Hana
white moonlight
This is where this guide comes in. I will do my best to lay it out to you in an organized, and easy to follow manner.
- Language and Usage - roleplayers have varying degrees of vocabulary usage and their ability to use it within writing or roleplaying, and this can also shape and define their style. There is nothing wrong with using direct and clear wording to write your posts, as there is nothing wrong with being verbose, so long as you remain understandable. Brevity is good in some places, and elaboration can make a post beautiful in others...
- Grammar - grammar, and I will outright say it here, is a very important determinant on whether or not your post is or isn't understandable to others. You may deviate from proper grammar because of pure artistic and stylistic choice, and there is nothing wrong with doing such since it can lend unique personality to your writing, but make sure that when you do that your posts are still understandable or explainable to your partners or other players.
- Character Portrayal - characterization can be either direct or subtly done within your posts. Whether you are a player who enjoys writing your character's introspection and thoughts, going deep into their personalities and motives, or whether you prefer a 'show more than tell' approach to portraying them, nothing is write or wrong though it can also vary how other people see and enjoy your writing.
- Action vs description - it may be the case that you prefer to write out your scenes in thorough detail, but your partner may have a more direct approach to writing, preferring to write more action than going deep into writing about the scenery to establish a scene.
- There's a technique where you read the other player's entry once, then reimagine the scene as youyourself would have written it. This helps with trying to stay immersed within the roleplay. But of course this must be done privately, or inside your head, to avoid insulting the other player.
- If you are having trouble staying immersed inside the scene because of the writing, try out other ways to relax yourself. Listen to music that helps your creativity and stimulates your imagination. If you have a playlist that you use when writing, it would be very good to use it now.
- If you want to roleplay, sincerely, with this person, you must still respect and acknowledge their style. Even if it means the both of you should try to adjust your own writings so it flows better, you should both be willing to work together around the clashing writings.
- What I said above really also applies to roleplaying with other people in general. Remember, you are writing with a person or more. Not alone. This is a partner or group activity, and that means learning to work with them. You have to be conscious not only of your own writing style and how it flows, but also how your partner feels about your work. In a group roleplay, this is different since many different people can mean many different styles.
- You can contact the GM of a group roleplay if something is truly bothering your inconveniencing you in their roleplay. Remember that this is only a last resort, such as when another person is literally putting out grammatically incomprehensible posts, one liners, or writing scenes that are fluffed and you can't follow what is going on. A good GM can mediate for its players, or they can translate and clarify what is happening to you. And having the ultimate power in their game, they can set the mood and style that they want with their posts.
- Lastly, if you really can't roleplay with the style the other person is putting forth, you could avoid roleplaying together. If you do this, make sure that you still treat the person with respect despite your choice not to roleplay with them. Explain that you don't normally roleplay in the style they use, but don't imply that their writing is bad.