Autumnfeb
Well-known member
I was thinking about doing this for a while now. So here goes. Here are my two-bits, split up into 4 nice bite-sized pieces. just some things I like to try and do in RPs, as well as some pet peeves and all that jazz. Feel free to add anything in, be it elaborating, disagreeing, or making a whole other section. This is to help this RP community grow, man. The skill levels are too unevenly distributed. Most of my stuff will be on character design. Because I like me some OCs *nomnom*
Section 1: Characters
One cannot properly roleplay without a character now can they? Now here are some tips to help avoid mary-sues!
1. Avoid having too much good along with the bad. Now, almost everyone knows that Mary-Sues have a tendency to be ABSOLUTELYSUPERSPARKLEPERFECT, but don't fall into the trap of giving your character too many bad traits, then your character just becomes an anti-sue. Equally hated, please tread with caution.
2. When creating a new character specific for the RP think of a good central concept. I like to use this. It helps me focus on what kind of character I want. Take for instance a character of mine I use in Digimon RPs- Rune Darnell. Her basic idea was envy. Who was she envious of? Her brother who got all of her parent's attention. Why? Her parents verbally abused her and told her to be more like her brother whom she looks up to (to the point of cutting her hair short and dressing like her brother). How does she cope? By reading fantasy novels in the nearby library. Because of that she has poor social skills and is very soft spoken, but tends to live in a bit of her own fantasy world, believing that after she suffers these many hardships she will be able to have a happy ending to her story. Once I got the basic ideas, I let them flow like a river. But, the tricky part (if someone could put in some input here that would be nice) is knowing when to stop. For Rune's basic development I stopped around there. Sure, I have big plans for how I want her development to go to make her fit nicely into the "nefarious" category she is under on her RP, but for right now that's all she needs. this brings me to my next tip...
3. Give your character room to grow. Many people will have RPs just for the sake of character development. Your character's should not be fully planned out. Have you ever read a book or seen a movie where one of the main characters is exactly the same at the start of the story as they are at the end? If you have then I bet it wasn't good. No one likes a static character. Try and find a good place in your initial concept to stop and let their interactions with other characters give them more personality and history. It's fine to have a direction or two you want your character to go in, heel-face-turns are always fun, but you can keep that to yourself. Who knows, maybe that dark and dangerous character of yours develops a soft side towards an unlikely friend? This is also good to use for any kind of writing, just ask anyone who does NaNoWriMo!
4. Get to know your character! All my characters start with an initial concept, and a sketch. And through drawing and sketching them more it's like I pry into their minds. To me, each and every one of my characters are their own little entity. I like to find out more about them through drawing or "conversing" with them. Think of silly situations and how would your character react or pretend to have a conversation with your character, if you aren't one to draw. The more you know them, the better you can write for them. I'm not too sure if anyone else does this. But I like to think it helps. Many a character has had a few tweaks done to them through getting to know them.
5. If you still are unsure of mary-sue qualities take the Litmus Test The Universal Mary-Sue Litmus Test has been used by many people, out of concern or curiosity, to find the sue-ness of one of their characters. Mind the instructions and how some traits are relative to the universe in which the RP resides.
6. Resources are NOT cheating! Having trouble thinking of the perfect outfit or good name? Don't worry your head over it. I have an awful time thinking of good outfits for my characters, so when I'm in need of an interestingly-dressed character or something time-specific I look online for a good dress-up game or a doll maker and put different clothing pieces together, and see how they look. Plus, unless you are using the doll you made you don't need to limit yourself to the available colors! If you already have a color scheme in mind, but like the style of clothing, feel free to spice it up a bit. As for names, unless something has a nice ring to it, just fits, or is a made-up RPG-esque name, I tend to look at either baby name websites or, a personal favorite of mine, 20000-names.com. That website, although plagued with adds, is a well-used resource by myself and peers. It even has a section for surnames/family names, so you can make your character's full name using one website. Nifty, huh? Behind the Name is another good website, or so I've been told. Using websites like those to find names can help one break away from typical, bland names. And since most websites you can search by meaning, the websites will spit out nice, long lists of a bunch of names that have the meaning you want. Eat your hearts out. Also, don't forget to do your research, no one likes it when you improperly RP a character with a serious disease or disorder. I have some characters that have a good deal of research put into them, just to make sure I can write them properly. If you want to avoid the embarrassment of improperly using Bipolar Disorder in an RP with a person who actually has said disorder, I suggest you hit the books. Or Wikipedia.
