accuracy and beautiful words that have meaning.

The red crabs made their way across the sand.

The delicate crabs scuttled across the soft ground, kicking up miniature sandstorm clouds that were carried toward Jane Doe, making her eyes sting, but the captivating beauty of the moment betrayed her eyes. Ignoring all instincts and common sense which suggested she rub her eyes to expel the harmful substance, she watched in awe as the crabs progressed across the beach, always at the border between land and water. The sunlight bounced off of their wet, crimson bodies. It was the color of blood and rubies blended together, for the gleaming and vibrant properties of the two. Such mundane creatures, inconvenient if stepped on, and even more so if you were pinched by one, Jane Doe had never taken the time to notice them, these little warriors with snapping claws and twitching, jerky bodies like insects. They scampered across the beach until finally Jane turned her still-stinging eyes to John Doe's face. She noticed her own amusement and awe was in his features as well, from his reflective, blue eyes to the ghost smile on his plumb, cherry-colored lips.

ooc- so I sort of made that really long XD but isn't that the point of this thread question?

Feelings-- This is under no circumstances the same thing as POV. POV is how your person sees the world, feelings have more to do with the other people in the thread. You might be a normally shy, indifferent character but when John Doe comes around you feel this soaring, lovely tug at your heart. POV comes into play when a character realizes what they are feeling. This same indifferent example might feel shock and horror after realizing s/he is in love, a foreign concept. That's when the personal beliefs and POV starts to blend with feelings. Still, to me they are different yet related concepts.

Jane Doe eyed him carefully, her sharp eyes unable to find even one flaw in the sparkling vampires face--(mostly POV)

Jane Doe eyed him carefully, her sharp eyes unable to find even one flaw in the sparkling vampires face, she was captivated by him. She loved to watch him, loved the sound of his voice. Oh god, Jane was in love with him. Horror and confusion chased away the moment as the shell-shocked girl realized just what she felt for the vampire.

Action/Expression-- If you're like me, prone to rambling on about a persons thoughts and memories, actions serve a great purpose. Describe how fidgety your charry is, anything physically moving is an action. John Doe tensed, John Doe clenched his fist in anger. John Doe took the knife in his hand and cut the sparkling vampires throat. These are actions, so to add a bit of length describing the rhythmic tapping of John Doe's impatient foot is helpful. The expression part of this is how they react, face-wise or body language wise. If John Doe sees the vampire, his face suddenly grows darker and he flares his nostrils because apparently that makes him look intimidating. If Jane Doe walks by, he smiles and relaxes his body. Body language basically. Think of your persons personality and add little quirks.

Memories-- One paragraph only, try to keep in the moment but telling a short story that relates to the scene at hand is useful. How your person acted then to know will serve as a contrast or guide to how they act in the RPed moment. If John Doe has already beat up somebody, and is now beating up the sparkling vampire, he may think of how different it feels now. More satisfying.

Ill add more if I think of them. Credits to my examples, Jane Doe, John Doe, the crabs, and the sparkling vampire.