Other Is a paragraph enough?

[Elephantom]

Um... Maybe you would normally be right but I'm never horny. I'm Aesexual. I don't do horny.

Hmm. . . There's still puberty, though, regardless of orientation. And hormones be raging because of it.

 

[BackSet]

Hmm. . . There's still puberty, though, regardless of orientation. And hormones be raging because of it.

Yeah... No. Screw hormones. Maybe they only work at night. Because that's about the only time I actually have to work to suppress the hornyness.

 

[Elephantom]

Yeah... No. Screw hormones. Maybe they only work at night. Because that's about the only time I actually have to work to suppress the hornyness.

It's natural. People get over it, eventually. Alas, you'll miss the pleasure of sex. But, that also means getting to avoid the burgeoning sin of lust.

 

[BackSet]

It's natural. People get over it, eventually. Alas, you'll miss the pleasure of sex. But, that also means getting to avoid the burgeoning sin of lust.

Anyway, I don't actually have time to debate right now cause I'm getting ready to go to PAX.

 

[TripTripleTimes]

Elephantom the number of trolls you have is underappreciated, my good man.

 

[Hall Kervean]

Aces, mate.

 

[StoneWolf18]

Let’s see if I can get this thread back on topic.

Personally, I feel it depends on the roleplay. I have both written oneliners to lovely posts exceeding 4K words and take me multiple days to write with various people and didn’t enjoy the roleplay any less. If I have a world I want to develop throughout my post or am in the middle of a pretty intense scene, there’s most likely going to be more content than if two characters are casually interacting.

I don’t think that longer posts contain pure fluff a majority of the time. Yes some people can assault a dictionary and or thesaurus to pump something full of purple prose, but, in my personal opinion, this doesn’t define everyone who likes to roleplay in a more detailed manner.

On the flip side of this, I also don’t think having less than a few sentences to a post makes someone illiterate, lazy, or uncreative. Maybe they’re short on time, don’t speak English all that well, or are simply new to roleplaying/creative writing. Could the factors I mentioned previously play a role? Of course but I wouldn’t be so quick to assume.

TL; DR - Don’t judge a roleplayer by their post length.

 

[ApfelSeine]

Just jumping off from Stone's point a bit each player has their own preferences for length, and different situations call for different length post. I've found that minimum or maximum lengths don't work well for me because I write what I feel is needed, which is sometimes very long and sometimes within a paragraph (though usually a long one in forum rps).

You cannot judge a person's ability on how long their posts are. I actually disagree with Stone on the point that perhaps there are external factors (such as limited time, limited English, limited experience, etc.). I mean, this point is absolutely true, but there are some times where one posts a paragraph because the scene calls for it. Perhaps an action scene or dialogue scene. Or perhaps it is not a limitation of the scene, but rather a result of the player preferring things to be faster paced. A person might be able to write long posts, but still prefer not to do so. Though that said, not being able to write long posts is not a sign of a lack of creativity, but may simply be that an individual does not have much to say other than to describe the actions of their characters. Those actions themselves may well be particularly interesting or imaginative.

So essentially, length is meaningless, but different people have different preferences. Unless there's a length expectation set by the GM or your rp partner, the needed length of a post can vary wildly from person to person and situation to situation.

 

[BackSet]

Well, the mods are here so I'm gonna leave before I say something stupid to get me in trouble. Bananas.

 

[Meredith]

The mods work at victimizing yall, clearly.

I say yes. I expect longer posts for scene-setting and simelar things but huge posts during character interaction are either full of meaningless fluff or railroading other characters.

I like multi-para posts, but if you're whipping them out during dialogue, they should be good and for good reason.

 

[Vampunk]

Quality over quantity, but there's a pet peeve of mine related to post length.

When I spend an hour writing up a post with great detail to move the plot along and give my role-play partner(s) something to enjoy and work with and then get only 3 lines back with obvious lack of effort I instantly just lose any desire to continue the role-play.

But yeah, post length isn't something to judge someone over, a single paragraph reply can be better than a 4+ one.
It all comes down to effort and dedication.
I'm a bloodhound when it comes to sniffing out a lack of bothers to give when replying to a role-play.

 

[DailyRoLord]

I, personally, believe that it depends on the type of roleplay we’re looking at here. If it’s detailed, then, no, a paragraph isn’t enough. If it’s anything other than detailed, I’d say it is enough, though a lot more could be expected. I’m neutral here, because it really depends on the roleplay.

