StarClans' Claws -> Beginners' Folly

Beginners' Folly, Newcomers, please read!

Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

[Dark Alliance]

Posted: Jul 26 2005, 02:30 PM

The Great Darkieness

Group: Almighty Starclan
Posts: 2,296
Member No.: 2
Joined: 19-January 05

This topic will cover:
1) Dissecting a Joining Form - Learn how to correctly complete a joining form! Includes examples of great forms, acceptable forms, and not so hot forms.
2) Useful Joining Form Checklist - If you've done everything here, then you're probably ready for acceptance.
3) What Makes Us Tick - Little things that may prevent you from being accepted. Discover what they are and how to fix them.
3) The Aftermath - Beginners and what they should do after being accepted. Don't freak, just read.

1) Dissecting a Joining Form
Joining forms are bothersome. Nearly everyone hates them, and those who don't are either lying through their teeth or suffering from a severe mental illness. Still, they are important. Not only do they give us useful information about a character, but they also let Clan leaders decide if someone is capable enough to be a part of a literate roleplaying site. When you fill out a joining form, you should have two primary things in mind: acceptance and character portrayal. This means, obviously, that you wish to be roleplay into StarClan's Claws and you also wish to give useful information about your character.

Name: This is as simple as it gets. What is your character's name? Remember, a kitten must have 'kit' at the end of their name (Dustkit, Tallkit, Fatkit), an apprentice must have 'paw' at the end (Dustpaw, Tallpaw, Fatpaw, etc), and warriors & elders can have any number of other endings (Duststorm, Tallflame, Fatfoot). There are no deputy, medicine cat, and leader joinings, so don't even try. If you wish to be medicine cat and there is not already one, please contact your leader about it via PM after being accepted. Loners and rogue names do not follow a pattern; they can be called anything they wish.
Rank: Are you a kit, apprentice, warrior, or elder? Remember, kits are under six moons of age. From six moons to about ten or twelve, your character is an apprentice. From then on until old age hinders their hunting and fighting abilities, they are warriors.
Clan: ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, ShadowClan, rogue, loner, or kittypet are your only options here. If you're a rogue and you wish to join a certain gang, such as the Blackenhearts, please mention that here.
Age: Remember, one moon is the same as one month. Twelve moons, or twelve months, is the same as one year. Make sure that your age corresponds to your rank.
Gender: Male or female?
Pic: This is not required, but it's helpful.
Description: What does your character look like? Include pelt coloration, size, fur-length, eye hue, any unique features, scarring, etc. Be as descriptive as possible.
Personality: What does your character act like? What things make him/her tick? What does he/she do in their free time? What special skills does your character have? Don't just say things like, 'mean, shy, nice.' This tells us nothing. Go into greater detail and tell us why this is so.
History: What happened in your character's early life? Talk about family, friends, mentors, certain life changing events. If your character was born a loner, what hardships did he/she face and what led your character to a Clan? Look at form examples below for ideas.
RP Example: This is your chance to shine. Show us how brilliant of a writer you can be. Maybe have your character go hunting and describe his/her surroundings, the smells, the sights. Tell what your character is thinking, whether they're worried or excited. Draw a vivid picture in heads using words. It should be in third person (Snowyfur padded to the lake), rather than first (I padded to the lake).
Secret Word: It's in the Rules. You will not be accepted without a secret word. No excuses.

QUOTE

Name: Leafheart
Rank: Warrior
Clan: WindClan
Age: 18 moons
Gender: Female
Pic: ---
Description: Leafheart is about average size for a female cat. Her build is slender, but still that of a warrior, with a muscular and hardened look to it. Her fur has a dark tortoiseshell pattern, with mostly dark patches of black, smoky gray, and brown, though the occasional ginger patch is shown. Dark stripes crisscross her back and legs, and her fur is long, nearly brushing the ground on occasion. Leafheart's eyes are a deep emerald green.

Personality: Leafheart is a more calm and down-to-earth cat than anything. She is very sensible, and intelligence is one of her greatest traits. The tortoiseshell she-cat is usually kind as well, and would make a good friend. Though she is not the most outgoing of cats, she enjoys quiet company. Loyalty is very important to her, and she would die for her clan, as would any true warrior.

