Post by The Writer on Nov 7, 2021 22:30:56 GMT
Lengthening Roleplay Posts
Starting to role play is always a really fun and exciting activity! We get inspired, create our character(s), plot and chat with other members, and off we go to role play! But, what happens if we feel stuck, or find it difficult to write more than a couple of sentences in our post? I am sure we have all been there at some point of our role playing experience! We do have a rule stating that role play posts must be a minimum of 2 paragraphs, and so thought to put together some tips to help lengthen your posts if you are feeling stuck or unsure about what to write!
NOTE: Having over 10 years of staffing various role play forums, these are some of the notes that we have compiled just based on experience with a variety of role plays and members! We hope you will find it helpful and if you have anything to add, please feel free to send a PM!
Yes... And-- sourcethis a basic improv rule of roleplaying
- YES means acknowledging what was said in the previous post. AND means adding a little bit more. Sometimes replies are short because we are only doing the YES part or we're only doing the AND part; but we need to do both in every reply.
- YES can be important because it can be disheartening when your partner contradicts what you put in your reply; it is therefore good to have some sort of acknowledgement (i.e wring "YourCharacter nodded" or "YourCharaacter took the bowl she was being handed" etc; anything that acknowledges that you read and understood your partner's reply.
- When you're doing the AND piece, it is important to put yourself in the shoes of your partner. If you were to receive the reply, do you have any ideas as to how you might respond to it? If the answer is no, then it means we need to add a little bit more in there; we're missing some crucial AND.
- It is important to have a hook in your reply, something your partner can respond to: maybe your character poses a question to the other character, or maybe its a fight scene and they throw a punch, or maybe they're giving an order and telling the character what to do, etc.
- Once you've mastered this, every reply should be at minimum 2 sentences: the YES sentence and the AND sentence. But this is hardly 2 paragraphs so read below for some more tips on how to beef up your posts!
The 5 Sensessight, sound, touch, smell, taste
- Considering the 5 SENSES is a great way to really get into detail in your posts to increase it's length.
- SIGHT can include, what your character sees around them. What are their surroundings? What is the setting of the thread and what do they notice? What does the character you are posting with look like? What are they wearing? What are their features? These are just a few of the many examples of questions that you could answer to help tap into what they see and are absorbing around them.
- SOUND can include what else is happening around them. Are they at a ball and they over hear comments made by other guests? Are they outside and they hear the sound of a carriage? Are they in their home and are grateful for the complete silence? Are they walking in the park and hear footsteps close behind them? Consider all the sounds, distant or nearby that your character may be hearing to help set the scene of your posts.
- TOUCH can include anything that your character may be holding, any movements they made to take in the texture of an object, or maybe they just casually have their hands by their sides and therefore feel the soft fabric of their clothing. Describing what the character may be touching helps to set their position and describe what they are experiencing through touching and feeling.
- SMELL can include taking in the surrounding scents. Does your character or the one you are posting with have a aromatic perfume that released a nice smell? Can your character smell dinner from afar as the cook prepares it? Is your character in the garden and taking in the smell of the flowers around them? Maybe a character in the thread hasn't bathed for a while and they do not smell good! Including the sense of smell can help also describe the effect that it has on the character and whether it is something pleasing, or something they need distance from.
- TASTE can include anything that your character may be trying at the time. Is it breakfast and they are starting their meal with some fruit? Maybe they are trying something new at a dinner or banquet and don't like the taste. Describe what they are thinking or experiencing with their taste buds and see how it may effect the mood of your character whether it is enjoyment, concealing their displeasure, or even spitting it out.
Inner Thoughts sourcealso known as inner dialogue
- Writing INNER THOUGHTS in a role play can be tricky because they're just in your characters head so the other character can't really respond to them. So when writing these inner thoughts, think about what things you want to communicate to the other mun about what your character is THINKING and FEELING.
- For instance: maybe it's a ship thread and your character is beginning to fall for the other character, put that in your reply. Maybe these characters are supposed to be enemies so you can build tension by putting in negative thoughts your character is having about the other. Maybe your characters are close friends and your character is thinking about what they like about the other character and how they feel about them, include those details.
