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On: WritingGood morning, afternoon, or evening, as appropriate. The guide contains advice on various aspects of writing in brief, with examples for each. I’ve divided up each aspect of writing into one of four categories: rules, guidelines, matters of style, and matters of plot and characterization. Hopefully this guide will be helpful to you in one way or another.
Rules
There are virtually no ironclad rules in writing; these aspects of writing come close, however. Even in dialogue or internal monologue, which is normally a space where the writer is free to do as they please, misspelled words are problematic. As such, it is important to master these aspects of writing, and do so early in your time as a writer.
Spelling. It’s always jarring to encounter a spelling mistake in the middle of an otherwise well-written story. Because some spelling mistakes will not be caught by a typical spell checker, and because you should be editing your story anyway, it is a good idea to p

On: Illustration, Comics, and Story TellingDon’t suck -- PK
I want to say first of all that sometimes I get people asking, or rather complaining, “why does it seem like the comics always get a better score?  This group seems so focused on comics.  What if I just want to draw pictures?”
Well, that ends up tying into narrative illustration, which is a pretty hard thing to do right if you’re used to drawing single shots of your character against a plain, white background.  Most people end up doing comics because it seems easier right away:  the characters can talk, you can set the scene, it doesn’t require a little description at the bottom...
But, even comics require some know-how to pull off really well.  It’s just harder to pull off illustrations in this story-based environment, because comics make it a little less apparent when it’s not doing a very good job at telling that story.
But, I’ll get to comics second.

FAQ: Please Read!Handy Tip: there are a lot of questions here. If there's something specific you want to find, use control +F on your keyboard to search for it!
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Greetings. My name is Arthur. I know almost everything there is to know about this group. Ask me anything and I will have an answer... unlike my twin birdbrain.
HI! I’m Quinton. I uh... well, I don’t know a lot of things so I ask

Advice for our Artists and WritersI figure this is a much needed journal. I know a lot of people want to know how to get better and how to rank better in the judging. It's very tough to judge at all, believe us - there are so many great entries and it's hard to give out numbers that suggest "this one is better than this other one-" but I guess that's the reality of judging, huh?
Well, this group IS here to give people prompts about what to draw. We like seeing improvement, and there was a good amount of it from people who entered Mission 2 after having done Mission 1. I can only imagine how much more improvement we'll see with these next ones!
I suppose I ought to start at something that both the art and writing categories have in common:
Readability
For these two categories, readability means a separate but similar thing.
For art, ask yourself these questions...
1) Is my handwriting legible?
It's important that we can clearly and quickly read what you wr

Rescuers Mission 7Ah, hello rescuers.
It seems we have hit, er, yet another crisis. I’m sure many of you are already well aware of this though, and are wondering what exactly has happened here. Unfortunately… I am just as clueless as you are. Mike hasn’t returned. Winston seems to have vanished (although at first I thought he might have run off). And it appears that half of our village’s populace has disappeared without a trace. And… ngh.
Just one thing after another with this place. It's just absolutely astounding how....
…I, ahem-- er, sorry. This really isn’t the time for me to be cynical. We have to keep our spirits up! Hope is something we really can’t lose at a time like this, after all. I’m sure everyone that vanished will return safe and sound. It’s just a matter of when. They’ll be back soon, though. I’m sure of it!
Ehehe, yeah… It was probably just... someone’s Teleport backfiring, and they

Application information! TO APPLY FOR ART ENTIRES, FILL OUT THIS FORM! ----> http://fav.me/d4srg0e http://pmd-explorers.deviantart.com/blog/39877106/

