Post by JENNI ♔ on Jul 28, 2012 22:09:57 GMT -5
A Guide to Posting
by Jenni of FR 2012
by Jenni of FR 2012
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What is 'Posting'? Posting is the action of putting something on the site, whether its a picture, words or video. It's a way -more like the main way- of communication on a forum. With this guide, it's more of a post for role-playing.
Lesson One: Starter Posts.
Starter Posts are the posts that start a roleplay. In these posts are usually the following things:
✖ Setting; where everything takes place. Normally this is mentioned though thought or by narration ("James looked around the small city park, the trees were in complete foliage and gave great shade.")
✖ Character; name, age, gender, and flash-appearance is also normally given in this post as well. ("Sally's a 5'6" blonde headed girl, about to turn 21 in a week. She had big green eyes and a thin waist.")
✖ Mood; the mood is what sets the entire role-play. This is normally enhanced with a more direct setting description, as well as character description. ("James suddenly felt cold as the stormy clouds overhead took over the sun and left the once green park feeling dark and cold. He shivered; it was almost as if the disappearance of the sun took out the livelyhood of the park.")
✖ Dialogue; there normally isn't too much dialogue in a starter post, unless it's to help with character or mood. ("'I know you said Friday, but I'd rather go on Tuesday.' Came James' rough voice from behind the door.")
Lesson Two: Replying to the Starter Post.
Generally, when you snag an open thread or you're replying to the one you were tagged in, you're technically posting your own 'starter post', which includes most of the stuff above, but in your own character's perspective. Maybe they're meeting up for the first time at a cafe or your character is already there. Who knows; that's completely up to you. Some more things the second poster should know is:
✖ Reactions; because this isn't the very first post, and normally you have more control over this, reactions are the very best way to get the roleplay to start. Is the other character wearing something funny, unique, weird? Did the other character say something, do something, ect? Reactions to actions is very good! ("Sally giggled as James shivered in the cool air; it wasn't that bad really! Maybe her giggle was heard, if James was listening.")
✖ Dialogue; with this second post you know have the freedom to speak to the other character. This also helps move the thread along easily and without too much damage. ("'Are you cold?' Sally called to James, smiling brightly at him.")* Starter Posts are normally the largest/longest of the roleplay posts, considering there's so much to check off. It's not unusual for a starter post to be between 500-900 words. *
Lesson Three: Moving it along.
A thread can be from one page long to 30, depending on the players and content. Normally, if it's drama filled and has a couple of twists the thread can go on forever. If it dies or one of the players lose interest or forget about it, a thread can die or be left hanging. Its up to both players to keep the twists and drama going.
✖ Talk to each other OOC; speaking to the other character's player is very good. Get their email, AIM, msn and talk! Make sure to bounce ideas off one another to see how well it'll go down.
✖ Dont just 'stop' replying; If the thread isn't going anywhere, or nothing interesting is happening, tell the other player. They can start a new thread with a new storyline and things can move on.
✖ Ask for ideas. If neither player can come up with a new mini twist or idea, don't hesitate to reach out to the roleplaying community you're with and ask for what they think should happen. Granted some ideas might not work, but when ideas do work, make 'em count!
Lesson Four: Ending the roleplay.
When things have come to an end and you've covered everything you wanted to cover, it's time for the thread to come to an end. There's a few ways to do this, to leave open ends for new threads in other places to take place.
✖ Leave one at a time. By leaving one at a time, it gives both players some creative freedom to how the character leaves, what they say and so on. But this leaves two ending posts instead of one, and the last player to post must remember to tie up any loose ends the other character has left.
✖ Only one character leaves. When only one character leaves, it's up to that character to tie up any loose ends on their part.
Conclusion: Whether you're starting, joining, or ending a roleplay, remember that actions earn reactions, dialogues are your friends, and tying up any loose ends is the easiest way out of a messy ending. Thanks for reading!