 

[BillyGGruff]

My philosophy is a post does not exist in a vacuum. You are not just a line of dialogue floating in space with no context, nor are you only focused on explaining what your character is doing. You are telling a collaborative story with other people. As such you must engage with that story whenever you post, and that requires more than one paragraph to do. Acknowledge other players posts in an organic way as well as how your character responds to them. Describe where your character is and what the setting is like. Describe what your character is thinking and feeling. Basically the more detail you put into the post, the less you are going to concern yourself with trivial things like "is one paragraph enough."

 

[MicroFunk]

I'd like to think so, as long as that paragraph is apropos to what's going on. if you can describe what you're doing in a paragraph, and the pacing's a bit fast, it's obviously the best option.

Really, I guess it depends on the people involved and what they're trying to do. A high-speed action thing would obviously do better with a majority of one-paragraph posts, compared to, say, a high-level... political thriller, or a worldbuilding project.

 

[Birdsie]

Less words doesn't mean saying less. It means saying something efficiently and without breaking flow.

 

[iFreedawg]

I always wondered how you write good dialogue without doing One-liners.
What do you use to fill the paragraph count?

 

[Necessity4Fun]

I always wondered how you write good dialogue without doing One-liners.
What do you use to fill the paragraph count?

It depends on what your writing style and your preferences are. Sometimes people describe the surroundings, others, they reference the posts before them to show continuity... It doesn't need to happen all of the time, but once in a while, it can add a lot to the story...

I, myself, enjoy dwelling on my character's reactions, feelings and thoughts a lot. There's often a bit of monologue during the narration and sometimes when a situation prompts it, a bit of flashback as well.
I like writing their reactions to every single thing from the other posts before I start actively doing anything. Sure, it changes from character to character. You'll have more or less monologue depending on their personalities.

For example, Juliana is your typical teenage girl and a bit hyper, so she obviously acts a lot more than she thinks. On the other extreme we have Aiden, who is awfully shy, insecure and an introvert, thus a post for him is a lot more monologue and narration (also description of tiny quirks that show how awkward and nervous he is) instead of actively actions or dialogue. Doesn't mean he doesn't interact, it just means he does it less and it takes him a lot more effort to do so.

Your narration can also match their personalities. I often use bold and italics to emphasize ideas that the character itself would, going with their own ideologies. It's almost like a thought, but instead of going out of the narration and into a new paragraph every single time, I have it blend into the narration. Make the monologue a bit crazy, with it suddenly ending in caps or in a more darker tone, if that's how your character is, or, if they think a lot about what's behind others' actions, maybe write it as if they're solving a mystery. Evaluate the clues and write down their path to the conclusion. Really, you can go nuts with this!
I still go out and do write a line of thought here and there, but only when I feel like I really need it.

I got a bit too excited but just to make it clear, this is my writing style, it's what I love doing. If you think these aren't that important and likes to be more direct instead, it's absolutely okay!
I'd just be really bored by being direct all of the time, but other people would probably think what I do is a waste of space and effort and that's okay too.
If everyone wrote the same, RPing would be really boring >w<

But yeah, that's an example of what people do, depends on what you're more passionate about and what makes writing fun for you.

 

[pasta]

personally, i prefer writing multiple paragraphs, but everyone is allowed to write however they want. in my opinion, it allows you to go more in depth, create relations, and further develop characters. It allows you to be much more creative. it's frustrating when you put so much effort into writing a multi-paragraph reply and all you get is a paragraph in reply. it can kill your drive for the rp and ultimately kill it the rp itself. The paragraph may have been fantastic, but there's not much to reply to.

honestly, just don't join rps where they ask for multiple paragraphs. it's a way to avoid being told to write more by the gms. chill, ok, cool

 

[anxietyrat]

I haven't read all the comments, so I'm likely repeating something someone has already said, but I think it is very situational.
I write over one paragraph just by nature. Wordiness isn't always a good thing.

My preference is at least two paragraphs but I have a partner who makes short replies, and I thoroughly enjoy roleplaying with them. We don't have a consistency to our WC. We just do what feels right for the given situation. I've read some pretty stunning short replies as well. Hell, I'd actually enjoy entertaining a roleplay with shorter word counts but with a still hefty focus on literacy and writing well. It's whatever floats your boat.

 

[Emi Nebulas]

Personally, I believe it depends on the roleplay and the owner of the roleplay. For example, if I made a roleplay right now, the requirements must be at least one paragraph, because it really pisses me off if I see someone post like a sentence, frankly.

