[x.Hello.x]
New: Hey guys. If you're reading this now, then thank you. I am extremely happy to say that I've been getting quite a few mails about my guide recently. I am flattered by them, and I thank you all very much. ^^ To be honest, I didn't think anyone even KNEW this guide existed, let alone used it. x3
Now, I have a promise for you all. I am going to make a few changes, to make this better, including:
-I am going to re-read all of my guide and (HOMG) correct all my stupid typos and non-making-sense-ness sentences.
-I am going to move my graphics. They are closed, and well, in the way... DONE.
-I am going to delete old stuff on here that is no longer needed (e.g. I just noticed a guide for one of my friends from about.. a year ago o-o). DONE.
-I am going to make this page LOOK NICER. YAY. PRETTY.
Okay. Pretty-
ish. As pretty as I can make it. I AM GOING TO ADD PURDY PICTURES AND A WOAH-OMG-AMAZING LAYOUT.
Maybe I exaggerated a bit. I'm not brilliant. But i'll try make this page look a bit nicer for you guys.
Okay. I am sick of seeing poorly made apps. Apps that couldn't have taken longer than 30 minutes.
What?! 30 minutes is a long time!
No. No, it isn't. My apps aren't the best, and mine take days/weeks to complete.
In this tutorial I will be showing you what you can include in your app, what you shouldn't do and how to make your app stand out above the rest. Read on! ^_^
Note: I am not guaranteeing you will get the pet. This tutorial is just here to help. :3
Another note: I am not copying AmiyasPrincess' app tutorial. With all due respect, it is a good tutorial, but it is kind of basic. This app is a little more advanced. :3
Remember; check the rules/requirements to make sure you meet/can do all of them. No point applying then realising you don't meet the requirements! ^^;
[x.First Impressions are Always the Best.x]
1. The first thing to do is make a nice layout. No pre-made layouts! A pre-made layout or no layout is the worst possible thing you could ever do. Remember, the layout is the first thing the owner sees; it needs to make a good first impression. The best thing to do is to have a picture YOU drew of the pet on the layout somewhere. That's always a good plus. :3 Don't make it too boring – some owners may not even bother reading boring or useless looking apps. Make it interesting. ^^;
2. Make sure your account is presentable: ALL pet's have lookups by you, all pets have petpages by you, a lookup on all your accounts by you, a shop that doesn't have the word 'donate' in it (with stock in = great =D), a gallery with items in it, a guild (if you are the leader, awesome) ect. It impresses the owner. ;)
[x.Planning Ahead.x]
1. After I have made my layout and made sure it works, I usually make a quick plan on MS word of what I am going to include in my app. This helps later on as you don't get stuck on what you're going to do.
2. Now you have planned the content, why not try and plan what the pet will look like (custom design), history, petpet and maybe the basic plot of a story? Remember, these are optional, but they DO help. ;D
[x.Playing Your Cards Right.x]
1. To help improve your chances, try getting to know the owner more. Try making conversation with them. The more they know you BEHIND the app, the more they'll trust you. I am NOT saying to go neomailing the owner and filling their inbox, that'll just bug them. Just try and be nice. =)
2. Play your strongpoint. Everyone has one. For example, my strongpoint is writing, my weakness is drawing. I still draw, but I make up for them by writing a long history, story
and roleplaying sample. If your strongpoint was, say, drawing, then draw lots. Do NOT just do your strongpoint though. I draw at least 5 (rubbish) pictures, and the owners know I have tried. I don't just write lots. Mixture is good. =D
[x.What not to do.x]
Yes. There is a lot of things you should
never ever do in an app.
1. Never brag. Don't act as if your drawings are the best of the best, your writing skills are amazing and everyone idolises you. That usually just annoys the owner, especially if your skills aren't /that/ great. x3
2. Don't ever say that you should get the pet. For example 'I should get this pet as I think my app is the best out of everyone's.' BIG no-no, but also never be too negative. For example, 'I know my app is really bad and I'll probably be rejected, but oh-well,' that's also a big no-no. Have self-confidence, but not overly confident. :)
3. Never be rude to the owner, try and bribe them or try and buy/trade their pets. NEVER. You will probably be reported, blocked and frozen.
4. Okay. Say you are applying for a Maraquan Chomby. Never say anything like, 'Woah! I'd love to adopt your Maraquan Chomby..It is my dream pet!' Three things wrong in there. Can you spot them? Number one, never call the pet an it. Number two, never call the pet by 'Maraquan Chomby' all the way through the app – the owner may start to think you don't even know the name of the pet. Number three, never adopt a pet just because of it's color/specie. By saying 'I've wanted a Maraquan Chomby for ever,' simply says 'I want your chomby because of it's colour and I'd just go for any random Maraquan Chomby up for adoption, yours is not special.' Get the idea?
