Post by Lauren on Jul 14, 2010 11:46:36 GMT -5
Imagine you have just joined a site, and you're character has now been accepted. It's time to start playing. You find a board, and you click "New Thread", or maybe you're replying to someone's. The white screen is black before you, and your mind is writing out what you're going to type. This is the most important part of roleplaying. The Post.
This is an example of what NOT to post.
This is why this is a bad post:
1. It's two sentences. 12 words. Typically, a site limit is set at AT LEAST 40 words. It's not that hard to write 40 words, believe me.
2. There is no description whatsoever. Is he sitting on a couch? The floor? Where is he? What time is it? No one really knows. So how will someone reply if they don't know what's going on?
Here is a good post.
This post was quite a bit longer. It's descriptive, and it let's the other player know where they are and what's going on, so they can reply effectively without any questions.
Now I hoped you noticed something; the different writing styles. The first post was written in 3rd person, meaning not from the character's point of view, but from yours. The second one was written in first person, whereas in this one, you are writing as if you ARE the character. Some sites have rules about the POV (point of view), which person you write in. But most allow you to choose. Choose the one you are most comfortable in, because it doesn't really matter, as far as quality, which you pick.
On thing you want to remember is courtesy. When you write, you want to write in a way that allows someone else to read it and know exactly what they want to say back. And very important- DO NOT GOD-MODE. This is a rule that I've seen on every RPG. This simply means don't write stuff like these examples below.
These are drastic examples, but basically, don't write in a way that controls what happens to the other character, or against their will.
Poweplaying is almost the same thing. And sometimes you can even say that the example above is powerplaying as well. Powerplaying is basically writing what happens to the other persons character, like writing:
The underlined part is the powerplay part. If you're writing what the other character is doing, that is powerplaying. The other player then has to go along with whatever you said. That's not fun.
*NOTE: There is one exception to powerplaying. This is when you write out what the 'extras' are doing. Sometimes, like in the correct-example post, you might want to bring in extra people, such as the person at the register or someone walking by at the park, ect. In this instance, powerplaying is okay, as long as you don't powerplay another person's character.
This is an example of what NOT to post.
Chris walked over and sat down. He waited for someone to come.
This is why this is a bad post:
1. It's two sentences. 12 words. Typically, a site limit is set at AT LEAST 40 words. It's not that hard to write 40 words, believe me.
2. There is no description whatsoever. Is he sitting on a couch? The floor? Where is he? What time is it? No one really knows. So how will someone reply if they don't know what's going on?
Here is a good post.
The sun was low in the sky, and I checked my watch. It was nearly 5:00. I was due back home in two hours. I ran a hand through my short blond hair and walked into the Starbucks. Inside, the air conditioning and the blender were the only sounds, other than a couple of the employees talking quietly behind the counter. People milled about at a slow pace, typical for Saturday evening. I approached the counter with a casual smile directed to the girl at the register. "Can I help you?" she asked. I nodded once as I glanced at the menu board on the wall behind you. "What do you recommend?" I asked. "The special's pretty good," she shrugged. I glanced up again. On the center of the board, someone had drawn the special and written 'Chocolate Cherry Mocha' beside it.
"I'll take that." I paid her and then moved to the side to wait for my order. The room was filled with the sounds of the machines, and the girl calling orders to the people making drinks. I took a seat at a table close to the counter and looked out the window. It was good to be out of school. That's what I loved about weekends, no school.
This post was quite a bit longer. It's descriptive, and it let's the other player know where they are and what's going on, so they can reply effectively without any questions.
Now I hoped you noticed something; the different writing styles. The first post was written in 3rd person, meaning not from the character's point of view, but from yours. The second one was written in first person, whereas in this one, you are writing as if you ARE the character. Some sites have rules about the POV (point of view), which person you write in. But most allow you to choose. Choose the one you are most comfortable in, because it doesn't really matter, as far as quality, which you pick.
On thing you want to remember is courtesy. When you write, you want to write in a way that allows someone else to read it and know exactly what they want to say back. And very important- DO NOT GOD-MODE. This is a rule that I've seen on every RPG. This simply means don't write stuff like these examples below.
Player1
Kira ran at Storm and reared, striking Storm on the head and knocking him out.
Player2
Storm came to after a moment and turned on Kira. He ran at her, and ran right over her, crushing her front legs, paralyzing her.
These are drastic examples, but basically, don't write in a way that controls what happens to the other character, or against their will.
Poweplaying is almost the same thing. And sometimes you can even say that the example above is powerplaying as well. Powerplaying is basically writing what happens to the other persons character, like writing:
When I saw the girl, she looked at me and smiled. So I walked over to her. "What's your name?" I asked as she ran her fingers through her hair.
The underlined part is the powerplay part. If you're writing what the other character is doing, that is powerplaying. The other player then has to go along with whatever you said. That's not fun.
*NOTE: There is one exception to powerplaying. This is when you write out what the 'extras' are doing. Sometimes, like in the correct-example post, you might want to bring in extra people, such as the person at the register or someone walking by at the park, ect. In this instance, powerplaying is okay, as long as you don't powerplay another person's character.