-- a brief intro to tumblr rp
this is not quite a comprehensive guide since i believe that better, more in-depth guides have been written, but these are just a few things i think are useful to know when it comes to tumblr rps (and joining this group specifically). most of this is specific to this group's rules. for a more detailed overview of tumblr rp in general, you can check out the first reference link. if you have any questions, send the main an ask or a DM, and i'll do my best to get back to you as quickly as i can!
REFERENCE LINKS
a comprehensive guide to terms + concepts in tumblr rp overall (lengthy, very detailed, but not all necessary to read)
how to "cut" (aka trim) posts through XKit
example intro posts
example starter call
TRIMMING POSTS / FORMATTING REPLIES
writing itself is pretty straightforward on tumblr rp; the most complicated part is how to format posts and "cut" (aka trim) them, since tumblr has made it really hard to do so over the years. here is an in-depth guide to follow for using XKit: https://rpschtuff.tumblr.com/post/702827058932432896/what-is-going-on-with-cutting-posts/mobile
there's a lot of info there that isn't relevant anymore here, but you will want to go down to the "XKit Rewritten & Trim Reblogs" section.
XKit Rewritten is basically a browser extension that gives you the ability to delete the earlier reblogs in your thread chain, so that it doesn't grow to extremely long lengths. in my opinion this is the most complicated part of tumblr rp and it's not even writing, but if you do end up needing more help with this, just let me know and i can try writing down my own guide on the process that i use!
for writing itself, i'm going to try breaking it down by section:
MUSE CREATION
sanctuary-fm is an OC roleplay. muses should have distinct names from their faceclaims and should be "original" --- it's hard to concretely define this, but essentially, they shouldn't just be a carbon copy of the faceclaim's personality.
for joining sanctuary specifically, we require muses to have an "origin." this should be chosen from our ORIGINS page.
optionally, we also have LOCATIONS with suggested occupations that your muse can have, and SUBPLOTS that your muse can be involved in. there will be assigned fields in the application where you can indicate these details.
subplots just basically give your muse a starting point for their background. you should incorporate the details of their subplot into their background, but can take liberties with practically everything else. if their subplot involves other muses, you'll also want to plot with them! there is no right or wrong way to develop a plot, so don't feel confined to follow a certain path.
the main is always open to working with members on character creation & development. if you have any questions or concerns about your muse at any point in the process (even after you've already joined), just reach out to the main!
FORMATTING / WRITING STYLES
we require dashboard threads to be third person, prose style, but really that's the only limit we have. some of our writers prefer past tense, others like present tense; some people like to add extra decoration/formatting to their posts; some people like to make their replies look "smaller" by styling posts with tags; this is all a matter of preference!
REPLY LENGTHS
this is another one that varies between writers. some writers prefer shorter replies, while others write longer replies. since we lean more towards the literate side, the only requirement for replies is to be at least one paragraph (at least 3-5 sentences, etc). mainly, we want to avoid one-line replies.
GIFS / GIF ICONS
in tumblr rp, it's common for people to include GIFs of their faceclaim along with their reply. you can do this by searching up "[faceclaim] gif icons" or "[faceclaim] gif hunt" and there might be existing resources out there that you can use! to keep the dash neat, we limit GIFs to medium or small sizes. but again, this is completely optional, and a bunch of our writers don't actually use GIFs at all, so don't feel pressured to use them too.
HERE is an example of a reply that uses a gif icon.
INTROS
currently, when you join, we're requiring an intro of your muse. this can be as detailed or as open ended as you want, as long as it gives us a basic idea of your muse. some writers also give possible plot ideas they're looking for, while others prefer to leave it up to chemistry.
you can see a pretty good range of examples in our intro tag (#sn:intro) here: https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/sn%3Aintro?sort=recent
TAGGING
the main tags to note are sn:intro and sn:starter. the first tag is what you'll use for your intro post (explained later), while the second tag is what you can use for any open starters.
for tasks / events, we will usually specify a tag for you to use on your post. for example, in our event 000, we're asking everyone to tag all event-related threads with sn:event000, so that we can go through the tag later and catch up with threads.
the most important tags are our triggers. any topic on the TRIGGERS PAGE should be tagged with a #tw [trigger] so that people can filter them out as necessary.
besides those, it could be helpful for the organization of your blog to keep your own custom tags for threads / musings / ooc posts / etc, but that's really up to you!
PLOTTING
a lot of intros will usually tell you to like or interact with the post in some way, and that writer will reach out to you for plotting. you can like posts from people you'd like to plot with, or you can do the same with your intro and message people who like it! some people may also specify where they prefer to plot through; most of our writers prefer talking either through tumblr DMs or discord.
an important note for DMing / interacting with posts: tumblr's auto sh*dowbanning has become much easier to trigger recently. this usually happens if you message more than 3 different blogs in quick succession, so try to space out your plotting messages.
you can usually tell you've been sh*dowbanned if you experience any of the following:
you get errors trying to create new messages with blogs
you get errors trying to reply to existing messages with blogs
you can no longer see your list of messages
your likes / comments in a post disappear or there's a note saying that some replies have been hidden
unfortunately, the only way to fix this at the moment is by sending a support ticket to Tumblr staff, which can take days to resolve (if at all...). most times, people will opt to just create a new blog, so just let us know if this happens and we'll make sure everyone knows to follow your new blog.
STARTERS / THREADS
starters are what kick off threads. if you're plotting with people individually, it's common to eventually get to a point where you might decide what kind of thread you want to write and where you want to start it. this usually leads to a closed starter, aka a starter that's written specifically for just one person. whoever writes the starter will make a new post and tag the other person in it, so that they can see it in their notifications.
on the other hand, you have open starters. you can indicate somewhere in the post that it's an open starter / open to all, which lets people know that anyone can reply to it. if you want, you can also indicate a limit of how many different muses you want to cap it at.
when it comes to threading, we don't have a limit on how many threads you can have going at the same time. if you want a thread with every muse in the group, perfect! if you want multiple threads with one muse, also perfect! the only thing we keep an eye on is bubbling RPing, and basically just making sure that no one is exclusively plotting/writing with only 1-2 people.
besides that, i know that the amount of writing might seem overwhelming at first, but i truly think that's just 90% because our writers like to write a lot. it's natural for reply lengths to vary, so don't feel like you have to 100% "match" the other person's length all the time. everyone i've spoken with has been very open and understanding when it comes to writing/plotting, so i have faith in our members to be patient with new members. : )
if you do end up having more questions / needing help with something specific, don't hesitate to reach out to the main, and i'll get back to you as soon as possible!