5. If rejected, don't flame the owner. Don't be rude, don't spam up their inbox. That'll just make them hate you. xD
[x.What to do.x]
1. Be original. The owner doesn't want to read 37 apps that are all dull and the same. Stand out above the rest. How you do this is your idea. I can't help you with this. Keyword: originality. Not 'Nina's originality'. ;D
2. Add as much as you can. In apps, unfortunately, the saying 'quality not quantity,' isn't much good. Quality is good, but the more the better. ;D Then again, don't repeat everything. o_o;; If the owner says he/she has a short attention span, don't make it 25 pages on MS Word. xD It depends on what the owner wants.
3. Always listen to what the owner does/doesn't want and obey and respect that. xD
4. Include art. No art makes it dull and boring to read, and most of the time, art is a requirement. Try to include a story. Most owners love stories. :3
5. PROOFREAD. I cannot stress this enough. The owner will be annoyed if the first sentence looks like this:
hello, i am Nana an i wanna adopt yuor pet, name.' First letter of a sentence = capital. i's = I. Nana, yuor, wanna, ur = no chatspeak or slang, check for typos. If you don't know how to spell something either ask or spellcheck. (List of common spelling errors at bottom ;D).
[x.The Beginning.x]
Woo-hoo. You now know what you should and shouldn't do, and you have a lovely layout, right? Now, to fill it up. :3 This is the most important thing, of course. xD
1. Start with a lovely intro. Intros should just welcome the owner to the app and cover what is later on in the app. Be original – make your pet tell the app, have a narrator, talk in third person, but make sure you can keep it up all the way through the app. Don't start in 3rd then switch to 1st half way through!
2. Next, comes probably the easiest section for you. The 'about me' section. Basically, just put what you like, dislike, favourite color – anything you can think of! Don't make it longer than a page on MS Word though. XD I'm sure the owner doesn't want to read about what you ate for tea the night before. o_O;;
3. Another section, 'about me – on neopets'. This is not the same as the section before; it's just nicer to split the two up. This is your accounts, a day in the life of you, what you do on Neopets and anything else.
4. About the app. Why have you used that layout? Why that color scheme? Just talk about the layout/app now. :3
5. 'Meet the Family'. Talk about your current pets. Their personalities? Do they have a custom design? Yes? What about a history? This is your chance to prove to the owner you care and look after your pets, and they aren't trophy pets.
6. 'Status' section. Link petpages your pets have, ones you have under construction and tell the owner if they have lookups or not (if they don't, I suggest you make them some xD).
7. 'Why PetName?'. Why do you want the pet? What made them stand out amongst the other pets? How did you stumble across the pet? Why are you applying? All that jazz.
8. 'Why yourname?' Don't be overly confident here. I don't like this section, really, but it is a great opportunity to show the owner why you're the best choice. Are you online a lot? Do you RP/draw your pets? Do you make them all lookups and petpages? Would you train the pet? Would you find them friends? Ect, ect.
[x.Middle.x]
This is what I class halfway through the app. =)
9. 'Plans'. What do you plan to do with the pet? Do you plan to draw them? RP? BC? Friends/enemies? Train them? BD? Petpet? Petpetpet? Petpage? Lookup? You get the idea. ;D I hope.
10. 'Petpet' section. Which petpet have you chosen for the pet? Why? Price? Have you bought it already? Yes? Link the app to the trade lot. Petpet's personality? Did the pet just stumble upon it or did they meet somehow? Expand.
11. 'Petpetpet'. Will the petpet have a petpetpet? Just the same as the above. ;)
12. 'Statistics'. The pets stats. Name, age, specie, gender, markings ect.
13. 'Personality'. The pet's would-be personality. Kind and sweet? Or evil and merciless? Talk about it, the owner wants to know.
14. The pet's likes and dislikes. Don't have to do very many, this section explains itself. o_o;;
15. 'Custom Look'. Would the pet have a custom look? What would it be like? Why is it like that? Was the pet born like that? No? Good. How did they get like that, then? Markings, clothing, quad or anthro? Cute. Hair? Facial features? Cuts? Anything else?
