Post by Sheepy on Aug 23, 2014 13:25:54 GMT
RPG GUIDE: Everything You Need to Know
© Ashlynn Minerva Rose. Do not redistribute without this copyright. Violators will have their eyes gouged out and fingers chopped off. Thank you.
© Ashlynn Minerva Rose. Do not redistribute without this copyright. Violators will have their eyes gouged out and fingers chopped off. Thank you.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
Roleplaying. The concept itself doesn't seem too hard, but of course, concepts rarely do; it's putting things into action that tend to hold some difficulties. Hopefully after reading this guide, you will feel more prepared to roleplay. Just remember: being a good roleplayer isn't something people are born with; it takes time and effort. Be patient, ask for help, and remember, everyone started out as a novice at some point.
"If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur." -Doug Larson
Obviously, the English language doesn't make perfect sense, and it can be extremely confusing at times, so I am definitely not asking you to master the language. However, there are a few basics that you should know and should most definitely follow.
1.lol NVr tAlK aS iF U r like TOTALLY spAzZinG. This includes the crazy capitalization just demonstrated for you as well as chatspeak. Any in-character areas (IC) should not have any of this type of writing and preferably in the out of character (OOC) areas as well.
2.No one wats 2 red a post tht look lke this. Using improper grammar and spelling, as well as other mechanical tools used in writing, makes you and your character look foolish. Besides that, no one wants to roleplay with someone who can't spell out simple words like wants or that.
3.I say this because I care. TAKE FIVE MINUTES TO RE-READ YOUR POST. People are lazy. Yes, it's a generalization, but for the most part, it seems to be true, especially with roleplaying. It takes all of five to ten minutes to proofread a post before submitting it, and that weeds out all of the improper mechanics mentioned in the previous step. Don't complain. Don't whine. Don't throw a temper tantrum. Just do it.
4.Let's have a short lesson, shall we? There are things called NOUNS. Nouns are people, places, things, or ideas. Now, there are things called PROPER NOUNS. These are special nouns that are CAPITALIZED. If you are mentioning a city, a person's name, a dog's name, even, capitalize it! Oh, and you know those things that come at the end of sentences? Yeah, periods, exclamation points, or question marks. USE THEM. And capitalize whatever word follows one of them. This is such a simple thing, yet I see many writers who don't even take the time to do that. Again, you and your character will look foolish if you don't.
5.Quotation marks. Oh, what a lovely thing. Too bad people misuse them and mess things up. If your character is speaking, use double quotations marks (??). If your character is thinking something, use single quotations marks and italicize it (' '). If your character is not thinking or talking, use regular font. Do not use fun colors because those are just annoying; use the default. Do not change the size of your font; use the default. Do not change the justification of your text; use the default. Hey, do you see the pattern yet?
6.Oh, and here is a fun one! The overuse of he and she I know that is sometimes difficult because it seems like there is no better word to use. Well, in the words of my orchestra director: No one cares. No one cares how difficult something might be; the only thing people care about is the final result. Therefore, suck it up, vary your sentence structures, and work out a way to not use he or she every five words.
7.Oh, and lucky number seven: commas. Please, do not overuse commas. If a sentence is supposed to end, use ending punctuation or a semi-colon. I know this might be a new concept for some of you, but sentences DO end. If you're not sure which punctuation mark to use, change the sentence.
I'm not asking anyone's posts to be perfect. I know mine probably never are, and that is okay; perfection is impossible to achieve. However, if your post has so many mistakes in it that it's difficult to read, you have some changes to make.
"Public speaking is the art of diluting a two-minute idea with a two-hour vocabulary." -Evan Esar
Now, I'm not saying that your character needs to be giving speeches in your posts, but unless for whatever reason your character is mute, you have to be posting dialogue. Yeah, there are going to be exceptions to this, but for the most part, this has to be done.
1.Anything that applies from the section before this should be followed. Simple. Easy. To the point.
2.If your character is angry, don't post in all caps. That's just annoying. Use the little clicky button that puts words in tags and bold or italicize certain words
For example: HOW COULD YOU DO THAT!?!
is annoying compared to: How could you do that!?
It still gets the point across except now every word isn't being shouted. Obviously, the occasional capitalized world is okay, but don't overdo it, especially with dialogue.
3.Don't bold dialogue. Simple as that. Bolding should be used to emphasize certain words, not everything that is said. It's annoying. Also, don't color your dialogue. Use the same color as whatever is default on the site you are on.
