Role Playing Tips

Subject: Role Playing Tips Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:43 am

If you're just starting off and you're unsure as to how to roleplay, don't be afraid to ask some of your fellow players for advice and/or tips. I'm sure that most, if not all, would be willing to take some time out to help someone in need.

Good roleplayers are made, not born. Just because someone else might be better than you at roleplaying, it doesn't mean you can't do the same thing. With time and effort becoming a veteran roleplayer is quite an easy task.

Don't be intimidated by your fellow roleplayers. Watch and learn from them. They can often teach you more than you'd be able to learn if you were alone.

Never give up. While in some cases there might not seem to be solutions, facing defeat is something you'll deal with sooner or later. It's how you deal with that which is important. You always have the option to make a new character, join a new thread, a new faction and/or learn from the mistakes you've made in the past.

One of the most important pieces of all, is to remember it is an RP. You are there to have fun and to interact with other characters and players. Don't take things too seriously and remember to always enjoy yourself.

What is Role-playing?

Now I don't think anyone here doesn't know what role playing is since you're on a role playing site right now. But, none the less, if your not sure then feel free to read this.

Role playing can be defined as "one or more persons, assuming the role or playing the part of a particular character from a book, movie, story or whatever, even a friend right next to you". A actor in a movie is described as a role player. Role playing isn't restricted to only doing it in real life or through actual actions, meaning one can do it in writing just the same. The person acting the role can be defined as the 'role player'.

Roleplaying, in essence, is assuming the role of another entity. You write that entity's actions, thoughts, and words, in response to other people's entities. It's sort of like a play, except not quite so live-action and not nearly so rehearsed. Roleplaying is less of a story and more of a dialogue (though not limited to two) with actions incorporated. Plots can tie everything together, or you can let things happen as they will, but one thing is certain--anything is possible, because you are in charge(but don't go overboard and do impossible task).

Role Playing levels:
Role players can be put into different levels base on their role playing ability. There is always people out there who may be better than you and everyone always has room for improvement. The follow are the three main levels of role players:

Beginner: The beginner role players. These role players are just starting off and are still in training. Your skills at role playing are just starting to develop and you'll only get better through practice. Every role play you do makes you better, and you should practice very often, be it online or offline. If you're in this category don't feel a shame, cause that is why this guide is here, specifically for those of this class.
Experienced: The Experienced role players. You are a little bit better than the beginner role players and you have begun to grasp the requirements to make great and fluent post. Your skills aren't the best as some of your role plays will not be as good as other, but none the less that's what practice is for.
Expert: The Expert. Well, at this point your higher than the other two ranks. Your role plays are always great and a pleasure to read and you never disappoint, if you do it's very rarely. Everyone always has room for improvement in life, but you don't have to be self conscious by this as you already a top tier role player.

Okay, you have seen the rest of the guide now you need to learn from experiencing. I'm going to show you a couple examples of role plays and how you can improve then from bad or average to good and great.

Subject: Re: Role Playing Tips Sat Oct 08, 2011 11:13 am

Be Descriptive

When writing describe things to the best of your abilities. Try to give the reader a picture of what your describing so they can feel like they're right there, or even in your shoes. Here's a example of a brief explanation:

Quote :: The man was about 5 feet 6 inches tall, long black hair and light tan skin.

Now. This is what you or anyone don't want to see. You can easily take this and turn into something completely different. Describe his clothing, a few facial features, distinctive features etc. Example:

Quote :: The man stood at about 5 feet 6 inches tall. He was rather skinny but maybe it was just the clothes he wore that gave the impression. He had light tan skin and long black hair that he let run freely mid-way down his back. He had no major facial features other than his golden hues and rather long face, he did have after burns though. He wasn't very muscular but had enough muscularity for a man of his apparent age. He wore a white t-shirt with a pair of blue fitted jeans that had a few tears here and there, accompanied by a pair of black steel-toed boots. Judging by all this, he most likely was around his mid thirties.

See. Don't you think that's much better instead of writing a single line? If you write like the first example then try the second one and you'll find yourself having much more descriptive role plays.

Describing your surroundings:
Bad example:

Quote :: It was a early morning and everything was bright and sunny. The heat was a little hot. There were many people on the streets of Ba Sing Se.

Good example:

Quote :: It was a early morning in Ba Sing Se, around 7:00 AM to be more precise, I didn't have a watch so there was no way for me to tell exactly what time it was. But judging by the way the early morning sun was rising out off the horizon it was safe to say that it was around 7:00. The sun none the less was bright. every glimmer of light it portrayed onto the land was as hot as a hot summer day. If it was this hot now, my mind could only imagine how hot it would be once the sun would set it self up in the middle of the sky at midday.

The streets of Ba Sing Se were filled with flocks of people none the less. Everyone was off to start their daily routines, just like myself. Everyone was in a rush as they hurried to their destinations. The market vendors were trying to make a quick buck of everyone they see past by, but no one blamed them as it was how they made a living. Despite all this, the morning time of Ba Sing Se was in it's fullest of glory.

See there. Try using post like these next time you RP and you'll see that you get much better results. But, remember don't got overboard with being descriptive. Often times, people go overboard with their descriptions and sometimes repeat things or describe things the readers do not want to here about.

Important Pointers When Being Descriptive:

Don't go over board - Simply put; don't go overboard and describe everything that walks, if you do then don't make it very long.
Example, if you were to see a door. Don't go overboard and describe the door if it has features that a ordinary door should have. Everyone knows what a door is, so why would you write a bunch of stuff on a door. Sure you can state simply things as it's color, or things out of the ordinary for a door. But don't state obvious things such as it having a lock and handle, unless that lock is out of the ordinary.
Repetition - You'll see me talking about this more further on just like here. But that's because it's important in every aspect of writing. Don't go repeating things when your describing. Example:

Quote :

The sun was hot, but I didn't mind it very much. Because even though it was hot it felt good. I sort of like things hot rather than cold or cool. I had no explanation as to why, but I simply liked it. Maybe fire benders had a natural liking for hot things, I figured.