Event 6.2 - Temporal Terror-Forming

: Okay, over here-- no, over there! Iceburg!  He’s over there!
: What, where?
: He’s right behind the treehouse!  Mike! MIIIIKE! MIKE WE NEED YOUR HELP!
: ...what, what IS IT?!
: We got a real big problem guy, there’s something out-- well, it’s Jasmine, she’s been snatched, and we need to haul ass or she’s gonna die.  Get stuff rolling, I need as many teams as you can grab right now.  Rogues, Rescuers, doesn’t matter.  All of em.
: Are... what, are you serious?
: I’m not shitting you.  I wouldn’t kid around about this, we need to get moving this second.  C’mon, gather em up, I’m gonna start getting others, meet me right by the entrance to Creeping Forest, all right?
: …fine. But, before you go PK... I need to know something.
: What? What is it?! ...nevermind, I don’t have time for this

Rogues Mission 7Ahoy,
Maybe all ye scallywags know 'bout it, or maybe not. If ye don't, ye need t' keep up with gossip more. For your sake, it bears a bit o' repeatin': Devonshire's missing. That leaves me in charge. Yep, ye heard that right, I'm in charge.
Y'know, it seems like summin' I'd be really excited 'bout, but.. really, I'm not. In fact, it makes me a bit mad. I ain't ready for this responsibility. Part o' me is interested, but.. Not yet. I just ain't prepared. And now it's thrust onto me. That don't seem too fair, do it?
Worse than me not bein' ready is just not havin' Devonshire around. We been business partners for so long, and now he's just.. vanished. It's makin' me feel a bit snappy, so if ye talk t' me and I bite yer head off, literally or metaphorically, well.. I ain't sorry. I warned ye.
On that note, I don't really know what happened t' him, he just kinda went poof, but.. I shoulda saw it comin'. I did see it comin'. Devonshire is pretty good for all that ominous sense of doom, and

Arc 1 SummaryHello again, everyone! It seems that Callahan can’t seem to leave well enough alone, and has bugged me to compile a list of the more important goings-ons that each of the three guilds here in Tao have been up to since the past year or so. I was hoping it wouldn’t be too much, but it looks like I was wrong... In fact, it looks like all the guilds here have managed to accomplish a great deal since the beginning, much to my dismay. You guys have no idea how cluttered Callahan’s office is, he doesn’t organize anything! He told me to do it myself if it bothered me so much, but he’s not getting free labor out of me. Well, additional free labor, I guess, as I’m not really... being paid to do this. Not with money, anyway; he says that the opportunity to “pore over and absorb such a rich and vibrant history following the creation of the three guilds should be more than enough payment”. He’s full of it, but I can’t complain.

Newbie Guide to Joining PMD-eI want to join PMD-E:
Want to join PMD-E? Go ahead! Anyone can join at any time, regardless of current skill level, interest level, intended participation level, or language. Anyone! Any time!
I just joined PMD-E:
Now that you’ve joined PMD-E, welcome! What should you do aside from reading the FAQ? You should decide whether or not you’d like to participate via art or writing, as each one requires you to fill out a different application.
The art application is here, and the writing application is here. You would do well to use a program a bit more advanced than MSPaint to edit the art application, such as GIMP, Photoshop, Paint Tool SAI, etc.
Filling out an application:
Now that you’re about to make your application, be it writing or art, you need to decide on a

Mission 8 Present (Rogues)PLEASE WATCH THIS FIRST:

Hello everyone!
No, no, you’ve got it wrong! Don’t look for Gunpowder! He asked me to help out this month while he takes care of some other business for Devonshire. Really! Dmitri here can attest to that!
Okay, now that I’ve got your attention... well, honestly, I need help from a lot of you. It’s a really important mission, and I’ve gotten the okay from Gunpowder. Again, just confirm with Dmitri! I think Dmitri is actually the one who’s collected most of you to help out with this, so you probably already know.
So... I suppose I’ll cut to the chase. It’s very, very important that what I tell you not be repeated until after we’ve completed our goal. Shh, don’t be so loud! We need to be quiet and discreet. I’m not joking. If you can’t handle that, please leave until I discuss the other missions at hand.
Who’s left? Hmm... I gues

