I could possibly i dont know maybe need....help?

[CabalAnomicPotato]

I suck at roleplay....yep....there it is...


If you have seen any of my previous rp's, characters, ideas, ect, you know its true....put I'm open to improvement.


From a one liner "git gud m8", to overly long essays explaining the fundamentals of a good rper....and then some, I'm open to anything!!!

 

[LegoLad659]

Personally I think that the first step you should take is deciding just how much you want to write at a time. It should never, ever be your goal to simply "Write as much as I possibly can". That leads to useless posts filled with worthless fluff with very little actual content.


I, for example, am comfortable with where I'm at, being a couple of sentences to two paragraphs maximum in each post. So find the level you'd like to write at and then you can start to work your way towards that

 

[CabalAnomicPotato]

Personally I think that the first step you should take is deciding just how much you want to write at a time. It should never, ever be your goal to simply "Write as much as I possibly can". That leads to useless posts filled with worthless fluff with very little actual content.


I, for example, am comfortable with where I'm at, being a couple of sentences to two paragraphs maximum in each post. So find the level you'd like to write at and then you can start to work your way towards that

Thanks, yea I'm keen on a paragraph or two when it comes to content, thought ill have to work on my environmental story telling.

Personally I think that the first step you should take is deciding just how much you want to write at a time. It should never, ever be your goal to simply "Write as much as I possibly can". That leads to useless posts filled with worthless fluff with very little actual content.


I, for example, am comfortable with where I'm at, being a couple of sentences to two paragraphs maximum in each post. So find the level you'd like to write at and then you can start to work your way towards that

Thanks, yea I'm keen on a paragraph or two when it comes to content, thought ill have to work on my environmental story telling.


why it double post like that ((((

 

[call me rae]

Also try finding stories your excited about and people who build you up rather than tear you down. 

 

[Saccharine Cyanide]

There are really only two things that can make you a better writer:


1. Practice. Set aside some time and write something every day. If you don't have any ideas, you can find some prompts online.


2. Read! Set aside some more time every day to read a book or some short stories. Pay attention to things like characterization, setting, the style, the syntax. The best way to learn is by example.


Keep in mind that writing is just like pretty much any type of art: it isn't just something you can get better at without practice, and it's going to take some time to get good at it. But the more disciplined you are, the faster you'll improve.


You should also check out some of the writing tutorials on this site.

 

[CabalAnomicPotato]

@call me rae


@Saccharine Cyanide


Thank you both, though I'm more of a learn from expirence, which is why I usually pay attention to log winded post to look for things like "how does he/she set their scene", or "how does he/she react to a situation", because all my life I have been thought "short and to the point", and then I get into writing and rping and its like "detailed and expansive".

 

[Thief]

Observing can definitely be a good way to go. And it works for any medium, whether it's writing, drawing, composing, or what have you. Take some of your favorite works and figure out why exactly you like them. What makes them so good? What appeals to you? What choices do you really admire?


Though since you mentioned length, do bear in mind that "longer" doesn't necessarily mean "better." A post could be long and filled with pointless fluff just to pad it out, and imo that's not much more ideal than a short skeleton. I can't speak for everyone, but I much prefer posts that give me solid substance to work with. Roleplaying is a partnership, a back-and-forth, and a huge part of being a good partner (in my experience) is maintaining that exchange. When you write, try to make sure you're giving the other player(s) something to act on, whether that's dialogue or motion or whatever. Something to keep the story flowing, y'know?


Of course, I'm no authority on this or anything, I'm just sharing my personal take.

 

[CabalAnomicPotato]

@Thief


I see what you mean, I usually prefer paragraph writing, as it can be long enough to put meat on your chicken wing, but not so long as to where your basically describing every picky detail of your story....every time.


All this advise I'm getting from you guys is really filling my head with ideas, so thanks!!!

 

[Thief]

Np, happy to help ^^

 

[Noivian]

@Mitch Neon


The best advice I can give is to write. Write your arse off. Open up a word document of your choosing, and write. It could be the crappiest story you ever wrote, a diary, anything, so long as it isn't simply a list or something.


