#admin: roleplay tips

[lannasroleplaymemes]

Roleplay Tips: "Actionable Responses"

We have all experienced, or will at some point in the future, a thread that feels like it is going nowhere. It's that feeling of reluctance to pull up the draft, of realizing it's the third or so time of experiencing dread when you see that other person respond.

You're bored with the thread. That, or you want to continue and just can't seem to think of what to do next!

There are a number of reasons why this can happen, but one of the most common ones is a lack of an actionable response from your partner. In most cases, deciding to wrap up the thread is the best thing to suggest...but most of us are just too "polite" to do that, huh? 😉But that's a post for another time.

So, what is an actionable response? Simply put, it's a reply to a thread that manages to give direction to your partner. This has NOTHING to do with matching length of post! It's just a matter of being aware that this is a collaborative effort.

Here's an example:

Character A: "I think we should invite our friends out to a party." Character B: "That's a great idea!" Character A: "It'll be a formal party. I'm going to work on the invitations tonight. I'll really go all out and make it fancy!" Character B: "Oh, I can't wait to see what you come up with! I'll be sure to wear the red dress I got over the weekend." Character A: "I'm sure it looks stunning on you. I don't know what I'm going to wear yet. I think I need to figure out the venue and the details first." Character B: "You are going to knock it out of the park! You're always so good at organizing everything!"

So, what happened? The conversation above isn't bad! However, there was "burden" placed on the writer of Character A each time. The writer of B has responded each time in similar length, but gives A little to no idea how to continue the conversation. Each reply made it the responsibility of the writer of A to come up with the direction for the conversation. Here's the breakdown:

A: Starts with the opening prompt (the party)

B: Agrees with idea

A: Elaborates on prompt

B: Enthuses about prompt, brings up new subject (dress)

A: Compliments B, brings up new subject (uncertainty)

B: Reassures A

Sometimes your character requires noncommittal responses, and this is OK to do once in awhile! But think about this in real life: If you met someone who was only this reactive to your comments and never really asked about you or your actions... Wouldn't it get a bit exhausting to talk with them? At the very least, they would appear polite but uninterested, and interactions would tend to be short.

Here's a better example for the above, one with actionable responses from B.

Character A: "I think we should invite our friends out to a party." Character B: "That's a great idea! Which friends, though? The ones from work or school?" Character A: "Why not both? I think it'd be cool to combine our social groups. Unless you think they wouldn't get along…?" Character B: "Well, you know how wild I get around Stacy on the dance floor. I wouldn't want it to reflect bad on my performance review …" Character A: "That's true, you two can get pretty unhinged. But I was thinking of theming it up to be more of a formal party. Like, make fancy invitations and everything!" Character B: "Oh, that sounds amazing! And less likely I'll start twerking, although the possibility isn't zero. Do you need any help with the invitations? Or anything else?" Character A: "I should have the invitations under control, but I'd love it if you could brainstorm the decorations. I want to go for a vintage 1950's vibe." Character B: "I am already making a Pinterest. This is going to be great! Oh, and I just bought the cutest red dress that'll work perfectly for the theme! Do you know what you want to wear? We can go window shopping later if you want!" Character A: "That would be great! Do you have pics of the dress?"

The above interaction isn't just more equal in engagement, its flow and dialogue is far more natural and prompts more detailed responses! Here's the breakdown for this one:

A: Starts with the opening prompt (the party)

B: Responds asking for more details, prompting a new subject (guest list)

A: Answers, asks for B's opinion

B: Answers, brings up a third party that A can comment on

A: Makes a comment, but chooses not to pursue subject at length; brings up new point of discussion (formal party)

B: Gives opinion, offers help

A: Accepts help, provides further prompt details (party theme)

B: Gives opinion, offers up another subject of clothing, offers up potential next direction/goal of thread (shopping)

There is a lot more "work" involved on both sides in the above example. And this is just with dialogue alone -- using descriptors and physical actions (i.e B could pull up their phone and show A the photos of their dress, or A could have started to playfully mock imitate B's dancing) also gives the other character something to respond to. This works great for Muses who canonically don't say much or are generally quiet in certain scenarios!

The ultimate goal of writing Actionable Responses is to share the responsibility of the scene, so that one writer doesn't feel burdened with directing everything and eventually associate your threads with fatigue, even subconsciously. Communication also plays a big part, too! Your responses may be actionable, but if the other writer isn't picking up any of them, it's time to pause the thread and communicate ooc and see what's up!

"Oh no! I realized I don't write a lot of Actionable Responses! Does that mean I'm a bad writer/horrible person? Do all my partners secretly hate me? Is this why I don't get any responses?"

NO. Realizing the above only means you're learning something new right now, and it is up to you if you want to employ the above suggestions or not. This thread is not meant to shame people -- it is meant to educate, and maybe even put into words what other writers feel, so that they can share and point to it when they feel responsibility is unbalanced in a thread.

