ShoopDaWhoop's Blog

My personal guide to roleplaying.

My Personal Guide to Roleplaying.
Roleplaying is unique from person to person, if two role players have the exact same style, it can get pretty boring. On the other hand, if their styles conflict, there can be some problems. What you have to do is just be original when you're posting a thread/on a thread, and hope that you can attract people with the perfect roleplaying style for you. If you like to make huge posts and large mysteries, you want to find a creative thinker who loves to solve mysteries. Or if you're a natural born leader, you want to find some people who enjoy being your personal royal subjects. That may be hard to do, though.

When you've applied for a roleplay, and have got yourself all set and ready to roll, look at the first few posts and get an idea of how they like to roleplay. If you can do this, you should be fine. Look for these key hints:

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• Post length - How long is the post? Is it overdeveloped, underdeveloped?
  
• Post spacing - Do they make huge walls of text? Do they space it evenly? Is it a void?
  
• Post structure - How good of a post is it, spelling and grammar wise?
  
• Post style - Some people like to post with cliffhanger endings all the time, others like to end with thoughts or dialogue.
  

Try to adapt to this. I'm not telling you to be like everybody else, just try to fit in a little. If you can't fit in, chances are you're going to be outcasted a little, or you're going to have a bad future in that roleplay. If you think you fit in with the other roleplayers, but your character seems to be isolated, don't worry. Just try two or three times to come do what they are, but remember, enter through the door, not the wall. If it's a romance scene, don't just jump in. Chances are that it will kill the mood. If it's a fight scene, don't come in holding a huge cluster of balloons and shout "I'm in a happytastic mood, who wants hugs?" That would be not only out of it's place, but creepy.

Lastly, don't put yourself in the shoes of your character unless the character is meant to be based off of your own persona. If you're a popular or cool person, don't act like it if you're trying to have a gawky misfit character. If you scare easily or are "squeamish" it's alright if you play the role of a hardcore war veteran or brain surgeon. If you're scared to try it, don't be! I'm not going to say you never know until you try, because I don't like that statement, but nevertheless, try it.
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Yeah, that's it. Not much, but it could help a few people? Please post your thoughts on this and/or ideas for improvements.