Section 2: Plot and Setting!
1. Try to be as descriptive as possible with the setting.If your setting isn't very descriptive, some of the people you are RPing with may not all have the same idea, and cause confusing or awkward situations in the rp. So, don't be afraid to get wordy and descriptive. If you want you could even break out maps and pictures and what-not. Also, if you are on the other end, as in a person who is unsure of where exactly there character is supposed to be, feel free to ask. As long as you are polite about it, I'm sure the almighty RP creator wouldn't mind elaborating.
2. Plot or no plot, that is the question. Some of you probably read that and went "what are you talking about you madwoman?! Going PLOTLESS?!" So, I probably need to do a good deal of explaining here. First off, yes you can do plotless RPs, but you can really only effectively pull that off if you are doing a 1on1 rp OR are doing an RP that is total and utter crack (putting random scenarios into a hat also can be fun for that genre). So, don't go that route as far as this site is concerned unless you have mad skills and know what you are doing, or have a secret plot you don't want to tell people (very risky, no one might join). But on the other hand, you don't want to develop your plot too fully. You are writing a story with other people. You can guess what they will do next as much as you want, but chances are they will do something you didn't initially expect and throw off your plot. As I said before, heel-face-turns are fun. So, here is my suggestion: get a main, simple storyline and embellish it to fit your RP, put a nice bit of description in there so nobody is scratching their heads, and secretly plan out the next few bits and a plot twist or two. But, don't stop there. Also do a few "what if" scenarios, just in case someone does pull out the good 'ol side-switcharoo on you.
Section 3: Your Post
1. Details, details, details. Now, let's get this straight. Word counts are nice and all, but no one likes it when you put 5 adjectives for every other noun. Also, don't spend too much time on how your character looks (that's what forms/skeletons and intro posts are for) or their past. Sure toss in something that reminds you of something that happened to your poor, tragic, character. But please, please, include some sort of action, dialog, ANYTHING that can be responded or replied too. Putting in details prevents you from posting those nasty one-liner things people keep on ranting about, and helps the other people you are RPing with better visualize the situation and thus prevents them from posting one-liners. Remember, an RP is a story of sorts. If you don't have enough detail, the story turns out like poop.
2. Grammarf andspell check are are nice too!!!!1!! I am not a good speller. I failed almost every spelling test given to me. How do I help my problem? It's this wonderful thing called spell check. It's not too big of a problem on here from what I see. I hope it's because most browsers now-a-days have a spell check built right in. But if yours doesn't either get one that does or open up microsoft word (or the totally free open office if you don't have word) and use that spell check. Now, as far as grammar is concerned the biggest tips I can give you are: pay attention in school, and try and read your sentence out loud. If it sounds weird, you are probably doing it wrong. No one is perfect, but as long as you don't type like I did for the bolded part you should be fine. The most notable exception to the grammar thing is if you are doing dialog. Especially for a character that doesn't know the language well. Or are RPing a Homestuck troll (also the exception to the no chatspeak rule). Seriously. I can't read like most of those fonts and I already told my friends I'm going to read the comic. I don't know how I'm gonna do it. ANYWAY back on track here...
3. OOC and IC Let's say you need to mention something out of character at the end of an in-character post. How does one do that without confusing people? Well there are many, many ways. My preferred way is the double parenthesis technique. ((like so)) But a variety of brackets can be used. Another way is writing OOC: before the OOC parts and IC: before the IC parts. Some people like to get creative with those and make up other things that start with OOC. Such as Out Of Cookies. I've also seen a change in font color, but I tend to think that is ineffective due to the fact that people like to have their characters talk in colors. Thus bringing me to section four...
