NoelBles
Posts : 87
Join date : 2013-04-09
Age : 31
Location : England, Midlands.
 |  Subject: A topic of tips. Mon Apr 20, 2015 2:48 pm | |
| (Okay, I'm not sure where this would go, so I'm putting it here. However, if anyone knows where it should go, feel free to move it.) Okay, on many sites I've been on that include Role-playing, I've noticed an over-whelming amount of people that try to hijack Role-plays for their own stories, while this is not always a bad thing, it can be very annoying for hosts. (I'm not saying it's here, but I'm just trying to help people in general here.) So, I thought I'd post a small topic of tips that'll help people improve their abilities, or just help them think about how they'll phrase something and make it more interactive. (I will include what I think will be needed, if anyone else wants to add a tip, feel free to just post it.) Section 1. Character Creation. I see a lot of people trying way too hard to create a perfect character for the Role-play, but I have to say a few things about Character creation in general, and below are a few tips I find that help myself do this. - Section 1:
- Do NOt Create the perfect character you are thinking of, many ask why? Well, the answer is simple, A lot of the time, doing this will result in the character fitting into the world too well compared to other characters, while in some Role-plays this may work, there are many where it won't and it'll become pretty boring trying to fit your character into many scenario's, or they'll just fit too well into it.
- On the same note as the previous tip, Do not create a character completely unfit for the world, and this is just the reverse of what I just said, they'll feel completely out of place, and you'll be forced to try and make them change very quickly, or they'll be left behind. (Once again, this is fine in a select few RP's, but in the majority of them, they won't work that well.)
- If you're struggling to create a character, a helpful thing to do is find a song and build them up from that, Not making them fit perfectly to it, but just use the lyrics or the beat as a theme to create them. If this doesn't work, another 'easy' tip is base them on choices you've made in your life, or even better, ones you didn't, an example would be, a fork in the road, you know one leads you home, the other is unknown (Classic Horror movie), and your character took this unknown path, leading to different events and the like.
- When creating a character, I reccomend not using a picture, while it makes it easier and can provide people a much better visual image, however, Unless it's been made by yourself, it takes a little bit of the creation aspect out of the character and that can be a little boring, using a picture as a basis is a good thing, however, as long as you can add and take from the picture, it shouldn't be a go to thing for you. Creating a character from the ground up is more fuflling I find.
Characters are a really funny thing, but they should be Interesting, interactive and they should have downfalls that cannot be fixed, because having a perfect characters gets boring for everyone, including yourself, but the opposite is also true, having a character with too many flaws becomes boring to everyone else, because they have to componsate for them.
Section 2. Scenary Ah, Coming up with the Scenary and setting for the Role-play, the downfall of many people and writers especially. But, there are some really easy ways to get around this. And here they are: (For me at least.) - Section 2:
- Don't try to get every little detail. This takes way too much time, and quite frankly, it's effort that could be put elsewhere. By every little detail, I mean you don't need to get everything done. For example, If you're writing a opening in an open field, point out things like: The trees and how the wind makes them move, Blades of grass moving with them, Leaves flowing through the air. But don't go into every detail into saying how the sun shines off the leaves. (Unless you have the capacity for this.) It brings up a lot of work for others, but if everyone can do it, then go for it. Just remember, it's a double edged sword.
- When it comes to city enviroments, it's actually a little easier then people think. Simply because, A building's windows bring a whole new playground and give you a chance to avoid a lot of what goes on in terms of air traffic and the like. For example, I'll use the top of my mind and instead of making a post like: "The city was bustling as Noel made her way down, to her place of work, only stopping for a few moments before continuing." it's kind of bland, and boring and it's very easy to expand on by using the city enviroment, and this is how: "The city was a place of work, and quite often, a place of 'Everyone fends for themselves', Noel had become accumstomed to this life and on her way to work this day, she took a few moments to stop and look into a nearby shop window, checking over her hair as the wind blew it, a smile creeping onto her face as she saw the clouds breaking and the sun beginning to shine through onto the window." Now, Windows are one of the best, if not THE BEST object when it comes to making a post somewhat interesting and interactive.
- A lot of people struggle when it comes to describing an area, and I'll draw on a point I made in the character creation, Pictures of Sceneary and settings is a good place to start, but if you want to improve upon your own skills, don't always use them as is, use them as a small starting point and build up to start writing your own, it's very fufilling to do this as well.
Scenary and settings are a pain, but when you learn about certain area's, you can turn them to your advantage. (City windows <3)
Section 3. Posting! Okay, many people struggle when it comes to replying to a post, or even opening a Role-play and some can spend too much time on it and burn themselves out before it even starts, and here are a few little tips as always: - Section 3:
- When opening, don't go over the top if you don't want to. A lot of people feel the need to write an amazing piece of work as an opening, and someitmes, it's best not to do this as it burns yourself out and it can make others feel like they have to work much harder to keep up with you. It's just not always neccesary.
