Advice/Help How much length do you like in each post?

danpeck82

One Time Luck
I'm just curious to find it how long you all like your posts when role playing. Also, I've seen people say stuff like "One or two lines." But how much is a "line"? If it's actually a single line on the screen, wouldn't that be a relative and changing length?
 
Well I myself enjoy doing paragraphs. At minimum four and maximum might be ten or so. I enjoy getting creative to put in the details and actions a well as character thoughts without adding in unnecessary filler material not relevant to the plot.
 
My personal rule when I ask for minimums is 10 full PC lines (which means that, when seen through a PC, there are at least ten lines of text that go from one end to the other end of the post box) distributed over at least 2 paragraphs. That said, that's the absolute minimum I'm willing to go with, and naturally what I want to get is not the absolute minimum.

However, therein lies the problem: There isn't a specific satisfatory amount. I know that I like bigger posts, because bigger posts are where I can actually find both actual content and the kinds of descriptions and juiciness that I want, the posts I can find myself immersed in better and with which I have a better experience. The size isn't an end in of itself- the size is just the most effective means that I know of to get to my actual end, the level of detail and thought that I want to see in any given post.

So to me, there isn't really a maximum, so long as the person understands that, the bigger their post, the more time I will likely take to reply. Another clause to this is that a person must actually be able to keep it together when they write that much. I say this often, but if you don't grasp basic storytelling concepts, if you don't understand how to put meaningful detail or forget about the fact there are other people involved as well, then you should not be writing detailed long posts (except, maybe, as an experiment to try to push your boundaries). Nomatter how much they write, it's only ever gonna work if the partner I am working with is doing so with proper thought and passion.
 
I believe people are talking about a line of text on a computer when they mention “lines” unless they specify otherwise. As in they say “ I’m on mobile so my posts are XX lines on a phone”.

As to me personally I write usually until I feel like I have a complete thought out. I might go back and tighten things up or edit for clarity but I don’t really shoot for a specific length.

Nor do I request specific lengths. I ask for a paragraph but honestly if asked I would say

“Shoot for four sentences if you need help let me know.”
 
I'm thinking more paragraphs, or sentences, rather than lines. Because I often write on phone and it's hard to assess how many 'lines' is your post on PC, but you can roughly see if it's a 'big paragraph' or 'small paragraph'.

As for the length, I don't have any specific requirements, aside from one-liners being usually not enough for me. So it should be at least a paragraph with 4-5 sentences.
lol, that reminds me, once we decided to do a 'one-liner rp' specifically because we wanted something short and fast-paced for fun as a side-rp. Ended up writing at least a paragraph or more XD
 
I like 4-8 paragraphs myself, a paragraph varying between 2-7 sentences at a time. Just enough to react to previous scene, adding in character thought, adding in description, some paragraphs for conversation, and then an action to further the story progression.
 
About 3 to 4 paragraphs is ideal. I can do more if necessary. But a few hearty sized paragraphs are all I need these days.

To me a paragraph is 5 sentences or more.
 
Paragraph: 3-5 sentences

I post at bare minimum 1 paragraph, and that's only if dialog is the most important thing at that moment (which is rare)

I typically post 3-5 paragraphs. If I'm making a starting post, I try to go with 5-7 paragraphs to set the scene
 
I always stay closely around the 10 paragraph mark, but I rarely find myself going below 700 words if I'm actually interested in the RP.
 
personally i write as much as i need to get in responses to other characters, the thoughts of my character, and to do something that helps to forward the story in some way. so it depends, but usually around 200-300 words. different types of roleplays elicit different post lengths though.
 
I like to match the other RPers' lengths. Although most people I write with usually send a paragraph or two, I'll get one-liners every once in a while. It's a bit upsetting if I've been sending constantly long posts, so I've learned matching lengths leaves me less disheartened. Actually, I've found that most of the time they tend to have a good reason for shortening their word count (faster pacing, for example). A general rule for me is that if they're satisfied with the amount they're sending, I'm happy with it, too (they just should expect similar lengthed replies).
 
