On Forum Roleplay, In-Character posts are the backbone of the site and tell you everything from the mood, the stage, the time of day and more. There is a lot to consider, and getting down all the right details - without going overboard - can be tough. As a writer one of my goals is to improve my writing style constantly and RP is a great way for me to keep my skills sharp.

When I first started Forum RP, I was used to thread RPs (Entire RPs condensed in a single OOC and a single IC thread- talk about confusing!).

So my actual RP posts were very concise and to the point. And while there isn’t anything wrong with that- it was brought to my attention that it made it harder on my thread partner.

Post length isn't what matters, but rather, it's the quality of the post, and the information provided. There is a happy medium- but a sentence or two does not make a great post. There is always something that can be expanded on, and it's up to the writers to determine what needs detail and what doesn't. One of my many rules of RP is:

“More detail is always good as long as it is being used properly.”

So how did I make it easier on my thread partner? I worked on expanding my posts by including more details. This helped both our muses, and made it easier to write a more immersive story together.

Throughout this guide I will also have the lovely Carma provide commentary on the examples I provide about what the differences mean to them as a player if they received this post.

Also, feel free to post your own tips and tricks to posting - we always welcome more information! And most of all- Please enjoy!



“So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose.”
~N.H. Kleinbaum, Dead Poets Society

Adjectives are the foundation of details. Use them.

If you are repeating one- use a thesaurus. Most computers and broswers now-a-days will have one if you highlight a word and rightclick it. If not here is a site I often use: www.thesaurus.com/ . It should be noted, though, that a thesaurus is not always necessary - you don't need to go overboard in looking for alternatives, reusing the same adjective isn't a bad thing!

Adjectives don’t work alone- there are other ways to use the English language (and any language) to add dimension to a piece of writing. These words can add more detail to a scene- think of your post as the lineart of a drawing, and these words are the colors that will soon be used to accent the artwork and bring it to life. With the proper usage- certain words will give that extra dimension to your post easily.

So let’s take a look at a short post example:



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In this version, we have more detail just from the descriptions we used. Sunlight is filtering in through a now-open window. The warm weather is now indicated by a warm breeze and the book Spencer is reading is worn-out indicating its age or how much its been used, he is now not just looking for answers- but desperate for them. Which makes it all the more sad when we see he isn’t finding them and the effect it has on him.

And all we did was just go into more detail and used different words to describe the state of things.

Carma Commentary: With the second one, I’m getting a lot more visual detail which really helps set up a scene. I know what’s happening, I can see where he is, and I in turn can comment on that same landscape in my own post.

So where do we use these words to expand? The best two places are in terms of the surroundings and your own character.



Writing threads and rp posts requires the setting of a scene as well as expansion. Usually the set-up is done by the person who starts the thread; and the expansion is done throughout the thread as users interact more with their surroundings.

It can be easy to forget the stage when you are focusing on dialogue and actions in scenes. But each detail is potentially something to play off of, and to enrich the story for both the reader and the writer. How a character interacts with scenic elements can also clue in a lot to their character. This includes both the atmosphere, environment, and elements that make up the environment such as books.

Threads can be similar to the stage in that respect. Where the surroundings is the set, and the elements making it up are the props that your characters interact with. If your character was doing something before someone came in – did they stop what they were doing? What did they do with it? How do they feel with the air? How does their surroundings make them feel?

All of these can be used to further expand the post and the depth of the thread.
So example time:



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So here we get a bit more, while small details- they show things that Jesse noticed. It also gives information to your thread partner. They now know how much the stone skipped, what time it is, etc. These all can be incorporated into their own posts and create a more cohesive thread.

Carma Commentary: With the inclusion of what time of day it is and the shifting colours of the sky, we have details that I can then incorporate into my own post. Add to that the "tonelessness" of the character and I now have a mood to react to.

This also helps because you can get responses/give responses immediately instead of waiting to contact your partner over these small details. By incorporating them from the beginning you help set the stage and develop the stage.

When you receive a post with a lot of detail, incorporate them in! Don’t be shy to use things that are atmospheric in nature to enrich your own post, and don’t be afraid to expand and add your own!



This is a big one! After all, our characters are why we are here. We post and explore the world we created with them and it is through their eyes we interact with everything we’ve made on the site. How they react, their mannerisms, everything is super important and you’ll find by writing it out, you will be able to help set a clear mood and persona for your character.

A lot of times we already know how they would react, how they would look. As we write we picture these things- but your thread partner can’t. So write it out!


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With the latter post, Raine comes across a bit more real. His nervousness isn’t just stated, it is in every fiber of his being before he gives in to his friend’s request. We find out more about what he is feeling behind his actions and speech. By expanding your character’s actions. How their eyes look, their brow, their lips, their body language. All of this in turns helps your thread partner to understand and have their character pick up on the little details.

If they are friends Addison would notice Raine’s nervous habits- such as placing his hands in his pockets or his hesitation as he speaks in English. By defining them out, the thread partner can pinpoint these and use them back in their post.

Carma Commentary: Carma Commentary: Being able to see what he's thinking and feeling lets me get an idea of the character's physicality, his tone of voice, and overall helps me understand why he is acting the way he is.

Also: try adding verbal tics to your dialogue. If your character stum....er, sorry, if your chracter, like kinda stumbles over words and...I dunno is like awkward, show it! If they're....more refined, eloquent, use more verbose word choices.



As most RPers know, some sites have word counts- and some don't. Word counts can be muse killers or stressful. Everyone has a different writing style and that shouldn’t be punished!

But, details still matter. Regardless of length, a post without details can be confusing and hard to visualize, and you end up asking your partner OOC what these details are.
We are all writing a story together, so when we don’t expand on things, it ends up hurting us all in the long run.

Does that mean you need to have 1500 word posts? No.

Sometimes in action scenes there are less time for wordy scenes and shorter ones are better. But in the end, we only get one chance to set the scene, to show how our character acts and interacts with the scene. So we need to make sure we take advantage of it and use it wisely.

You’ll find that by adding small details that might be insignificant to you- it can mean the world to a threading partner. You’ll get more back from them- and when in doubt- ASK!

Often times a partner can easily pinpoint where they need more detail or if they need some at all.



So, we’ve gone over detail, but sometimes too much detail can be just as bad as not enough.

Adding detail for the sake of detail isn’t any good! It can be just as hard to respond to a needlessly ornate post as it is to respond to a stark post.

Here are some examples from Yahoo! Answer user Bob Dole:


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2)
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3)

The first one is a tad too short. While it gets the point across, the second example does the same thing with more detail that clues us in on the character and their surroundings.

The third one is superfluous and too detailed and needlessly so. Here the author expands on things not needed at all. And while some of the details like the fact he is reading the news on a computer rather than a paper- can be important; the fact is in the 3rd example everything is overwhelmed by too much detail with no meaning.

Carma Commentary: With the second one, I know the coffee is bitter, and maybe that "he" is having a sour morning. If I received that, I could use it in a post. Getting that third one though, I don't care that the handle of the cup is sturdy or the letters are serif. It's just detail overload.

When describing something like an object, or a person, try to keep the level of detail to one or two degrees. So, "he picked up a cup of coffee" becomes "he picked up a cup of black coffee, hot to the touch" - but there's no need to get more detailed than that. Unless of course your character is over-anlytical and are overtly descriptive!




Overall, detail is what can make or break a post. While we don’t focus on word counts here, detail will always be something super important.

By remembering to write out the details in terms of surroundings, history, characters, etc- we make things easier for our partners and ourselves as we write and create the cohesive story that is our RP.