How to RP Properly!

[Celeste_Nightshade]

I have been hearing a lot about how some people don't know how to Role Play or more commonly known as RP. I have RP'd a lot in my time and even play RP games....like D&D so I have grown up around it. ((I am 21 if you didn't know this XD))

First off, when you join an RP PLEASE...PLEASE...I am begging you....READ THE RULES! The rules are the most important next to the Story Line (If the RP has one). They usually consist of some grounds rules AND GOD MODDING! This means your character CANNOT do a one hit kill, or can't take damage...this is EXTREMELY god modding....if you think it could be considered as such....then it most likely is....so just delete it and start your post over.

Second of all, DON'T USE ASTERISKS! THESE THINGS! arrow ****
If you are in an RP you DON'T USE THEM! An RP is about writing! Don't write something like *walks and sits in chair*....NO! That's not RPing..
Instead try something like this.
[Insert character's name] walked into the room slowly, not wanting to make a scene. She/He crosses the room and finds an empty chair. She/He sits down and relaxes.


Third....make sure your character has a story. I almost hate seeing characters that have SO MUCH potential NOT have a past...and the writer doesn't know what to do.
TRY and make the character YOU would like to be...or control in this instance. I know when I sit down and make a character, I want them to be able to almost be seen as a real person. They have conflicts, background, emotions....problems. Try and make the character real...if at all possible...((This goes for original characters....for ALREADY MADE I.E. Main characters from say Naruto, Bleach, Final Fantasy; It's something different.)

For already made characters like in the list I made, you have to get that characters personality and duplicate it....you can't really REMAKE the character after they have been made.....this would upset a FEW people and cause conflicts.


Fourth and most important, HAVE FUN!! It's quite exciting to be in a story that's unfurling with your character. Your character grows, learns, and in some...yes even loves. This is a fun part of RPing...meeting new people and even getting better at it. If you want to learn more about RPing...just READ an RP that's happening...it's really something.  

[Zumae]

It could also be simply said that rping is like writing your own book... well more like combining parts of the story from your characters perspective with the perspective of the other peoples characters in your shared rp. Simple enough if you know how to write a story or book.  

[Galiel Kaicho]

Proper grammar, capitalization, and spelling helps as well. =0  

[PharaohsXxXBride]

Yes, ooo and my favorite bit, don't go from writing 3rd person to writing 1st person... That gets really annoying. Another thing, if you don't have the best spelling and grammar skills, copy and past from Microsoft word, or what ever word processor you use.  

[KeJoRo]

Another thing I'd like to add is no location hopping. That really irritates me when I'm busy battling someone in say, I don't know, a secluded mountain top and then all of a sudden, some guy who was previously talking to some other guy in a city miles away drops in and attacks one of us...  

[Galiel Kaicho]

Popping up out of no where is slightly annoying as well. =o If you are suddenly going to join an RP or have been gone for a long time then just post a different post and go with the flow of everything. BUT if you were RPing with a person and they up and left you because you weren't active, then just go back to that post and reply to it while QUOTING them. It works out better that way, and gives them the reminder that you were there too.

.-. was that stupid?  

[Celeste_Nightshade]

Nope not stupid at all! ^^ Makes complete sense!

Thank you guys for adding things I missed...It was VERY late at night when I wrote it lol. I will add everyone's soon ^^ Thank you for helping!  

[StrikeFreedomX10]

another thing
making your character be depresd evey second
no one whats to EP with a person whos character is forever saddened and ready to die
see what I mean?  

[maisuke-san]

One thing I hate is when a person, who just joined the rp, changes the weather or place of where someone is.

For example:
Guy1 is walking down the street and looking at windows. He spots Rain.

Rain walking out of a shop and notices Guy1 was behind her.
It start rain which she doesn't like.
So she goes into a cafe and Guy1 is standing in the middle of the road looking at her.


I'm just telling the basic. She literally changed the weather and moved a rper somewhere that he didn't say he was.  

[maisuke-san]

OH! and one more.
Don't just jump in from nowhere and start talking to someone, then follows them and flirt when you see someone else was their first.  

[Kira Loves Teddy]

This is helpful, thanks! I'm not a good RPer, at least I can know what NOT to do in RP. 3nodding  

[TheOGMrNobody]

simple enough.for a start, how about this?

Rak continues to walk in the woods. It is sunny and bright and the sunlight is dappled from the leaves. It is quiet and peaceful. Squirrels and chipmunks are frolicking around.

As the road continues, he comes across a fork."Hmmm....now which way to go...."Rak thinks for a while and sets off in the right path.