History: Leafheart was born in WindClan, for that was where her mother Crystalwind lived. Her father Blaze, however, was a loner, preferring to wander than stay with his mate and new children. Leafkit and her brother, Eveningkit, lived their first week or so in peace, growing up with their calm, peace-loving mother and well-accepted by the clan. But somehow, Crystalwind knew it could not last, for she longed to see her mate again, though did not know where he was at the moment. As the kits grew old enough to be curious about their surroundings, she would often take them out to the unclaimed lands, in hopes of seeing him again.

One day, while Crystalwind was taking them on one of these excursions, Blaze did indeed arrive. The mother cat was overjoyed, until her mate demanded that Leafkit and Eveningkit come live with him, adopting the life of a loner. They were young enough, he claimed, not to remember their life at WindClan. But Crystalwind would not have it, for she longed to have her two kits stay with her and become noble clan members like she had. They got into a long and heated argument, which thankfully did not progress into a fight. Instead, they decided that Eveningkit should go with Blaze and become a loner, while Leafkit should stay with her mother and clan life.

Since then, Leafkit became an apprentice, then finally got her warrior name, Leafheart. Crystalwind grew old and became an elder, then died of a disease. Leafheart does not really remember the argument that passed between her two parents, nor does she remember her father or brother much, for they did not return after that day. Instead, the tortoiseshell she-cat has kept the unwavering love for WindClan that she has always had, and would do anything to fulfill the will of StarClan.

RP Example: It was dark in the forest, for dusk was quickly approaching the lands, casting looming shadows from the oaken trees that engulfed all that they touched. There was still some light, though, for the sun had not completely sunk beneath the horizon's unwavering line, and it spread the dark navy sky with a few streaks of bright red, orange, and violet. A golden glow emanated from the sun itself, as if warding off the darkness that was soon to approach anyway.

A lithe dark form crept stealthily out of the forest's depths, revealing itself to all who cared to notice as a female cat. Her fur was dappled with patches of brown, black, and the occasional ginger, causing her to blend in somewhat with the evening countryside. Her eyes, however, were like glowing green orbs, shining brightly in what meager light was left, their pure emerald color reflecting peace and sensiblity.

And with that, Leafheart slipped silently into the shaded woods as quickly as she had come, so that bypassers might have mistaken her retreating form for a trick of the light. At last, the sun disappeared, leaving the world to the cool silence of night. But if one looked closely, they could see that at the sky's far reaches, there was a star.

� Leafheart

This is, quite obviously, an example of a great form. It's very neat, no spelling or punctuation errors, and extremely descriptive. Note the effort put into the History and the RP Sample in particular. By the way, Leafling, if you'd rather not I used this, poke me. xD

QUOTE

Name: Tinybird
Rank: Warrior
Clan: RiverClan
Age: 12 moons
Gender: Femme
Picture:
http://www.penmarric.ns.ca/graphics/photos/singapura.jpg
Description: No larger than an oversized kit, it may come as a surprise to some that Tinybird is a warrior. Though still a young warrior, she isn't getting any bigger and will retain her small, fragile-looking frame for the rest of her life. She has a pale brown-ticked coat with a tip of black at the end of her tail. Her eyes, forest green in color, are large and expressive.

Personality: Tinybird is very friendly and outgoing. She is most commonly seen around the nursery, playing with the kits, or around the medicine den, where she bombards the healers with questions. Tinybird, because of her kindly optimistic nature, is well liked by most. She never dwells on the fact that she's so small and always seems to find the silver lining of every cloud. Unfortunately for this warrior, she's never been brilliant at fighting and is prone, probably because of her small, skinny stature, to illness. Much of her time is spent in the medicine den.

Luckily, what Tinybird lacks in power, she makes up for in cleverness and other abilities. She's extremely quick and agile; her reflexes, even for a cat, are superb. Tinybird enjoys hunting, running, swimming, and especially loves to climb. She can flit to the top of a tree almost as well as a squirrel and spends much of her free time roaming the treetops just for the joy of it.

History: Tinybird was found in Clan territory, strangely enough, in the middle of a newleaf thunderstorm. If it weren't for a warrior returning from an evening patrol who stumbled upon her, she would have probably drowned or starved to death. Being a very young kit, she was adopted by a queen and has grown up believing herself Clanborn. No one knows who her parents were or how she ended up on their territory; the storm washed away their scent.

RP Sample: Adding. XD

� Goldenhawk

This is a good form, acceptable. It's not as detailed as Leafheart's but gives the reader a peek into the life of this character. This, like the great form I just showed you, would be accepted without complaint. It has no spelling or punctuation errors.

