the complete guide to becoming a literate role-player!

[papayatoot]

Are you tired of being turned down from groups because you don't meet the literacy requirements? Want to improve your role-play skills? LOOK NO FURTHER!

 

LESSON ONE: THE BASICS
Most groups want posts to be at least three sentences long. A generic post normally follows this formula, or one similar:

-State what your character wants/is thinking about/feels
-State an action that your character makes
-State something your character observes about the weather/another character/themselves
-Respond to another character. Keep in mind that body language works just as well as actually saying something.
-Don't say something unnecessary. You don't have to say "The lion was very angry" If your character has already thrown a tantrum and broken 12 vases.
~You don't have to go in that order and you don't have to use just one of each or all of them in every post. a combination often works best.~

Commonly Made Mistakes:

-Mixing up "you're" and "your". "You're" Is actually just the words "you are" mushed together. "Your" shows possession. A test to make sure if you're correct is to replace the word with the words "you are" and see if the sentence still makes sense:
     ~ You lost your shoe! -> You lost you are shoe! --> didn't make sense, so use "your"
     ~ Your a freak! -> You are a freak! -> makes sense, so use "you're" or "you are"
- Mixing up to, two, and too: two=2 too=as well to=where something is going
- Mixing up there, they're, and there: there=a place. they're=they are. Their=shows possession.

Tips:

-if you don't know how to spell a word, avoid using it. Instead of trying for "strenuous", try a synonym like "difficult" or "tiring".
-Avoid sentence fragments. All sentences need a subject and an action for that subject (a predicate). "Trying to find her way" Is not a full sentence because it does not state WHO is trying to find their way.
-Avoid run-on sentences. These are the opposite of fragments. They are the long sentences that use words like "and"(conjunctions) a lot. "She ran down the hill and tripped on a rock and scraped open her nose, she yowled in pain and tried to get up again" Is just too much and should be revised into: "She ran down the hill and tripped on a rock. She scraped open her nose and yowled in pain before trying to get up again."
-It's better to keep your sentences short, sweet, and correct than to try and make a complex work of literature and fail miserably.
-End your post with a punctuation mark. just do it. It looks better.
-Avoid repetition. This can be harder if your vocabulary isn't that large, but we can fix that up in lesson two.

Good Example:
     Karlie walked outside of the den and smelled the sweet spring air. She jumped up onto a rock and saw a packmate passing by. "Hello," She said politely, wondering if the other wolf would want to go on a hunt with her.

Bad Examples:
      The she-wolf leapt down from the tree and ran over to her packmate "Hello!" She said politely, smiling politely as she looked at the other wolf. She was panting because of the vigiruos exersise and wanted to make a friend.
(this post is bad because it has extreme spelling errors and has a run-on sentence. It also has a repeated word, which makes the post seem bland.)

      The dragon roared a mighty roar and tried to attack the intruder but the intruder dodged him. The dragon was angry. Looking for a place to attack. His green scales shined a green light and he tried to scare away the enemy.
(this post is bad because it has a sentence fragment and more repetition.)

LESSON TWO: ADDING FLAVOR TO YOUR POSTS

The basic post is the pita bread of the role-play burrito. The crust of a pizza. It suffices and isn't awful, but it's really just a vessel for more complex posts. Once you've mastered a basic role-play post, you're ready to spice it up a bit.

No More Repetition
Here's a list of synonyms for common words. The synonyms you should use depend on your character's mannerisms and emotions.

SAID
-muttered
-snarled
-grumbled
-barked
-meowed/mewed
-yipped
-squealed
-remarked
-commented
-explained
-asked/inquired
-bellowed

JUMPED
-leapt
-sprung
-hopped

WALKED
-sauntered
-strolled
-padded
-trotted
-pranced

RAN
-took off
-bolted
-sprinted

Use Metaphors

Metaphors (and similes) can make your posts exponentially more beautiful. Here's some examples of what I mean.

His eyes were bright blue=His eyes shone like the sky in summer
Her claws were very sharp= Her claws were like daggers
The cat looked like he was evil= The cat's eyes held an eager malevolence


Let Your Character's Thoughts be Known.

She laid down with a troubled look on her face=She laid down. "What have I done?" She asked herself.
(try not to use too much internal dialogue, though. We'll learn more about this later.)

Expand, Expand, Expand your Vocab!

this comes naturally with time, but you can speed up the process if you like. Look up synonyms for words you find yourself using a lot in role-play and you'll come to find words like "extrapolate", "astute", "insidious" and more!
Here's some links to some vocab words. They're just some of the words my english 101 teacher has me memorize; they're pulled from essays that have gotten 100s on state-distributed exams.
https://quizlet.com/97487530/vocab-words-for-stellar-essays-flash-cards/
https://quizlet.com/114135856/vocab-words-for-stellar-essays-pt2-flash-cards/

LESSON THREE: BECOMING A TRUE BLACK BELT ROLE-PLAYER

There are a few qualities to have as a role-player that are extremely important and not as known as the above tips. Here are a few:

It's a Post, Not a Novel
So, you've got good vocab, sentence structure, and a purpose for your writing. The true art of roleplaying is to take all of these elements and create a post that doesn't stretch for miles and miles down your chatterbox, forcing other players to wait forever just for your post to be over. Condensing several actions and/or a complex internal dialogue can be quite difficult, but not impossible. Here are a few ways to condense your posts, for everyone's sake:

1. Internal dialogue is hardly ever necessary, and can be conveyed through actions.
--Moonbeam laid down by the river. "who have I become?" she thought, sadness filling her soul. "Why am I even here?" She rolled over onto her side and curled up against the cold wind, wondering if she was good enough to be a hunter for her pack.
----Moonbeam laid by the river, sighing with discontent as she peered into the water and let insecurities consume her. She curled up against the icy breeze, wondering if she was good enough to be a hunter.

Here, not only did I condense the post by using vaguer generalizations, but I also threw in some more flavorful words.

2. Avoid superficially describing your character. (or any character, for that matter) Everyone can see you anyways.
--Delilah sat as the sun shone on her silky black fur, her icy blue eyes scanning the terrain for intruders.
(unless, of course, you're being a literary genius by using character traits as symbols or for foreshadowing. Then, you should definitely accentuate that detail. )

Typing Speed
This is just something that improves with time. It's less of a requirement and move of a reward for being such a good role-player! :D  Try to know what you're going to post before you need to post it, and your fingers will naturally move faster. If your sentences sound contrived or you're unsure of the spelling, don't dwell on it. It's better to just crank that post out and keep the role-play moving than to look up how to spell "metamorphosis".

[Preach]

How useful! I remember when Thrillex made a word guide for the roleplaying users; she sure love to roleplay. It's nice to see people sharing their skills. Thanks for sharing. +floof

[Enoki]

Oh, what a helpful thread we 'ave here! I am sure this will help many a'floof learn how to roleplay in literate form. I may actually give this link out to floofs if they be wishing to learn more on literacy. Well done, deary! +floof

[Edolicious]

Thanks for the lil' tutorial, floof! I'll definitely refer people to this. It's very descriptive, and helpful for working your way from beginner RPer to novel-style script. -nuzzles-

[sallymay6]

Ah, this is so helpful! Some of my posts nowadays tend to be repetative and bland. Thank you!

[papayatoot]

just updated this, added a lesson three!

[Hooli]

Ooo, this is super helpful! I'm sure a bunch of people will definitely appreciate you for making this. +Floof <:

[Tessel.]

Thank you for making this! I often have trouble thinking of synonyms, so I will definitely come back to this post for that reason or if I need any other tips!