Section 4: Autumn's Pet Peeves
1. Dialog and thinking. Okay. Can someone PLEASE explain why it is necessary to have dialog in a different color?! I mean shouldn't the quotation marks, you know, give it away? Also, this is a biggie for me. THINKING IS WRITTEN THE SAME AS SPEAKING. There. I said it. In all caps. thinking is not done in italics, or in squiggly lines or whatever. It's written the same as speaking. If you character is thinking of cookies, you should write: "Those cookies smell really nice." She thought. NOT 'Those cookies smell really nice.' She thought. I mean really. What novels have you read where a character has ~s around their thoughts? Please, tell me, indulge me. I need to know. Foreign languages and sign language can be done in a similar fashion. Here is an example using my selective mute character Lark:
He shifted his weight from one foot to another. This really was a strange situation, and quite frankly he didn't know if anyone in the room knew sign language. "Hello. My name is Lark Hartley." He said, his small hands moving about swiftly as he signed his words.
See? Now was that so hard? No, no it was not. Of course I went a bit wordy on describing how he signed... But I put days of researching elective mutes, how to write for sign language, chronic insomnia, as well as castrati in order to properly RP Lark, so I think I may know what I'm doing.
2. Using pictures in forms Now this may just be me being a prissy artist and a wannabe character designer, but I absolutely hate it when people use pictures that aren't theirs. You are RPing right? Write out how your character looks! Or, you can use one of those dress-up games or doll makers I was telling you about. I know a good number of some specifically made for doing OC "art" if you want I can PM you links. But, if you absolutely must have to use an image that isn't yours or was drawn for you PLEASE give credit where it's due. If you don't know who drew it nor where it was originally posted, at the very least link it to the website that you got it from. If you do know the artist then please, please, please, ask for permission first. Many artists don't like it when people use their art for other people's characters. Also, it just looks lame when you have a picture and say that they look like that but have different hair and/or eye color. Or when you have a series of pictures that are "looks like this" but "wears this" and so on.
Well, that's all I got for now. I haven't slept at all yet and I'm pretty tired so I'm sure it's littered with mistakes. I'm also sure I'm gonna get some people mad with my views. Oh well.
Thanks for reading this.
Can't wait to see what you all have to say.
Hope this will help improve the RP section of TamaTalk.
Over and Out.
Section 1: Characters
One cannot properly roleplay without a character now can they? Now here are some tips to help avoid mary-sues!
1. Avoid having too much good along with the bad. Now, almost everyone knows that Mary-Sues have a tendency to be ABSOLUTELYSUPERSPARKLEPERFECT, but don't fall into the trap of giving your character too many bad traits, then your character just becomes an anti-sue. Equally hated, please tread with caution.
2. When creating a new character specific for the RP think of a good central concept. I like to use this. It helps me focus on what kind of character I want. Take for instance a character of mine I use in Digimon RPs- Rune Darnell. Her basic idea was envy. Who was she envious of? Her brother who got all of her parent's attention. Why? Her parents verbally abused her and told her to be more like her brother whom she looks up to (to the point of cutting her hair short and dressing like her brother). How does she cope? By reading fantasy novels in the nearby library. Because of that she has poor social skills and is very soft spoken, but tends to live in a bit of her own fantasy world, believing that after she suffers these many hardships she will be able to have a happy ending to her story. Once I got the basic ideas, I let them flow like a river. But, the tricky part (if someone could put in some input here that would be nice) is knowing when to stop. For Rune's basic development I stopped around there. Sure, I have big plans for how I want her development to go to make her fit nicely into the "nefarious" category she is under on her RP, but for right now that's all she needs. this brings me to my next tip...
3. Give your character room to grow. Many people will have RPs just for the sake of character development. Your character's should not be fully planned out. Have you ever read a book or seen a movie where one of the main characters is exactly the same at the start of the story as they are at the end? If you have then I bet it wasn't good. No one likes a static character. Try and find a good place in your initial concept to stop and let their interactions with other characters give them more personality and history. It's fine to have a direction or two you want your character to go in, heel-face-turns are always fun, but you can keep that to yourself. Who knows, maybe that dark and dangerous character of yours develops a soft side towards an unlikely friend? This is also good to use for any kind of writing, just ask anyone who does NaNoWriMo!
