Advice/Help Presenting ideas for RPs in an interesting way.

[Windjammer]

Ok, so I have the persistent problem of seemingly not being able to present my ideas in an interesting way. I've tried starting RPs in the past, however, i don't seem to be real good at it. I really could use some advice.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Are you talking groups or 1x1?

 

[Windjammer]

Are you talking groups or 1x1?

Groups.

 

[still watching fma]

Groups.

The basic advice I can give is to figure out what you're interested in, then read people that you can learn from. For instance, since I love fantasy. I'd re-read the lord of the rings. If I was doing a zombie apocalypse rp, I'd read world war z. Part of writing in an "interesting way", is being creative about it. Also if you post a sample you might get more advice.

 

[Malphaestus]

I disagree with "[...]FMA" largely because reading books don't help too much with how to properly present an idea to an audience. After all, the issue to discuss here does not relate to "how to write good" but instead "how to catch the eyes and interest of people."

And when it comes to that, I would personally consider what you find interesting about your idea, and write up a draft summary/introduction that would garner your own attention. After that, having acquaintances to ball to and give opinions on it greatly aids in the creation of the final draft. Though I must stress that if you get a 'friend' to read your stuff, don't expect them to join just because they said they liked what you wrote up. Let people come organically unless you have a group pre-established. Forcing people into stuff doesn't last long.

 

[still watching fma]

I disagree with "[...]FMA" largely because reading books don't help too much with how to properly present an idea to an audience. After all, the issue to discuss here does not relate to "how to write good" but instead "how to catch the eyes and interest of people."

When I was young, I slammed my face into the keyboard until something good came out. No one tried to help me lol. As for your criticism, writing better conveys your thoughts better. And writing in an interesting way, is often times based on word choice and how your approach it. However the difference between saying, the dragon was covered by scales and saying the dragon's scales were hard as iron is massive. I never would have thought to even give dragon's scales a quality until I read tolkein's description of smaug.

 

[Malphaestus]

Irrelevant. When presenting my idea, I decided to assume they had sufficient prowess of writing.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I think when it comes to presentations all you need to worry about is

1. is it readable on all formats/themes?
2. is it well organized and the information clearly labelled?
3. are their clear rules for what you expect from your players?

That’s pretty much it. The rest is just luck. And not getting too caught up in competing with other role plays. Roleplay isn’t a competition and there are so many factors as to why people pick a thread that you simply can’t account for them all.

 

[Malozing]

I agree with rae2nerdy

 

[Malozing]

Reading and analyzing other interest checks might give you better insight into formats, methods to screen potential players, etc. Good luck in starting your RPs.

 

[Windjammer]

Thank you all for your suggestions

 

[zippy]

Don’t think you need coding to make your interest check appeal to others, but definitely don’t skimp on aesthetics. By that I mean, make your headers obvious. Section things off if need be. Simply Plain Text threads are fine, but putting in some effort will often pull in more eyes.

One thing I’ve noticed that’s good at garnering attention is to write a “stylized” version of your RP idea. So one section of the interest check is written like a starter post sort of? Or like a lore page? And then the next section would explain in an OOC manner what the RP is about and any additional information.

Shitty Example:

First Section
It feels like the world has been barren for nearly a half a century now. After the super volcano erupted and left 80% of North America covered in soot and snow, new dangers have arisen to threaten mankind.

Second Section
This RP takes place 40 years into the future in a post apocalyptic America. Our characters have heard rumors of a safe, warm place down South and the RP will follow them on their journey.

Of course, some may disagree with me but if you’re interested in doing your check this way I think it would be a benefit. Not only this but the first section serves as almost a writing sample of sorts. This means you might be more likely to draw in writers who compliment your writing style as opposed to people who write drastically different from you. Also similar to above, it shows effort and passion which can make people trust you more as a GM and want to join AND stick around.