How to Easily Write 500+ Word Replies
Long paras are a staple of TOS, but we know it can get a little intimidating when you donât know how to match the colossal para you just got, or that 500 word limit is just a little too far away. So weâve compiled a series of tips to make replying to someone that much easier, and ultimately, hopefully, to help make more confident writers. Obviously none of these are rule rules, just advice to give for a spin when you do get stuck.
Try to give your rp partner 3 active things to respond to. An explicit action, dialogue (asking questions is great), or a change in the environment worth commenting on. This is especially important in the starter, because replying to starters that only have one thing to respond to is hard. The more you give in the starter, the easier your next reply is. If youâre the one replying, make sure to respond to what your partner gives you, both verbal and nonverbal, active and passive. If both players are actively making sure thereâs plenty for their para partner to respond to, youâre making it easier for the both of you to reply in much longer ways.
Ask for more to work with! It really is okay, and most people wonât have an issue writing a couple more sentences to help you out, or give you a description your character can respond toâ especially if youâre in their characterâs office or something like that. You can also ask if itâs okay to progress to the next plot point if you have something planned out, or if you can introduce a new element altogether. Communication is the bomb.Â
Describe the other character. You can obviously do this in one big chunk in one para, or space it out. We donât mean like âHe was wearing blue clothesâ, but rather, how does their appearance affect your characterâs opinion of them? Do they think her clothes are as disorganized as she must be? Does their abuse of the color yellow put your character off? Does he look as tired as your character does, and what could that mean. We all judge people by their appearances, and those judgements depend on how much you like the person, and donât have to be right in reality or wrong. Itâs also a really cool way to show character development and their connection changing over time if the way you describe someone changes. Someone who at first may come across as haughty may later be interpreted as nervous, and itâs fun to play with that.Â
Additionally, if a character is disabled donât be afraid of mentioning that in your writing or having a character interact with that aspect of the other character. If youâre not familiar with something or some aspect of a character and are maybe afraid of being offensive, donât be afraid to look things up or ask the other player for some more information. Your character might not always be 100% PC and thatâs okay. Just be sure to use appropriate trigger warnings when thatâs the case.
Have a plan. Long paras can go on for a long time, and sometimes itâs hard to know when to dash or how to keep it in one timeline. Even if the plan is as vague as âThey fight. She wins.â If you have a vague idea how it ends, you can base future interactions on it while youâre still writing it. It also helps with inspiration. If you could go anywhere itâs harder to pick which way to go. When you have a destination in mind you know heading East will get you there faster than going West will.Â
Is your character someone who looks forward or looks back? Having them reminisce and connect the current situation to the past is a great way to slide in your neat little headcanons and give everyone perspective on your characterâs motive. If theyâre looking forward, how does this link to their future, what they want? For example, someone who wants a relationship someday talking to a âtakenâ characterâ how does the relationship they perceive match up with what they want of their relationship, and how doesnât it? This can also help build tension or specific dynamics, and, when use consistently, introduces new characteristics.Â
Use your setting. Itâs there, itâs around you. It can help build mood through language choices and details, or show how your character feels in certain environments, as well as drive plot points. Maybe theyâre really chilled out outside, and agitated in an office. Maybe meeting new people makes them want to examine a leaf on a nearby tree. Maybe there are glowing eyes in the forest nearby that are kinda freaking one character out while the other is oblivious. By doing so, youâre making them real people in a real place, not a person detached from reality in an endless void, or someone obviously pasted onto a CGI background. The world is real to them; make it real to you.Â
Write in a word document or something and make the font size 8, single-spaced. Not advisable for those with bad eyesight, but itâs kind of a neat way to trick your brain into writing more. 500+ words looks and feels like a lot less when itâs tiny. Then you make it big and⊠hey, when did you write that much?
Sometimes starting is the hardest part. Try having a word war with yourselfâ write for 10 - 15 minutes straight, no pauses, no editing. Once youâre in the groove, youâre more likely to keep going, and youâll have a good chunk of it done. Try this.
Try not writing in order! When you read a para, try writing down your immediate responsesâ a dialogue, a thought, an actionâ and then building around it. It also helps having a framework. Say you make 6 bullet points of things to say/do/think. You write about 85 words on each bullet point minimum, youâve got it down pat, and make sure youâve remembered to include things for your partner to reply to. The first sentence chronologically can be the last one you write, and things can always be rearranged or changed.
Try waiting to read replies you receive until you can reply yourself. Some people are the planning types and need 24+ hours to mull over the kind of response they want to write, and thatâs fine! However, reading a nice reply that gives you things to play off of can give you an immediate surge of ideas and inspiration that dwindles the longer you wait to get typing. If youâre the second type of person, then waiting to read the reply until you know you can write yours might result in increased productivity and flow of ideas.Â
Donât get hung up on using colorful language or describing details. Try using the first word that comes to mind, because 99% of the time, itâll be the best and most genuine choice, and it means not getting stuck in one place and needing to find your groove again. You have something you want to accomplish with your reply, so do that and fill in the other details around it afterwards. Editing can always come later.Â
Use the Plot/Character/Mood rule. This ties into other advice listed, but itâs a great way to decide whether something is relevant or filler. If youâre worldbuilding, character building, advancing the plot, or showing the mood, it isnât filler; itâs building a story.Â
Ultimately, practice makes perfect. The more you do it, and the more often you do it, the easier it becomes. The more it gets put off, the harder it looks and the harder it becomes. We hope that with these tips, 500 words feel less like an unclimbable mountain, and more like a molehill.Â
Some more awesome guides:
Tips and Advice for Describing Characters
Better Prompts, Starters, and Beginnings
Exercises to Improve Writing
Writerâs Block Flow Chart
Tips for Writerâs Block