4. Get to know your character! All my characters start with an initial concept, and a sketch. And through drawing and sketching them more it's like I pry into their minds. To me, each and every one of my characters are their own little entity. I like to find out more about them through drawing or "conversing" with them. Think of silly situations and how would your character react or pretend to have a conversation with your character, if you aren't one to draw. The more you know them, the better you can write for them. I'm not too sure if anyone else does this. But I like to think it helps. Many a character has had a few tweaks done to them through getting to know them.
5. If you still are unsure of mary-sue qualities take the Litmus Test The Universal Mary-Sue Litmus Test has been used by many people, out of concern or curiosity, to find the sue-ness of one of their characters. Mind the instructions and how some traits are relative to the universe in which the RP resides.
6. Resources are NOT cheating! Having trouble thinking of the perfect outfit or good name? Don't worry your head over it. I have an awful time thinking of good outfits for my characters, so when I'm in need of an interestingly-dressed character or something time-specific I look online for a good dress-up game or a doll maker and put different clothing pieces together, and see how they look. Plus, unless you are using the doll you made you don't need to limit yourself to the available colors! If you already have a color scheme in mind, but like the style of clothing, feel free to spice it up a bit. As for names, unless something has a nice ring to it, just fits, or is a made-up RPG-esque name, I tend to look at either baby name websites or, a personal favorite of mine, 20000-names.com. That website, although plagued with adds, is a well-used resource by myself and peers. It even has a section for surnames/family names, so you can make your character's full name using one website. Nifty, huh? Behind the Name is another good website, or so I've been told. Using websites like those to find names can help one break away from typical, bland names. And since most websites you can search by meaning, the websites will spit out nice, long lists of a bunch of names that have the meaning you want. Eat your hearts out. Also, don't forget to do your research, no one likes it when you improperly RP a character with a serious disease or disorder. I have some characters that have a good deal of research put into them, just to make sure I can write them properly. If you want to avoid the embarrassment of improperly using Bipolar Disorder in an RP with a person who actually has said disorder, I suggest you hit the books. Or Wikipedia.
Section 2: Plot and Setting!
1. Try to be as descriptive as possible with the setting.If your setting isn't very descriptive, some of the people you are RPing with may not all have the same idea, and cause confusing or awkward situations in the rp. So, don't be afraid to get wordy and descriptive. If you want you could even break out maps and pictures and what-not. Also, if you are on the other end, as in a person who is unsure of where exactly there character is supposed to be, feel free to ask. As long as you are polite about it, I'm sure the almighty RP creator wouldn't mind elaborating.
2. Plot or no plot, that is the question. Some of you probably read that and went "what are you talking about you madwoman?! Going PLOTLESS?!" So, I probably need to do a good deal of explaining here. First off, yes you can do plotless RPs, but you can really only effectively pull that off if you are doing a 1on1 rp OR are doing an RP that is total and utter crack (putting random scenarios into a hat also can be fun for that genre). So, don't go that route as far as this site is concerned unless you have mad skills and know what you are doing, or have a secret plot you don't want to tell people (very risky, no one might join). But on the other hand, you don't want to develop your plot too fully. You are writing a story with other people. You can guess what they will do next as much as you want, but chances are they will do something you didn't initially expect and throw off your plot. As I said before, heel-face-turns are fun. So, here is my suggestion: get a main, simple storyline and embellish it to fit your RP, put a nice bit of description in there so nobody is scratching their heads, and secretly plan out the next few bits and a plot twist or two. But, don't stop there. Also do a few "what if" scenarios, just in case someone does pull out the good 'ol side-switcharoo on you.