My personal rule when I ask for minimums is 10 full PC lines (which means that, when seen through a PC, there are at least ten lines of text that go from one end to the other end of the post box) distributed over at least 2 paragraphs. That said, that's the absolute minimum I'm willing to go with, and naturally what I want to get is not the absolute minimum
Just out of curiosity, why lines instead of a word count? Even PC screens will differ due to different resolutions. Though this would be a general question to those who goes by paragraphs as well, since they also vary greatly in length. @__@
 
Just out of curiosity, why lines instead of a word count? Even PC screens will differ due to different resolutions. Though this would be a general question to those who goes by paragraphs as well, since they also vary greatly in length. @__@
True, but here are a few reasons:
1. It's easier to check quickly
2. It promotes long strings of one thought or scene over short dialogue snipets or disconnected thoughts.
3. A lot of people are familiar with counting paragraphs and lines already, moreso than than with counting words, so it makes for a smoother transition

Though these are general reasons and other than the first one they don't really always hold up to scrutiny. The biggest reason is mostly just cause that's how I'm used to counting it nowadays, though I am personally not sure how I got to it, since when I started I counted in words.
 
True, but here are a few reasons:
1. It's easier to check quickly
2. It promotes long strings of one thought or scene over short dialogue snipets or disconnected thoughts.
3. A lot of people are familiar with counting paragraphs and lines already, moreso than than with counting words, so it makes for a smoother transition

Though these are general reasons and other than the first one they don't really always hold up to scrutiny. The biggest reason is mostly just cause that's how I'm used to counting it nowadays, though I am personally not sure how I got to it, since when I started I counted in words.
Fair enough. I guess I didn't really consider the awkwardness of gauging word count by eye since I'm already used to doing so >w>;;
 
I don't really have a specific minimum (oh shit, this post is only 2 paragraphs, time to fluff it out with some purple prose!) but as a rough rule of thumb, I personally find that 2-4 paragraphs is where most posts start, tell a story, and end appropriately without intentionally extending or shortening them.

Sometimes you end up with 2000-3000+ word monsters for major events but I'll rarely go over 4 paragraphs unless I have to, I feel like somewhere around there you have to take a step back and see if you're writing for the sake of length or if it's genuinely justified to complete the post. But again, it varies, sometimes it just takes 5, 6, 15 paragraphs to finish, sometimes you can cut down on some unnecessary drivel, and sometimes yeah you DO need a full 4 paragraphs to go over the character's thoughts and actions.

I personally find paragraphs a lot easier to count than lines, I've been on sites with line minimum requirements and dealt with it fine, I'm just not wired mentally to think "ok I did 9 lines I'm good now" lol.
 
I always figured one line to mean "one sentence". I absolutely hate word counts, considering I don't ever do a word count on my posts. My post lengths also vary so much that a word count would be useless. Paragraph wise, I guess I can do anywhere from two to about ten? Rarely will I do less, but I have done more. I really just ask that you don't give me a one liner (how am I supposed to react to that?) and give me something to work with. I can usually tell who can do this and who won't.
 
I always figured one line to mean "one sentence". I absolutely hate word counts, considering I don't ever do a word count on my posts. My post lengths also vary so much that a word count would be useless. Paragraph wise, I guess I can do anywhere from two to about ten? Rarely will I do less, but I have done more. I really just ask that you don't give me a one liner (how am I supposed to react to that?) and give me something to work with. I can usually tell who can do this and who won't.
So curious, when you say "don't give me a one liner" do you mean "don't give me one sentence?"
 
So curious, when you say "don't give me a one liner" do you mean "don't give me one sentence?"

Basically. In my head I always just put the two together. Never really gave too much thought about how long a line was on different objects (phone, computer, etc.).
 
I don't really have a specific minimum (oh shit, this post is only 2 paragraphs, time to fluff it out with some purple prose!) but as a rough rule of thumb, I personally find that 2-4 paragraphs is where most posts start, tell a story, and end appropriately without intentionally extending or shortening them.

