Characters with Character: Random Personality Generator

Ash’s Guide to RPG Personality & Background :: The Guide Spice Up Your Writing With Dialogue by Judy Cullins Does your chapter sound like a report? Does it go on and on with past tense sentences that tell, rather than show? To spice up your self help, non-fiction or fiction book and even promotional writing, you need to use much more dialogue. Why? If your aim your book at agents and publishers, the first action acquisition editors make is to find a section of dialogue. It is difficult to put just the right words into dialogue--to convey character and emotion. Tips: 1. "You can't be serious, she said in astonishment." So, show how astonished through dialogue or beat. 2. Stop using -ly verbs such as "I'm afraid it's not going well," he said grimly." Examples: Percy burst into the zoo keeper's office. "Is something wrong, sir?" "Don't you realize you're killing those poor innocent creatures, you heartless fascist? 3. You have heard about show, don't tell and all -ly forms tell. Condescending example: "I'm afraid it's not going very well, "he said grimly. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Random Inn/Tavern Generator Current Settings (Because this is a set of separate images, to save the floorplans you should: press your "print screen" key (or your computer's equivalent) and then open your favorite image editor and paste the screenshot into a new image. Then crop the rest of the screen. Key Thin Rectangle on a wall: door"S" on a wall: secret doorLarge Rectangle: tableLarge Thin Rectangle: barRectangle with a "T" or "S" or both: table or shelve or table & shelves.Circle: bar stool or chair4/5 Circle: chair next to/under table Small filled Rectangle in a larger rectangle: fireplace/hearthDashed Line: railingMany thin lines getting smaller: stairsFilled Circle: toilet/privvyFilled Triangle: wash basin Coming Soon There are many ways to improve this, but to the best of my knowledge this is the first free online inn/tavern floorplan generator. Here's the list of planned features:

Seven Keys to Writing Good Dialogue | Nathan Bransford - Blog It goes without saying (but watch me say it) that dialogue is one of the very most crucial elements in a novel. Great dialogue can make a novel sing. Bad dialogue can sink it like a stone. Here are a few ideas on what makes good dialogue work: 1. Good dialogue is not weighed down by exposition When the dialogue is carrying exposition and trying to tell the reader too much, characters end up saying a lot of very unnatural and unwieldy things. "Remember that time we stole the frog from Miss Jenkins and she ended up giving us two hours of detention and that's how we met?" So much of this dialogue would already be already apparent to the characters. Exposition and dialogue only really mesh when one character genuinely doesn't know what the other character is telling them and it's natural for them to explain at the moment they're explaining it. 2. Sometimes you'll see characters in novels bantering back and forth in a way that is meant to reveal character or fill space. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

[Random Thursday] Strange Stones « Dyson's Dodecahedron Menhir illustration by Philip Reeve Standing stones are an immediate fantasy hook because of most of our obsession over the megaliths such as Stonehenge. Doubly so for those of us who live in parts of the world where such things are not found (like us North Americans). Like this: Like Loading... Poets & Writers | Contests, MFA Programs, Agents & Grants for Writers [Random Thursday] Lost Cities of the Fallen Empire « Dyson's Dodecahedron B4 - The Lost City Lost Cities, Fallen Empires, entire civilizations no longer in decline – but leaving us with nothing but the ruins of their former homes to explore. These are classic themes and settings for pulp adventures and well suited to any role playing game. One of the original D&D modules explores this very theme (B4 – the Lost City). In my campaign setting, there are many “lost cities”. City Location (d12) Distinguishing Characteristics (d12) City is dominated by many tall towers interconnected by spanning bridges and arches.Massive city wall is the only piece of the city that seems to have survived the ages almost untouched, the rest is almost completely destroyed.At one point the city used a network of canals for transportation and communication. This is post 12 in the A to Z Blogging Challenge – L is for Lost Cities Like this: Like Loading...

[Random Thursday] Party Time! « Dyson's Dodecahedron If there is anything that feels like a classic fantasy story, it is arriving in a town or city just in the midst or verge of a major festival. So what’s the party all about? Table 1 – Random Festivals (d12) Celebrating the anniversary of the end of a war.Religious celebration (table 2).Agricultural fair – showing off animals and foodstuffs.The Great Fast – a day or week when all the inhabitants fast and are quiet and reserved.Celebration of the beginning of the local calendar year.Celebration of the anniversary of a great heroic deed.Spontaneous celebration of an important marriage.Trade festival.Party to ward off bad luck and renew the good.Remembrance of a great tragedy.A major funeral.Contests of prowess – military, skill or magical. Table 2 – Religious Celebrations (d4) Anniversary of the arrival of a great saint or religious leader.Traditional celebration of blessings.Day of purification.Anniversary of the birth of a great saint or religious leader. Like this: Like Loading...