Post by Remus Lupin on Aug 9, 2009 16:47:31 GMT -5
roleplaying
if you're reading this, then you are probably a roleplayer or someone who is thinking about roleplaying. if not, then you might as well stop reading now because this will be a waste of your time. however, if you plan on being a part of a toybird production, you must read this as it is part of the acceptance process. this is more or less a tutorial to being a better roleplayer. going into this, we assume that you at least have the basics down but if you are a complete beginner or if you have been directed to this tutor session, this one is for you.
posting etiquette ,
first things first is general posting etiquette. i think promptness and communication are the two major things that are crucial to a successful thread. before you begin a thread, posting in the plotting pages, contacting the role player you plan to thread with, starting an instant messenger thread, or all of the above is a great place to start. sometimes setting the mood for a thread or just chatting with the person you are playing with makes for a more successful thread. if you are starting an open thread, catching attention of the other players is easier if you post in plot pages all around. contacting people on your plot page, no matter how vague the relationship of the characters is, is a great way to catch attention because if they cared enough to post in your plot, they'll probably be willing to start a thread of some sort with you. promptness is basically how soon you reply and the quality in which you should post. in my opinion, i would much rather it take a little while longer for someone to post and have the quality upped than to have someone just post the bare minimum to post and make me happy. i don't think that is progress and it's really a waste of time. if you can't possibly put more into it, then post but try to do better the next time it is your turn. the first word is shenae. otherwise, you fall into a pattern that is hard to get out of. also, if you are going to be very late with posting or won't be around for a few days, please have the courtesy to let the person you are playing with know. it's just polite. also, be frank. if you feel as if the thread should end, tell the other player politely but make invitation to do a follow-up thread of some sort so it is in their hands and they don't think it is a personal issue. also, if their is an issue such as god-modding or someone falling out of person, drop them a message privately and try to politely rectify the problem. don't call them out in the c-box or on a thread because that is rude and potentially embarrassing. we do not want to lose members because they feel unworthy. this is about progress and becoming a better writer. not a popularity contest or about bullying someone about their weaknesses. however, if the person you speak to is rude about the suggestions and is making you feel unwelcome, that is a problem that should be turned over to a staff member. members, please remember to respect fellow members. this is all in good fun and we should just get along. we don't cause drama nor do we put up with it. the final factor in general posting etiquette that i am going to cover here is equal posting. now, you don't always have to even up the playing field in post length but it the person that you are playing with just choked out ten paragraphs, at least try to up your length. maybe post five or more instead of your normal three so you are pulling some weight. not everyone can post ten paragraphs but you can attempt to go beyond your typical.
posting rules and expectations ,
post expectations vary from site to site but for most moderate to advanced sites, a good three paragraphs or more is expected; two very descriptive ones at least most of the time. those rules ring true here as well. two to three quality paragraphs are the minimum expected and if we find you aren't up to par with posting and are just being lazy about it, we will reprimand you. the second word is grimes. most people can produce at least three if not more per post. otherwise, maybe this site isn't for you. the main problem we run into on boards is people who can't seem to post in third person which is expected for pretty much every board out there. we're not pointing fingers now but if there is a pattern, we'll probably privately drop you a line telling you about it. we're not trying to pick on anyone. we just want this to be fun for everyone and i know personally that when someone posts in second person, the format that most people seem to fall into if they have difficulties with third person, it drives me absolutely insane. so please, don't take offense. we're only trying to help. if you don't understand what the difference is, please refer to the examples below. ps. you'll need to read them anyway for the passwords. mwhahahahahaha.
example one: this is an advanced, correctly written sample. it is in third person or "past tense" and this format is what is expected of out members. not necessarily the length, but the grammar and the third person tense .
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every nerve in jamie's body had come alive when she had realized that she was pregnant. she was stunned that it had taken her so long to even consider pregnancy a possibility. nothing more, nothing less. just a simple meeting between friends. nothing to be nervous about, right? wringing her hands, she gazed into her now full closet. what to wear? god, it was hard. what did you wear to tell your roommate slash fuck buddy that you were knocked up with his kid. the butterflies in her stomach were slightly off rhythm and were clouding her judgment. how did you determine what to wear on things like this? she wanted to look really hot but not expectant. it reminded her of reese witherspoon's character in legally blonde. i want to look special....bridal. but no like i am expecting anything. jamie frowned at the thought. at least elle woods had thought that she knew what she was getting herself into. jamie didn't have the slightest clue. jamie knew that she didn't have the right to expect anything. it wasn't like she was committed. she couldn't even complain if he ran. glancing at the clock on the wall, she saw that she had time to take a shower and try to clear her head.
removing her clothes along the way, jamie walked into her personal bathroom that adjoined her bedroom. she had to admit, that was one of the perks of the her large home. she had grown up wealthy and the wealth she had retained showed through her house. clicking on the surround sound, 'fall for you' by secondhand serenade flooded the room on repeat. singing alone, jamie turned on the water on the several heads in her "party sized" shower as she called it. some of her worries seemed to dissolve under the massaging spray. jamie knew that it really was a false sense of comfort but she was taking whatever she could get. over the past few weeks, she had cursed herself over and over. how could her birth control pill have failed? how was she in that three percent ratio? she was sure that it was the age old question of why me but she couldn't get it out of her head. and for almost four months? jamie really felt like an idiot. the doctor had said today that she wasn't showing as much as women typically did at three and a half months pregnant but he said that it was possibly just a lack of vitamins and ignorance to the pregnancy.
