Helpful Tips
Glad to see that you’re interested in this guide. Welcome to the first portion. It is completely optional to stick around here, but just know that there are a few helpful tips below that should be useful in the process of creating your group.
The KISS Principle
Yes. It is an actual thing, created by the US Navy as a design principle. "Keep it simple, stupid" generally means that a system would work more efficiently if things were kept simple. Complexity of both the plot and general information might be one possible factor as to why no one would want to join your group. In order to avoid the tl;dr complaint, summarize the premise in about two sentences and give a general synopsis about everything else. Not everyone would like to read a large wall of text that they would need to familiarize themselves with. Keep simplicity in mind when providing the information you want your members to know and understand. It is less work for you, and less work for them. If your members want more information, give them the option to ask you for it. That is another reason as to why you are the host.
Original vs Unique
What’s the difference between being original and being unique? When creating your group, you need to be able to differentiate the two terms. Take a look around- what do you notice in groups? The species and colors, for one. Most groups may look similar to one another as if they were original copies. Is this a bad thing? Not at all. Taking a deeper look into the groups, you will notice the ranks and tags are different from other rank structures. You might notice that the traditions and events their members participate in will vary between groups. You notice so many things that make that particular group stand out from the rest despite the fact they appear similar on the outside.
Forum roleplays are somewhat similar. For example, apocalyptic roleplays are original copies from one another, but the way the story plays out and how the disease spreads in one thread makes it unique from the rest. So, to put things in more simpler terms, you want to your roleplay to be unique, not original.
Scheduling
This is an effective method to keeping any roleplay alive. Create a schedule for your group that will notify your members when this or that is happening and when to hop online. It’s almost like a plan in some way, where you can also assign recruiting sessions to what days and when a certain plot is to progress into the next stage. Which, yes. Scheduling comes in handy when pacing the story or plot for group.
When it comes to forum roleplaying, the same thing applies. You have a bit more control in this case, however. Forum roleplays generally need to be a bit more active in terms of posting, mostly because that is the only interaction there is in that particular thread. You, as the roleplay creator and host, will need to decide when to progress the plot. You don’t need to wait months for everyone to post their part. If things are dragging on, you can tighten the schedule and disregard those who haven’t yet posted. They’re most likely busy with other things and should understand if you progress the roleplay without them after a given amount of time.
Pacing
Whether it’s the construction of your group or the plot itself, pacing is an important factor that may save you some trouble. Do not work on everything in the span of one day. Space them out and work on one thing at a time. As for your plots, do not have everything happen all at once. Things need to be taken at their own pace so that each and every member has a chance to participate and progress along with it- unless it is a forum roleplay in which the story constantly needs updating. Be sure to interact with your members as well, and listen to their suggestions or advice for scheduling and pacing the roleplay and group contents.
If you have any questions or would like to add something to this portion, do not hesitate to post them below.
