05-13-2014, 03:11 PM
http://www.hemingwayapp.com/
I'm sure many of you have heard about this already, but I thought it was pretty neat. After writing a passage, you just drop it into the app and it will tell you how meandering and obtuse your writing is.
It will also suggest improvements. 
Whether you consider RP writing to be comparable to fiction writing or not, the people you play with need to be able to understand what you're trying to get across in a post. It's one thing to have two characters misunderstand each other IC. It's much more frustrating and counterproductive for two players to misunderstand each other OOC. If you've ever posted something and then thought "I'm not even sure that made sense", this app might be useful as a double-check.
No, it is not forgiving of stylistic quirks in writing. But to be honest, even when I'm not distracted somehow, I don't have the patience to wade through a lot of flourishes. It's about moderation: making a point rather than making a mess. I put one of my recent posts into the app and ignored a few red-highlighted sentences because I intended them to run on. I wanted to convey that my character was anxious and exhausted. I just didn't want the whole post to read that way; it would have been gratuitous. More important, it would have made it harder for my partner to understand and enjoy my post (and RPing with me).
That's the difference between writing fiction and role-playing, in my mind. I enjoy reading books and engaging in role-play that challenges me, but in RP, I'm also contributing. I need comprehension for that, before (and more than) I need anything else. I don't have (or want) a week to mull over and pick apart what I just read before I formulate a response. There isn't much that's more frustrating to me than having to throw out hours of RP because of an OOC misunderstanding about a post.
ANYWAY: NEAT WEBSITE THING. I even wrote this post in the app.
I'm sure many of you have heard about this already, but I thought it was pretty neat. After writing a passage, you just drop it into the app and it will tell you how meandering and obtuse your writing is.
It will also suggest improvements. Whether you consider RP writing to be comparable to fiction writing or not, the people you play with need to be able to understand what you're trying to get across in a post. It's one thing to have two characters misunderstand each other IC. It's much more frustrating and counterproductive for two players to misunderstand each other OOC. If you've ever posted something and then thought "I'm not even sure that made sense", this app might be useful as a double-check.
----------WARNING: This is pretty much the point where I got up on my soapbox.----------
No, it is not forgiving of stylistic quirks in writing. But to be honest, even when I'm not distracted somehow, I don't have the patience to wade through a lot of flourishes. It's about moderation: making a point rather than making a mess. I put one of my recent posts into the app and ignored a few red-highlighted sentences because I intended them to run on. I wanted to convey that my character was anxious and exhausted. I just didn't want the whole post to read that way; it would have been gratuitous. More important, it would have made it harder for my partner to understand and enjoy my post (and RPing with me).
That's the difference between writing fiction and role-playing, in my mind. I enjoy reading books and engaging in role-play that challenges me, but in RP, I'm also contributing. I need comprehension for that, before (and more than) I need anything else. I don't have (or want) a week to mull over and pick apart what I just read before I formulate a response. There isn't much that's more frustrating to me than having to throw out hours of RP because of an OOC misunderstanding about a post.
----------Okay, I stepped down. It's safe to come back out.----------
ANYWAY: NEAT WEBSITE THING. I even wrote this post in the app.
my whole life is thunder.
