So, you want to Role Play? But, you aren’t sure if your posts are going to be good enough, or long enough? Well, here are some tips that should help you along!

Think of Role Playing as acting. There’s a plot and you get a character… you know. However, there are majour differences between acting and role playing. In acting, you get a script where you must become the character, and you have assigned events that must happen; you have no choice in what your character does, really. In Role Playing, you create your own character and you have every choice in what your character does.

As for events that happen in a Role Play, there will be a set plot and rules to follow so that it isn’t hectic. Now, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have freedom, and aren’t allowed to be creative. The rules and plot just keep everyone on the same page. There are some guidelines as to what you’re allowed, and not allowed to do in a Role Play. For example, you cannot kill off a character without the owner of that character’s consent.

Now that you have an idea of what Role Playing is, or rather how we’re going to be doing it on these forums, it’s time now for some more details for your actual posts.

Please write in complete sentences and in paragraph form. We don’t mean to make this sound like your English class, but it’s just easier for everyone to read. And it looks nicer. ^_^ Separate your paragraphs by double spacing between them, as you see here. That just makes it easier to read, once again.

When a character speaks, use quotation marks.

Ex: Bob asked George, “How are you today?”
NOT Bob asked George, How are you today?

And try not to use a whole lot of dialogue without much description.

Chat style abbreviations are not allowed.

Ex: “How are you today?”
NOT “How r u 2day?"

For our forums, anything your character thinks is to go in italics.

Ex: Hm, George thought. I wonder if he thinks I’m really going to be his friend.
NOT: Hm, George thought. I wonder if he thinks I’m really going to be his friend.

Also, spell check! And try to keep your point of view and tense the same. For the forum Role Plays, past tense is the usual.

So here is kind of a sum up of the above.

Without any of the above:
Hello george r u coming with us? They are walking down the streat I don't think so u don't act like I'm ur friend nemore they laugh and go away.

With the above:

"Hello, George. Are you coming with us?" The group walked up the street toward him.

"Not today," he said. Not ever, he thought to himself. Do they really think I don't know what they've done? They laughed at him, and continued walking.

Post length, you ask? At least two paragraphs made up of at least four sentences each. If you’re panicking and thinking that that’s just too long, well, we have some more tips for you! ^_^

After you’ve wrote your basic post, go through and ask yourself some of these questions.
What is your character thinking?
What is your character feeling?
What is going on around your character?
What can be added to make it more interesting?
Can things be worded better?
Have you described your character?
If your character is meeting a new character, have you described them through your    character’s eyes?
Can things be worded better?


Here’s another summary of everything I’ve mentioned with the same little story from before.

The sun shone down through the bare, winter trees. George saw the others coming down the street toward him. For a moment, he thought of ducking into a doorway and avoiding them, but it was too late. They had already seen him.

"Hey, George. Aren't you coming?" Fred asked. George glanced at them each, knowing the thoughts behind their friendly faces.

"Not today," he said. Not ever, he thought to himself. Do they really think I don't know what they've done? George wondered. But he said nothing of these thoughts. Instead, he turned, walking away from them down the cold street.

And that's still a short post. Your only limit is your imagination. Have fun!

And here’s a little review:

There will be a set plot and rules, but otherwise you’re free to do as you wish with some limitations.
Write in paragraph form with complete sentences
Use quotation marks
No chat abbreviations
Thoughts are in italic
Keep Point of view and tense the same (past tense)
Post length is at least two paragraphs that contain at least four sentences each
Ask yourself some questions to make your post more descriptive; the examples were:
     What is your character thinking?
     What is your character feeling?
     What is going on around your character?
     What can be added to make it more interesting?
     Can things be worded better?
     Have you described your character?
     If your character is meeting a new character, have you described them through your
      character’s eyes?
     Can things be worded better?
Spell check
Punctuate
Have fun!

If you find this overwhelming; trust me, it really isn’t. Just don’t think so much about it and write your post. Most of this just comes naturally. If you’re still really worried that your post isn’t how you want it, and you need someone to proofread it, go ahead and send it over to me; Amarante@braveireland.com . I’ll be more than happy to check it for you, and I’m online at least once a day, so I should get it back to you within 24 hours.