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Style Guide
Aim for 4-6 lines in length; this is enough to include detail, while not overwhelming the people who do want to explore a zone. For rooms, remember that you can also add thematic items and props to a room if you want more detail outside of the room's desc-- instead of writing in a counter that circles the room, you can add the counter, and even put drawers in it to load flavor items into if you want.
Less is more. The major goal of writing is not to specifically describe the scene to the last detail like an engineer. You are entertaining the reader, and trying to INVOKE the room into their mind. Metaphors, using fewer words, and invoking concepts will bring it to life more effectively then precisely describing the room as an engineer. Don't go overboard and don't go repetitive unless you're trying to emphasize a narrative or theme.
If you have a dozen identical hallways and rooms, merge them all into as few rooms as possible. Or make it a single room that loops back on itself to give an impression of length, with other areas branching off (looping rooms don't always have to be mazes).
It's rare for players to read extra descriptions-- most players don't know they exist. You can write them if you want to, but this is a low-return way to add information. Exceptions are book-style items that clearly instruct the player on how to read the pages.
Avoid the use of color in look descriptions, and if you use them in in-the-room descriptions, make sure you close the color with the appropriate tag (^g for items, ^y for vehicles, etc).
If you want to call out a command or extra description, put ##^W in front of it, then close the color with '^n' at the end of the highlighted word. We recommend upper-casing the word as well for commands, like: To continue, head ##^WNORTH^n. The ## will disappear for non-screenreaders, and will render as # for screenreaders, drawing their attention.
Use Shadowrun swear words instead of IRL swear words. Ex: Frag, drek, hoop, slitch, etc. They can be found mixed into the SR wiki's slang list.
When writing names, use lowercase a or an, and never put a period or extra spaces. This is because the item's name is referenced in other strings in the middle of a sentence, so it looks weird if Person gets A Stupid Turkey. and eats it versus Person gets a stupid turkey and eats it.