- When Replying, a REALLY easy way to help your own post is to take small sections of people who posted before you and using them in your own post. Such as, if someone had used the sky and sun to post how it reacted on their character, you can also make use of this by making your own version, or even if it's in the city setting again, use the windows as they did! Or even traffic! Just take small snippets of their post and apply them to your own characters situation.
- This is one of the most important matters to myself, and it's try not to force your character to become the star of the Role-play, why? It takes so much fun out of it if only one character is super important or completely irrelevent. Just think about this one, and I'm sure you can come up with why on your own.
- A problem people have with posting, is trying to match that of others and this is a downfall of my own, I refuse to write the first opening post as I'm afraid my Partner cannot keep up but the most important thing is doing what you can, even if you cannot match it, slowly improve your skills by drawing on your partners as well, taking snippets of their posts and using them in your own. It's drawing on another tip of mine, but please, just do your best and take small little snippets until you're confident enough on your own to write a sizeable reply.
-Do not focus too much on your own character in posting. There is only so much you can write about how your character is interacting with the surrounding area, instead try bringing your character into a state of thought, where they imagine other events or even other characters of the RP. Not only can this bring a new dimension into the Role-play, it'll give your post a sizeable boost.
- One last thing to take note of, it is best to avoid using text talk while typing up a post, not only does it make your post seem shorter, but it often feels like a sign of lack of interest for a lot of writers.
Section Four: RolePlay Burnout This is just a small section that isn't really related to anything beforehand, but it is something I feel is important to discuss now. This isn't an official term or anything, but it's what I call when I 'burn out' when it comes to role playing, and what I mean by this is, when role playing stops becoming fun and it becomes a chore to write anything at all. There are a few ways to help overcome this, but the main thing to do is just take a break. There isn't very much you can do about this except take some time out, but you can try various things such as take another approach, like trying a new style of roleplay, a new kind of character or even just trying a different style of writing. I know this isn't that helpful, but honestly, Roleplaying is exactly like a hobby, where you can just get tired of it and need to take a break or try something new with it. ___ Okay... So this isn't as much as a tip as a template, however, if you're ever stumped on what sort of character to make, I often use this template (As seen in some of my characters), it can help come up with a character as it helps you put them together piece by piece, instead of just coming up with an image to work from and trying to put it into words from the start. - Template:
Name (& pronunciation):
Date of Birth (& age):
Place of Birth:
Gender:
Species/Racial Origin:
Social Class/Community Status:
Language:
Family/Friends/Pets/Etc:
Physical Description
Height:
Weight:
Hair:
Eyes:
Limb Dexterity:
Detailed Physical Description:
Typical Clothing/Equipment:
Personality/Attributes
Personality/Attitude:
Skills/Talents:
Favourites/Likes:
Most Hated/Dislikes:
Goals/Ambitions:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Fears:
Hobbies/Interests:
Regular Routine:
Philosophy of Life:
Attitude Toward Death:
Religion/Beliefs:
Most Instructive/Painful/Memorable Experience:
Sexual Preference/Experience/Values:
Education/Special Training:
Place/Type of Residence:
Occupation:
Place of Work:
Work-related Skills:
Past Occupations:
Memberships:
Of course this can be edited and shifted about to fit the setting and feel of an RP. If you found these helped you, or you feel something should be added. Feel free to comment your thoughts. I'm always looking to expand this.
Last edited by NoelBles on Sun Jun 23, 2019 8:50 am; edited 5 times in total | |
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NoelBles
Posts : 87
Join date : 2013-04-09
Age : 31
Location : England, Midlands.
| | Subject: Re: A topic of tips. Wed Apr 22, 2015 2:33 am | |
| Update/Change-log:
22/04/15 Added a new little tip for each section, More coming soon.
22/04/15 thinking about adding a personal experience part.
23/03/15 Added a new Posting tip. | |
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NoelBles
Posts : 87
Join date : 2013-04-09
Age : 31
Location : England, Midlands.
| | Subject: Re: A topic of tips. Mon Jul 11, 2016 6:59 am | |
| Okay, it has been a while since I last made a post or even updated this area, buuut I feel the need to add that I'm going to be adding a Section on dealing with something I call "RolePlay Burnout", I'll explain in more detail when it's up. | |
|
NoelBles
Posts : 87
Join date : 2013-04-09
Age : 31
Location : England, Midlands.
| | Subject: Re: A topic of tips. Thu Apr 12, 2018 1:33 pm | |
| I've decided I'll be adding a personal experience part to this, now that I feel like posting a bit more and it just gives me something to do now that I no longer work. I have also added a 'burnout' section, but it's still bare bones at the moment. I'll edit more in later as well. | |
|
NoelBles
Posts : 87
Join date : 2013-04-09
Age : 31
Location : England, Midlands.
| | Subject: Re: A topic of tips. Sun Jun 23, 2019 8:43 am | |
| A year later, and I finally added a little something extra. Added a template.
Also, added spoiler tags to each second to tidy up main post a little. | |
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