Hey, it's Astrarche here and today I thought I'd speak a little bit about writing style and how your style affects how your articles are viewed on the wiki.
This will tie into some future tutorial posts as the best way to write something, even if you need advice on the way, is to write it in your own style.
On FTF I typically see two different styles of writers. The first is Brief the other is Verbose. In other words, someone who prefers writing shorter descriptions or one who writes rather long-winded descriptions.
Both of these have their faults and strengths.
Brief writers are often prone to short descriptions of things that aren't really explanatory, and thus, are confusing for people reading.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Verbose writers often write so much that they get lost in their own description of a concept, providing so much detail that it is overwhelming if not impossible to read.
You may be wondering, "Liza, what is the point you're trying to make?"
Well, the point I'm trying to make is to balance both of these aspects.
And that is style of writing.
An example is that I write rather long-winded appearance sections (a four-paragraph standard), this is because I'm the type of author that has visualized almost every aspect of their character's physique. The type of author that could tell you how many freckles their character has on their left cheek. Some people write appearance sections that are only one or maybe two paragraphs long— choosing only to describe the basics of their hair, eyes, body structure and outfit.
Which one is correct method? Both.
Why? Because it all comes down to style.
I listed my concerns with each major archetype for writing styles on the wiki at the beginning of this blog. If a description (no matter what it is) is too short, it might not provide enough depth for a reader. If a description is too long, it could overwhelm a reader or draw away from the overall purpose.
Your writing style is unique to you but should balance both of these aspects. It should provide necessary detail without overwhelming or diving astray from the intended topic. How to determine whether your writing fits this balance is up to you.
Some styles naturally lean towards being briefer. Some styles lean towards being more verbose.
What I would recommend if you have doubts on whether you've done justice to whatever you're writing about, is by asking other members of the wiki. Sometimes getting a second set of eyes is what you need to bring your descriptions to another level.
FTF is all about collaboration. Other people will be reading your articles and you will be reading people's articles. It is important to be able to answer people's questions if they arise and have descriptions that are explanatory.
As a last thought, this post in no way is meant to make you self-conscious of your style, it is meant to shed some light onto how others understand and view your writing and how to stay true to your style while still finding a balance in length.
Thank you for your time and I hope you got something out of this. If you've got any questions or comments, feel free to ask me.
