Writing for Roleplay

General Tips

• Read back over the player's previous post. Browse a few posts back in the thread if you have to. This can help you avoid repetitive dialogue and subjects, and keep the general feel and flow of a thread consistent throughout. When writing, try not to be too retrospective about what just happened in the thread -- after all, the other player wrote some of it, and they know what happened!
• React to your fellow player -- this goes hand in hand with carefully reading posts! Take care to notice changes in the scenery, their character's reactions, and so forth. You needn't react to everything with speech, either -- think about bodily language and physical reactions, too. Failing to react to a major part of the action can cause your fellow players offense, and it can make your character look stupid, too, if the other player doesn't feel like chasing you down to have you edit your post!
• Read character profiles, if it's your first time roleplaying with a particular character -- and even if it's your fifth time. There may be details you overlooked last time, updated information, or changes. This can provide fodder for description or even conversation -- after all, if someone lost an eye or added a large tattoo to their face since the last time you saw them, you'd notice!

Post Length

A good general rule is to match the post length of your roleplay partner through each turn in the thread. Thus, the person starting the thread can dictate a comfortable length, and you'll both go from there. Remember, it's hard to reply when an opening post is too short, though occasionally, long-winded people will note that there's no pressure to match their wordiness.

Short Posts

'Souls does not enforce a minimum requirement for post word counts; members are suggested to strive for 200 words or 2 paragraphs per post -- however, it's a bit more important as to what you put into your post rather than its length. For example, in fighting threads, some players consider it deal to write rather short posts focused on action, as it's more realistic to the situation. Your character won't spend fifteen minutes reflecting on their afternoon in the heat of battle, after all. However -- a post that is two short, simple sentences long can make replying rather difficult. It is extremely unlikely that a post of this length conveys enough detail and description for the other roleplayer to work from.

If you're having trouble beefing up a short post, we suggest the following:

• Describe the scenery. Description of the surroundings can provide a hefty paragraph and can be very useful to your writing partner. Where is your character? What can they see? What time of day is it? Is it warm? Cold? Windy? Sunny? Again, 'Souls provides numerous resources for a reason -- check them out and refer back to them!
• Describe your character. While no one wants to read several paragraphs of character description, a few words here and there are a great way to add some length to your post and help other roleplayers to envision your character as they write, assisting them with details! For example, if your Luperci wears a necklace, perhaps they play with that necklace as they're seated, or perhaps your character wears a bright red sash that sways and flaps as they walk.
• Replace a few pronouns. It can be boring to read a post where every sentence begins with "she" or "he" -- try occasionally replacing your pronouns with short, descriptive phrases. For example, "the white wolf" or "the AniWayan" or "the Optime wolf." You just turned one word into three and helped the other player to describe your character. Try to vary these and see what you can come up with.
• Describe how your character is feeling and why. Are they morose for a particular reason? Are they happy for some reason? What are they thinking about? Elaborate on this and you may find you have to cut yourself short!
• Enforce the feelings with action. If your character said something, describe their tone of voice, facial expression, or body language. For example, an irritated Optime might cross his or her arms and narrow his or her eyes; a happy Lupus might wag his or her tail. The RP Guide provides various resources regarding wolf behavior -- incorporate these wolfish actions to accentuate the way your character is feeling.
• Action! Have your character speak! Have your character move! Have something happen in your post and give the other player something to write about. Even if your character doesn't do something directly, something can change in the scenery that gives everyone something to do. This is useful if the thread seems to be stagnating. For example, if your characters are sitting around a fire, your character could note that the fire is getting low, prompting someone to fetch more wood. If it was noted earlier in the thread that it was raining, the rain could increase greatly in intensity, or it could stop altogether. Other small changes regarding scenery and the like can change up the flow of a thread without completely interrupting its purpose. Make sure if you want to throw something at a player that's completely out of left field, you check with them first to make sure they don't mind.

Long Posts

'Souls does not have a maximum limit for post count, but there are a few things to keep in mind when determining how long your post should be. A 2,000 word post is extremely time-consuming for other roleplayer to read, and as it's likely filled with reflection or other thought-based text, it can be difficult to respond to.

If you're really attached to a particular paragraph but you've realized your post is excessively long, you can cut it and save it for another post later. Make certain you modify the paragraph adequately so it fits and makes sense for the situation; for example, it wouldn't be very sensible to cut material from a thread where your character is thinking about a traumatic event and re-use it in a thread where they are happy and thinking about good things.

Alternatively, you can try to stack actions in certain paragraphs and tell players that other paragraphs are mostly thought-based or irrelevant and can be skipped. Thought and writing from a character's perspective can be important for development, so few players should mind this, and most will appreciate that you let them slide where super-long posts are concerned if you allowed self-introspection to get away from you!

If you think what you've written is way too long, here are some pruning tips:

• Avoid repeating yourself. This is especially easy to do with thoughts where a character will ramble on and on with what they're thinking, their past, their relationships with other people, etc. Read through it -- is all of that really necessary?
• Avoid irrelevant subjects. This goes hand in hand with the previous. If your character is discussing a book, does he really need to also be thinking about last night's dinner? Or if he's in a fight with someone, does he really need to be contemplating about how nice and sunny it is? Of course there are situations where such details may actually be very relevant, but that's your call to make.
• Less detail or more focused detail. Sometimes describing the fact that there's a fly sitting on your character's ear is just a waste of time. Think about what other roleplayers want to read, too! Think about the situation, too -- if your character is involved in a fast-paced, exciting situation, it probably doesn't make sense to have a lot of introspection or reflection details in your post; if your character is merely having a conversation, it makes more sense to have more reflection and introspection.