16. Lyrics. Did you search the whole net to find a song suited to the pet? Yes? How sweet of you. =) Why not show the owner those lyrics? ;D
17. 'Diary'. Does the pet have a diary? Yes? Thought so, good. Why not show the owner a few of those entries?
18. Friends and enemies. Sure, you said you'd find the pet some, but did you really mean that, or were you bluffing? Show the owner you've already found the pet a few friends or enemies, link them here and write a sentence or two about them. How did they meet? Best friends or mortal enemies? Why? Ect, ect..
19. Writing. Woo, my favourite part. RP example, story and history are the three sections I always include in my apps. RP sample being the shortest, and probably random, story about the pet and it's history being extremely long. Be creative. ^^;
[x.Endings.x]
The final sections of the app. ^^;
20. Art. Draw as much art as possible of the pet. Have example art of your other pets, if you can't draw, still draw it anyway. This shows you care and put the most effort possible into your app.
21. More art! But not by you. Get your friends to draw you some fanart? Make a toybox. Makeables? Adoptables? Everything you could possibly include. =D
22. Inbox. Why not make your pet write a letter to the pet.
When I do this, I usually just draw the lines and outline of the paper on MS Paint and type in what the pet is saying. Each pet is different; one is dumb so they have a short vocabulary. One is a genius so they use long, complicated words ect. Make them suit your pets, then afterwards I usually make it look like the pets have actually written them. The dumb one usually has a bite taken out of the corner and messy handwriting (or font) for example.
23. Dedication. Have you dedicated your lookup, gallery, shop, neodeck, trades, auctions, do they have their own file on your computer? Your siggy, your avvie, your font, your desktop ect. Link them all or do screenshots. ;D
24. Links. Link to anything of any importance. I usually link to my graphic examples, art examples, writing examples and all the dedicated stuff. ^^;
25. Referrals. Ask your friends to write you one and put them up to show the owner how good a person you are.
26. Your accounts. List your account. How many? Lab account? Main account? Where would the pet be going? Active?
27. Contact you. AIM? MSN? Which account to neomail? Links to do that? Would you download an IM if necessary?
28. WOW. You made it! Outro. Say goodbye to the owner. Say you hope they enjoyed your app and that you hope they will consider you.
[x.After.x]
WAIT. Yes, your app is done, but it's not ready to be sent in yet. No point spending days on an app then getting rejected for something silly. This section will help prevent this from happening.
1. Check the rules. Have you followed them all?
2. Read over your app. Have you made any silly mistakes? Did you accidentally slip up and put 'she' instead of 'he'? Do all the links work?
3. Make sure your pet lookups and petpages are ready.
4. Make sure everything you dedicated is still there and ready.
5. Make sure there are no grammar or spelling errors.
[x.Ready!.x]
Now that it is done and dusted, get someone to rate it. Your friends? Then try and improve as much as possible. Once you have done this, it is ready to be sent in. Send the owner a POLITE neomail saying your name, where the app is and something along the lines of: 'I hope you enjoy reading my app, hope to hear from you soon! =)' or something.
Good luck from me, Nina. I hope you get the pet you are applying for, good luck! ;D
[x.Common Spelling Errors/Mistakes.x]
Grammar NOT grammer.
Current not currant.
To, too, two. Two is a number. To is 'to do' something (e.g. I am going to do the gardening). Too is as in, 'too much' or 'too many'.
Helpful, useful, plentyful ect, all have one 'l'.
Of and off. Off is to 'turn something off'. Of is 'of something', e.g. I am queen of the house.
Their, there and they're. There, e.g. there is a plant in the corner. Their means belonging to someone, e.g. 'their book, and they're means 'there are'.
Then there's the common mistake of the there's (apostrophe). There's = 'there is' OR it could mean it belongs to someone, e.g. Nina's book. That does NOT mean 'Nina is book' because I certainly am not. D: May I also state that its and it's is EXACTLY THE SAME rule.
If there is a word you are constantly getting wrong, or grammar you can't do, don't be afraid to mail me and I'll add it up here for you. ;D
[x.Examples.x]
Examples of awesome apps I have seen before.
Kyuushou's app for Reniok, the royal aisha, is
here.
Want me to add your app up there? Then drop me a neomail
here. It will be hard getting up there, but you can try. ^^;
[x.Support Us.x]
Hope you found this guide useful. Much appreciated if you'd link me. =)
[x.Others.x]
Other helpful pages. Want to be added up here? You must have a button that isn't /massive/. Neomail
NinaRules18 (that's me) and ask me to add you up here. You must add my button, though. =) -Pokes section above-
