How to Type like a Pro Roleplayer

This is just a suggestion for you guys, but to be quite frank, I’m tired of seeing 2 sentence posts in roleplays. It is really almost spam to be completely honest. Because I’m so nice, I’ve decided to type some suggestions on how to add more to your posts; how to make them more… descriptive so the other person(s) can imagine the scene better.

As I said before, this is just a suggestion, so if you are one of the people who do 2 sentence posts, please do not be insulted.

Drafts
Try to make a draft of your work before posting. I usually do this just to get my thoughts together and organized. This could do wonders to be honest. It is really helpful to you if you organize your thoughts before posting, by making a draft. Try free-writing, this is when you just write anything to come to mind, even if it’s silly. Eliminate the things that would make no sense, wouldn’t go along with the roleplay, or would just be out of character.

Grammar
You should ALWAYS check your grammar before posting. I know some of you have Microsoft Word 2010, so you might want to type your post in that program, for spelling and grammar checks. I am unsure if this is in the regular Microsoft Word, but still, try it. In most roleplays, the grammar should be good enough to NOT make a seventh grade English teacher cry. It is also recommended to use a dictionary and thesaurus. Try not to use the same words over and over again, it makes it a bit boring to read.

Spacing
I’m pretty sure we all know what a paragraph is. Be sure to hit those enter keys twice every 5 - 7 sentences. It makes it a LOT easier to read. I have a problem reading things that aren’t spaced out properly, so please at least try this method. Maybe even every 4 sentences rather than 5, it would be much appreciated if you took these words to heart with your next roleplay post ~

Description
A lot of people have problems with this; even I do sometimes. It is a ton of work to describe something, but it really pays off. It helps both you and the person(s) you’re roleplaying with better imagine the scene. Here’s a tip, tell the color of, the shade, and the brand (if any). You really shouldn’t just say what it is, describe it. While it is up to the other person to imagine everything, you can’t just leave them to imagine the description themselves. You’re supposed to be the one telling the story in your character’s point of view, not them.

Don’t do Everything at Once
While it is fun to tell what will happen next, you should give the next poster time to do an action. I have problems with this a lot, so it’s okay if you don’t do this suggestion. You also have to keep the reader into the story, this means keeping things a mystery sometimes. This means, reveal things bit by bit in paragraphs, or reveal it in the next post. Whichever floats your boat.

Try to get into your Character’s Mind
Try to pretend you are your character, try to get into your character’s mind. Pretend you are your character and pretend what the other person’s character said was just said to you. If you were that character, how would you react? You react in some way to everything that is said and done to you, so why should you ignore dialogue and actions in your post?

So, try to get a reaction appropriate for you character, don’t move out of character. One of the worst things you can do is act out of character and make your sign-up / character personality / whatever meaningless.

Keep your Drama out of the Roleplay
This means, try to act like you’re friends. You could be worse enemies with the other person(s), and I wouldn’t care. Just because you hate them outside of the roleplay does not mean your character hates their character. Think of this like acting, the actor may not like the other actor, but their characters might be the best of friends. Think like that whilst roleplaying.

Have Fun
Have fun while roleplaying, it’s nothing serious. As I see it, roleplaying is like a game that allows you to use your imagination to act like someone else. However, while this says have fun, don’t have too much fun. All PMU forums rules apply in roleplays, this means the following: no swearing, no flaming, no trolling, PG-13 at most, and being somewhat mature.

Hopefully, you guys take this to heart while posting. I hope I don’t see any more roleplay posts with just two sentences ~ Thanks for taking the time to read. :3

hmm…good tips…i always have trouble with the sentences…im just so lazy and need to get out of that habit ugh…V_V i dont take this as a insult really.

Great role play tips Luli!

Ahhhh, quite nice to see you make a thread like this Luli, as I think many of the roleplayers here could use this advice. You presented a lot of good tips to help struggling roleplayers get better, which will in turn make it even more fun. :P

Really thinking about a post and organising those thoughts really DOES do wonders, and it’s why I tend to prefer forum roleplay over live, since it gives me more time to think over my reply. My thoughts almost immediately wander into my character’s reaction after reading someone else’s post, and I think that’s a very good habit to get into as a writer and roleplayer. ^^

Description also, I agree, makes a post more fuller and interesting to read. It takes time to get the hang of it, but it makes it much easier for the readers to get a vivid image of your post and almost makes the roleplay feel more alive in a way (quite difficult to explain, but the more you can imagine the picture in your head, the more fun it could be to read, and that’s what generally makes a good book… well, good :P). One of my early creative writing classes suggested to those who have trouble with description to think of a scene in your mind, and then imagine yourself in that scene and how each of your senses reacts to it, such as what it looks like, what it sounds like, feels like, smells like… and even tastes like, and then input some of it into your description to make it juicier…adjectives really are your friend, there. Just a small piece of advice, but it is a good way to really get yourself thinking within the boundaries of the story and scene. ;)

Anyway, I really agree with the points your presenting here Luli, and I think it’s very good of you to post this as a lot of it will not only help improve RPing skills, but writing skills as well. :) Of course, one does not usually become great at this overnight, but with more practice, you’d be surprised to watch yourself slowly improve over time (this coming from someone who went from a terrible writer in high school to someone who’s actually serious about English now that she’s in college… and you’d be surprised how seriously awful I was 5 years ago compared to now; I’m not just saying that! xD)

Anyway, kudos for this thread… Wolfy approves! 8-)

I approve very much too Luli. This is very helpful and could make it more organized so in Role Plays people don’t post “Hi I’m new here”. Story Writers are absolutely great at these things plus, Wolfy has been one for a very long time haha :lol: Wolfy, outstanding points out there. That must of took a little long hmm? Story Writers could even use these tips, plus those soon to be story writers out there making those stories hard~ 8-)

Bumped, because I think this is quite useful, and it needs to be stickied. Anything that helps people better their storytelling and Roleplaying skills should be considered important enough to read.