Correct me and comment pls mrgreen mrgreen  

[Crystal_Meth13]

Wow so many rules I didn't know,lol. With D&D I just go where the DM says so it's a bit easier and when I write fan service about a side character and a main character it's pretty easy to b/c I'm in control and I know what I want each one to say to the other, but I see rping is different so it should be fun to leran something new whee  

[Princess Zelda21]

I got one more that was probably not mentioned which is called, Meta Gaming! Example 1: Literally automatically having specified character A knowing other characters before character A gets introduced to characters B and C, when none of the two said characters have no clue who character A is at any given time if neither character B or C had been previously introduced to Character A. Example 2: Character A automatically knows about events of the future of the RP story way before they're supposed to happen, which clearly can ruin the story for everyone else. That's all I can think of for now. If I missed anything that qualifies as Meta Gaming, I can add it to my post here. Hope it makes sense. ^_^*  

[me know it all]

some people have problems with that....using OCC as post....
occ go in >> (())
occ is meant to prevent jumping/moves when interacting with others....
ex. Plushy look at Fluffy funny, wondering what he was up to. ((Plush is sitting in the chair))
Fluffy can't say Plushy is standing by the fire, the occ tell him where Plushy is. Fluffy can go stand by the fire, but not next to Plushy, Plushy is in the chair.
((maybe a bad ex.... xd ))

3rd person talking is hard for some too....had a person help me with this

Scath na hOiche

I will start off with the basics. Sorry if you know a lot of this and I am just repeating already retained knowledge.

So, normally paragraphs are not shown by pressing "Enter" twice, but instead set apart by hitting "Enter" once then pressing the "Tab" key. Only on the internet has it become custom to use double returns ("Enter" is the return key, in case you did not know). On Gaia, the "Tab" button does some weird funky stuff if pressed while typing.

Length: Unless you are writing a "five paragraph essay," the length of a paragraph really has no set number of sentences. It can be as long (or as short) as you want--or rather need--it to be.

Even this line can be a paragraph of its own.

Different documents, however, may require different lengths for the paragraphs. Since this is really leisure writing we are dealing with, I will not go into that. Not that I know much about that, in truth. Ha.

When to Start a New Paragraph
Yeah, the tricky bit....

Change of Topic: With essays, other informational papers, or really anything, you start a new paragraph when your direct topic changes.

Example 1:

Back in the years of the Medieval era, many homes were built packed together. Because of the highly flammable material they used, this posed a great fire hazard. If one house were to catch fire, then the townsfolk had to set to work quickly if the rest of the town was not to burn to the ground.

As well as posing a fire hazard, homes being so close together meant that anything one person did that caused noise pollution or smelled badly would flood the houses next to it.

That transitions from how and why it is a fire hazard to another problem that the tightly packed buildings caused.

Now, with a story format, the topic change can become a bit more difficult to discern. Heck, I still have problems with that every now and again.

To try and make what you 'see' in your minds eye clear, you will always want to start a new paragraph when actions move from one thing or person to the next provided it is not directly linked to the previous person or action.

Example 2A (Separate Actions/People):

Zenevia glared at the boy for a moment, examining his face for any hint of a lie.

The boy gazed back at her, his eyes unwavering as a grackle cawed from its nearby perch, the sudden shrill sound making both him and Zenevia jump.

Above, it goes from describing what Zenevia does to how the boy reacts.

Example 2B (Linked Actions/People):

Zenevia glared at the boy. Examining his face in search of any hint of a lie, she snorted as he met her gaze.

These two sentences are linked because it tells that not only did Zenevia glare at the boy, but she also examined his face and it tells her reaction to the boy returning her gaze without stating only what the boy did.

To keep the same information as Example 2A, I would have added a second paragraph about how the caw of the crackle startled the two; "The shrill caw of the grackle perched nearby sliced through the silence, startling both the boy and Zenevia." It would be a second paragraph because it goes from Zenevia's actions to the grackle's, giving the cause and effect of the bird's action.

(Sorry that "Wrote:" is written after each quote title. I am not sure if there is a way to do a quote without that.)

Dialogue: As Lewis Carroll so truthfully states in Alice in Wonderland; "What is the use of a book, without pictures or conversations?"

Though I can happily go without pictures printed in a book, a story without dialogue becomes a bland mass of descriptions, if not a schoolbook. Dialogue helps bring stories to life with character interaction. I have heard of only one author who supposedly managed to write a good story without dialogue. I think I read that it was about a guy who wound up on an alien planet without any other human to talk with, or some sy-fy story like that. The author’s name and the story title is lost to me now, though, since I only heard of him once through a writing book I read and never witnessed this story myself. Anyway, to write any good story, dialogue is a big necessity.

When you begin to write dialogue, you will want to start a new paragraph. When you have multiple speakers, each person will get a new paragraph.

Example 3:

“So what do you want with me, exactly?" Ithgar asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"For you to give me a cookie," Paralyn growled sarcastically.

Pretty self-explanatory, I think. smile

Sometimes, actions replace dialogue, and this is also a reason to start a new paragraph.

Example 4:

“You’re joking, right?” Ithgar asked incredulously, his legs threatening to collapse at the new information.