??? Mission 7READ FIRST:
Foo!? Where are you?! Oh, dang you're fast! Thanks for that save back there, but what the heck was up with that rex of a Pokemon?!
I... I’m not really sure what his problem is, but this jungle’s always been pretty harsh. But enough about that. We need to find where all of the villagers scattered off to. I’m pretty certain we’re actually in the middle of an island, with all this water around us no matter where we go...
Island?! But we're not in the middle of an ocean... are we?
No, it’s not like that. I think we’re next to a giant pond. Rather, in the middle of it. I know Prismatic Jungle has one of those, so I think that’s where we might be. It’s colorful enough for that, anyway. My grandfather did more traveling than I ever have... he would know for sure. Hmm, well, we

Mission 5: Evacuation EffortPLEASE READ THESE FIRST!!!!!

============================================
: Waauauauauauuuuuuuu!! Someone! Anyone! Do something!! There's a horrible dragon gone all cuckoo!! And not just anything, nonononono, but I'm practically begging for some heroism here! Don't tell me this village is all fresh out of that!!
: If you would calm yourself, barkeep, you’ll be pleased to know that I have two somewhat ideal candidates here, ready to spring into the heroism you so desire.
: Eh? What’s all this ‘bout heroism? That word ain’t written in me book, if’n I had a book, that is.
: As I was saying, barkeep, if you find the current condition of Tao Village to be a bit too.. hostile, I have an escape route underneath my headquarters, for this very type of emergency.
: Uowawowa... That sure sounds like a plan there!! It would've rivaled the original plan I had to shelter everyone in my cafe, but since it cav

Event 6 - Temporal Terraforming“Oh man! You again!? I swear I was JUST HERE!” She looked at Devonshire sternly, as if she could somehow divine the answer she sought from his equally stern gaze. Her appearance in his office was not _totally_ uncalled for, she had been summoned by the blowing of the Thistle Whistle, an amazingly powerful (if not a bit mysterious) instrument that now lay safely in the possession of Arianna. While much more could be said about Arianna and the Thistle Whistle, that’s not relevant to the task soon to be on hand. It’s Jasmine we’re interested in.
“Ah, yes, you must be the girl Arianna mentioned! We were beginning to think you weren’t going to show, what with you taking so long.” Devonshire really didn’t know how she abruptly appeared in front of him, and didn’t much care. What he did care about was the fact that she had knocked over several papers he’d been meaning to look at, and it would take him upwa

Merchants Mission 7Greetings, Merchants.
A letter from me must be rather unexpected, eh wot? Perhaps even unwelcome, given the circumstances. Do not worry, I will certainly address that, but first, I wish to speak briefly of the rather jarring disappearances we just suffered.
I understand that many of you watched your loved ones vanish into thin air. I was in the presence of our own Master Foo at the time. Unfortunately, he is caught up in whatever is happening, and none of us are entirely certain why, or how this occurred. I, as I am sure the other remaining leaders of the Rogues and Rescuers will, am going to do my best to investigate this and find where they all may have gone, but we have woefully little to go on.
In light of reports that Miss PK and young Rhodes have... have been caught in this wave of disappearance, the Merchants are officially left with Malt and Sandy at the remaining head of leadership. They are both understandably shaken by this, so I am stepping forth in Miss PK's absence. Until

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A tip for somewhat serious writers

by *MarlKitty, Mar 29, 2012, 12:04:35 AM
Journals / Personal

In judging the writing entries for Mission 5, I've come to notice a trend becoming increasingly popular.

I'm referring to cameos. I've seen stories with upwards of five, or six cameos.

Normally, this would not be a problem. (It isn't, really! You're free to write however you like. This should be a fun thing for you to do!)

However! None of stories I have judged so far have had their scores increase because of cameos. I've only seen cameos degrade the quality of the work, and therefore, the score the writer receives. If you're just writing for fun and have no interest in the score you receive, then none of the below applies to you!

