Roleplay training course (First time roleplayers must see!!)

[SorceressJacklyn]

faretheewell

Lieutenant Shotgun

Don't just jump in with a friendly "hello."

When you join a roleplay that has already started, read, or skim over, the last two pages so you have an idea what's going on.

In The Magic Within, a bunch of characters are staying in my character's house. Like, three people have tried to just jump in like they own the place. You can't do that. You have to get in the house--like a thief, knock on the door, get invited, whatever.

Same goes for conversations. You can't just jump in. Begin with "excuse me" and tap someone's shoulder, or something. You just can't randomly say something.

In addition to this, keep track of who your character should already know. If in the "plot" of the story your character has been traveling in a group for weeks already, you don't need to start by introducing yourself to those same people.

To expand on that, if you have to be away for a long enough time there is sufficient progress without you, you can normally ask your creator what is going on in respect to your character. If they haven't been keeping track (which some of us don't) then you will be reading pages worth of text.  

[SorceressJacklyn]

just to throw that out there  

[broken_bleeding_angel]

~reserving post for later~  

[faretheewell]

I'll come back later!  

[faretheewell]

I can't believe this hasn't already made it in here!

Going back to basics.

Point of View and Tense

You've made your character, you know how this character will react in different situations, the creator has opened the floor. Now what?

Well, you start posting. Which means you need to know what tense and what point of view to write in. You want to write in the same way as everyone else in the roleplay. It avoids confusion.

The default on this is always going to be third person limited in past tense, but some creators might say differently. So, to make sure you know what each of these things are, here's a guide.

Points of View
First Person: This is when you write as though you were in your character's head. Basically, you say "I" for the character, "we" if there is more than one.

Third Person: This is when you are describing what someone else is doing. Your character is "he" or "she." "They" is for more than one person.

In third person, you can either have "omniscient" where the writer can see into every character's head, or "limited" where the writer can only see one or two character's thoughts. Since you are only playing one (or two) characters and trying to do more is a vile RP sin (God moding), you will be using the limited form.

Tenses
Future tense: "I will be walking to the store tomorrow." "She will go to work next week." "He is going to bake a cake next month." "Amy is going to fly to the moon." "We are going to like the play." "They will be surprised!" "Jack and Jill will go up the hill."

It is very difficult, and annoying to attempt this in a roleplay. Only use it when your character is directly speaking or thinking.

Present tense: "I am walking to the store." "She goes to work." "He bakes a cake." "Amy is flying to the moon." "We like the play." "They are surprised!" "Jack and Jill are going up the hill."

Some creators might want you to use present tense for the action in the whole roleplay. If this is the case, they will tell you. Otherwise, this tense is also reserved for when your character is talking, or if you are telling us exactly what your character is thinking.

Past tense: "I walked to the store yesterday." "She went to work last week." "He was baking a cake last month." "Amy was flying to the moon." "We liked the play." "They were surprised!" "Jack and Jill went up the hill."

If the creator doesn't say anything about tenses, always, always use past tense for the action.

Quiz Time!
Name the point of view and tense used in each of the following.

1. John sits down and thinks about it. He wishes his grandmother was here to tell him what to do, but she isn't. He has to figure this out by himself.

2. There will be a race next week. I will run in the race, and I am going to win first prize!

3. Julia sat down at her computer and pushed the power button. She lifted her mug to her lips and took a sip of coffee as she waited for it to boot up.

4. Mary and I ran out of the store. We stared in horror at the pile of twisted metal that had been our friend's car.

5. I watch the boy from my table. He turns around and sees me, but I pretend I am reading my book.

6. Catherine and Tya will fly to Japan in three days. They will bring their dog with them and they are going to have a wonderful time on the plane.  

[faretheewell]

((This thread needs to go back to the top of the page!))  

[SorceressJacklyn]

Link to help coming soon!  

[Hester Peche]

I can hear the ominous music already...  

[SorceressJacklyn]

what music? *looks around*  

[Hester Peche]

You can't hear the Sephiroth music?  

[SorceressJacklyn]

Oh! That music...  

[Hester Peche]

Yes, the music that plays whenever there's a wonderfully devious idea.  

[faretheewell]

Hey, look! This is a sticky again!  

[Hester Peche]

Yep! I did that because I felt this is incredibly important information that should be shared with inexpirienced roleplayers...  

[SorceressJacklyn]

hurray for Hester!