Paralyn shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid not.”

In the example above, notice that words followed Paralyn’s actions. When you place some kind of action before the speech, it becomes unnecessary to start a new paragraph when the same person doing the action is also doing the talking.

Actions alone can stand in their own paragraph when they are an answer or reaction to dialogue.

Example 5:

“Did you remember to bring the potion?” Jake whispered, following Torin closely.

Torin nodded.

“Good.”

When it is obvious who is speaking in a conversation between your characters, remember that you do not have to say that that character spoke. Because there were no quotes after “Torin nodded,” it indicates that Jake was the one who said “Good.”

During long bits of dialogue, it becomes wise to break it up with action. It will make reading it a smoother process. Also, paragraphs can be created in dialogue itself. If someone is explaining something and they change topics, then disregard the end quote of the previous paragraph and place an open quote at the front of the next.

Example 6A (Dialogue and Action):

“No, no, and no again!” Logan shouted. “I’ve told you my answer so many times, it’s driving me to insanity! If you persist on asking me even one more time, I think I’m going to blow a gasket!”

He turned his angered gaze to the man standing nearby.

“Now get out of my house!” Logan’s face turned red in anger, a vein in his neck threatening to burst.

Here, it goes from what Logan says to who he looks to, then returns to what he has to say. Because of that, each is worthy of its own paragraph.

Example 6B (Paragraphed Dialogue):

“Thousands of years ago,” the story teller began, his hands flourishing about as he spoke, “the world was plagued with wars upon wars. To the eyes of the people, there was no hope in sight.

“Standing alone amidst the forest, a young boy waited, listening as the sounds of yet another battle floated through the forest.”

If you were typing the speech as a narrative, you would have begun your own new paragraph between “no hope in sight” and “standing alone amidst the forest.” Same concept.

This is also a good example for a new paragraph when there is a change in place. It goes from speaking of the world in general and people's eyes to a young boy in the forest.

New Time: When you want to show that some amount of time passed, but it is not long enough to do what I consider an extreme brake (an extra return with some kind of mark to make it obvious that there is a time lapse), you would start a new paragraph.

Example 7:

Simon walked through the long halls on hurried feet, his eyes passing over the numbers above the many doors lining the walls on either side of him.

After what seemed an eternity, he finally found the room he was looking for; number 724.

Dramatic Effect: For this, I am going to use someone else’s words, mostly because I am getting irritatingly sleepy for some reason: “Sometimes you simply want a paragraph to stand out, or you want to slow the reader down and control the pace of the story. At times like this, you can make a brief sentence--or even a word--an entire paragraph. Just don't overdo it; this gets old fast.”

Example 8:

Katelyn huddled in the corner. Blinded by the supernatural darkness engulfing the house, she kept her eyes shut for the false comfort the action granted, her heart pounding in her chest as if trying to escape.

She was not alone.

She heard the floorboards creak beneath weight that was not there. Whispered secrets tickled her ears, the words flowing from phantom lips she could not see.

"She was not alone" stands out by being placed in a new paragraph. It gives time for pause in reading, desirably making the reader want to find out why Katelyn was not alone, how she knew she was not alone, etc. It allows for a pause in which he/she can wonder "What's gonna happen next? Who's there with her? O.O" where placing it with the next paragraph would eliminate that pause.

"She was not alone. The floor boards creaked beneath weight that was not there. Whispered secrets tickled her ears..."

Can you see/feel/read the difference?
Oh, and I just thought of this. Where paragraphs for professional writings change topic, paragraphs in story writings usually change subject.

I prefer past tense to present tense, which is why that rule. Most stories you read are put in past tense instead of present. You can still use words ending with "-ing" in past tense. That all depends on context and again, writing style.

Also, when characters speak, you put exactly what they did say. If their words would not be in past tense, then it should not be in past tense. That is normal for anything dubbed with using a past tense narrative. Speech can be written however it was spoken, but actions taken are are placed with past tense verbs.

Past tense: Luke looked to the large boulder blocking his path. The sound of horse's footfalls reached his ears, echoing behind him as the animals and their riders quickly gained on him.

"Aw, crap," he muttered, running on quick legs into the surrounding trees.

Present tense: Luke looks to the large boulder that blocks his path. The sound of horse's footfalls reach his ears, echoing behind him as the animals and their riders quickly gain on him.

"Aw, crap," he mutters, running on quick legs into the surrounding trees.

Also, I like third person narrative better than first (and second is really not to be used in posts for roleplays...)

First Person: I sighed, my eyes gazing emptily out upon the rolling waves in front of me.

Second Person: You sighed, your eyes gazing emptily out upon the rolling waves in front of you.

Third Person: He sighed, his eyes gazing emptily out upon the rolling waves in front of him.

hope this helps explain 3rd person some.....
another ex. Plushy said "Plushy ate a banana."