4.For the love of all that is good in this world, STAY IN CHARACTER!!! If your character is supposed to be sarcastic, don't have them be sweet and bubbly suddenly when they talk. Just because you talk a certain way, doesn't mean your character does. The same thing goes for if a character has an accent (such as French or Spanish). Show that they throw in some words in a different language or show that they don't always pronounce words correctly. If you can't do that, don't have a character with an accent.
5.There is only ever one time it is okay to have improper spelling. Okay, two times. If your character is illiterate, obviously they aren't going to speak properly, so when they talk, spelling can be incorrect. Also, if your character has a speech impediment or an injury that effects how they talk, they can have incorrect spelling. However, this does not excuse your spelling when your character isn't talking.
"Typos are very important to all written form. It gives the reader something to look for so they aren't distracted by the total lack of content in your writing." -Randy K. Milholland
Onto your entry! Obviously, I don't want there to be tons of mistakes in your post, but the quote still stands: you need content to your writing. Content includes the following:
Describing: Describe what is going on around you, what your character is currently wearing, what the weather is like, if there are other people around you, etc. Just make sure not to use fillers. Fillers, that have absolutely nothing to do with your post are extremely annoying. You don't need them if you can describe things well.
For example: Michael was upset.
You can take that sentence and turn it into an entire paragraph.
Michael's eyes welled up, blurring his view of the world. His breath kept hitching in his throat,  making it impossible to talk and even harder to breathe. Burying his hands deep into his hair, he  pulled in frustration at the lost match. It was all his fault, and he knew it; if he had just saved  that one goal, they would have gone into overtime and at least had a chance to win.
See how I took one sentence and turned it into a small paragraph? Yeah, that's what you need to do. I did that just off the top of my head, so it might not be the best in the world, but it's better than "Michael was upset." Remember: Show don't tell.
Post Length: The length of your post should be a minimum of three paragraphs, each paragraph with a good eight sentences in it. I know reading this, it probably seems impossible, but once you get started writing, it's not as hard as you might think. This ties in with describing; if you describe in your post, it will be long enough. What a concept!
Staying on Topic: If you are replying to a thread, do not submit a post that has nothing to do with what is going on. That would be like a fight going on and your character just goes and decides to climb a tree nearby. Unless your character is blind and deaf, they should somehow at the very least acknowledge the fight.
Continue the Scene: If you are replying to a thread, don't reply and have your character only respond to what the previous person just said. Further along the thread! Have your character do something now! That's how roleplaying works, people!
"If a man should happen to reach perfection in this world, he would have to die immediately to enjoy himself." -Josh Billings
Mary Sues/Gary Sues: www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htm
I am so sick of these types of characters that I'm not writing about them. Take the test. If it says your character is a Mary or Gary Sue, re-write it. Immediately. No one likes them. They won't be accepted. Ever. Deal with it.
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." -Albert Einstein
Okay, so not it's time for general posting rules and blah blah blah. You know the drill.
Don't assume. This is also known as god modding. It is considered illegal in the roleplaying world. Don't control another character's thoughts, feelings, emotions, or actions. Your character can think that another character is feeling sad or that the person is acting rude; however, you cannot say 'Jean is sad.' You have to word it so that it's what your character is thinking. And under no circumstances can you control another character's actions.
Private RPs. This is when people want to set up a thread only between certain people. If this is the case, people will post something like: 'Under the Moonlight [Private]' or 'Under the Moonlight [Invite Only]' or 'Under the Moonlight [Juliette/Katherine]'. This means the thread is not open and not just anyone can post there. Respect this fact. Do not post there if you are not part of the thread. I can promise you that whoever is part of the thread is going to have a few bones to pick with you.
OOC (Out of Character). There should never EVER be a post that is completely out of character unless the board specifies that it's okay. If in the middle of roleplaying, you need to personally ask the other roleplay a question or would like to say something to them, here is what you do:
At the beginning or end of your post, type 'OOC' then type your message. Very simple. If you type this at the beginning of your post, make sure to type 'IC:' (in character) or 'BIC' (back in character) when you begin writing as your character. You should limit OOC talk as much as  possible.
Stay in Character. This is pretty self-explanatory. Have your character act as if they would when you registered it. Don't have someone who is supposed to be shy talk to everyone at a party. That's foolish, and people will call you out on it. Just, bottom line, stay in character.
Simultaneous Responses. It happens, though only occasionally. You have your post typed up, you click 'reply' and there is another post before yours. Don't argue with whoever made the post; simply edit yours to incorporate theirs. Don't be a baby. Just do it.
And so, I now leave you with these words of wisdom: Shakespeare this and Shakespeare that. Give me some good stuff, not that ******** romance.