5 Writing Tips for Roleplayers
I wrote this up on a blog of mine that’s currently inactive in response to a meme, and I felt like sharing it here, too! These are tips I keep in mind regularly and feel they really work for me, while I occasionally notice sometimes people haven’t quite grasped the concepts and may be interested in doing so. In no way is anyone roleplaying incorrectly, but these are just ways to make the experience perhaps more enjoyable for you and those you interact with!
1 — Be aware of whether or not you’re actually giving your partner something to respond to. Upon finishing a para or multi-para reply, check if your reply has at least two of these three things: dialogue, action (aside from speaking), or imagery describing the scene or your character’s appearance. This should give your partner a substantial amount of material to base their reply off of. They can have their character speak back to yours, react to the action, or react to/build on the imagery! All three are great, but not always necessary. This tip also may not always apply depending on the kind of interaction you’re having, but in your typical para they will be what keeps the story moving. Note: Your character’s inner thoughts are a fourth element to add in a reply, and while it’s important and interesting to read, keep in mind that sometimes it’s not easy to base a response off of.
2 — Another tip for giving your partner something to respond to when it comes to one-liners or dialogue in general is to avoid saying single statements pertaining to one idea. By this I mean something like, “That’s cool” or, “I wish I could do that.” Instead say something like, “That’s cool. Where did you learn to do that?” or, “I wish I could do that, but I don’t have anyone to teach me.” Adding a question of course never fails to give your partner something to respond to (and therefore can even be written by itself as it’s not a statement). Making a compound statement or more than one statement on a subject essentially gives people two things to work with, and responding to it will feel less restricting. For example: Instead of your partner saying “You never know until you try” to the simple statement (creating another boring statement), by adding to yours you could invite them to say something like, “You never know until you try. I could teach you!” Now there’s something you can easily respond back to!
3 — If you’re anything like me and prefer replies to stay concise so that things move along more quickly, avoid multiple lines of dialogue pertaining to many different ideas and avoid having more than one goal to obtain through action. This is something that happens a lot, and even the most experienced roleplayers do it unintentionally. I am still guilty of it myself. We all go a little overboard sometimes, and you will notice that once someone goes overboard the replies have a tendency to keep expanding. Even if more is happening at once, the story tends to drag. This can be a problem because it’s one of the main reasons we will get bored of a thread, or feel too overwhelmed by it, or both. Try to restrain yourself by finishing the reply after you have responded to the one or two things your partner has given you. Instead of focusing on matching word count, focus on matching ideas. Feel like it’s still not enough? Throw in some imagery or insight to your character’s thoughts.
4 — When writing a starter for an interaction with a character yours has yet to interact with, this should be a given, but read everything the mun has provided about that character. If it’s a canon character and particularly if it’s one you’re not as familiar with, go beyond that and look them up on a fandom wiki, just make sure to recognize where the character may be canon divergent if they’re supposed to be. As you do this, pick out ways this character may relate to your character. Do they have similar or conflicting interests? Are they from the same place or been to the same places? Is there something about them your character finds impressive or something that bothers them? Is your character’s personality one that might clash with theirs? Once you’ve got answers to any of these questions, have your starter comment on or insinuate something you’ve discovered. This gives something for your characters to discuss and jumpstarts the creation of a story to share, which is especially important if it’s their first meeting as those threads are always in danger of feeling redundant and flat from the start.
5 — Find your character’s voice (a.k.a. their way of speaking). As you write their dialogue, ask yourself questions like these: Where/when did they grow up and how did people (of their social class) speak there? What kind of accent do they have? What slang do they use? Do they avoid using contractions? Do they use foul language and how often? Are they articulate with a wide vocabulary? Do they keep things short or are they prone to run-on sentences and long-windedness? Do they have a speech impediment? Are exclamations (!) common for them or do they speak more calmly? Do they address people with pet names/nicknames? And a bonus: If texting/typing applies to them, do they use correct grammar, capitalization, acronyms, emojis, etc? Finding your character’s voice is key if you really want to get to know them and it’s also one good way to be sure you’ve created a solid character. You may feel it comes naturally, but take note of it and make a conscious effort to keep it consistent. It also may evolve over time, but be aware of that, too!
