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First, what part of an essence is a syntax?

Where can I find out exactly what is Essence and how it works? I see the results, but I am not sure what anyone is talking about.
Any thoughts that can clear this up?

So, if you have any questions, suggestions, or panics about the syntax of essence, feel free to vent them here.

syntax is the grammar of an essence map, right? Essence mapping is not hard to understand. It's a brilliant idea, I love it, and I'd do it all the time if I could figure out the stupid grammar. Body, aspect, qualifier, all that kind of thing is confusing me...

Because essence is imagery, right? The entire point is to put invisible aspects into a visible form. Something you can see and feel and understand. And that's what makes White Raven's avatars so totally awesome; they put into visual form the imagery of things hidden and unseen.

I can do that, I can come up with imagery. But all this complicated syntax business leaves me confused. My instinct is to just indent everything like a full blown outline. Is Jay's syntax a computer programmers definition of neatness or an actual necessity?

If you want to go with just indentation, go ahead. I would probably end up dubbing it Xflat or Xcrippled though.

Greetings,

Syntax is one of the hardest parts of essence to standardize. All three of us who use it in my family do it differently. I have tried to be both specific and general, but that is a bit difficult. So, if you have any questions, suggestions, or panics about the syntax of essence, feel free to vent them here.

With joy and peace in Christ,
Jay Lauser

Author:	Whythawye [ October 22nd, 2009, 11:57 am ]
Post subject:	Syntax
Greetings, Syntax is one of the hardest parts of essence to standardize. All three of us who use it in my family do it differently. I have tried to be both specific and general, but that is a bit difficult. So, if you have any questions, suggestions, or panics about the syntax of essence, feel free to vent them here. With joy and peace in Christ, Jay Lauser

Author:	Liagiba [ October 22nd, 2009, 1:01 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
First, what part of an essence is a syntax?

Author:	Whythawye [ October 27th, 2009, 9:25 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
Liagiba wrote: First, what part of an essence is a syntax? Syntax is like grammar and punctuation. Basically: do you use a semicolon or a comma, a curly or a square bracket, etc.

Author:	Ciela Rose [ January 15th, 2010, 10:36 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
Where can I find out exactly what is Essence and how it works? I see the results, but I am not sure what anyone is talking about. Any thoughts that can clear this up?

Author:	Hannah Marie [ January 16th, 2010, 12:44 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
Ciela Rose, Have you read through What is Essence?? It contains an excellent description and goes into much more detail regarding Essence.

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Author:	Mama Raven Mimetes [ January 17th, 2010, 6:00 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
Ciela Rose wrote: Where can I find out exactly what is Essence and how it works? I see the results, but I am not sure what anyone is talking about. Any thoughts that can clear this up? Ciela, if you still need help figuring it out after reading the link from Lady Esmeralda you could try this one as well: suggestions for making Essence easier to explain/understand When Lady Eruwaedhiel and I tried figuring it out we ran into some problems. After several hours of hashing it out we came up with that post! LOL ~Raven

Author:	Mama Raven Mimetes [ February 5th, 2010, 1:06 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
Sir Emeth Mimetes wrote: So, if you have any questions, suggestions, or panics about the syntax of essence, feel free to vent them here. I like to use capital and lowercase letters to help keep track of the placement. SUBJECT ASPECT {Qualifier [Characteristic (metaphor)]} I make my subjects and aspects both all uppercase. Qualifiers and characteristics get the first letter capitalized. Metaphors only get capitalized if they are proper names. ~Raven

Author:	Andrew Amnon Mimetes [ June 12th, 2010, 7:54 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
I'll go with White Raven's method, not because I'm necessarily convinced it's the best, but because it's the only one I've been able to figure out. In another post White Raven/her mom were talking about how the current labels are hard to figure out...I agree, but these make sense. Now I just have to try an essence map. (I guess it's like a lot of things that Jay's family comes up with... you know it's great and it will probably greatly improve your writing; but it's like jumping into an ice-cold shower sometimes! ) eruheran

Author:	Constable Jaynin Mimetes [ September 30th, 2010, 10:33 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
syntax is the grammar of an essence map, right? Essence mapping is not hard to understand. It's a brilliant idea, I love it, and I'd do it all the time if I could figure out the stupid grammar. Body, aspect, qualifier, all that kind of thing is confusing me... Because essence is imagery, right? The entire point is to put invisible aspects into a visible form. Something you can see and feel and understand. And that's what makes White Raven's avatars so totally awesome; they put into visual form the imagery of things hidden and unseen. I can do that, I can come up with imagery. But all this complicated syntax business leaves me confused. My instinct is to just indent everything like a full blown outline. Is Jay's syntax a computer programmers definition of neatness or an actual necessity?