[lannasroleplaymemes]

What Makes A Roleplay Blog Too “Intimidating”?

Thanks to those who sent in their thoughts! Please note that these are all based on opinions of a handful of roleplayers and should be taken with a grain of salt. You are in no way required to run or write your blog in a certain manner; this is purely an informative piece.

The answers received came down to one thing: The Mun’s OOC Tone. Trying to figure out the “tone” of someone’s writing is difficult because it’s open to interpretation. It’s why some people will mark your emails as ‘passive aggressive’ at work, for example!

Your Rules page is your blog’s first impression for many. It is easy, especially for roleplayers who have been through a lot of garbage, to write your rules with a firm voice. You are, as you have every right to, setting your boundaries, your  no-no’s, the guidelines for your personal space. However, “aggressive” sounding rules can frighten those who may be more faint of heart away. If you write all of your rules out and at the very bottom add ‘btw these sound harsh but I’m an awkward noodle!’, some people might not even see if it they’ve run away after your first point! So if you’re deadset on being strict with your rules, maybe add a gentle disclaimer closer to the top to say: Hey, I know these are written very bluntly, but I just like to be direct and clear so there are no misunderstandings! This is for everyone’s safety/comfort.

Passwords are also a difficult situation to navigate. They help the Mun, but can sometimes be offputting to others; I personally have seen a lot of ‘I don’t send passwords’ in rules of various RPers from different fandoms. For me, it isn’t a big deal, but it can be for a lot of others. If you want to come to a compromise, maybe make your rules a post that you can ask people to Like instead. A click is far easier, quicker, and some people even do it without thinking already.

No Entry Points. By this I mean a lack of options for people to start with you. If you don’t post memes, opens, starter/interaction calls, etc. it limits the ways people can reach out to: writing you a random starter, sending you a direct IM, sending you a direct inbox unprompted. A lot of us don’t have a problem with doing this, but there is an equal number of people who do, whether it be to general anxiety or because of past burns when they tried. On the flip side: I know how soulsucking it can be to post these things and get zero interaction. What may be helpful is linking to your open/starter/meme tag on your pinned post, and inviting people to dive into what you’ve reblogged in the past, stating that you’re open to receiving them any time. Heck, if you want to go out of your way, you can make posts specific to starting new interactions that people can dive into!

Difficult UI/Formatting. Everyone has a right to their own aesthetic; decorating your tumblr blog is half the fun of making one! But we’ve all been to a blog that we cannot navigate and/or cannot read. If you want to maintain your aesthetic for a majority of your posts, offer helpful notes in your blog format (i.e link to a mobile-friendly google doc, tell people where to find the navigation) and/or ask them to tell you if they need larger text. 

The Pros and Cons Of Exclusivity. As I said at the top of this post, you’re free to run your blog and RP with whoever you want. I myself have a RP partner I’ve known for years, and the majority of our muses are single-shipped with each other, and I don’t really interact with other versions of her muses because I already have one. However, people notice this, and they especially are aware of it when you have it in your rules. This can ward people off (as expected, it’s meant to). If you want to compromise, you can either 1) not mention your exclusivity right off the bat, and allow others to approach you first to discuss one on one or 2) make it clear that you’re open to interacting with multiple portrayals of the same muse, but maybe you only ship with one, or you really want to try and not repeat the same plot ideas between them so you need something unique.

Those are the 5 tips I came up with! Thanks again to all of you who contributed, and if you have any more ideas/opinions, feel free to share them in the replies!

[lannasroleplaymemes]

Roleplayers & Mental Health

Maintaining your mental health, especially on social media sites like Tumblr, is a very important part of keeping yourself safe online. Use your block list without feeling guilty, turn off anon to avoid unwanted messages, and set clear boundaries for both yourself and your followers in your rules page.

However, on the subject of rules pages, or any OOC About-Me sort of posts: Can we make it a trend to include details of how your followers can make your life easier?

For example: I have anxiety so I probably won’t IM you first.

Change to:  I have anxiety, so I’d appreciate it if you sent a meme/talked in the tags in our thread until I feel safe enough to IM you first.

It doesn’t need to be anything too demanding or elaborate, but it keeps your door open to interactions. It doesn’t come off as a hard stop; it gives your partners options on how to make you more comfortable, because most of the time, we want to!

Please consider this in your rules page. It is the EXACT same scenario as saying “Please don’t use small font because it hurts my eyes”, so don’t feel bad for asking!

[lannasroleplaymemes]

Roleplaying Tips

Finding New People To Roleplay With

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this tip!

Please Note: This tip is for how to find people, not make them come to you, which is why tips like creating promos aren’t listed below!