- It can be really tempting to leave out all INNER THOUGHTS because you do not want to be meta gamed; however these inner thoughts is what is going to make somebody really connect with and love your character so if there's something going on in your character's head that the other mun might want to know (whether its to justify something your character did or said, or make them more relatable, etc), put it in your reply!
The 5 W'swho, what, where, when, why
- The 5 W's are a great way to build up your post length and add in extra details when following this framework! There are many questions that you can ask yourself as you write your reply and have your character answer them through internal dialogue or even make comments about it out loud.
- Consider the WHO and add in details that would answer some of these questions: WHO is your character going to interact with in the thread? Have they met them before or is this their first time? What was their past experiences like with this character? If they have not met them, do they know WHO they are or WHO their family is? Most of these questions are great to incorporate into the starter of your post, but you may find the previous questions popping up in your character's mind as the thread progresses.
- Consider the WHAT, as this can encompass many questions that could really build up your writing content. WHAT is happening around them at that moment? WHAT is this person's intentions? WHAT is your character's thought process about what the person just said? WHAT is your character feeling? WHAT is your character going to do as a reaction to the previous post? These are just some of the many questions that you could answer at length to add substance to your reply.
- Consider the WHERE as this could really detail the surroundings and setting of the post. WHERE are they? WHERE are they planning on going next? WHERE does your character want to go if they prefer not staying. WHERE are they standing or sitting? WHERE is everyone else and what are they doing? These observations can help set the scene and build your character's awareness of what is happening around them.
- Consider the WHEN in regards to the timeline of the thread. WHEN is this taking place, considering the timeline. This can open up a lot more details as to where your character is in their life currently and thus, how it can relate to the circumstances in the thread with the other character.
- Consider the WHY as it can be used in a multitude of ways to address many different inquiries. WHY is your character talking to the other character? WHY did your character say or do what they just did? WHY do they think the other character said or did what they just did? WHY is your character suddenly feeling a certain way? These types of questions, and many more, can help in justifying your characters actions or words through inner thoughts or dialogue.
Show Not Tell sourcemore showing and less telling will lengthen your reply
- Consider the setting that your characters are in: what are their physical surroundings? Any time there's a change in those physical surroundings, put it in.
- For example: maybe a chilly wind blows by, or you hear a carriage in the distance, etc.
- You do not have to get repetitive with the surroundings so anytime you're going to write about it, write about when there's a change in what's going on around them, or your purposefully reminding your partner of something you guys established earlier.
- Also when it comes to SHOWing, think about the small details; these details can really add to the scene if we SHOW them in our writing.
- For example: if your characters are walking, the sound of walking on grass rather than snow versus pavement, is very different. Maybe your character is reaching out to touch something, what does that something feel like in your characters hand (see THE 5 SENSES section for more detail).
- It can also be useful to describe your characters features or clothing.
- For example: describing a character's eyes as soulful or bright, or narrow gives really good clues into that character's demeanor and what they are feeling. If you want to show off how wealthy a character is, maybe describe specific attire they are wearing or the quality of the fabric. What about the quality or sound of their voice; if they're tired their voice might sound more throaty or if they're happy, their voice might sound crisp. And don't forget about smell; more details about how to incorporate that can be found in the above section titled THE 5 SENSES.
- Put these things in to convey ideas that are happening in the thread without describing things directly.
- This is not only going to lengthen replies, but if you keep practicing and get good at this, you can do it without sacrificing any clarity.
subtle indications of what is to come
- What have you and your partner planned so far in the plot? Are there things that you know are going to happen later in that thread? Maybe FORESHADOW them.
- FORESHADOW these plots without having your character know exactly what is going to happen next.
- For some plots certain elements are going to need multiple posts to be properly set up. So start thinking about those things and incorporating them when you can without your character being all-knowing.
Proof Reading sourceextra step in the proof reading process
- Read back both your partners previous reply and your reply that you're about to send, together.
- Is there anything that you missed? Are there any additional YES pieces that you might want to add? Do you feel like there's enough in your post now that you've read the two posts together?
- What you're going to find after you proof read is that there are things that you thought you may have put in your post that you didn't or perhaps forgot to, and there's also going to be new ideas that occur to you when you read both of the posts together.