Author:	Elanhil [ September 30th, 2010, 8:35 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
Janin, I was very confused like you when I first started essence. I've only made 4 or 5 maps, but it really helps you know your character more. Syntax is basically the map's format. Something that I'm trying to wrap my head around is how many different kinds of Syntax there are. So far, the one I like the best (I think it's called beginner) looks like this: BODY{ ...Face[ ......hair( .........<the waves of the ocean> .........<the color of oak bark>)]} That's a piece of Jade's essence. Normally there would be many more lines before it closes at the end. It closes by putting the other side of a bracket at the end of a metaphor. Normally after bark> I'd have just a ) and then on a new line I'd have eyes( for example. Don't know if that helped or answered all your questions. It is almost like an outline.

Author:	Whythawye [ October 17th, 2010, 7:36 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
Vanya Katerina Jaynin wrote: syntax is the grammar of an essence map, right? Essence mapping is not hard to understand. It's a brilliant idea, I love it, and I'd do it all the time if I could figure out the stupid grammar. Body, aspect, qualifier, all that kind of thing is confusing me... Yep, that is basically what it is. Vanya Katerina Jaynin wrote: Because essence is imagery, right? The entire point is to put invisible aspects into a visible form. Something you can see and feel and understand. And that's what makes White Raven's avatars so totally awesome; they put into visual form the imagery of things hidden and unseen. More or less, it is. Essence mapping is much more than imagery though. Vanya Katerina Jaynin wrote: I can do that, I can come up with imagery. But all this complicated syntax business leaves me confused. My instinct is to just indent everything like a full blown outline. Is Jay's syntax a computer programmers definition of neatness or an actual necessity? Hehehe... well, it kind of started as 'a computer programmer's definition of neatness' but it has become an actual necessity, once it advanced beyond meaningless names for sections. If you want to go with just indentation, go ahead. I would probably end up dubbing it Xflat or Xcrippled though. The labels add a ton of meaning to your ECSS (especially in X++). Such as: Aspect-name { <element> } is vastly different from: Class-name [ <element> ] depending on what you put into those place-holders.

Author:	Elanhil [ October 17th, 2010, 9:40 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
Sir Emeth Mimetes wrote: If you want to go with just indentation, go ahead. I would probably end up dubbing it Xflat or Xcrippled though. lol! I've done several essence maps, and I find the best way to learn syntax is just do it however you want, and then a big Lauser person (or Seer) will come along and tell you what's right, wrong, etc. And then for future maps you know.

Author:	Whythawye [ October 18th, 2010, 2:25 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
That works.

Author:	PrinceCharles [ October 28th, 2010, 9:21 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
Sir Emeth Mimetes wrote: Greetings, Syntax is one of the hardest parts of essence to standardize. All three of us who use it in my family do it differently. I have tried to be both specific and general, but that is a bit difficult. So, if you have any questions, suggestions, or panics about the syntax of essence, feel free to vent them here. With joy and peace in Christ, Jay Lauser I agree on this. Especially when you're beginner. It will make your brain ache.

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Author:	Lady Eruwaedhiel [ October 29th, 2010, 10:56 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
Aww, it's not so bad after a while. It's a little hard to get used to, but when you can figure it out it's really easy.

Author:	Andrew Amnon Mimetes [ November 4th, 2010, 10:51 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
I second this...it can be helpful once you figure it out encouraging smile eruheran

Author:	Elanhil [ November 4th, 2010, 8:34 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
(Welcome, Charles!) I agree with Eru and Eru. ( ) Syntax can be a bear to learn, but once you get used to it isn't all that bad, and really helps organize thoughts. I just wish it was a tad easier to learn.

Author:	Evening L. Aspen [ November 6th, 2010, 10:11 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Syntax
I'm a member of the small camp that did not find learning syntax too difficult. My tip to anyone seeking to learn it is to read a bunch of essence maps. At least for me, after reading a few maps, the syntax clicked and I understood it well enough to make several of my own. I admit, it can get confusing if you try to remember all the names and definitions of the different categories (aspect, qualifier, etc.), but the basic idea isn't too complicated. Sort of like economics; it may seem really complicated, but it's actually very logical. There's my three cents.