Basic Braining: Roleplaying Handbook

[Lexxi]

Basic Braining: Roleplaying Handbook
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Well hello again!
If you’re reading this, you must be looking for ways to improve your own roleplaying skills to lengthen your posts and make them more interesting to read! Well I’m going to teach you a few tricks that will be both handy and relatively easy.
So read on and lets see some improvement!

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[Lexxi]

Basic Braining: Roleplaying Handbook
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Part One
Description

Ok, the easiest way to lengthen a post is with description. This can come in a variety of sources that can add a bit more depth to what you’re trying to say. Emotion, environment, and thought are just a few things that can be used to bring more life into a post.

The first source of descriptive text in a post would be emotion; a fairly easy thing to use that can be added to ANY situation. Everyone in every situation has emotion and by outlining it in a post, you can help readers connect more with a character. This can be anywhere from a simple statement, to an all out paragraph explaining just how that character feels. When typing an emotional description, it is best to put yourself in the character’s shoes. Make yourself feel how they would and say it out loud as if you were talking to someone else and trying to make them understand the situation. Remember that emotions are not limited to mental features. Expressions and physical actions can also display emotion very well.

Ex.
He looked at the body of his dear friend and felt instant remorse. His hands began to trembling as the wave of sadness crashed against him like the tides of a relentless sea and he could barely manage to wipe the tears that clouded his vision. Heartbroken and at a loss for what to do, he fell to his knees and sobbed uncontrollably.

See? Just by outlining a little more about the character, I added a lot more to the story I’m trying to play out.

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[Lexxi]

Basic Braining: Roleplaying Handbook
-----------------------------------------------------
Part One
Description

Another rather easy way to advance your roleplaying is environmental description. This basically ranges to the entire area around the character and can be anything from the material of the floor to the weather outside. All sense are fair game when using this type of description. Sound, taste, smell, touch, and sight can all add a little more reality to an otherwise fictional world.

Sound can sometimes be rather difficult to describe in an environment especially when the location happens to be indoors. The key to this type of description is to image yourself in that place and what might be going on. Footsteps, creaky floorboards, and even silence can give effect to any post.

Ex. The silence was deafening as they wandered down the hall toward the door. A sudden creak or clunk could easily send them all into a panic and have them running off like frightened rabbits.
Once you’ve got sound down, you can easily add any type of tone to your posts.

Taste is probably the least used of the senses when it comes to writing, but it can add a lot to a story. Taste can be powerful in many ways even if the character isn’t eating. Because scents are actually particles of things, they can cause people to get the sensation of tasting something in their mouth. It can be rather difficult to explain, but it can trigger thoughts from readers.

Ex. The smell of blood was fresh in the air; causing the main to taste the bitter sweet flavor of metal upon his tongue.

Smell is also rarely used, but very important to a good post. Because every place you go has a smell, it is relatively important to add it in somewhere. Smells can be strong and familiar or subtle and unwelcoming and can range from flowers upon a table to that of a chemical spill. Smells can give a better feeling of an environment and, if portrayed right, can even get the reader more involved.

Ex. Smoke. It was so strong in the air that the young fireman felt himself begin to choke and gag. Burnt wood and fabric caused his nostrils to flare in distaste and he sat up quickly; coughing into his hands.

When describing the feeling of things, the character does not have to be touching it. Things can look soft to someone. At the same time, adding in information about how things physically feel is equally valued in a post. Think about the little things. How does cold wood feel on bare feet? What does water feel like when you first step in? It is important to keep things realistic.

Ex. It was a wonderful sensation. The sand beneath his feet was warm and slippery from the salty tides and he felt it tingle on his skin. The breeze, welcomed upon his skin, was cool and lingering through his hair.

The last is probably the easiest of the senses to describe and the most powerful of all descriptions one can have. What one sees sets the scene and the scene is the one thing everything needs. When describing things through sight, it is important to be thorough without overdoing it. Little details can be important and help draw a reader into the world, but going on and on about something can do the complete opposite. It is important to describe major things while throwing in the details of lesser objects along the way. Material such as what a wall is made of can be a good start then throw in items around them. Plants and nature are often used and little things about how other people look are nice to hear when reading.

Ex. Despite the darkness, she could make out the outline of looming oaks, stripped of leaves from the winter winds, and see the rustling of overgrown shrubs that were no doubt browning from the frost. The snow under her feet was sleek and icy to crunch with each step she took and under the faint glow of the moon behind the dark clouds it seemed to shine like glass.

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[Lexxi]

Basic Braining: Roleplaying Handbook
-----------------------------------------------------
Part One
Description

Thought is a bit more complicated to write, but once mastered it can be very important (especially when using psychic characters)
What a person thinks of a situation does not always have to be described in emotion of even mental words. However, just like emotion, actions and expressions do tend to add a bit more effect to them. Even just saying that a person is thinking can take up a bit of space and make things a but nicer to read. Using thought as a transition into other statements is also a good strategy.

Ex. He sat across the table from his wife and listened as she spoke. His eyes fell shut and he nodded before the room slipped into silence and he allowed himself a moment to ponder. Finally he opened his eyes and stood; leaving without a word.

Thought can lead to some very unexpected things if used right.

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[Lexxi]

Basic Braining: Roleplaying Handbook
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Part Two
Word Choice

If there is one thing every roleplayer should know it’s that thesauruses are your friends! Word choice is vital to any good post and really give it a little meat and since most word processors have a thesaurus (look around, I’m sure you’ll find one) it’s easy to type in a word and find a better one to replace it. Of course, overusing larger words can make a post confusing so it’s wise to pick a few words and change them around. It is also a good idea to take small sentences and try to lengthen them.

Saying:
He was scared.

Doesn’t sound nearly as good as:
He was terrified, shaking even, and felt the fear bubble in his chest to overwhelm him.
Even if I had replaced scared with terrified, I would have gotten a much better outcome even though they mean the same thing.

It’s all about taking simple sentences and words and giving them a little spice and kick.

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[Lexxi]

Basic Braining: Roleplaying Handbook
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Part Three
Simple and Sweet

Now, not every trick has to be overly complex.
There are a few simple alternatives that can make any post a bit nicer to read.

First off, a common trick for roleplayers is to use Microsoft Word or some other word processor when typing posts. This ensures a number of things such as spelling mistakes and word count.

It is also a commonly used idea to set a goal for all your posts. For me, I try to make sure that every post I make is at least 5 lines in word with size 10 font. Setting a goal can help you in many ways and, as you improve, that goal can be raised higher and higher until your typing like a master. Goals can be number of words, lines, use of words, or anything you like as long as they challenge you and keep you going.

Next comes sentence and paragraph structure. Strange as it sounds, if you start a sentence or post with the same word constantly, you will cause people to lose interest. It is a good idea to make sure that two sentences next to each other do not start with the same world unless you are looking for the repetition effect. Also, starting every post with your character’s name isn’t a good idea. Normally, it’s best to start with some form of description and then throw their name in later. In fact, the further into a post you put a character’s name, the better (usually)
Dialogue can also be a hassle. A whole post of talking, though sometimes necessary, should not be done to often. Actions and other things should always be outlined. Try to separate bits of dialogue with one or two sentences of something else.

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