I believe that everyone has different opinions and preferences. Sometimes it depends on the actions. For instance, if I make my character ask someone else's character a question, it may be only about three sentences, or a brief paragraph. The other person may answer my character's question by using about three sentences as well, and possibly more because the person may wish to make his or her character do another action.

At the end of the day, it all depends on different people's preferences.

 

[W. Sharp]

like the title says: is a paragraph enough for character and world building or can it be considered a one liner? My personal opinion: no. You can squeeze a lot of stuff into a paragraph, if my Roleplaying proves anything it's that. I personally believe that asking the casual crowd, who just come here to have fun (and not to be berated for writing less that the so called "complex" users), to write more than a paragraph if they don't want to is stupid. They just want to have fun, not be yelled at for not writing what you think is the "proper amount" for effort. You can put effort into almost anything as long as it's not a single sentence. Like this paragraph I'm writing here. I'm putting tons of effort into it.

Yes, I do agree with your reasoning. A pargraph is enough as long as there is an amount of effort put into it, I usually write only about two paragraphs each reply, but sometimes there is a case where you should just tone down a bit.

 

[eyflfla]

I think a lot of problems with this discussion is in the terminology. I think exploring what each of us means by one-liner, or low content posting would be helpful. It may be that many of you agree with each other in spirit and the words you're using are causing the conflict.

Early on, I interpreted one-liner to mean low content posting. I tend to write pretty compact sentences and can say in 2 sentences what others might take 5 or 6 to type out. I won't pad my posts out and I dislike when people write a paragraph on each of their 5 senses every time. Sometimes a few good sentences is all that is needed.

I think that close ended vs open ended posts might be a more useful distinction. A close ended post would be a single reaction to a single event. Someone might have given you many things to respond to and you only responded to one, and in a way that left them little to work with. An open ended post would be a reaction on many levels. By simply reacting on a few levels at once you give your co-writers multiple things they can react to in turn.

I think being overly litigious about post size is stupid.

 

[Borkus Lazorus]

Q: How long does the bridge need to be?

A: As long as it needs to be.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I think a lot of problems with this discussion is in the terminology. I think exploring what each of us means by one-liner, or low content posting would be helpful. It may be that many of you agree with each other in spirit and the words you're using are causing the conflict.

Early on, I interpreted one-liner to mean low content posting. I tend to write pretty compact sentences and can say in 2 sentences what others might take 5 or 6 to type out. I won't pad my posts out and I dislike when people write a paragraph on each of their 5 senses every time. Sometimes a few good sentences is all that is needed.

I think that close ended vs open ended posts might be a more useful distinction. A close ended post would be a single reaction to a single event. Someone might have given you many things to respond to and you only responded to one, and in a way that left them little to work with. An open ended post would be a reaction on many levels. By simply reacting on a few levels at once you give your co-writers multiple things they can react to in turn.

I think being overly litigious about post size is stupid.

I agree actually. I think what people want is to feel like they're reply is actually read and also have something they can respond to with whatever degree of detail comes most easily to them.

I personally struggle with brevity. I can take a full paragraph sometimes to say what another person could say in maybe a sentence or two. I can certainly try to edit myself but it often ends with me more frustrated than anything.

By the same token being given a reply that is about 2/3 filled with meaningless inner monologue and only about 1/3rd of stuff my character can actually respond to is kind of useless. I usually just read the 1/3rd that affects my character and ignore the rest.

I think a good middle ground is doing as you suggest coming up with an open or closed ended post.

And deciding between you whether you want replies to be responses to a Single or Multiple actions.

 

[eyflfla]

I was using open ended vs close ended as a better dichotomy than "1 liners" vs "detailed posts" or low vs high effort, or 1 paragraph vs 3 paragraphs. I feel it's a more useful distinction.

I draw mazes and the metaphor that comes to mind is: Did you create more threads than you closed?
At a minimum you should try to at least carry the threads of the conversation (body language, physical actions, tone of voice, actual dialogue, background information and ques) and pass them back. A good post should offer up 3 or 4 different things to respond to. If there are enough ques, neither party has to respond to them all, but maybe they'll come up later.

This is awful hard to explain with out a good example.

But anyways, I just wanted to point out that people can mean many different things when they say "one liner" and it would be useful to be more specific and try to qualify what exactly is meant by "one liner"

As for problems with brevity I think I'm almost too good sometimes at combining sentences, chaining multiple phrases into one sentence. So if you want help, pm me something and I'll condense it down and explain it a little bit. If you want, I dunno, maybe you don't. *shrug*