Wolfspeak | Skoria

Wolfspeak is the art of writing using words that would otherwise not be used in that place. Generally these terms are used by animal roleplayers to convey the appearance of their character or to make their posts seem more poetic or more flowery. However, the exact opposite result is usually what occurs out of it. We here at Skoria do not accept posts that are mostly wolfspeak. Please note that you may use a word, such as occulars, for the eyes, but this sounds very out of place and there are much better words to use in exchange. The occasional use of "hues" for eyes is acceptable as well. Most of the time people use wolfspeak because they are using a term incorrectly. They are trying to describe a part of the body but instead of using a simile or a metaphor, they are stating that the body part is that thing.

Here are a few words we deem wolfspeak.
Pillars - Your character's legs are not pillars. They may be powerful, but they do not hold up buildings.

Dial - Your character's head or nose are not a dial. You do not turn it, it does not turn to cast a shadow of the sun.

Plumage - Your character does not have feathers, unless they are a bird.

Crania/cranium - This is specifically referring to the skull of the body. As in, a naked skull that is not covered in flesh and hair.

Mascu - your character is either masculine or it is not. Mascu is not a word at all, just say they are masculine!

As you can see, these are only a few examples. Also note that you may use a word occasionally - such as audits instead of ears - without us really frowning on it. There are examples of posts below showing both unacceptable and acceptable use of words such as this.

Please, always keep in mind that you can make something sound beautiful without replacing a physical word. Call things what they are and use proper adjectives to make them sound as magnificent as they are.

The questionable post

"There, nigh on the wind, a flitter of dust sparkling in the moonlight as it cascaded towards the earth. Falling, falling, twisting and turning on the faint breeze as if it were dancing 'pon the night air. Downward it descended, winking down until it touched the very tip of a dark dial. Large vivid orbs turned towards opposite polars to stare down at the tiny freckle of dust 'pon the nose of the fae. Auds perked, then swished backwards with a flair and the particle drifted to the earth. Scraping long digits into the earth, the femora strutted along on tall pillars that carried her gracefully thorugh the emerald clad scenery. Her plume, a wonderful thing, swayed behind her. She heard a twig break o'er a fleshy log near her port side. She turned her massive wedge towards it, occuli trying to bring to focus the strange thing that lingered there. She recognized the faint form of a brute she had so grown to hate. Her mandible parted and shining ivories.

The brute strutted forwards upon tall columns towads the femora, his vivid azure pools staring into hers, studying her structure. He grinned, his folds splitting to reveal pearls of dazzling color. The delicate faeora pranced away, her tassel raising along with her hackles as she danced upon her digits into the plumage of brush to the side. Her radars perked and she stared with burning intensity at the other."

What's wrong here?

Lets start from the beginning here. First of all, your character has a gender. The words "fae", "femula", and "femora" do not have anything to do with being a male or female. This just seems like you are trying too hard to make this character seem femenine. Call your female wolf a bitch if you want that is what they are. You may call them a woman if you wish, as we recognize that as an actual term for a female. You can even call them a girl, or a lday. Just use a term that actually exists for the character. Brute is just the same, in this regard. Brute is an ambiguous word that can be used for either male OR female characters.

Now there may be some naysayers out there who say this writing is beautiful or poetic or that it is just "creative writing". Well then, lets take a closer look at that.

"...until it touched the tip of a dark dial."
A dial is the face of a sundial, a timepiece, a face upon which measurement is registered... None of that comes even close to what you are trying to convey Instead of saying dial, use acceptable words. Muzzle, mug, snout, face, etc. You can still make it sound beautiful without resorting to using a word that has little to do with what you mean.

"Large vivid orbs turned toward opposite polars..."
This makes no sense even if you try to look at it from the correct context. An orb is indeed the medical term for an eye, and is an acceptable term from time to time. However, when used in this case it makes no sense. It seems like the orbs are going in opposite directions around something. It is much easier and nicer to say that her eyes crossed to look at the fleck.

"The femora strutted along on tall pillars..."
A pillar is a support for a building. Just, no. Your wolf is not walking around with pillars for legs. They are walking around on thick legs that are built like pillars, perhaps.

"She heard a twig break o'er a fleshy log near her port side."
Apparently Femora is now a boat or a sailor. This is also confusing to anyone who is not of the nautical persuasion. Please just say which direction the sound is actually coming from. Use angles if you want, or the position of hands on a clock. Even that gives an accurate representation of a location in correlation to where the character is at.

Now, there is much more to this post that we could break apart but I think you get the general idea. None of these words are acceptable in the places they were used and there are much better ways to put this together. See the column to the right for more information.

The proper post

"A speck of dust drifted on the gentle night wind, coming to rest on the end of a black nose. The young bitch blinked, her large eyes staring at the freckle of dust upon her nose, before she pulled her ears and her head back in a vigorous shake, dislodging the intrusive particle. She trotted away through the greenery on her long strong legs, her claws digging slightly into the soft earth at every step, her long tail swaying gently behind her with the movement. Hearing the soft snap of a twig somewhere to her left, the bitch paused, stiffened, and turned curiously towards the sound, peering through the darkness as she tried to see what it was that had made it. With some apprehension, she recognised the faint form of a particular dog - one that she knew and had grown to hate - and her lips involuntarily drew back across her muzzle, revealing sharp shining teeth.

The dog strutted confidently towards the bitch, his striking blue eyes looking right into hers in the gesture of dominance or challenge, before drifting thoughtfully all over her whole body. He pulled his own lips into a grin, showing his own fine teeth. The bitch growled once, warningly, her hackles, tail and the fur along her back all rising, before darting swiftly into a nearby clump of bushes. Ears pricked, muscles tense, ready for any move he might make, she gazed at him, steady and unblinking."

Wasn't that a lot better? This post easier to read, there is nothing lost in translation. It is clear and to the point. Now note, there could be more deatail added in.

Here's some examples of how to spruce up this post.
"A speck of dust drifted on the gentle night wind, coming to rest on the end of a black nose."

This could easily be spruced up by adding a few ajectives and switching around a few words! It could easily be turned into something such as: A small, silver speck of dust drifted on the gentle night breeze, carried from who knows how far away. It trailed down to land on the end of an onyx-colored, leathery nose."

"The young bitch blinked, her large eyes staring at the freckle of dust upon her nose"

This too, can have some detail added in to add some length and flow to it. It can turn into something like this: "The young woman blinked her large eyes, staring at the tiny freckle of dust that seemed quite at home upon her nose."

"He pulled his own lips into a grin, showing his own fine teeth."

And, lastly, here's a bit that could really be spun into something quite fine! As an example: "The familiar male pulled his own inky black lips into a grin. His teeth were shown clearly with this action, slicking back from glimmering white, sharp teeth."

Now if you're absolutely convinced that wolfspeak is the way to go and that it is the only kind of writing you want to do, then there are plenty of other sites that allow or encourage it. You are welcome to join it. We, however, would be sad to see you go over something like that. Especially when you can hang around with us and develop your own style and learn how to convey what you mean in a developed, clear, and precise way.