Seifer's multimedia tutorial #1, Fostering Creativity Options

[Seifer]

Foreword

The idea of writing this ‘tutorial’ came to me as I was in my last year of university, having covered a diverse range of styles and topics during my three years there. A lot of writers that I’d been exposed too offered and received criticisms that made me think about how I write as well as what I write. There are several people I’d like to that for looking at this for me, namely being, Morning Glory, Jolyth, Domi, Lady Caetlyn and Sidhe

I’ve attempted to keep to the ‘middle ground’ with this ‘tutorial’ (I use the term loosely), at the same time being as succinct and clear as possible. The general idea of this is to get people to think about how they express their dialogs, banters, etc., as well as the actual writing itself. I'd also like to point out that this is not aimed at those who feel they have an accomplished level of written English -- thus any journalists, English instructors, or those having some other recognized qualification. This is primarily for those first starting on the modding experience, and looking for some general guidelines on writing such materials that they will include in their mods.

If you have any suggestions for the inclusion of any additional elements, or some point(s) you feel is (are) in need of expansion or greater clarification, I’d encourage you to get in touch with me. Feedback is always welcome, but I would request it being polite and cordial. Now, on with the show.


Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which are spread by imitation and which can be avoided if a writer is willing to take the necessary time and trouble. If you get rid of these habits you can think more clearly – and to think more clearly is a first step towards a linguistic regeneration.

A great portion of the written English language currently suffers from staleness of imagery and lack of precision. Many writers cannot express meaning properly and inadvertently say something other than what was originally intended, or, worse, are indifferent as to what the words they have used actually mean. This vagueness and incompetence are very prevalent in modern prose and political commentary. When something concrete is proposed it melts into the abstract and prose becomes less specifically chosen words, and more phrases that are loosely tacked together.

It might also be useful to have a general refresher of the different types of word constructions that we’ll be covering: -

• A Verb is a word indicating an action or state - used to show that an action is taking place, or to indicate the existence of a state or condition, or the part of speech to which such a word belongs.
• A noun is a naming word – can be either a single word or a group of words, used as the name of a class of people, places or things or of a particular person, place or thing.
• A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun - such as I’, ‘you’, ‘them’, ‘it’, ‘ours’, ‘who’, ‘which’, ‘myself’, and ‘anybody’. Pronouns are sometimes distinguished from nouns by having objective form, for example ‘her’ for ‘she’ and ‘me’ for ‘I’.
• A gerund is a noun formed from a verb - describing an action, state, or process. In English, it is formed from the verb’s -ing form, as ‘smoking’ is in the phrase ‘No smoking’.
• A conjunction is a connecting word – and is used to link sentences, clauses, phrases or words. The most common examples are ‘but’ or ‘if.’


I’ve selected only a few topics here, but the following limited list (again, note this is subjective) shows how the honest work of prose construction is constantly and habitually dodged:

1 - Dying metaphor (dead metaphor)

A dying/dead metaphor is a metaphor that has lost its force through extended usage. These (and there are hundreds) have lost all their original meaning and are usually a sure sign that the writer is opting to use them as ‘filler’ rather than creating new, illustrative language that would have greater impact on the reader. We’ll use the following example for our demonstration. I‘ve underlined the ‘dead/dying metaphors’ to illustrate.

Example: Time was running out for Seifer as he worked to gather the party together. They had to beat a path to the City Gates before sunset.

New metaphors assist by evoking a fresh mental image whilst an old metaphor is technically dead if it reverts to being a normal word or turn of phrase that can be used with no loss of vividness. In between the two are swaths of old metaphors, which have lost all evocative, power, but are used to save people inventing phrases of their own self-expression. We’ll take our prior example and adopt this ‘new’ view.

Example: Their time had evaporated as Seifer worked to gather the party together. It was imperative they reach the City Gates before sunset.

Both examples give a sense of urgency. But which is the most effective in conveying that urgency? A writer who would stop to consider the metaphor perversion in example 1 would be more likely to re-word and re-structure to something akin to Example 2. In so doing, the writer would add more of himself to his work and would break the habit of relying on such passé, worn-out phrasing. This point might be easily served with a common example from everyday English as opposed to vernacular that has been utilized directly for the IE modding sphere.

Example: The Hammer and the Anvil

Sounds simple enough doesn’t it? And one that we’ve all heard before. Yet, it is surprising how often the term is used with the insinuation that the anvil is coming off worst when in actuality it is the anvil that breaks the hammer. When stopping to consider the application of the metaphor, a writer could avoid perverting the original metaphor and perhaps gain deeper insights into expressing their ideas more clearly.

