Style Guide
These guidelines will prevent the most common errors we see in zones.
Pquill checks for common discouraged words and phrases and will save much time and many headaches
for author, editor and coder. Use it!
We recommend all zone writers read Strunk and White's Elements of Style and
Webster's Guide to Grammar and Style.
A. Common Errors of Usage
It's and Its
"It's" is a contraction. Use it in place of "it is". "Its" is the possessive form of "it".
It's cold out today.
The tree shed its leaves in the fall.
-
Periods and Commas
Do not use periods for commas and commas for periods.
Wrong: It was a long journey. A difficult one.
Right: It was a long, difficult journey.
Wrong: The road curves to the west, trees form its borders.
Right: The tree-lined road curves to the west.
Ellipses ("...")
Use them sparingly, and not in place of periods or to avoid correct
sentance construction.
They are appropriate to indicate an exit to a deathroom.
Right: West is certain death...
Wrong: The forest is dark ....... you hear an owl screeching .....it's cold..........
B. Basic Guidelines for Composition
Use the Active Voice.
Passive: There are leaves scattered all over the ground.
Active: Leaves cover the ground.
Passive: Birdsongs can be heard across the water.
Active: Birds call to each other over the water.
Put Statements in a Positive Form.
Negative: There is very little light in the tunnel.
Positive: The tunnel is dimly lit.
Negative: You do not have confidence in the evidence of your senses.
Positive: You distrust your senses.
Be Specific, Definite and Concrete.
Details enhance your writing. Picture the location, object or mobile
in your mind, then describe at least one detail of it.
Compare:
Gort is the ugliest creature you have ever seen.
With:
Gort's upper lip is missing. A flat piece of exposed cartiledge stretches
over the place where his nose should be. His assymetrical eyes are bloodshot and
rimmed in purple.
Compare:
The landscape is beautiful.
With:
Jagged mountains rise above the still lake, their snowy peaks puncturing the azure sky.
Compare:
The cottage appears to be well-kept.
With:
Rays of sunshine coming through the windows reflect off the polished
floorboards. A vase of freshly cut flowers decorates the table.
Perhaps you are writing a large desert. One method of doing this is to write
one location and copy and paste it 150 times, changing only the exits, or
perhaps adding a sentance or two for variation.
desert1;
You trudge on and on through the hot, endless desert.
^
desert2;
You trudge on and on through the hot, endless desert.
^
desert3;
You trudge on and on through the hot, endless desert. Your mouth feels
dry.
^
A better method for dealing with this desert, is to pick out one detail to
describe in each location. This will evoke your desert more effectively:
cactusroom;
A single gallant cactus clings to life under the scorching sun.
^
lizardroom;
A torpid lizard stretches motionless across a flat rock by the roadside.
^
buzzardroom;
The black shadow of a buzzard overhead stands out in stark relief against
the white desert sand.
^
Omit Needless Words.
Don't write just to fill up space. There is no minimum word requirement
for a location. The runner will thank you for being concise. Make every
word meaningful.
This, for example, is unneccesary:
Paths lead north, south and east from here.
Obvious exits are:
North: Path
South: Path
East: Path
Other common unnecessary phrases and words:
These are, as Strunk puts it in his classic Elements of Style,
"the leeches that infest the pond of prose, sucking the blood of words."
appears to be
seems to be
rather
fairly
very
small
little
large
quite
somewhat
the fact that
probably
one of the most
could be
may be
pretty (as in pretty sure, pretty good)
Don't Tell the Reader How He or She Feels.
Instead, create a scene with concrete, specific details and
let your reader decide what way to feel.
Compare:
The hot summer night's breeze washes through your hair and blows the smooth fabric
of your shirt against your skin like a lover's urgent caress.
With:
You feel a little wild and horny.
Compare:
The bare branches of the paintrees join overhead like the gnarled
fingers of an ancient crone.
With:
You feel nervous.
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