Now before you criticize me for being a such a grammar complainer, I'm going to state why I made this blog, right here, on the first entry.

This is a guide. Don't take anything here seriously; it's just advice and techniques to improve your roleplaying skills, for anyone who choose to do so in the first place.

Also, I think someone else has done this before.

So! Let's get started.

1. Misuse of quotation paragraphing.

A fairly common error, especially from people who are controlling more than one OC in a roleplay.

There is one simple rule to paragraphing quotations: If a new thought is being expressed or there is a new speaker, then create a new paragraph.

This also goes for thoughts, which are italicized or also placed in quotation marks, depending on your preference. Quotations, however, can exist together with a thought if they are relevant, as if it was two sections of a quotation cut.

EX: "Wind speed is approximately six miles per hour, ten point five driver, and we are ready to go," Long Drive declared. Damn it, if I don't land this shot, I'm going to lose my opportunity of getting an eagle.

Also, if the dialogue is going to be multi-paragraphed, you do not need to add an ending quotation mark unless that dialogue paragraph is the last one.

2. Capitalization.

Fairly self-explanatory. I don't think I need to comment much on this, but I strongly advise you, if you're going to roleplay, please take some effort to use basic grammar and spelling skills. When you start a sentence, capitalize the first letter. When you mention a proper noun, press the "Shift" key and capitalize every first letter of the proper noun (with only a few exceptions, such as iPod or eBay). Also capitalize "I" and names of relationships, such as "Mom" or "Dad".

3. Run-on sentences/Comma splicing.

Yet another common mistake in roleplaying. People sometimes get a bit rushed as they type their roleplay posts.

Most of the time, it's usually something small as forgetting to place a conjunction, creating a comma splice. Remember that a comma isn't a fix everything solution.

There are several ways to fix a comma splice or a run-on sentence. The first, as previously mentioned, is to simply add a conjunction after the comma. In some cases where you are mentioning multiple, usually two, actions or subjects, you do not need the comma (though you still need the conjunction to connect these actions or subjects).

Another way is to add a semicolon. This punctuation mark can make it possible for two independent clauses to exist in one sentence; be wary, however, that you can not overuse this, as writing needs variety and this problem can be solved in multiple ways.

Colons can also be used, though it is rarely seen in roleplaying. There is a reason for this: the two clauses must have some direct connection, and this is usually used for adding a clause that emphasizes the other, designate a speak in a play, the opening of a letter, listing, or to connect it with a quotation. Conjunctions generally replace the colon.

Ellipses shouldn't be used very often. Ellipses are usually misused as tools of suspense and can be very annoying. I recommend to only use this when a character's voice is trailing off, but not in narration.

Dashes like this is the easiest way to deal with a run-on or comma splice, though it is not the best. Like all other punctuation marks, it should not be overused. There are two types that can been as correct: The en dash – (Alt+0150) and em dash—(Alt+0151). Space en dashes, don't space em dashes.

4. Ending a sentence with more than one of the same mark.

If you don't know what I mean, it's doing something like this!!! Or that!!!!!!! How about this one????? Yeah, don't do that. Not only is the punctuation incorrect, it looks childish and irritating. One is enough.

5. Tense shifting.

Be careful of not accidentally switching to another tense when writing. If you're writing in the past tense, keep it that way in narration. If you're writing in present tense, don't switch to past tense. Determine which tense you are writing in when roleplaying, and occasionally reread your posts.

This one is less severe than the others; I honestly do this sometimes when I get carried away with my typing.

Speaking of such, I might need to check my blog entry again.

6. Vague pronoun reference.

This is when you use a pronoun to refer to a person; only you don't know who that person is. If you don't get what I mean, look at this example:

Derpy and Colgate simultaneously grabbed the muffins sitting on the counter. She promptly swallowed a muffin in one bite.

The pronoun doesn't clearly state who is "she". In this case, it is better to just replace the pronoun with a proper noun.

Sometimes the unclear pronoun reference is less obvious:

Lyra was a highly intellectual theoretical physicist. This is why she was able to justify the possibility of multiple dimensions and therefore prove that humans exist.

Though it may look like the "she" is implying Lyra, pretend that these sentences were in a paragraph where another mare was introduced. This would be confusing, and replacing the pronoun with Lyra would sound awkward. There is a way to fix this, however:

Lyra, who was a highly intellectual theoretical physicist, used her persuasive words and profound scientific knowledge to justify the possibility of multiple dimensions and therefore prove that humans exist.

Because the pronoun and the proper noun Lyra now exist in the same sentence, the pronoun is clearly referring to Lyra and not some other pony who may be a female in that same paragraph.

7. Dangling participles.

This is when the participle somehow does not fit with the main sentence. For example:

Slipping awkwardly from a B flat to a B natural, the audience gasped in shock.

Since the audience is the only apparent subject, the audience is (incorrectly) associated with the piano playing. The best way to solve this is to add another subject.

Slipping awkwardly from a B flat to a B natural, Frederick glanced at the shocked faces of the audience.

Now the sentence is clear; you now know that Frederick is evidently playing the piano in front of the audience. Alternatively, you can merge the participle with the sentence.

Frederick slipped awkwardly from a B flat to a B natural; the event caused the audience to gasp in shock.

That's about it!

If you believe that I have done a good job on creating my first guide, please press the like button on this blog entry!

Now to check for tense shifting...