#1 Use Search to find RP Promos and Track Fandom Tags

The usual method, although it’s entirely luck based: A lot of people post their promos with custom promo tags, rather than generic ‘anime rp’ ‘manga rp’ ‘video game rp’. They might even be more specific like ‘final fantasy 8 rp’ or ‘ff8 rp’. Tracking specific tags might be helpful here so that you can keep an eye on what’s being added to the tags at all times!

Make sure you sort by Recent, too, to ensure that you’re finding promos from blogs that weren’t only active 5 years ago!

#2 Browse Your Partners’ Network

If you have at least one cool person you write with, it can’t hurt to take a peek at who else they write with, and kind of spider web out from there. This is great because you can preview how other people write, how often, etc. without interacting with them directly. Plus, chances are better that if a partner you like writes with someone, that someone is also a writer you will like, too!

#3 Check Out ‘Interest Checks’

Similar to step #2, if your friends or just a cool blog you like has an interest checker, skim the people who have filled it out! For those that may not know: An interest checker is usually a Google spreadsheet that asks interested RPers to put their urls under characters they want to interact with. 

From here, you can scroll through blogs and see who those blogs are interacting with, and go down the wiki-like rabbit hole that is blog stalking.

RELATED UNRELATED TIP

Always peek at when was the most recent post on someone’s blog to get an idea of their activity. Check BEYOND the first post, as they may have an old one pinned! This will be a great indicator of how likely someone is to answer your initial reach out and/or follow you back. If their last post was 8 months ago, chances are high you can follow them (to see if/when they’ll be back) and hold off on sending an IM/ask for a bit.

Please reblog if you agree with the tips! And of course feel free to add your thoughts below. :)

[lannasroleplaymemes]

Roleplaying Tips!

Writing and Responding To Starters

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this tip!

#1 The most common reason starters aren't seen is ... because of Tumblr. Tags/Notifications sometimes just don't work! So once you write a starter, try to either IM the link to your partner, or at least inbox them letting them know it's been posted. That way you can be sure that technical difficulties don't stand in your way!

On the flip side, if you're expecting a starter and haven't seen one pop up -- just ask politely! It shows you're eager to write with them and excited to get things going.

#2 - Write a "Balanced" opening scene. Unless you have DISCUSSED an opening idea prior, you as the first writer need to keep 3 things in mind:

a. What do I know about my partner's Muse? What makes sense 'in character' for them? (If you don't know the answer...ask!)

In this case, you may have a starter where Muse A has to ask Muse B for help. But if this is their first meeting and Muse B isn't likely to assist a stranger...that forces your partner to write something OOC, which discourages them from wanting to write with you in the first place.

b. What do I want to happen next? Where do I see this interaction leading?

You need to provide a little direction, either in the post itself or in the tags. I.e ('OK so Muse A & B can chat a bit and then when they go to the next room there'll be a monster!')

Remember BALANCE is the key. You don't want to force the other Muse into acting a certain way, but you don't want to leave it so vague that the other Mun is left waffling, either.

#3. The most surefire way to ensure your Starter gets replied to -- COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR PARTNER! This goes BOTH ways. If you are writing the starter OR if you're getting it written for you.

When you receive a starter, check-in with yourself before writing:

Do I understand what is going on? Do I understand what my partner expects my Muse to do next? Is what they expect in character for my Muse? Does the scenario 'force' my character to act out of character?

If the answer is no to ANY of these questions, then contact your partner and clarify before you even think about a response!

When you WRITE a starter, ask yourself these questions.

Is this our characters' first meeting? If so, how should the interaction continue so that it isn't a fleeting interaction? What do I know about the other Muse? Am I comfortably able to predict (within reason) how they were react to this situation based on that knowledge? What do I hope the other Muse does next? Is that clear for someone else?

If you're not sure about any of the answers above, then contact your partner and/or plan to add OOC notes to help guide them along!

Anxiety is a thing, so it is perfectly understandable to be too intimidated or nervous to ask your partner to change or clarify something. But communication is a good sign! If someone asks you questions, it means they're interested enough to make sure your interaction goes well and that they WANT to write with you.

So keep an open mind, keep your partner and their Muse in mind, and get more interactions going!! Please reblog if you agree with the tips! And of course feel free to add your thoughts below. :)

[lannasroleplaymemes]

Roleplaying Tips!

Use The Queue Function

If you feel particularly inspired and blow through, say, 5-10 drafts in one shot -- don’t feel obligated to post them right away! 

Adjust your Queue settings to post only a few times a day, and toss in some non-thread posts (pictures, photos, headcanons, memes, aesthetics, etc!) in between those drafts. You can always decide to manually publish them sooner if you want to, but use the Queue to help you keep a decent pace. Your replies will be done, but they’ll be on a manageable schedule, so you don’t have the issue of others piling up while you work on one you’re particularly inspired for.

*Do you have RP tips that help you? Submit them to be shared at a later date!