Tutorial How does one get into roleplaying (and maintain consistency?)

[Polymathium]

I'm new to roleplaying as a hobby, and was wondering how one get's 'into' roleplaying - and also maintain consistency.

 

[rae2nerdy]

What do you mean by consistency?

 

[Polymathium]

What do you mean by consistency?

Such as maintaining consistency within the roleplays themselves (i.e. long-withstanding roleplays, etc).

 

[rae2nerdy]

Well there is no magic formula to keep a roleplay ongoing. But there a few tips but their specific to each type.

So next question are you wanting to join groups (4+ players) or 1x1 (2 players) ?

 

[Polymathium]

Well there is no magic formula to keep a roleplay ongoing. But there a few tips but their specific to each type.

So next question are you wanting to join groups (4+ players) or 1x1 (2 players) ?

Groups, specifically those of which are OC.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Alright so you aren’t going to be able to control the consistency there unless your the GM. And I do not recommend roleplay newbies starting their own groups.

It’s very time consuming process and requires a lot of organization and a firm knowledge of how the medium works.

As to how do you “get into” a group simple : Looking for Group

Look through the threads here until you find an idea you like. Read the rules and requirements carefully and ask the GM (roleplay creator) if you have any questions.

As to “OC” pretty much all group involve original characters. You might see a few in the Fandom section that ask for canon characters but that will be clearly stated in the rules.

 

[Idea]

I'm new to roleplaying as a hobby, and was wondering how one get's 'into' roleplaying

If you mean how does one roleplay, there are a few tutorials on the subject, you can find links to those guides and more in my beginner's guide. But the general gist of it is, players take turns writing entries for a cooperative story, each player taking the role of one character through whose lens they write. This can be done with a single partner (1x1) or with a group (group shock!). In group there are a few extra things to know, like the fact that as Geek mentioned there is a GM who basically organizes the roleplay and has the last say on anything pertaining to it- from deciding the rules of the roleplay, to guiding the story, to deciding which characters can or not be added to it.

There's a lot to say, but most of it is found on a case by case basis and wil require more precise questions to properly answer.

also maintain consistency

Assuming here you mean consistency as in your own post consistency, not your partner's consistency (as if you were talking about your partner, then I'd have to answer you can't, to simplify things a bit).

So, with the assumption made, here are a few tips for developing and mantaining your own consistency of pacing and quality:

->Design things intelligently: The first step you will want to do, if you're able, is to design your characters, plots and so on in such a way that it makes your work in the future easier. For instance designing a character that has a hard time approaching people may not seem like a bad idea at first, but then you realize that you become dependent on other people for your character to have anyone to talk with, and thus you're forced to break character to interact. For this reason I recommend beginner's start with more proactive and energetic characters.
Another example is building potential character arcs into your character's personality and backstory. Having those set up in advance will help you have a stronger direction for your character, and have content to put into your posts.

->Be realistic with your schedule and skill: Put simply, don't make promises you can't keep. Don't base the number or pacing of roleplays you take on assuming you will have a ton of free time or based on your best time for replies, because those are unreliable. Always remember to not start projects without checking your schedule first to see what might come up in the near future. Etc... No one here will hold it against you if you happen to be a little slow or sloppy, as long as you are willing to learn and are upfront about it from the start.

->Don't let inspiration be the hill you die on: There is a concept in the community called "the muse", that pretty much consists on a period in which one is feeling rather motivated or isnpired to write, or during which ideas flow very easily. Why this isn't a bad state at all, a lot of people end up deciding to only reply when they are in this state. I cannot overstate enough how terrible of an idea that is. When you rely on periods of inspiration and on "the muse", you can easily become dependent on it, the less capable of working without it you become. That in turn causes your body to become less self-reliant for this type of work, which reduces the times when you do feel in the right mood.
Instead, I highly recommend building good habits and strategies. Diligence and pushing yourself when you're not in the best mood may be a litle hard at first, but it really pays off over time, a bit like exercise.

->Plan: This one is more personal and it really depends on your style of roleplay, but it is very useful for me. I tend to plan a lot ahead of time, creating potential flashbacks, foreshadowing, crafting the direction of the story and characters, arranging things with other players... Creating material ahead of time that I can then rely upon when for one reason or another, I'm not getting enough.


Hope this helps. Best of luck and happy Rping!