If you need help with word choice, try out six word stories or poetry. 


If you need help with description, try describing the room around you as vividly as possible. Remember to touch on all the senses. 


Practice makes perfect, and the more you write and read, the better your writing will get.




As far as ideas, characters and concepts, it's all about trial and error. Start with something small, a physical or personality trait, a theme or an event, and start layering over it.


For example, let's dissect my character Mason. He started as a secondary character, a friend of the main protagonist in a futuristic society. His main trait was his skill as a mechanic, able to build five story tall robots in a matter of months by himself. So I think, well how does he go about doing it? So I came up with the idea that he devotes his life to building and fixing. He's a mechanic by trade, why not make that his job? So if he spends all his time building, where does he get his supplies? How about where he lives: in a junkyard? And his family? Probably disowned him. Why? That's because robot fighting, his main source of income, is illegal, due to advancements in AI and robotics... so then I wanted to use advanced prosthetics, and it fit well with his profession building giant robots by himself - he'd probably lose a limb or two in accidents, given how junky his equipment probably was. 


It all fits together eventually, see? And it also builds the world around the character, as characters not only interact with one another, but with the world around them. You can't build a character without building a world for them to exist in. This is why fandoms are so popular - it provides a world that already exists to make characters in, thus doing half the work for you. 








Another big thing about role playing is common courtesy. You don't need to be the star, or have the best weapons and gear. Role playing is about creating a story together, and if you're not cooperating, or making the story focused on you, then it's not going to be a fun experience for your partners, meaning you'll have less and less people to role play with. A lot of people, GM's and good role players alike, all struggle finding a good balance between importance and irrelevance. This is mostly because group dynamics change a lot, and individual role player's objectives and goals for the role play may sometimes conflict. I've seen role plays that get rebooted four times before finding a good, strong player base to carry them through to completion. So role play is entirely give and take. You gotta know when things are worth fighting for, both in character and out of character. 

 

[CabalAnomicPotato]

@Noivian, dude, I cannot think you enough.


I mean, iv been working on improving my writing quality, but I really never thought of describing things with all of your senses, so thanks!


And I will take your advice next time I create a character, iv never really tried "layering" either.


God im a noob.


But thanks!!!!!!


xD  

 

[TheIrradiatedWaffle]

Good writers are good readers, so it may help if you read some books or other well done rps to get some ideas and get an idea how to expand your writing.

 

[CabalAnomicPotato]

@TheIrradiatedWaffle


Yea, I'm actually reading Salem's Lot  at the moment.

 

[White Masquerade]

All of these are very good answers. This is good stuff here for you, for sure Mitch. I liked a lot of it. As someone who's not particularly good at writing, but a major learner from experience just like you, I would like to give some advice too. If you really are someone who learns best by straight-up "doing," then you do certainly have the potential to become really, really good if you use it in the right way.


The biggest factor for you, will be to have a strong reason for doing what you do. Otherwise, whatever you try doing to better your RPING will seem boring. You will get tired of it or it will go in one ear and out the other. This is a major problem for those that learn best from hands-on experience. When you have a deep reason behind what you do, it gets you through all the boring stuff. It helps keeps you on track and from "turning off" when you don't instantly get to where you want. In this case for you, that place would be being a better RPer. Learning hands-on is extremely hard because you are going to fail a lot while you learn to do things "live", but if you keep taking what you learn from each one, it is going to make you get better, really, really fast. The key is just to have that strong reason to give your experience-collecting enough time to make a difference.


So find a reason for RPing that feels right to you. That reason that makes you want to continue doing this on and on and on and on, while getting better everyday. For some people, it's just about having fun. Others, meeting and interacting with colorful characters. Others still, building expansive, intricate, and wonderful worlds. For me, it's to make reading feel like you're watching a movie. All that drama and energy you get from watching in that atmosphere, I want to somehow capture inside a RP.


Find a reason that's unique to you, and it will push you naturally to do everything you need to get to the place you want to be.

