OngoingWorlds blog

News & articles about play-by-post games, for roleplayers & writers

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Avoid using “very” because it’s lazy

These two images were posted by Kurt in our Facebook Group a while ago. I’m posting them here because I thought it might be interesting & useful to fellow writers.

Avoid using very because it's lazy. A man is not very tired he's exhausted. Don't use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys. To woo women. And in that endeavour, laziness will not do Read More

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A simple tip – Read your post out loud

Nimoy with microphone

I found this great advice on the RP community Starbase 118’s website, which is a simple tip to improve your writing. Read More

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Ask the Admins Q&A

Raised-handsWonder how we do our jobs? Wonder who we actually are? Whether we’re robots,human hybrids, or aliens? What we like to do in our spare time or just general boring questions? Is Dave really a tea powered robot? Well! Now you can!  Read More

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I Made Something, And You Should Read It [It’s About Writing]

I'm tiredYeah, don’t ask me why the thumbnail to this is a picture of me really pissed off. I finished the thing and made this around 12:13 am and I have to work the same day so I was tired and cranky [pic’s a bit sloppy too]. But, long story short [trying to stride past my pissed off self] I wrote the first edition to something that could help you [or someone you know] with the in’s and out’s of the wonderful world of writing. Read More

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Just because your character is a strong female doesn’t make them a Mary Sue

Michonne from Walking Dead

We use the term Mary Sue a lot in roleplaying. That’s because it can be a huge problem with one character trying to hog the limelight more than others. A Mary Sue typically is too “perfect”. They’re either unrealistically skilled for their age, or just freakishly talented at exactly whatever needs to be done to solve the current plot. Read More

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Is the term “Mary Sue” sexist & belittling?

Peggy carter is a strong female character, but that doesn't make her a mary sue
There’s an ongoing debate about the term Mary Sue, and what it means in the literary world. In roleplaying, we know that Mary Sue characters can ruin a game for others, but in a novel surely it’s okay for a protagonist to hog the limelight and display all the characteristics of a typical Mary Sue, right? Read More

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Are the Doctor and Sherlock Mary Sues?

Doctor and Sherlock

I linked to an article making the case that the Doctor and Sherlock are Mary Sues on our Facebook page yesterday and the reaction was mixed, so I thought it be worth sharing here to guage opinion and perhaps discuss.

I can see where the author is coming from. Both characters are awesome, perhaps too awesome that they’re bordering on superheroes, and don’t have a lot of much-needed flaws. Read More

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Labyrinthine and Immersion Storylines

I've had those nights of writer's block before

This is a screen shot from the game. I posted it because it’s like one of the many nights we’ve all had with the dreaded blank computer screen when trying to post with writer’s block

I have just recently played a demo for a very interesting game created last year by Galactic Cafe and released on the Source Engine. The game was called the Stanley Parable. The Stanley Parable is completely based off of choice and decision where you only have a few controls. WASD to move, mouse to look around, and the mouse 1 button to press buttons or open the occasional door. The game features three main factors. Stanley, the silent protagonist of the game. The Narrator, the faceless man with the British accent that narrates the story and Stanley’s actions. Read More

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Ongoing Inspiration #OngoingInspiration

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I want you think back, think way back if it’s that far. Go back to the time you joined Ongoing Worlds. Was it like stepping out of the safety of the car onto the school grounds for your first day? Was it like walking into a new job? Or was it like finding your new home, somewhere with great people, somewhere to make new memories, somewhere you would not forget. Read More

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Tib’s OW 101 | Benefits of the Bad Guy, When The Hero Is Too Much #BadGuysWithBenefits

tumblr_ktna2fMosM1qa02x4o1_400Bad guys, the antagonist, the villain, the creep, always the loser. No matter what it may be a super hero or hero in general always has a bad guy to fight. We all love playing the hero, the guy who gets the girl or the girl who gets the guys because we love to feel good. A bad guy is a major part in roleplaying but sometimes we forget that and we just want to play the good guy.  We hate Mary Sue’s and Gary Stu’s right? Now imagine if there was no Lex Luthor, no Joker, no Green Goblin. A story of a hero would be pointless, the hero would have no bad to fight and everything would be just hunky dory, putting that super hero out of a job. You see that picture of Batman? On the outside, he hates the Joker. But, on the inside, he knows he needs him. This will give you a couple of tips and insight on a good balance with good and evil and why the bad guy is important. Read More