Post by Silverback on Dec 7, 2004 11:02:28 GMT
There are very few of us who couldn’t do more to improve our role playing. However it seems to me, many people are struggling, not really sure what they need to do to improve their skills.
I have broken down this tutorial into seven parts which address the different facets of a post in turn. Keep in mind not every facet need be included in every post, however every post should contain most of them.
As you are writing a post, always remember this: The best role plays read with the quality and flow of a published novel. The posts of the players should flow together so smoothly it is nearly impossible to tell one from the other. This requires understanding and passion between all the players, but it is something all should strive to achieve.
TOPIC LIST:
Length
Dialogue
Thoughts
Memories
Feelings
Descriptions – Character
Descriptions – Location, Objects, Action.
LENGTH:
The best length for a post is subjective. It depends on the type of scene you are posting and what is happening in the game at the time. However I am going to go out on a limb here and say (assuming you are posting for only one character) anything short of 200 words is not giving the atmosphere and description it needs to be a good post. It would be a cold day in hell before I would post anything short of 250 words in a post.
On the flip side, in all but the most extreme of cases, 2000 words is going to be 1000 words of post and 1000 words of boring crap. I personally have done posts of 1900 words which were as short and action orientated as I could possibly make them, so obviously there are exceptions to this rule. Particularly in the case of opening posts. I would suggest an opening post needs to be between 1000 and 5000 words, especially in an original world or setting.
Please remember a long post is not necessarily a good post. I know a lot of long posters who are as boring as drying paint. You need to find the balance between being a pretentious bore and not giving your fellow players enough information.
DIALOGUE:
Dialogue is very important in role playing, as it is often the only form of interaction the characters experience. Then again, that depends greatly on what kind of game you are playing.
To create good dialogue you need to ask yourself the following questions;
- Would someone really say this?
Would a real person make that confession to a stranger? Would anyone really be so cold, stupid, brave or (annoyingly cliché-ishly) mysterious? No? Then try again.
- Is this dialogue suitable for the game?
Medieval mages do not say ‘Cool man!’ or ‘Awesome!’. Space hardened pirates do not use dated phrases or ‘thee’s and ‘thou’s.
THOUGHTS:
Thoughts are the characters opinions of what is currently happening within the game. Some people ignore this facet of posting completely, some use it to death. Balance is the key, but where the perfect balance is, is a purely personal decision.
Don’t use thoughts as filler, as they quickly become repetitive and boring. However, using them in moderation can really help give characters that third dimensional edge and help readers and other players empathise with them.
MEMORIES:
Memories are the characters opinions and feelings of past events. Usually memories would be told as narrative, just like thoughts. However for long memories it may be better to write it out as if it were actually happening. A post within a post, as it were. If you choose this method, you must make it very clear which is memory and which is actually happening.
Please don’t use memory as a filler. I’ve seen it done and it’s as boring as you can get. Only use memory when it is imperative for the plot.
FEELINGS:
Feelings are the emotional response a character is experiencing at any time to stimuli within the game. They can be expressed with action, expression and gestures, or narrative. Expressing a characters feelings in some way is vital if you want to create a realistic character others can empathise with. And trust me, you do. Books and RPGs that contain characters the reader does not empathise with are boring, because no one CARES what happens to the character in question.
However, feelings can be a trap for some players. Think carefully about what is a realist emotional response for a character to have in any given situation. While it might SEEM cool to have a heartless character who cares about nothing, it is very boring. Not to mention cliché and immature. Also, you must keep the reactions realistic given the personality of your character.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS:
While the appearance of a character may only need to be described in an opening post, a skilful writer will continue to give more information in later posts. Remember, when you are describing a character you should NOT simply list attributes like you are giving directions to an artist. Instead, focus on one or two unique aspects of your characters appearance and slowly fill in the minor details (height, dress style, eye colour, etc) in later posts.
Expressions and gestures will be necessary in most posts. Particularly those with action and dialogue (which should be every post anyway). A common mistake is to assume because a character has a stony, expressionless visage, expressions and gestures need not be mentioned. In actual fact, those kinds of characters need just as much as other characters, however you have to make the LACK of expression the expression, which can he difficult to do well.
SURROUNDINGS DESCRIPTIONS:
LOCATION
Location is something that must be established well in opening posts and maintained well throughout the rest of the scene. Location descriptions need to include not only the location itself, but the time of day, weather, temperature and lighting levels of the setting.
Also, please remember a good description engages all five senses.
OBJECTS
Both objects a character is interacting with and stationary objects within a location deserve to be described. This will add to the realism of a scene. When describing objects, keep these questions in mind:
- What colour is the object? Dull, vibrant, glowing, etc.
- How does it feel? Temperature, texture, etc
- Does it have a smell?
- Is it moving? Vibrating, etc.
- Is it old or new?
- Is it heavy or light?
- Is it ugly?
ACTION
Action is what makes your post interesting and exciting! It is good to have a lot of action in your posts, as long as it isn’t at the expense of the other facets. Often it can be hard to write good action, because you are waiting for reactions from other characters. However remember these hints when writing action and movement.
Short sentences for fast action and long sentences for slower, more relaxed action will give the atmosphere of chaos and speed and sedateness and seduction respectively.
Good use of descriptive movement in action scenes are gold. Use vibrant, interesting words, rather than falling back on the usual, boring ones. Remember: “He thundered down the corridor” not “He ran down the corridor”. Just don’t be pretentious about it.
