Post by Gray Callahan on Apr 23, 2012 13:37:24 GMT -5
Boliko's Brief Guide, on How To Dun RP Gud
I'm going to ignore all the crap about how to write sentences and paragraphs. That stuff isn't really specifically aimed at roleplaying, just at writing -anything-, and you WILL get better at such writing elements just by practising often.
As for writing something fictional? Haha, my element, my shining! That's where my Dun RP Gud guide will help you out(and you only have to pay a friendly rate).
1) Stay in character. Seriously. Roleplaying is not simply slapping words onto a screen. Do not ever do anything out of character, it wrecks any credibility you have as a roleplayer - you destroy the role you are trying to play. A simple way to avoid this is to allow your character to guide your hand; don't over-think anything. Think of the responsibilities your character has, what drives your character forward - remembering the motivation is essential. If your character hates saiyans, don't have him pal up with a saiyan without any interaction justifying such a character change, and so on. Character evolution isn't spontaneous, and can take many threads to show significant change in character - see 'nature versus nurture'. Anything and everything your character does has to be justified by his motivation, which leads me on to...
2) Reflecting your character's history. This will, initially, be the driving force behind everything your character does. Reflect it in your posts, directly reference in when applicable! Don't just loosely refer to in your dialogue, make reference to it in your descriptions, in what your character feels, their entire personality. Even if you manage to resolve the loose threads your history might entitle you to, it is still the bottom pillar your character will build up from.
3) Motifs. A simple way to make your writing better, your posts more descriptive and relevant - stick to a theme or motif. Not always, of course, only when it can be relevantly applied. Again, this can relate back to your character's history, but more often it can relate to their personalities. Perhaps something metaphoric to your character - a prisoner, for instance, obsessed with birds due to their ability to fly free of the earth. A man with the mind of a child obsessed with the dual nature of light and dark (like my own character, for instance).
4) Reaction. You must ensure that your character responds realistically to other people, events etc. Within the boundaries of the roleplaying world your character exists in, he is a real person - and hence must respond realistically. This does not mean he must react mundanely. Even if someone posts in a thread and doesn't directly address you, still pay attention to it - the events that that place within that post may hold some sway over your course of action - as, like in real life, you would (for the most part anyway) be aware of your surroundings.
5) Remember, there are no winners or losers in a roleplaying game. This is muddied slightly by the existence of 'power level' on this site, but that doesn't mean your character has any less relevance or weight to the plot - it simply determines the power of your attacks against other people with differing levels of power level. There is no ending in a happily ever after sense - a roleplay simply continues until either your character dies, or the roleplay itself dies. Following on,
6) There is no point to having an omni-potent character. The rules bar this from happening, however it should be noted that omni-potent characters are very little fun to roleplay - winning everything simply becomes routine, your roleplaying skill won't be stretched. You roleplay to play, and play does not mean victory. Remember your character has limitations, and due to these limitations should respond to an interaction accordingly. Some creatures can have great abilities but even these are not infinite. Don't suddenly give them an out of character advantage just to feel superior (basically, don't do what you couldn't do in real life, within reason (excluding massive planet-busting attacks and martial arts mastery, of course)).
7) Description. This is essential to a fluid roleplaying experience, and allows people to react to you accordingly - the details of what your character is currently doing. Describe your entrance to a thread, describe your interactions with the surroundings and other characters, your attacks, the details of an ability you were using. Ask yourself, 'how hard is my character hitting, what does he feel right now, where are they positioned?' Don't leave anything for other people to guess, as this is sure to both confuse and annoy them. Remember, not everyone is a mind-reader.
This is all, for now. If anything more pops up, I'll add it on. Thank you for reading.
I'm going to ignore all the crap about how to write sentences and paragraphs. That stuff isn't really specifically aimed at roleplaying, just at writing -anything-, and you WILL get better at such writing elements just by practising often.
As for writing something fictional? Haha, my element, my shining! That's where my Dun RP Gud guide will help you out
1) Stay in character. Seriously. Roleplaying is not simply slapping words onto a screen. Do not ever do anything out of character, it wrecks any credibility you have as a roleplayer - you destroy the role you are trying to play. A simple way to avoid this is to allow your character to guide your hand; don't over-think anything. Think of the responsibilities your character has, what drives your character forward - remembering the motivation is essential. If your character hates saiyans, don't have him pal up with a saiyan without any interaction justifying such a character change, and so on. Character evolution isn't spontaneous, and can take many threads to show significant change in character - see 'nature versus nurture'. Anything and everything your character does has to be justified by his motivation, which leads me on to...
2) Reflecting your character's history. This will, initially, be the driving force behind everything your character does. Reflect it in your posts, directly reference in when applicable! Don't just loosely refer to in your dialogue, make reference to it in your descriptions, in what your character feels, their entire personality. Even if you manage to resolve the loose threads your history might entitle you to, it is still the bottom pillar your character will build up from.
3) Motifs. A simple way to make your writing better, your posts more descriptive and relevant - stick to a theme or motif. Not always, of course, only when it can be relevantly applied. Again, this can relate back to your character's history, but more often it can relate to their personalities. Perhaps something metaphoric to your character - a prisoner, for instance, obsessed with birds due to their ability to fly free of the earth. A man with the mind of a child obsessed with the dual nature of light and dark (like my own character, for instance).
4) Reaction. You must ensure that your character responds realistically to other people, events etc. Within the boundaries of the roleplaying world your character exists in, he is a real person - and hence must respond realistically. This does not mean he must react mundanely. Even if someone posts in a thread and doesn't directly address you, still pay attention to it - the events that that place within that post may hold some sway over your course of action - as, like in real life, you would (for the most part anyway) be aware of your surroundings.
5) Remember, there are no winners or losers in a roleplaying game. This is muddied slightly by the existence of 'power level' on this site, but that doesn't mean your character has any less relevance or weight to the plot - it simply determines the power of your attacks against other people with differing levels of power level. There is no ending in a happily ever after sense - a roleplay simply continues until either your character dies, or the roleplay itself dies. Following on,
6) There is no point to having an omni-potent character. The rules bar this from happening, however it should be noted that omni-potent characters are very little fun to roleplay - winning everything simply becomes routine, your roleplaying skill won't be stretched. You roleplay to play, and play does not mean victory. Remember your character has limitations, and due to these limitations should respond to an interaction accordingly. Some creatures can have great abilities but even these are not infinite. Don't suddenly give them an out of character advantage just to feel superior (basically, don't do what you couldn't do in real life, within reason (excluding massive planet-busting attacks and martial arts mastery, of course)).
7) Description. This is essential to a fluid roleplaying experience, and allows people to react to you accordingly - the details of what your character is currently doing. Describe your entrance to a thread, describe your interactions with the surroundings and other characters, your attacks, the details of an ability you were using. Ask yourself, 'how hard is my character hitting, what does he feel right now, where are they positioned?' Don't leave anything for other people to guess, as this is sure to both confuse and annoy them. Remember, not everyone is a mind-reader.
This is all, for now. If anything more pops up, I'll add it on. Thank you for reading.
