[X] My Assistant

[Nymphae]

Hi everyone!

As I've probably told before, I'm not new to RP.
But I've looked around a bit and to be honest, I'm turning chicken.
The RP's I've usually been in were with people like me, from countries who don't have English as their base language.
Aside from that, people were simply a lot younger, not much above my age (almost turning 19). I'm worried that I won't be able to keep up with the rest of you.
So here are my questions;

• How do you build up a decent RP-post?
• Where do you draw the line between some nice details and a full encyclopedia about what you can find in botanical gardens?
• How do you keep your character from becoming a Mary Sue as you develop her? (We all hate those Mary Sue types, admit it..)

That's about all I can come up with now, but if you think you've got a tip, please don't hesistate to post it.
Thank you all in advance!

~Nymphae

[The Rose Crusade...]

Don't turn chicken and don't worry about keeping up with us. We're all nice forgiving people, if you don't have time to post; it’s not the end of the world

I'll attempt to answer your questions, although I may not be 100% correct on all of my answers. :/

Q: How do you build up a decent RP-post? Where do you draw the line between some nice details and a full encyclopedia about what you can find in botanical gardens?

A: An RP post is just a translation of your mind to paper of what you want your character to do. Now there are a couple of ways to do that. You can simply say "Albert moved from the door to the dining room." or you can be creative and describe what your character does in great depth.

"Albert stepped into the festively decorated house with eyes sparkling. Everywhere he looked was furnished with all things green and red. There were garlands, stars, and even Santa Clause and his reindeer. The background to this family gathering was nice, but he could take in the scene more later. He was already late for Christmas dinner, and didn't want to keep the rest of the family waiting. He put down his coat on the couch and took his place with the rest of his smiling family at the head of the oak table covered in a snowflake tablecloth."

(I know this kind of goes into question 2, so I combined it! )

Now would I go into that much depth in my posts? No. Should I? Of course! The more description the better! The things you see in your mind that you want your character to do can only be conveyed to the readers as well as you explain it. Sometimes when I am writing, I have to take a step back and ask, "Will my fellow RPers understand what Mindy is doing?" When the answer to that question is no, I have to make amends to my posts to make sure that I am saying what I truly want to be said.

Only you can be the judge of how well you 'build up' and RP post, because you are the one telling us the story, the actions of your character.

Q: How do you keep your character from becoming a Mary Sue as you develop her? (We all hate those Mary Sue types, admit it..)

I think that this a good guide to help creating your characters away form the Mary Sue type. It has helped me with a lot of character creation in the past, and I am happy to recommend it to others. Just think of your characters from a realistic point, follow those guidelines, and you should be fine.

Any other questions you need answering are always welcome! Don't be shy! You can always PM me or just post in this topic.

This post has been edited by The Rose Crusader: Sep 25 2008, 09:35 PM

[Master Houndoom]

I'm going to give you much shorter answers than TRC did, mainly because I have little to add.

For the length and density of an RP, that is as much a matter of what you want to say as it is your RP style. You don't want to just be writing for the sake of writing. At the same time, there are opportunities to extend an RP because so much of it involves reacting to RPs two or three posts behind the one you're currently responding to, or posting in a "meanwhile" fashion.

As for Mary Jane-ness, the classic definition doesn't apply here. All RP characters are an extension of the writer. However, it is still possible to "godmode", or try. The key against fighting that is to give your character a weakness comperable to every strength. (For example, Jaima is pretty strong, but lacks any self confidence to follow through with it.)

The best RP advice I have is to make a character guide and stick to it, no matter the consequences.

[Troy Bolton]

I'll just work into the third question.

How do you keep your character from becoming a Mary Sue as you develop her? (We all hate those Mary Sue types, admit it..)

I'll use mine for an example! Matt is, well, a brat. He's your typical rich boy who always got what he wanted, and he throws tantrums when he loses (or he would, if he had lost yet).

What I'm saying is to flaw your character believably. You can't just be like, "Lol i'm a hawt rich gurl who's perfect and blonde and has a gazillion friends lolol!" No. Maybe, "I'm a rich girl with a tendency to push my Pokemon too hard."

And we won't bite. Honest.

This post has been edited by Earl: Sep 26 2008, 01:49 AM

[Nymphae]

Thank you all very much for answering my questions!
Also for the tips you gave me. I'll be using them in my posts!

[Laughing Jackal]

Also, one tip that I can really give is adding a bit of humor to your posts as well. Make your posts interesting. Remember, the other people in your RP will need to read your posts and so will the people grading them. I find it easier to read a long post when some parts put a smile on my face. So when possible, make fun of your character. Have them do something stupid, make it funny.

It's what I do, and I find it as a very helpful tool for others reading my posts.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Don't choose Charmander... unfortunately everyone has one now >>

This post has been edited by JGatsby: Sep 26 2008, 07:35 PM

[Nymphae]

Also, one tip that I can really give is adding a bit of humor to your posts as well. Make your posts interesting. Remember, the other people in your RP will need to read your posts and so will the people grading them. I find it easier to read a long post when some parts put a smile on my face. So when possible, make fun of your character. Have them do something stupid, make it funny.

It's what I do, and I find it as a very helpful tool for others reading my posts.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Don't choose Charmander... unfortunately everyone has one now >>

Humor hm? No problem, I like to make fun of myself or my RP Character or her Pokémon once in a while. I've always been a little silly so it works for me.
And don't worry. I'm not into Fire-Type Pokémon, I prefer Grass-Types. If you look at my Characters' Signature you'll see I choose a Bulbasaur.