Cameos are fine if they're done well, but I haven't really seen once done well in this round of judging. (I've yet to actually finish judging, so a story may surprise me!)

So far, cameos have only succeeded in making the story feel rushed, too condensed, and full of unnecessary information. I have no interest in knowing everything about the five or six teams you're choosing to cameo in your writing. I am reading your entry because I want to know how you make your team deal with the tasks and obstacles at hand. If you go off and describe other teams, and what they do / how they react to certain situations... well, that's not really the original purpose of the story, now is it?

I would like to read a story that is devoted to making me feel attached to your characters. I want to see character development, interesting dialogue, *thoughtful* solutions to objectives, and I haven't felt that at all from people who write stories with cameos. So far, every story with cameos has felt that it places too much importance on saying "Hey guys look this team is making an appearance in my story! Isn't that cool!" I'm sure it is cool to you and the teams you cameo, but it's very disappointing to me as an avid reader and writing judge when all you're doing is distracting me from the main storyline for.. no real gain.

Cameos are supposed to be very brief appearances of someone, not a (cumulatively) very large portion of your stories.

Feel free to comment and discuss!

95 Comments

A tip for somewhat serious writersby #PMD-Explorers

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~Galiexb Apr 5, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Indeed, cameos are fine in moderation - and the way those are written - if done well could turn out quite pleasant. For example, if they have a useful purpose in the story - ie: if the mission requires extra hands on the writers part, or a help in a battle - if they really need to have a split story share the space equally between each (ie: one of yours go with one and the other goes with one) because in the end it's not a collaboration, the Pokemon involved and the people who made them are just that. The REAL story is the focus on the writer's team like-wise us comic-ers.

But of course in the end it's their decision to choose what they want it to be.

~DragonmasturandMoe Mar 30, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

I couldn't agree more to this. I haven't been in this group long, but when I was patrolling for examples of how to do a mission, I read extra-absurdly-long comics and stories due to too many cameos.

In my opinion, if you want each character done well, you know how long your story will be? But if you briefly mention how your best friend's team can be seen fighting in the background, or how you exchange only a few words with them, that's fine in my book

~slydragoon16 Mar 30, 2012 Hobbyist Writer

Hmm... wise words. I figured this would be the case with those using too many cameos. Thanks for the advice and confirming my suspensions.

~torakoh Mar 30, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

I feel a little guilty about that in what I have in Mission 5 so far... I'll take it to heart in future writings.

~Salemsword Mar 30, 2012

[link] Dear god i screwed up XD first mission down the drain

~Kailden Mar 30, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

It seems that writing familiar faces in a crowd isn't as easy as painting them. And that is a shame.

~Hailo95100 Mar 29, 2012

Mission 5 was my first mission, and though I am usually very good at writing (I had writing to go with my pictures), it usually takes place in a forest, by the ocean, a town- not a tunnel. I put a bunch of cameos and wrote them because I have no idea how to go about describing a tunnel- long...rocky?- and I know everyone likes lengthier things. Though, I do understand what you are saying about that; the Legendary Pokemon merely get little 4 second cameos at the beginning of a movie, are not seen in the entire thing. I know that for me the next time will have fewer cameos because, well, my teams!

*NekoHouseBells33 Mar 29, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Hmm~ I see...OWO

*Rip1191 Mar 29, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

Ugh, geez. This is what gave me so much trouble on my Mission 4 piece. Having to write for ALL THOSE EFFIN' CHARACTERS. ono

Not only the two cameos, but all the NPCs that were important, and involved. That most likely killed it for me, but thank you for the advice, Marl!

(I hope my writing one day reaches the same level you are at. I was blown away when seeing some of your works in literature.)

~WorkerBees Mar 29, 2012 Hobbyist Writer

thankfully i have no friends who are actively in this group, so i'm good

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A tip for somewhat serious writers

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