| Guide to Roleplaying | |
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| Topic Started: Jan 9 2008, 08:09 PM (271 Views) | |
| Original Carter | Jan 9 2008, 08:09 PM Post #1 |
Captain Broody
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Tips on Roleplaying What is a roleplay? A roleplay is very similar to fan fiction - only it is interactive with other people. In a roleplay, you create a person or take a ‘canon character’ and give him/her a unique personality - but someone who is NOT you. Some people think that you are putting yourself into the character - that is not necessarily the case; in a way, it is like acting, only you are making up the character and the script as you go. There’s nothing wrong with acting another person - you can be a male or a female in a roleplay and it will be accepted. Hints When you do create a character, it is good to create someone with many flaws as well as their good points - that way they won’t become somewhat of a ‘Mary Sue’. A Mary Sue is a person who has no flaws at all - and is exceptionally good at everything, with power above everyone else’s. It’s interesting to get your character in all sorts of crazy trouble or stuck in mistakes - so it’s always good to avoid something called ‘god-modding’, in which you take control of the other roleplayer’s situation. For example, if John and Bob are in a fight, and John posts a reply saying ‘John knocked Bob out’ ... How would Bob feel? There is no way Bob could come back from unconsciousness straight away, so before you do something like that, you have to think about how Bob is going to reply. It’s also good to describe a lot. A roleplay reply doesn’t have to be all about dialogue. It’s brilliant to add in description about the scenery, the atmosphere, the person you are roleplaying with, the character’s thoughts...It makes a post much more interesting and there is a bit more content too. However, content’s not all that matters in a roleplay - but there shouldn’t be any one-liners either. And also, in your reply, you can experiment with sentences - keep some short, but try and use punctuation to lengthen other sentences. Improving your writing There are many ways you can improve your writing. For one, if you are about to post a reply, it’s always helpful to plan out the main contents of your post - or skim through your fellow roleplayer’s reply twice or three times, just to check out the main bits you can reply back to. Before you write, you should have an idea of what you are going to write, instead of charging straight ahead and getting stuck halfway through. Try to avoid repetition too - it is acceptable on a level, but when it gets too out of hand, it can ruin the post. If a sentence doesn’t sound right when you say it aloud, it’s most likely that it won’t sound right when you read it in a post either. There are so many ways you can make sentences more interesting - one of the ways is to phrase differently. Use connectives. Don’t apologise for ‘rambles’ - the more you ramble on, the better! Nothing’s wrong with rambling - but waffling is not helpful. Make use of similes, metaphors and personification - it’s always good to write descriptively, and there are many ways you can do so instead of overloading your brain with copious amounts of adjectives from the thesaurus. There is so much you can describe - just a quick run-down: - Thoughts: how is your character feeling? Are there any thoughts running through his/her mind that he/she does not dare to say aloud? - Actions: physically...Is your character standing up in anxiety or sitting down calmly? What facial expression are they bearing? Are they giving anything away about their inner thoughts? - Surroundings: Is there something particularly strange about where you are? Have you just discovered this place, or is it somewhere that is the usual, and homely? In between the describing, you can add in dialogue - it doesn’t need to be big blocks of description, and then a massive block of dialogue. If anyone needs any further help on tips on roleplaying, or perhaps there is a term/abbreviation used on the board that you don’t understand, feel free to ask for help! |
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| Kitty | Jan 9 2008, 08:18 PM Post #2 |
Kittle the Skittle
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Very helpful  Will use those tips and also make some more flaws for kitty. I don't want her to be a mary sue 
Edited by Kitty, Jan 9 2008, 08:18 PM.
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| Eleri | Jan 10 2008, 12:11 AM Post #3 |
Waiting
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It's much clear now! Thanks for the guide Descriptions...*runs to look for a good dictionary* |
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| Original Carter | Jan 14 2008, 10:07 PM Post #4 |
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Captain Broody
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Eleanor I can assure you, your roleplaying is marvy!!
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| Eleri | Jan 14 2008, 10:36 PM Post #5 |
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Waiting
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*Hugs*  *singing* ...with a little help from my friends ... |
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| Eden Hunt | Jan 20 2008, 02:19 PM Post #6 |
the mistress of steam
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This post has been very helpful! Now all I have to do is figure out where I'm going to put Eden and then I'm all set to go 
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| Original Carter | Jan 23 2008, 09:29 PM Post #7 |
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Captain Broody
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Just another update: (to save me from updating at a later time lol) Keeping in time Your character is very important, no matter whether he/she is a canon or an OC. Your character could effect a storyline a lot - and that’s why timing is important. If your character has suddenly left somewhere, i.e. Knighton, and then trotted off to Locksley, before returning back to Knighton in the space of two sentences exchanged in between guards back at Knighton, then things won’t work out. You can’t be everywhere at once. And what’s more, you have to try and keep it realistic - for example, if you are breaking into a high security room somewhere in the dungeons, then have you thought about how you alone could get in without being spotted? But please also take into consideration that some RPs have been plotted out very carefully - you can’t just go barging in. So if there is an RP undergoing writing and involving quite a few people, then it’s best to ask if you can join, before you post. Posting Length On this site we don’t have a minimum for posting - whether you write a shorter post or decide to do a longer post, we don’t mind - it’s the thought and the quality that counts, and about you enjoying writing it. However we would appreciate it if there were no one-liners - if you can’t think of anything to post, take your time! No one is rushing you.
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| Evelyn Walker | Feb 9 2008, 03:42 PM Post #8 |
Walker (of the Woods)
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Bigs thanks for this Kenny. It's really helpful, it's good to just clear some things up.
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| Chris of Skelton | Apr 6 2008, 07:33 PM Post #9 |
Muppet
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oooh thats really helpful for a roleplay newbie like me! |
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| Giselle | Jul 16 2009, 10:16 AM Post #10 |
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This has been helpful *sighs in relief* it doesn't sound too hard |
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8:13 AM Nov 30