QUOTE

Name:fluffypelt
Rank:Warrior
Clan:Thunderclan
Age:6 moons
Gender:male
Picture:none
Description:white, Fluffy,blue eyes
Personality: mean,doesn't have many friends, ssnaps at the leader alot
History: Was born in the clan.
RP Sample: fluffypelt walked to the frsh kill pile and grabbed a sparrow.

This is a drop dead ugly form. Come on, people! I could come up with something better drunk and blindfolded! X.x Take a look first at the name; Fluffypelt should be capitalized. There should, preferably, be a space between the colon and the information that follows it. This error occurs also in the Rank and Clan blanks. Then, notice the age. If your character was six moons, it would be an apprentice, not a warrior. Description should be at least ten complete sentences, along with the Personality and the History. There are stupid spelling errors, spacing problems, capitalization issues all through this form, and it's not even long enough. The RP Sample should be at least five complete sentences. I'm going to fix this form now. Take a look at the differences.

QUOTE

Name: Fluffypelt
Rank: Warrior
Clan: ThunderClan
Age: 12 moons
Gender: Male
Picture: None
Description: Fluffypelt, though actually small in size, has a thick white coat that gives him a much larger appearance. His eyes are a vivid, electric blue and the most stunning thing about him. He has unnaturally large, cone-shaped ears and several noticeable scars on his face.

Personality: Fluffypelt is a nasty bit of work. It's astonishing that with his attitude he's not a rogue. Sarcastic and unafraid to speak his mind, Fluffypelt with argue with even high ranked cats like the leader and deputy. One might think that they'd kick the tom out for this behavior, but he's such a loyal, fearsome fighter. Even though he's a pain, it's still a benefit to have him in the Clan

RP Sample: It was a cool, cloudy morning, and Fluffypelt awoke to find himself quite hungry. After stretching his long limbs, he exited the den and made a beeline for the fresh-kill pile, where he selected a large rabbit for his breakfast. Settling down by himself in a lone patch of sunlight, he watched the camp slowly come alive. If only I didn't have to train my apprentice today. As he chewed his rabbit, he grumbled softly to himself. Fluffypelt was not a fan of young cats, and his apprentice was no exception.

This is an improved form. It's not anything spectacular, but it's acceptable. I fixed the spelling errors, punctuation problems, spacing issues, and added a whole lot more detail. See? Doesn't it look a heck-of-a-lot better then it did originally? And I'll tell ya, folks. That form only took a couple minutes.

2) Useful Joining Form Checklist
Cheesy? Maybe, but I'm planning on chucking this at people whenever I see a problems so I don't have to keep restating the same thing over and over again. Just wait.

__ My name corresponds to the rank of my character (Dustykit for a kitten, Dustypaw for an apprentice, etc).
__ I did not join as a queen, deputy, leader, or medicine cat.
__ I chose a Clan that is allowing joining at this point in time.
__ My age makes sense with my rank (0-6 moons = kit, 6-12 approx. = apprentice, etc).
__ I have at least ten complete, detailed sentences for my Description.
__ I have at least ten complete, detailed sentences for my Personality.
__ I have at least ten complete, detailed sentences for my History.
__ I have at least twelve complete, detailed sentences for my RP Sample.
__ The secret word is included in my form.
__ I have double checked my form for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and spacing issues, and have fixed any that I discovered. (Check your writing Microsoft Word if necessary.)
__ My form is easy to read and understand.
__ I put a lot of effort into my form.
__ The title of my post includes my character's name and Clan.
Pup-Up Checklist!

3) What Makes Us Tick
Here's just a little list of what makes us tick. This is helpful, for this can help you avoid making those little pet peeves of ours. And you'll make us happy by not making those mistakes.

Grammar. That is a rather big thing here. Please use it as correctly as you can. Like use punctuation. Quick review. Period (.) goes at end of sentence. Comma (,) is a pause. Quotations ("") for when you character speaks. Etc.
To find a better description try google, or a dictonary.
Spelling. Little typos are fine once in a while, but if there's a lot you may want to think about re-reading your post or a Spelling correcting thing. Try Microsoft Word or Dictonary.com Or even, Spellcheck.net
Poor quality of a form with below the minimum requirement of sentences.

Under Construction