Section 3: Your Post
1. Details, details, details. Now, let's get this straight. Word counts are nice and all, but no one likes it when you put 5 adjectives for every other noun. Also, don't spend too much time on how your character looks (that's what forms/skeletons and intro posts are for) or their past. Sure toss in something that reminds you of something that happened to your poor, tragic, character. But please, please, include some sort of action, dialog, ANYTHING that can be responded or replied too. Putting in details prevents you from posting those nasty one-liner things people keep on ranting about, and helps the other people you are RPing with better visualize the situation and thus prevents them from posting one-liners. Remember, an RP is a story of sorts. If you don't have enough detail, the story turns out like poop.
2. Grammarf andspell check are are nice too!!!!1!! I am not a good speller. I failed almost every spelling test given to me. How do I help my problem? It's this wonderful thing called spell check. It's not too big of a problem on here from what I see. I hope it's because most browsers now-a-days have a spell check built right in. But if yours doesn't either get one that does or open up microsoft word (or the totally free open office if you don't have word) and use that spell check. Now, as far as grammar is concerned the biggest tips I can give you are: pay attention in school, and try and read your sentence out loud. If it sounds weird, you are probably doing it wrong. No one is perfect, but as long as you don't type like I did for the bolded part you should be fine. The most notable exception to the grammar thing is if you are doing dialog. Especially for a character that doesn't know the language well. Or are RPing a Homestuck troll (also the exception to the no chatspeak rule). Seriously. I can't read like most of those fonts and I already told my friends I'm going to read the comic. I don't know how I'm gonna do it. ANYWAY back on track here...
3. OOC and IC Let's say you need to mention something out of character at the end of an in-character post. How does one do that without confusing people? Well there are many, many ways. My preferred way is the double parenthesis technique. ((like so)) But a variety of brackets can be used. Another way is writing OOC: before the OOC parts and IC: before the IC parts. Some people like to get creative with those and make up other things that start with OOC. Such as Out Of Cookies. I've also seen a change in font color, but I tend to think that is ineffective due to the fact that people like to have their characters talk in colors. Thus bringing me to section four...
Section 4: Autumn's Pet Peeves
1. Dialog and thinking. Okay. Can someone PLEASE explain why it is necessary to have dialog in a different color?! I mean shouldn't the quotation marks, you know, give it away? Also, this is a biggie for me. THINKING IS WRITTEN THE SAME AS SPEAKING. There. I said it. In all caps. thinking is not done in italics, or in squiggly lines or whatever. It's written the same as speaking. If you character is thinking of cookies, you should write: "Those cookies smell really nice." She thought. NOT 'Those cookies smell really nice.' She thought. I mean really. What novels have you read where a character has ~s around their thoughts? Please, tell me, indulge me. I need to know. Foreign languages and sign language can be done in a similar fashion. Here is an example using my selective mute character Lark:
He shifted his weight from one foot to another. This really was a strange situation, and quite frankly he didn't know if anyone in the room knew sign language. "Hello. My name is Lark Hartley." He said, his small hands moving about swiftly as he signed his words.
See? Now was that so hard? No, no it was not. Of course I went a bit wordy on describing how he signed... But I put days of researching elective mutes, how to write for sign language, chronic insomnia, as well as castrati in order to properly RP Lark, so I think I may know what I'm doing.
2. Using pictures in forms Now this may just be me being a prissy artist and a wannabe character designer, but I absolutely hate it when people use pictures that aren't theirs. You are RPing right? Write out how your character looks! Or, you can use one of those dress-up games or doll makers I was telling you about. I know a good number of some specifically made for doing OC "art" if you want I can PM you links. But, if you absolutely must have to use an image that isn't yours or was drawn for you PLEASE give credit where it's due. If you don't know who drew it nor where it was originally posted, at the very least link it to the website that you got it from. If you do know the artist then please, please, please, ask for permission first. Many artists don't like it when people use their art for other people's characters. Also, it just looks lame when you have a picture and say that they look like that but have different hair and/or eye color. Or when you have a series of pictures that are "looks like this" but "wears this" and so on.
Well, that's all I got for now. I haven't slept at all yet and I'm pretty tired so I'm sure it's littered with mistakes. I'm also sure I'm gonna get some people mad with my views. Oh well.
Thanks for reading this.
Can't wait to see what you all have to say.
Hope this will help improve the RP section of TamaTalk.
Over and Out.
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