So you want to learn the basics, eh? Well, get ready, get set... get
your neon green, rubber, super-high tech scientist suit on!! Okay, maybe
not that... anyway, ignore me... wait, don't do that, I'm teaching you
here! Are you paying attention??
In short, the basics included everything that you need to know to have your
posts LOOKING good. This doesn't include the actual content of your RP,
but it does play a small part in the RP. It can make your posts a lot
nicer on the eyes of those reading it, therefore making them want to RP with you
a lot more then otherwise. Trust me here... I often decide not to RP on a
certain board simply because of the layout. No one wants to read a 10000
word paragraph, with no comma's and incorrect use of quotations, etc... So
as soon as you read this, it WOULD be a smart thing to adapt to the teachings of
your wise master... Yoda Cassandra... *bows* *ducks flying shoe from the
audience* *shakes fist at the audience* Curse you Nazis! *large
German man stands up* Erm... well, thats it for my summary... I've got
some... er... pressing engagements elsewhere!
Ta ta for now! *dashes out with huge mob following*
- Different Fonts/Colors
- Italics/Bold/Etc
- Writing Styles
- Paragraph Format - READ THIS!
- OOC/IC During Posts
Okay, so sometimes changing your font size, style, and color can be a
really cool thing to do. That is, if you have any sense of what is easy
to read and what isn't. I've seen people botch their entire RP by
picking a neon pink and the smallest font in the world... and there are other
people who prefer blinding the reader with white font, so large that only one
word fits per page. (really, I'm not joking...stop laughing! Oh,
you weren't? You don't think I'm humorous? *adds next page to RP
guide: Tips On Being Best RPer: Laugh At Admin's Jokes*)
I'm definitely not discouraging this idea, however. It adds a unique
sense to your character that some others may not have. However, don't
get too creative... it hurts the eyes. Take pity on us, please.
There are other ways to get creative, and to be remembered as a unique
character, as I'm sure you'll read in upcoming lessons.
One thing that can help seperate your characters thoughts, actions, and
speech is by changing whether it is italic, bold, or normal font. Below
is the general useage of the previously stated styles:
Italics: Used when your character is thinking. For example: That
german man was really mean to Cassandra, the cute guy thought. I better
go beat him up!
Bold: Some people like to use bold font for when there characters
are speaking. I personally use italics, but that's mainly because my
character is a goddess and I think the italic gives it a mysterious quality...
just like my character. But for mortals, bold or nothing at all is the
way to go.
Normal: Normal font should be used whenever your character is performing
any action, or whenever you are writing in the third person view.
There is a basic of three ways to write... 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd
person.
1st person- writers use this when they are telling a story from their own
perspective, and use words like 'I' and 'me'.
2nd person- writers use this when talking to a group of people or one
person. They use words like 'you' and 'your'
3rd person- writers use this when they write as though they were a
narrator. Words like 'I' are replaced by 'he' or 'she'.
So which one should you RP in? The answer is 99% of the time going to
be 3rd person (and no, I wouldn't bet on the exact percent, so sit down and
shut up). You want to write like this because it is a lot neater, and it
does not leave the reader confused. If you're in an RP with multiple
people and keep saying 'you this' and 'you that', no one is going to have a
clue what you are talking about. Using 1st person also gets annoying,
when you continuously see 'I see this' and 'I saw that'.
By using third person not only can you give the characters perspective, but
also the perspective of someone watching from above, like a movie. A
character might not notice every little detail, but in an RP it is important
to include these as they are the image that the reader gets. Details are
power, because you chose everything about the RP.
The only time you wouldn't use 3rd person is if your character is thinking.
Then you can use 1st person, as you are quoting your characters direct
thoughts.
I stated that this is definitely one of the things you'll want to read...
because it is. You have no idea how many people I see completely
botching (I love that word, can you tell?) they're perfectly acceptable RP's
because their formats are terrible. It really does hurt the eyes, in all
seriousness, and although there is no RIGHT way to do it, I can guarantee by
following my guidelines your RP's will look a LOT better. Well, on first
glance anyway... *smirks* (kidding)
1. HAVE PARAGRAPHS! Don't just blurb it on into one huge block of
writing. By including paragraphs it gives the reader time to breath, and
its a lot easier to keep a hold of their spot.
2. When starting a new paragraph, ALWAYS have a space in-between
them. This way there is a clear break, instead of the words being pushed
up against each other. Correct way:
Paragraph
Next paragraph
See the space? Wow, you're getting smarter already. Not that
it's saying much...
3. Whenever your character says something out loud, START A NEW
PARAGRAPH!!! This is correct, both in my eyes and the eyes of
literature's genius'. If you dare question my knowledge, I'll go make
you talk to Mr. Shakespeare. Thou understandist meith? And remember,
when starting a new paragraph, always include an extra space. This goes
for quotes too.
I see a lot of people putting out of character remarks in the middle of
their posts. They'll be in the middle of describing a forest, and
suddenly put parenthesis and break out into song about leaping lizards.
THIS IS BAD!! VERY VERY BAD!
Bad boys bad boys, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you
bad boys...
Now see, there's a perfect example. I started singing, and instead of
concentrating on the lesson, you started pondering my sanity. During an
RP you want people to stay on track with your post, not with what is happening
in the outside world.
The place to put out of character messages is either at the top or bottom
of each post, as it does not break the readers concentration. The main
goal of RPing is to draw the reader INTO the RP... not scare them out.