stepping under the hot spray of the water again, jamie felt some of the tension in her body disapparate once more. seeing her favorite biolage shampoo restocked, she silently thanked god. she had just returned from a few days in new york meeting with executives about her line and she hadn't unpacked her toiletries yet. the only other option was the pack of hotel shampoo that she acquired on her travels. jamie took her time, carefully lathering her hair and enjoying the relaxing shower. after using her favorite coconut body wash, she stepped outside of the shower and toweled off. standing in a bra and pair of boy shorts, she studied her reflection in the mirror. never had she really felt insecure about the way she felt. even now, she was rather confident about how she looked. well, if you counted out the slightly prominent curve of her belly that she had never really payed much attention to until around three weeks prior to this date. sadly, that was where the confidence ended. quickly, she threw some mousse in her naturally wavy hair and trudged out to her closet.
it was time to face the inevitable. what to wear. jamie kept it pretty simple, choosing a clingy white dress that flared at her hips and contrasted against her light, golden tan and dark, chocolate hair. jamie completely ignored shoes seeing as she only had to walk through her backyard to the spot on the beach where she was meeting cam. re-entering the bathroom, she blow dried and scrunched her hair, accenting her waves before beginning to apply her makeup. she kept with the basics. neutral eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lots of mascara. jamie hated to clog up her face with lots of foundations so she decided to for go those today. finishing off with a sheer nude pink colored gloss that made her lips pop, she deemed herself ready to go after a spritz of chanel perfume.
walking around the pool and out the gate in the back, jamie's hand wandered to her stomach. the stretchy material of her dress made her newly pregnant belly stand out against the rest of her relatively slender body. her breasts had also swelled a bit but that wasn't exactly a bad thing. to the ignorant eye, she supposed that she didn't really look too pregnant but her current attire sort of accented the fact. ever since she had suspected a pregnancy, jamie had been sort of avoiding much contact with cam. in the beginning, she hadn't been doing it deliberately but in the past seven days or so when her stomach had become rather apparent in some clothing, she had been standing behind counters and avoiding him purposely. sex especially. cam wasn't an idiot most of the time. even in the dark, jamie was pretty sure that anyone with hands and eyes could tell that sans clothes, there was definitely something off.
finally after a less than leisurely walk to the beach behind her house, jamie made it to the beach. walking into the small, hut like beach house that held the surfboards, a small kitchen, a bedroom, and other necessities , jamie retrieved a blanket and a couple bottles of water and wandered back to the beach. after she spread the blanket out, her nerves gave in and she sunk to the soft ground on the soft fabric. her breathing was becoming even more labored and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. all of the feelings she had been holding in quite well in the past weeks were reeking havoc on her. suddenly, the light sea breeze was freezing cold to her and she could barely control her soft sobs. instinctively, she wrapped her arms around her swollen belly and raised her knees to rest her head as the sun sunk into the blue-green sea.
the fact that cam hadn't come home the night before had really been getting to her. he had said that he had gotten drunk and was at tristin's. jamie wanted to believe him with all of her heart but she couldn't help but wonder if he was just trying to protect her since he knew something was up. she hadn't exactly been subtle about the fact that something was wrong. well, not exactly wrong but not really right either. of course, jamie knew that she really had no right to wonder what cam had been up to. they were roommates and best friends who just happened to sleep together ... a lot. jamie shook her head again. she just couldn't believe it. children were something that she had always wanted but this wasn't exactly the ideal situation. she was knocked up and possibly very alone. she and cam weren't even dating. how could she really ask him for more? jamie didn't want them to be together out of obligation. it wasn't fair to cam. she was perfectly content with spending her life with him but she didn't feel like she had the right to ask the same from him. for all she knew, he was with a different girl every night he didn't come home. it wasn't her place to care or ask. jamie knew she shouldn't have even cared. wasn't that part of the friends with benefits deal? just having fun without the strings of a relationship or commitment. a new bout of sobs broke in jamie's chest. strings were the thing she wanted most.
jamie had been completely monogamous throughout their entire situation because a part of her had always hoped that maybe one day, their arrangement would just morph into a relationship by itself. the truth was, ever since she had gotten to play nurse to cam after his accident, she had been falling in irrevocably in love with him. a part of her was happy to have this baby as a link to him but another part of her had to look at what happened to her friends. kylie and caleb were happy with their kids but both of them were alone. kylie had raised colton with tristin being a phone dad and caleb had been alone with shailee since she was a week old and hadn't seen layla in over a year. they were okay. jamie wasn't sure she would be if she had to do this alone. she wasn't even sure how she would handle even just having a kid with cam and nothing else. there was no way the feeling were requited and she vehemently refused a relationship of convenience. she couldn't trap him like that. it wasn't fair for either of them to be in a one-sided relationship. the third word is is a jamie supposed this was as good a time as any to admit her real feelings but a part of her was scared he'd just go along with it. the emotions were too much at once and were overwhelming her. her pregnant hormones only intensified the feelings on every nerve ending as tear after tear ran down her face and she shivered. silently, she prayed to god that everything would be okay.
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example two: this is an example of what most people do wrong. it's brief and more random examples than a post but you'll get it. you'll notice that people speak as if it is happening right then. have you ever seen a novel written like this? rarely. so therefore, we don't approve either.
the difference between second and third tense is this:
second:
jack feels her pulse. her heart beats rapidly under his warm touch. his heart does the same.
instead, it should be written like this.
third:
jack felt her pulse. her heart was beating rapidly under his warm touch. his heart did the same.
the corrections are bolded. first person is not commonly used but it is also not accepted in a roleplay format on most boards. it leads to lots of god modding which is a problem. the final phrase is ho fo sho. this concludes the tutorial. if you have any questions, feel free to contact a staff member and we will be happy to help. keep this in mind as you post as we will be watching and helping along the way. happy posting!
toybird productions ,
this tutorial was written by allycubed. ask for permission before reposting