See how many times I repeated hot there. So, just try to use different words when writing. A good writer enhances there vocabulary constantly so that there readers will be fascinated if they have never heard the word before. Why do you think Shakespeare was so great?

Subject: Re: Role Playing Tips Fri Oct 21, 2011 10:43 pm

Conclusion:
What To Look For In Your Writing

The best way to write a thread is to coordinate with the players participating along with you. There is no reason not to. Creating a plot and conflict to build your characters is the main point of this site; it is the driving force to help make us better writers in the long-run. Generally there are a few things to look for in your thread whilst planning it: Plot, Character Development, and Conflict. Entertaining Factors is kind of a bonus, but almost as important as the others. After all, if it's not entertaining; who will read your thread in the first place? In order to demonstrate the different levels of these categories, I've provided this rubric for your usage.

Quote :: I have been successful probably because I have always realized that I knew nothing about writing and have merely tried to tell an interesting story entertainingly.
- Edgar Rice Burroughs

	Plot	Conflict	Character Development	Entertaining Factors
Level 1	The plot is non-existent. The posts are more or less rambling.	There is no conflict. Everyone lives in a utopia.	The characters not only not develop, they also show signs of an inconsistent personality.	A passing trash bag has more appeal.
Level 2	A plot may have been possible, but just didn't work out.	"Turmoil" and "Chaos" are mentioned once or twice; nothing actually happens.	There is no lesson to be learned anywhere.	There might be a cliche bandit fight involved, or something equally not-suspenseful and droll to read.
Level 3	A plot does exist; it's just predictable and non-interesting.	The conflict may include a generic antagonist as a foot note.	The character learns to take the left road instead of the right.	Some quick wit and punch lines are the highlight of the thread.
Level 4	The plot has its ups and downs, mostly ups. Its interesting and well thought-out.	The conflict is intriguing, an antagonist is either well-developed or the character has a inner-conflict that lies on the moral fence.	The character grows by the end of the thread, his personality develops--either for better or worse. A palpable difference is noted.	The plot has allowed for entertaining situations to arise. They are fun to read and mentally picture. Humour, drama, romance, and suspense are usually involved at this level.
Level 5	The plot is a roller coaster of amazement. Everything covered is interesting, well thought-out, and more importantly, a joy to read. The plot can be suspenseful, funny, or dramatic, among other things.	The characters involved topple a massive force that caused them great hardship. Be it, loss of a loved one, a great rival, dealing with intense grief, escaping death, etc. etc. The conflict had us on the edge of our seats whilst we read.	The character's lesson in this thread could be the theme for an entirely different novel. The characters are so well developed that they are enjoyable to merely read about.	The subplot is a blast to read. It is never short of comical treasures, moments of despair, triumphant memories, or anything of the like.

Quote :: Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
- E. L. Doctorow

Mikey's short guide to writing a simple post - Over the years I've realized that writing posts can really be broken down to a few pivotal things that need to be included in a post: regardless of what the person who posted before you, or is going to post after you, is going to say. I want to start out by saying that I am in no means an expert at writing, I don't claim to be. I do, however, have almost a decade of experience exclusively on these type of boards. You are not required to follow this guide precisely or even pay attention to it; it is merely supplementary material.

The most common thing that starts out a post is the setting, although this can be placed anywhere in the post, it is usually best to do it nearer to the beginning. It is imperative that the setting is detailed, so that posters in your thread (and readers) get an idea of where they are; be it a run-down pub, a dark dungeon, an abandoned monastery. You can also make describing the setting interesting by doing the simplest of things: include your character's senses. Describe what your character sees, does, hears and smells. Even if your character hears nothing a simple sentence such as: "The disconcerting silence of the room caught Liu Bei's attention." Can make your description more interesting and fun to read.

Next, you can move onto thoughts. There is usually a point in the post where your character's thoughts are broadcast and read like an open book. Sometimes, it is more interesting to hide your character's thoughts in order to build suspense, or hint and foreshadow to an upcoming plot. Thoughts can be spread throughout your post to make the writing read more fluidly, whilst others clump an entire paragraph of what their character is thinking. I prefer the former personally.

As you near the middle of end of your post, the action and dialogue are apparent. Though really, you can start this anywhere in your thread. Some writers start their threads off with a conversation, and then move onto the other sections. Which is great, once you find your style that works for you, stick with it. Regardless, action and dialogue propel the plot. If you are ever running short on things to write about--a common cure for writer's block is to merely put your character into action and see what happens. There is really no tips on this section, you write what your character says and does. An entire post can be made of action and dialogue, though it might feel empty if missing the other components.

No matter what, the end of a post can be referred to as a resolution. Your post must end, there isn't really specific way to end it. The only advice I can give is to build suspense and drama where it can be built. Open-ended if you leave what happens next to the other poster, or quite narrow if you want a specific scenario to occur. The resolution wraps up what was discussed in the post, it can reiterate a theme or an idea that was introduced in the thoughts section. It can end with your character asking a question from action and dialogue. Or maybe coming back to how impacting the setting was. Either way, a post ends.

I hope this guide will be at least somewhat helpful in your writing adventures. :)

Quote :: It is perfectly okay to write garbage--as long as you edit brilliantly. - C. J. Cherryh

A note on Proofreading - Proofreading is the greatest thing ever invented. It is so simple to preform as well. Do this: once you are done writing a post, READ IT before posting. The natural writer in you will pick up errors you didn't realize whilst writing. And although you won't pick up everything, proofreading can help your post be ten times better.