2 – Operators or verbal false limbs

These items are guilty of preventing the writer from picking appropriate verbs and nouns. They also have the secondary affect of filling out sentences with extra syllables, which then gives the impression of proportion. Some examples, underlined again, are as follows: -

Example: Seifer inched forward, an iron-clad hand thrust into the air, motioning for his team to come to a halt. He wanted to make contact with the thief if at all possible, to see if he really did play a leading part in the theft that had been tagged to his name.

The significant thing to note here is the removal of simple verbs. Instead of being a single word, a verb takes on a new form as phrase, being a combination of either a noun or an adjective tacked onto a general-purpose verb such as prove, serve, form or render.

Additionally, a passive voice is generally used rather then an active one and noun constructions are favoured over gerunds. Consider the following.

Example: Seifer continued his examination of the troll’s remains. He wanted to be sure that it was actually dead this time. It smoked a lot, to be expected after Karyun had thrown an acid vial over it.

Lets rework it with gerunds and an active voice and consider how it looks.

Example: Seifer continued examining the troll’s remains. He wanted to be sure that it was dead this time. It was still smoking, which was to be expected as Karyun had just thrown an acid vial over it.

See the difference? A greater sense of what has just passed, a battle with a troll, can be expressed via the second passage as it has a more active voice and avoids noun construction.

3 – Pretentious Dictation

This next section is more of an observation more then a criticism of written English and perhaps loses its importance when weighted against the fact that Baldur’s Gate fanfic and mod writing are quite specific areas in regards to language application. Still, being aware of the following might be beneficial if you’re trying to convey. Namely: -
• Phenomenon, element, individual (as noun), objective, categorical, effective, virtual, basic, primary, promote, constitute, exhibit, exploit, utilize, eliminate, liquidate are all words that are often used to dress up a simple statement and give it a more scientific leaning. This could come in useful at specific moments such as interjections with Irenicus or any general wizard.
• Epoch-making, epic, historic, unforgettable, triumphant, age-old, inevitable, inexorable, veritable are adjectives that were most often seen in international politics. As this is often seen as murky business, it could perhaps be a good vocabulary for shadow thieves and those with more readily seen with political leanings.
• Realm, throne, chariot, mailed fist, trident, sword, shield, buckler, banner, jackboot, clarion are often used when justifying warfare. Although this is a somewhat limited selection, the overall tone of language when discussing warfare is generally archaic. This then makes it an ideal vocabulary for the typical paladin, knight or member of the priesthoods. Just look at Anomen!

4 – Meaningless Words

In many types of writing it’s normal to come across long-winded and verbose passages that are almost completely lacking in meaning (ones that I’m often very guilty of writing, truth be told). Some words such as romantic, plastic, values, human, dead, sentimental, natural, vitality have completely no use at all in some spheres, such as criticism. Consider the following.

Example: Seifer started by examining the painter’s work. His first painting outstanding in that it had an amazing sense of living. Karyun wondered off to inspect the sculpture in the main hall and was struck by its distinctive deadness.

Initially, you might ask what’s wrong with that but two things are occurring here. The words, alive and dead don’t point to any discoverable facts about the works in question but additionally, there isn’t much of an expectation for them to. The use of language is hidden under the convenient provision of more then one subjective opinion. If the words black and white were used instead, the misuse of language would be immediately clear.

A second danger in using meaningless words comes when considering that some words have a very arbitrary application. Look at words such as democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic and justice. Many of these words have several different meanings that can’t easily be reconciled against each other. Words like this are often used in a dishonest manner. Consider the modern day application of the word democracy. It has several different meanings and but generally has connotations of being desirable. When something is being seen as being democratic, it’s perceived as being praiseworthy. What’s generally happening here is that the person who uses these words very possibly has their own internal definition but allows the reader/hearer to think that something different is intended. Some more examples are: -

Example: The Church of Helm is opposed to all persecution.
Example: Keldorn is a true patriot of Amn.

With the above, can they be seen as deceptive from a different point of view? Very much so. Although this seems elementary, it’s surprising how often this can be forgotten. Some other words that can be used in such manners are class, totalitarian, science, progressive, reactionary, bourgeois and equality.


And that’s it. I do express again that this is entirely subjective and has been drawn from various academic sources. If you feel a correction needs to be made or something needs to be added, please let me know.

Version History

1.0 – Started 31st August 2004. Very underdeveloped.
2.0 - 16th April 2005. Updated