Writing style

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Not quite a Newb Joined: 22 Jun 2012 Posts: 67

I had a loan lad going and things were great with him. He gave me three bank accounts, and at that point I decided I would start him up with a second character since he seemed to have a lot of accounts. After a while things were winding down with my first character, so right at the crisis moment I went quiet and was going to write him back saying the main character died in the hospital, this is his accountant, please explain the transaction...

But it looks like my plans went awry.

Today I checked my mail on my second character, and he accused me of being the same person! So I'm pretty chagrined. I guess my writing style was too distinctive. Well all was not in vain, that second character got another bank account out of him and he did write to me 15 times over three weeks, but still I can't help but feel sad that I was found out. Oh yeah and my second character's name is a joke name (subtle though) and he caught on to that as well...so he's no dummy.

I guess the easiest thing would be to not try baiting the same guy from multiple characters, but does anyone have a good technique for making yourself sound different? Some baiters are very, very talented at this from some baits I've read.

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 12:47 am

One of the things I do when I make a new character I decide what traits this persona may have. When I started baiting I kept notes on my characters.

When I sit down to write as that character, like an actor I put myself into that role. It involves thinking about the character and how you want him or her seen as. I try to think how such a character might respond.

For instance, I write differently when I am using one of my lawyer characters, than I do as Lexi, the ditzy blonde (20 years old), or as Sister Lucy a nun, or Nancy Drew, RN, or an old person who is forgetful.

A good study on this might be the "famous" Shorty bait. Baiters played many different roles and got into character for each role.

As one character you might write run on sentences, or don't use initial caps, or no punctuation, or make use of different fonts, spelling correctly as one character and mis-spelling as another character to the same lad.

Basically try to mix it up.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 22 Jun 2012 Posts: 67

Great, thanks!

I think at first I may have made a mistake of sending emails to him at the same time from two characters, which could certainly be a tip off. I've changed that up on a credit card lad I'm working from two characters.

That's great advice about developing the personas and I will work on that.

I did get another email after his "final" email saying that he went to Money Gram and the MTCN I had given him had no transaction found! So I'm glad he made another wasted trip, and hope that I can keep him going a bit longer.

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 1:35 am

^^If you find yourself with time issues and characters. Just write your lad at your convenient time. Leave it in your draft folder. Send at that odd time of hour or when you are waking up. Already pre-written and well thought out.

Every thing MLF said works for me.

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:22 am

Tyrion -
The above advice is good advice. I think it depends on the bait though (as well as the baiter).

For me personally, if I'm just working on getting bank accounts out of them, I definitely don't try and invent some kind of character for myself. That would take far too much effort for a simpleton like myself.

When I'm working towards bank accounts, I write them from one email account just the way I would write a real email. Complete sentences, appropriate formatting, punctuation, grammar, etc... If I start writing them from another email, I just write them simple and don't bother with grammar, spelling, and proofreading. That way it seems like a different person (at least it seems to work) and I don't have to think about anything.

Whatever works best for you is always the best though.

Keep up the good work.

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:33 am

I recently made up a new character, my main character's banker (she calls him the banker, but he's really the branch manager of the bank). He is a Slav (long story) so he mixes up articles and sometimes his sentences sound funny in other ways. A. is not Slavic and knows no Slavic languages; her style is close to mine, except the time she came home after a round-the-world trip with two police interrogations (I typed that bit with my eyes closed). I have another character on the west coast; he writes (almost) only during work hours in California time.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 22 Jun 2012 Posts: 67

Thanks all for the words of encouragement. In some ways I'm thrilled with my accomplishments so far, but then I've stubbed my toe twice now with being caught by a lad and it is discouraging. But then, I'm not the one who sat in a cyber cafe putting together documents and sending formats just to have my bank accounts yanked out from under me over and over. So even though he's smart for figuring me out, how smart is he, really? Cool

Edit: Keeping more on topic, these are all good ideas for changing up my writing style and I'll keep them in mind. I do think I tend to say similar type of things to my lads and I need to work on thinking what different types of characters would say.

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:55 am

If you use Gmail for your baiting then you can use Boomerang to schedule your outgoing emails.

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 5:38 am

I try to keep it simple (well, at least it's simple for me). I usually have no more than three main characters, though I will often bring in multiple secondary characters to enhance the confusion at a critical point in the bait. I mostly write in the same manner, just with a different attitude toward the lad.

1) The low level guy, who really likes the lad and wants to help in any way possible, but doesn't control the money.

2) The mid level guy, who really doesn't have time to bother with the lad, but will speak with him when absolutely necessary. Still doesn't control the money, but definitely has a say in how it's spent and is generally an asshole.

3) The boss who has all the money, usually extremely eccentric with some anger issues, but is dumb as a box of rocks and will usually do what the mid-level guy advises.

Basically, the higher on the food chain the lad gets, the more difficult it becomes for the lad (typical Bureaucracy, with which the lads are usually accustomed to dealing). Therefore the lad will usually prefer to deal only with the low level guy whom he thinks has his (the lad's) best interest in mind.

The low level guy will give the lad plenty of information about the mid-level guy and the boss while the low level guy is getting to know the lad. If the lad believes he has someone on the inside, who is working with him to achieve the big payoff, he will usually be more receptive to the crazy whims of the folks who control the money.

I also try not to commit to a character's personality too firmly, or too soon, so I have some flexibility if the lad leaves himself open for some unplanned exploitation. Twisted Evil

Master Baiter Joined: 20 Nov 2009 Posts: 114

I've played up to 5 characters in a single bait, without the lad ever catching on.

As Morgain says, you have to put yourself into the role like an actor. I use a couple of silly little techniques to help me do this.

One is to choose my celebrity player as soon as I create a character, whether or not I send pics to the lad sooner or later. This gives a face to the character that I picture myself wearing as I am writing.

I also write to the lad's character(s), rather than the lad himself, in the sense that in my mind at the time, as my character, I am writing to the orphan, widow, bank manager, etc., and not to a scammer.

Probably the silliest trick on myself I use is to "dictate" the emails to myself as I am writing them, as though I am speaking to the message recipient, in what I imagine my character's voice to be. Depending on your surroundings at the time, you might want to do this under your breath.

Baiting Guru Joined: 27 Mar 2011 Posts: 21158

All great stuff give above. The only thing I might add is changing the gender of your second character. It may help you to separate your style a bit more.

Another problem I have encountered with my own is signing off with the wrong character name. It has not hung me yet but I have made that mistake early enough that it went right by them.

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:28 pm

^^ That is a good point. And it is something I do also.