 

[CabalAnomicPotato]

All of these are very good answers. This is good stuff here for you, for sure Mitch. I liked a lot of it. As someone who's not particularly good at writing, but a major learner from experience just like you, I would like to give some advice too. If you really are someone who learns best by straight-up "doing," then you do certainly have the potential to become really, really good if you use it in the right way.


The biggest factor for you, will be to have a strong reason for doing what you do. Otherwise, whatever you try doing to better your RPING will seem boring. You will get tired of it or it will go in one ear and out the other. This is a major problem for those that learn best from hands-on experience. When you have a deep reason behind what you do, it gets you through all the boring stuff. It helps keeps you on track and from "turning off" when you don't instantly get to where you want. In this case for you, that place would be being a better RPer. Learning hands-on is extremely hard because you are going to fail a lot while you learn to do things "live", but if you keep taking what you learn from each one, it is going to make you get better, really, really fast. The key is just to have that strong reason to give your experience-collecting enough time to make a difference.


So find a reason for RPing that feels right to you. That reason that makes you want to continue doing this on and on and on and on, while getting better everyday. For some people, it's just about having fun. Others, meeting and interacting with colorful characters. Others still, building expansive, intricate, and wonderful worlds. For me, it's to make reading feel like you're watching a movie. All that drama and energy you get from watching in that atmosphere, I want to somehow capture inside a RP.


Find a reason that's unique to you, and it will push you naturally to do everything you need to get to the place you want to be.

Thank you, yet more awesome advice.


I for one, am ok with the idea of failing over and over again, if I learn something from it, but at the same time I don't like going in blind.


That's why I created this thread, so I could get amazing advice, and use it to enhance my learning experience. And yea, I rp because I love book reading, and rping is like LIVE book reading, like reading a story as the author (or in the case of rping, authors) writes it, and once you really get into a rp, you can look back and read how far you came!

 

[White Masquerade]

@Mitch Neon


That seems strong enough =P. I wish you luck then. it looks like you're already taking steps to improve anyhow already.

 

[Umbrie]

a decent skill that few roleplayers care for is being flexible with your post length. for example, my posts are anywhere between 1 line and 8 paragraphs depending on who i RP with, what i am able to come up with, and how much influence i have over the details i can provide. but my posts fall apart after the 7th line because most 2 paragraph and higher posts i have seen are filled with redundant detail i would rather avoid. whatever you do, don't be like the people on Aniroleplay who hide their 2 line godmod behind 12 paragraphs of text, 4 of which are dedicated to repeating that they have a black Umbrella in different synonyms and 5 of which are dedicated to redundant details about their darn outfit.


you simply want to be able to progress the story. i care not if you have to do a short post to progress the story. i would rather have a 1 liner that progress the story than a 12 paragraph post of redundant fluff that serves no purpose. i don't need to know what color the stripes on your Katana Wielding Japanese schoolgirl assassin's lowrise boyshort style panties are unless you intentionally put yourself in a scenario where you end up feeling a need to describe them. such as doing a backflip in a friggin miniskirt. and even then, i don't need to know what the color and print are. i would rather leave that up to imagination. but details like that bother me when they are used pointlessly. in fact, i would rather you not make your schoolgirl assassin do that flip just so your character can flash everyone. especially if it shortens a pointless detail from the darn post.

 

[CabalAnomicPotato]

@Umbrie


I see what you mean there. I have been trying to work on adding more detail to my rp post, but I don't plan on describing my outfit or anything (unless Its a starting post, I don't plan on adding many useless details).


Thanks for the information though, as I don't believe iv ran into a rper that has pulled off describing an outfit in 12 paragraphs (and as annoying as that would be, it would be equally as awesome).

 

[WhipDing]

One thing that I think is important to writing in general (not just RPing) is not being overly concerned about taking on a specific style. It's easy to get wrapped up in trying to emulate someone else's style of writing even when it doesn't really suit you - don't feel bad about trying out new things, there's very few wrong ways to write, and your own unique style will flourish eventually