Good Roleplay Writing

Are you having trouble writing more than a sentence or two for your character posts? Can’t think of anything else you could possibly add to that one liner? Are you in too big of a hurry to type more than a sentence or two? Worried that your role play partner won’t have the attention span to stick around if you take a few minutes to write something extra?  

Relax. Have a cup or a glass or a mug of your favorite drink. Chill. I’m not attacking anyone. No reason to go into defense mode. I merely made some generalizations, and if you think that any part of this article was written just for you, well, get a fucking life. All names have been changed to protect the innocent. Any examples I use here that may appear to imply that I am referring to one particular individual are purely coincidental and unintentional.

The following are a few basic creative writing tips to help punch up those lackluster posts, whether those posts are on the short end of the stick or the long. 

Narration versus Action  

Narrative writing is a useful device for filling in background information about a character, or to show how a character is feeling or what they are thinking. Narration is a guide to lead from one place to another or to describe a setting or a past event. Generally, though, narrative writing isn’t that much fun to read. Between narration and action is where we find one of the differences between quality and quantity. It can take effort to balance the two. Ever read a novel and skim through the descriptive parts only to slow down and pay closer attention to the character interactions or the action?  

Any narration that could be written as action should be written as action for the sake of allowing your role play partner the chance to play off your post. Not only is this a must, but it is courteous. It also makes your writing more interesting to read. For instance, if you write a long narration describing your character’s hometown, the little nuances of the place and how much she misses it, the other player cannot have their character respond to any of it unless that character is reading your character’s mind. A better way to do this would be to have the character tell the other character about her experiences.

When writing narration, stop and think about whether or not it would be possible to write it as an action instead. Is your character reacting to something offensive? Write it out. Let us see the action. Is your character thinking something that could be written as being spoken aloud? If you can write a thought as spoken rather than only thought, it gives the other player something to work with and helps to make your writing more enjoyable to read.

I have role played with people that wrote incredibly long posts that took an hour or more for them to complete. When the narration was boiled away and only the action was left, some of the posts were literally no different than, ‘“Yes.” She smiled.’ Unless I have a specific role play plan in mind and the other player is just tagging along for the ride in what otherwise is virtually a monologue, a post with nothing more useful in it than an agreement and a smile is just not going to cut it even if there is an hour’s worth of work on narration behind it.

The Five Senses

Most of us have five senses, and many of our characters have more than the basic five. I don’t know about you, but my senses are on all the time. At least I’m aware of them while I’m awake. Is your character awake? Did she sit down at the booth in that café only to discover as she rested her hands on the table that it was sticky with the cleaning fluids the waitress was using to wipe up with? Describe that moment. Is your character fastidious? Maybe she’s a slob and doesn’t notice? Tell us. Can she hear burgers frying and coffee percolating? What does it smell like? Is the place run down? How does she react to the sight of it? Is her croissant bland and stale? Is it the flakiest, moistest croissant she’s ever placed in her mouth? We the readers will not know the answers to these questions unless you tell us.  

Now, we don’t need to know every graphic little detail, but remembering to make a point of writing about at least one of your character’s senses from time to time will help your writing to be more compelling and drawing for the readers.

Who, What, When, Where, and Why  

Every good reporter knows those five words and can rattle them off from rote. Why? Because those are the questions everyone wants to know about any good story. Not every post is going to need an answer to any particular one of those basic questions, but keeping them in mind can help to build a fully fleshed out and attention-grabbing story. It can be fun to have a character dance around the five W’s and dole out critical hints at key points in the story. How you specifically apply this to your writing is a matter of personal choice, but remembering to think of these questions can help to generate endless storyline ideas. Who is your character meeting? What events brought her here? Where did she come from? When did she arrive and by what means? Why is she here?

Emotions and Expressions  

This is a no-brainer, but here goes. Unless your character is some soulless dark demon she is going to have emotions, and unless your character is a master of her own emotions, those emotions will cause expressions. Being aware of your character’s mood in any given situation is important. It is also important to make sure that the readers know what is happening. A little reaction described as an action can sometimes even replace words for those shy characters. My advice is not to play any painfully shy characters that might tempt you into using excessive narration. However, using extra expression as action is one way of pulling them off if you must play such a character. If your character is an extrovert, the liberal use of emotions and expressions will only serve to open up the character even more. Use them. This is role play, and conveying your character’s personality is a key element of this entertainment genre.

The Application

Here we go. Putting it all to work. Let’s look at a condensed list of what I’ve covered:

Narration
Action
Sound
Smell
Touch
Taste
Sight
Who
What
Where
When
Why
Emotions
Expressions  

By choosing two, three, or even more items from that list and finding a way to include them in each post, you will ensure that there will always be plenty of interesting material for you to use for your writing. Looking at each post from this perspective can help to give you more ideas than you would probably want to attempt to fit into a single post.

New To the Room?
Be sure to read our FAQ.

Slideshows
Want to know what the manor looks like? Or Salem? Or Boston? The following slideshows feature photos of the area:

Hawthorne Manor Slideshow
Salem Slideshow
Boston Slideshow

Become A Better Writer!
Looking to enhance your roleplay writing skills in Hawthorne or elsewhere? Well, check out this article for some great tips that will help you become a better writer.

Plots and Storylines, Oh My!
Find out what's happening in Hawthorne Manor here.

Stay up to date!
Join our OnlyRP Mailing List:

Click Here To Role-Play Now!
(Login or Create an Account - Room name is Hawthorne Manor.)

Hawthorne Manor Supports the Blue Ribbon Online Free Speech Campaign!