Guide To Lengthen Your Post

Tips to help members to have LONG POSTS in RPing:


Length

1. One way to make a post longer and more interesting is physical appearance. Use synonyms, instead of repetitively using the same adjectives. Use more abstract phrases (i.e. "vibrant markings in a shade of fire" instead of "red markings") and more detail. Describe how your character moves, anything that may catch the attention of the one looking at it. Scars, unusual markings, bright colours, or even the subtle beauties can be feeder material for a quality post.

Be sure to include those facial expressions, the way their eyes catch the light, and don't be afraid to get detailed.

2. Another way is to add deep emotions. Instead of the bare minimum, put your character's soul out to the world. Whether the others can see what your character is feeling or not, it adds a mood to the post. Often, emotions will give you a certain taste in your mouth, or a feeling in your stomach. Include these. Blissfulness can cause your entire body to feel lighter, while melancholy can cause it to sag. Don't be afraid to tie emotions to the figures mentioned in Length Rule Number 1.


3. Probably the easiest way is to involve insight on the character's past. Add some tidbits of history, make references to past experiences. If your character has been hurt, has felt pain, has gone through a lot, or even had a peaceful past, it's all relevant. What happens yesterday effects us today, and it's the same with your characters. A ninja who battled will probably think of the battles every time they spar or do a full-fledged battle.

No matter what, history is good. Not only does it keep our interest, but it also helps to convey how the character's personality reflects in the post.

Quality

1. The number one way to developed quality is simple: experience. No matter what, with age comes wisdom, and it rings true in RPing. So, if you want to develop your posting and writing skills, get out there, post, join in, and join other games, if you have the time.

2. Compare posts. Look at the posts around you and check out what the others look like. Are they better? Are they not quite as good? Are they anything like yours? What style do they use? More experienced role-players will tell you that they learned from others, with the help of others. You learn from those around you, and most of us won't mind if you try and snag a bit of our style here and there to try and improve your posts. In the end, you'll have your own unique style.

3. Contrary to popular belief, adding apostrophes to unfinished words do NOT make your posts better. Not only is it against the rules here, but it's also annoying. Keep it in mind that just because you pronounce "the" as "th'" doesn't make you a more advanced player. It makes you look like you're too lazy to type a whole word.

4. Know what you're posting about. Many a player shows up not knowing what's going on. The best way to find out is to simply watch the show, or google for information regarding the show. I tend to use a lot of wikipedia, but that's because i have the site bookmarked.

If you're unsure about something, go ahead and ask a more seasoned player, a mod or an Admin. I'm sure you know who some of them are, and most will be happy to help, I'm sure if it makes the site better.

5. Ask for second opinions. Through the years, I've found constructive criticism is one of the best teachers. I'm not saying that you should go to the meanest person you know and let them bash your post; come to a friend or a colleague that you know as a more advanced player, and ask their opinion. No question is a stupid question unless it remains unasked.

6. Get involved. This goes along with just about everything I've said. If you don't play, you can't get experience, and you can't compare your posts to others. Activity not only makes you look better, but it also broadens your horizons. The more you post, the more happens. The more that happens, the more you get to think of fun plots.

7. Be compassionate about time considerations. While some may have plenty of time to post almost whenever they want, others have huge time limitations. Many of the adult players have full-time jobs, or are going through college. Bugging them to post makes you look over-eager, or rude. All-in-all, be polite! It makes people want to play with you more!



Here is a second part to the guide, more concerned with godmodding. Less polished then the other one was well but that's because it was made a year or 2 before it.

Hit-calling - This is a confusing term to many. It also falls under 'auto-hitting,' 'god-modding,' 'finishing an action,' 'narrating the outcome,' and probably several other things that wouldn't be appropriate to list here. It's the bane of roleplay, quite honestly, and it's the fastest way to make an otherwise eager roleplayer turn tail and run screaming into the night.

Hit-calling refers to how you word your attack, basically. It's easy to fall into the habit, but really, once you realize you're doing it, it's even easier to retrain yourself. For example...if you were in live combat, and you threw a punch at someone...you didn't know if it was going to hit them or not. Even if they promised to stand still and let you take pot-shots at them, that doesn't mean necessarily that where you aimed is where you'd hit - or if you'd even hit at all. They could dodge your fist, or they could block the punch or a combination of the two...simple as that.

What does this mean? It's a good idea to play your character's violent actions accordingly. For instance...


DON'T -

"Dai bought out his bow and pierced Ryo in the shoulder with an arrow, leaving a long, bleeding trail of crimson sliding down his skin."

DO -

"Dai took out his bow and shot at Ryo, hoping to hit him in the shoulder."

It's using 'stabbed at,' 'kicked toward,' 'swung with the intention of,' 'trying to,' 'aiming for,' and other phrases instead of just 'struck,' 'hit,' 'stabbed,' etc - phrases which close the action to just YOUR decision as the offensive player.

This makes it fair, you see? Because if I posted Dais’ previous entry, Ryo would have no choice but to take the hit, or make an issue out of it with me...which will lead to a fight, because if I didn't know about hit-calling, I'd instantly think his player was making fun of my roleplay style. Now, it's only a shoulder-wound, but in the case of possibly fatal injuries it can become quite serious - especially for valuable characters.

On the other hand, if I posted Dais’ second entry, Ryo could choose to accept the attack, or dodge it, within reason. He could also choose to initiate another action as retaliation, and so on and so forth, until (as in the case of a real fight) there comes a point when it's not possible to dodge.

***BUT***
(There's always a but.)
There *will* come a time when dodging yet another attack will be impossible. Which means that you will have no choice but to take the hit. Do be realistic and fair about this...because insisting on dodging all hits will just prolong the fight unnecessarily, and frustrate everyone. Fighting in roleplay is *not* a grudge match - it's a partnership, and it requires giving and taking from both sides.