Descriptive Descriptions by booster_bunny |  |
Lately, whenever I look up a pet, I notice that it doesn't have a description,
or if it does, it's not a very creative one. I personally redo my pets' descriptions
all the time and I think that it's a wonderful way for other users to get to
know you and your pets. If you'd like to write up a unique description, make
sure you read this!
First of all, you need to know where to type in the description. Of course
I didn't forget this. There's many Newbies who I'm sure would love to get others
to know their pets. (If you're already an experienced player, skip the following
instructions and just go to the pet description area, then start reading the
paragraph below.) Now, Login, then go to "Pet Central," (very top link on the
yellow side bar,) and after that click on the "Quick Ref" button at the top
of the Pet Central Page. It should take you to a page where your pets are shown.
If you look at the top of the page, go down three paragraphs until you reach
a sentence which says, "To add a description to your NeoPet, click here." Click
the link. It should transfer you to where you want to be. The page should have
a piccy of your pet, and an empty text box to the right of it. Click in the
text box. Now, here are the actual writing instructions. Read the following
paragraphs, then when you have a good idea of what you want to write, start
it!
Okay, now you have to get an idea of what you want your pet's description
to say. Point of View (I'll call it POV) is essential here. Is it going to be
first person POV, where the pet is actually talking about him/herself, or third
person POV, where you are the one talking about him/her? Maybe you'll want to
use some imagery, where instead of anyone explaining anything, you can create
a setting, where the pet who is participating in some activity is described
in detail. I've seen that many people who often use the role playing boards
prefer the imagery technique.
Now that you've decided on you're point of view, you need to decided on your
pet's personality. This influences the description no matter what POV you're
going to use. Deciding on the personality of the pet is completely up to you,
but it might be a good idea to compare the NeoPet's characteristics in order
to find one. For instance, take the colouring of the pet. This might affect
their temperament. A red NeoPet might have a quick temper or be very energetic.
A faerie pet might be a shy daydreamer. On the other hand, your pet's species
also affects their persona. A Chia or a Kacheek would be very cheerful while
a Pteri or Krawk might be quite mischievous. Now, you don't always have to play
by the rules. You can always tweak a detail here, or change something there.
Who says that a Lupe has to be brave and strong? Make yours sweet and gentle
if you want! That's what makes NeoPets so fun. You can test the limits of your
imagination here, so be creative!
There's more to it. You can't just list the pet's personality and it's past.
That will only take up about two sentences. You need to get even more tuned
with your pet. What does it do in its spare time? A shy Chomby might read or
draw, while an outgoing Scorchio might shop and go to rock concerts in Tyrannia.
Come up with hobbies and tastes for your pet.
So, if you've decided on your pet's temperament, hobbies and the POV of the
paragraph, you can spice things up. Make something that's fictional. Add a unique
destiny or past to your pet. Maybe your Acara is the long lost descendant of
a great Maraquan king, making her a princess. Maybe that little Elephante you
adopted is actually a secret minion working for Jhudora the Dark Faerie. Perhaps
that Blumaroo of yours was abducted by the Alien Aishas years ago? Do you see
what I mean? Make your pet different, make it special! Make people who read
the description say, "WOW!"
Hyper text mark up language. That's a big, long term for what we know as HTML.
NeoPets offers a wonderful little course for you to learn the coding, and once
you do, you can REALLY make your description look very pretty! I won't complicate
the article with all sorts of coding tags, but here are some ideas. Change the
font size and colour on the description. It makes the whole thing look quite
professional. Also, add some small pictures, or maybe organise the info into
a table.
Here's what you DON'T do. Don't add a background! It doubles the page's loading
time, which will make many visitors turn away. Same thing with music and very
large graphics. Though HTML seems excellent, keep in mind that it has disadvantages
too. Since the description length can't exceed 600 characters, don't waste too
many of them on unnecessary HTML tags.
Now, you have probably decided on most of the description's details, so get
writing! Make sure to come up with a catchy opening sentence that will get readers
interested. Come up with your own unique style, and stick to it. Depending on
the POV, you should have a certain method for the describing. For instance,
if you're using imagery, it's perfectly all right to say something like: "A
very stunning Gelert padded by on stealthy, muscular paws." Now, take that same
statement in a first person POV, and it will sound more like: "I'm a very stunning
Gelert with stealthy, muscular paws." See what's wrong? Your Gelert is officially
bragging. You don't want your pet to sound like it's boasting, so if you're
writing first person POV, try to use humble adjectives. The other two POVs are
safe for more flattering adjectives though. Another thing is to not get lost
in the writing. Don't skip from your darling Nimmo's optimistic personality
straight to the fact that he's a genius who invented a time machine, oh, and
that he plays with Fuzzles in the same time. Incorporate details into one another.
Use some transition. It sounds much better if you say, "My Nimmo, though a genius,
is strangely optimistic, and enjoys playing around with things, such as Fuzzles.
One time, he played around so much he invented a time machine!" Now, doesn't
that sound much better? It's more smooth and pleasant.
Last thing. Use common sense. Make sure to check for spelling and grammatical
errors, and don't use any rude or vulgar words. Don't write about controversial
topics which would hurt other people either. Just thing, and you'll be fine.
All right, hopefully I've given enough information for you to start an astounding
description for your beloved pet. I'm really curious to see if anyone can come
up with something especially creative, so get writing!!! |