Copyright Talitha Mitchell 2003
I have broken down this tutorial into seven parts which address the different facets of a post in turn. Keep in mind not every facet need be included in every post, however every post should contain most of them.
As you are writing a post, always remember this: The best role plays read with the quality and flow of a published novel. The posts of the players should flow together so smoothly it is nearly impossible to tell one from the other. This requires understanding and passion between all the players, but it is something all should strive to achieve.
TOPIC LIST:
Length
Dialogue
Thoughts
Memories
Feelings
Descriptions – Character
Descriptions – Location, Objects, Action.
LENGTH:
The best length for a post is subjective. It depends on the type of scene you are posting and what is happening in the game at the time. However I am going to go out on a limb here and say (assuming you are posting for only one character) anything short of 200 words is not giving the atmosphere and description it needs to be a good post. It would be a cold day in hell before I would post anything short of 250 words in a post.
On the flip side, in all but the most extreme of cases, 2000 words is going to be 1000 words of post and 1000 words of boring crap. I personally have done posts of 1900 words which were as short and action orientated as I could possibly make them, so obviously there are exceptions to this rule. Particularly in the case of opening posts. I would suggest an opening post needs to be between 1000 and 5000 words, especially in an original world or setting.
Please remember a long post is not necessarily a good post. I know a lot of long posters who are as boring as drying paint. You need to find the balance between being a pretentious bore and not giving your fellow players enough information.
DIALOGUE:
Dialogue is very important in role playing, as it is often the only form of interaction the characters experience. Then again, that depends greatly on what kind of game you are playing.
To create good dialogue you need to ask yourself the following questions;
- Would someone really say this?
Would a real person make that confession to a stranger? Would anyone really be so cold, stupid, brave or (annoyingly cliché-ishly) mysterious? No? Then try again.
- Is this dialogue suitable for the game?
Medieval mages do not say ‘Cool man!’ or ‘Awesome!’. Space hardened pirates do not use dated phrases or ‘thee’s and ‘thou’s.
THOUGHTS:
Thoughts are the characters opinions of what is currently happening within the game. Some people ignore this facet of posting completely, some use it to death. Balance is the key, but where the perfect balance is, is a purely personal decision.
Don’t use thoughts as filler, as they quickly become repetitive and boring. However, using them in moderation can really help give characters that third dimensional edge and help readers and other players empathise with them.
MEMORIES:
Memories are the characters opinions and feelings of past events. Usually memories would be told as narrative, just like thoughts. However for long memories it may be better to write it out as if it were actually happening. A post within a post, as it were. If you choose this method, you must make it very clear which is memory and which is actually happening.
Please don’t use memory as a filler. I’ve seen it done and it’s as boring as you can get. Only use memory when it is imperative for the plot.
FEELINGS:
Feelings are the emotional response a character is experiencing at any time to stimuli within the game. They can be expressed with action, expression and gestures, or narrative. Expressing a characters feelings in some way is vital if you want to create a realistic character others can empathise with. And trust me, you do. Books and RPGs that contain characters the reader does not empathise with are boring, because no one CARES what happens to the character in question.
However, feelings can be a trap for some players. Think carefully about what is a realist emotional response for a character to have in any given situation. While it might SEEM cool to have a heartless character who cares about nothing, it is very boring. Not to mention cliché and immature. Also, you must keep the reactions realistic given the personality of your character.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS:
While the appearance of a character may only need to be described in an opening post, a skilful writer will continue to give more information in later posts. Remember, when you are describing a character you should NOT simply list attributes like you are giving directions to an artist. Instead, focus on one or two unique aspects of your characters appearance and slowly fill in the minor details (height, dress style, eye colour, etc) in later posts.
Expressions and gestures will be necessary in most posts. Particularly those with action and dialogue (which should be every post anyway). A common mistake is to assume because a character has a stony, expressionless visage, expressions and gestures need not be mentioned. In actual fact, those kinds of characters need just as much as other characters, however you have to make the LACK of expression the expression, which can he difficult to do well.
SURROUNDINGS DESCRIPTIONS:
LOCATION
Location is something that must be established well in opening posts and maintained well throughout the rest of the scene. Location descriptions need to include not only the location itself, but the time of day, weather, temperature and lighting levels of the setting.
Also, please remember a good description engages all five senses.
OBJECTS
Both objects a character is interacting with and stationary objects within a location deserve to be described. This will add to the realism of a scene. When describing objects, keep these questions in mind:
- What colour is the object? Dull, vibrant, glowing, etc.
- How does it feel? Temperature, texture, etc
- Does it have a smell?
- Is it moving? Vibrating, etc.
- Is it old or new?
- Is it heavy or light?
- Is it ugly?
ACTION
Action is what makes your post interesting and exciting! It is good to have a lot of action in your posts, as long as it isn’t at the expense of the other facets. Often it can be hard to write good action, because you are waiting for reactions from other characters. However remember these hints when writing action and movement.
Short sentences for fast action and long sentences for slower, more relaxed action will give the atmosphere of chaos and speed and sedateness and seduction respectively.
Good use of descriptive movement in action scenes are gold. Use vibrant, interesting words, rather than falling back on the usual, boring ones. Remember: “He thundered down the corridor” not “He ran down the corridor”. Just don’t be pretentious about it.
Copyright Talitha Mitchell 2003