Sometimes you end up with 2000-3000+ word monsters for major events but I'll rarely go over 4 paragraphs unless I have to, I feel like somewhere around there you have to take a step back and see if you're writing for the sake of length or if it's genuinely justified to complete the post. But again, it varies, sometimes it just takes 5, 6, 15 paragraphs to finish, sometimes you can cut down on some unnecessary drivel, and sometimes yeah you DO need a full 4 paragraphs to go over the character's thoughts and actions.

I personally find paragraphs a lot easier to count than lines, I've been on sites with line minimum requirements and dealt with it fine, I'm just not wired mentally to think "ok I did 9 lines I'm good now" lol.

But aren't paragraphs extremely wild in variation? Like just what I'm writing here is already a paragraph, technically speaking.

Note: Only saying this since you seemed to be adresssing me somewhat, given I was the only person to mention counting in lines in the whole thread
 
But aren't paragraphs extremely wild in variation? Like just what I'm writing here is already a paragraph, technically speaking.

Note: Only saying this since you seemed to be adresssing me somewhat, given I was the only person to mention counting in lines in the whole thread
Nah I just read the opening post and started spouting off, and they mentioned lines; I was not responding to yours or (if it came off as that) attacking you and I apologize if I did come off that way!

The actual definition of a paragraph is very hard to lock down - it can be as short as one sentence sure, and varies significantly between styles and forms of writing as well. There isn't truly a single universal definition that applies across all styles of writing.

For the purposes of roleplaying specifically though, I think that if we sidestep the disingenuous nature of my last paragraph (and a short one that was!) that most of us do have a rough idea of what we mean - exact numbers will vary, and you can measure it in lines, sentences, or ideas (usually 1 per para). From my observations in roleplaying on many sites, the 'generic' paragraph is often somewhere around 4-6 lines or (obviously depending HEAVILY on sentence length - I tend to use long sentences) ~3-5 sentences. But you also have to consider the layout of the site. Those with thinner margins naturally have more lines in a given paragraph than one like RPnation that spans the width of the site. So 1 line on RPN is probably a lot longer than it is on many others.

And that is to me the inherent issue with line counting, it's only relevant to that specific site. On one of the sites I RP on, due to thinner margins my paragraphs are usually 8+ lines long, but that doesn't mean much on RPnation where my rp posts were usually fewer lines.

All that considered, I generally find paragraphs (or honestly, even word counts) more universally useful because being defined by ideas (or simple universal numbers) rather than lines allows me to communicate their nature more effectively. So I prefer to discuss what I write in terms of ideas or rough average paragraphs rather than lines.

That said, within the confines of a site's rules, if they require 8 lines and only have 1 layout/skin and don't vary margins at all, then sure lines work fine, but I have never had issues with length minimums anyways so I just ignore line requirements haha.

---

Now, to respond directly to your post about preferring lines; I find it much easier to count "3 paragraphs" than however many lines there were. Thinking by paragraph rather than by line helps me focus on the ideas I'm exploring, which in turn makes for more coherent paragraphs and posts in my eyes. And word counting plugins are not uncommon on various RP sites so while I personally dislike word counts, word counting is often the easiest way to determine the length of a post even beyond paragraphs - instead of counting to 3 you just look at the handy dandy number that tells you exactly how many words it is.

Lines fail all of the above metrics; they take more work to count, convey less useful information, and are even less meaningful than paragraphs as a universal standard of length.
 
Nah I just read the opening post and started spouting off, and they mentioned lines; I was not responding to yours or (if it came off as that) attacking you and I apologize if I did come off that way!

The actual definition of a paragraph is very hard to lock down - it can be as short as one sentence sure, and varies significantly between styles and forms of writing as well. There isn't truly a single universal definition that applies across all styles of writing.

For the purposes of roleplaying specifically though, I think that if we sidestep the disingenuous nature of my last paragraph (and a short one that was!) that most of us do have a rough idea of what we mean - exact numbers will vary, and you can measure it in lines, sentences, or ideas (usually 1 per para). From my observations in roleplaying on many sites, the 'generic' paragraph is often somewhere around 4-6 lines or (obviously depending HEAVILY on sentence length - I tend to use long sentences) ~3-5 sentences. But you also have to consider the layout of the site. Those with thinner margins naturally have more lines in a given paragraph than one like RPnation that spans the width of the site. So 1 line on RPN is probably a lot longer than it is on many others.

And that is to me the inherent issue with line counting, it's only relevant to that specific site. On one of the sites I RP on, due to thinner margins my paragraphs are usually 8+ lines long, but that doesn't mean much on RPnation where my rp posts were usually fewer lines.

All that considered, I generally find paragraphs (or honestly, even word counts) more universally useful because being defined by ideas (or simple universal numbers) rather than lines allows me to communicate their nature more effectively. So I prefer to discuss what I write in terms of ideas or rough average paragraphs rather than lines.

That said, within the confines of a site's rules, if they require 8 lines and only have 1 layout/skin and don't vary margins at all, then sure lines work fine, but I have never had issues with length minimums anyways so I just ignore line requirements haha.

---

Now, to respond directly to your post about preferring lines; I find it much easier to count "3 paragraphs" than however many lines there were. Thinking by paragraph rather than by line helps me focus on the ideas I'm exploring, which in turn makes for more coherent paragraphs and posts in my eyes. And word counting plugins are not uncommon on various RP sites so while I personally dislike word counts, word counting is often the easiest way to determine the length of a post even beyond paragraphs - instead of counting to 3 you just look at the handy dandy number that tells you exactly how many words it is.

Lines fail all of the above metrics; they take more work to count, convey less useful information, and are even less meaningful than paragraphs as a universal standard of length.

Thank you for the response! It was quite insightful. I think I understand your perspective a bit better now, though I still have my disagreements in both standards and conclusions you take (which I will develop upon if such is requested but for now iwll leave it at that because in the end this is mostly just personal preference anyway).
 
Thank you for the response! It was quite insightful. I think I understand your perspective a bit better now, though I still have my disagreements in both standards and conclusions you take (which I will develop upon if such is requested but for now iwll leave it at that because in the end this is mostly just personal preference anyway).
I think it's fine if we disagree honestly haha. It's not a matter of right or wrong, just personal preference.

And for 100% of my writing I don't give a shit about line OR paragraph count so it's not really a subject I feel strongly about enough to debate it - just shared my thoughts on request. Thanks for reading and for being chill about it!
 
I think it's fine if we disagree honestly haha. It's not a matter of right or wrong, just personal preference.

And for 100% of my writing I don't give a shit about line OR paragraph count so it's not really a subject I feel strongly about enough to debate it - just shared my thoughts on request. Thanks for reading and for being chill about it!

I'm RPing with someone right now who does really long posts (this guy makes 10+ paragraphs regularly) I try to reciprocate but normally only make 2-3 paragraph replies. He doesn't care that my postings tend to be shorter, and I don't care that his tend to be longer. We get down enough information to keep the story moving and length has never been an issue. Personally the length of your post doesn't matter to me so long as you convey all the information needed to give your partner grounds to keep the story moving. If all you feel you need to do to move the story along is

Bob: "yes"

then I'll be satisfied with that.

I used to RP a lot on Skype before Discord got big, and I was used to really fast action RP. As in 1-2 sentences, sometimes just a couple words thrown back and fourth really rapid fire, like an ongoing conversation. It was a nice style of RP because things moved really quickly. Nowdays I tend to do slower, longer post RP.
 
Exactly as much as is needed to communicate your message.
Leave the internal monologue to your diary. My character isn't aware, can't interact, and probably doesn't care. Show how you feel, don't tell. Ideally each post should be 75% interaction (with the environment, or other characters, etc), 20% dialogue (if necessary), 5% description, and 0% personal narration.
 

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