Welcome to Gaia! ::

Want to improve your role-play skills? Aren't sure of your style or wording? Get out the old Thesaurus and come on in!

Beginner's tips:

1. Post in proper tense.
a. For in the moment posts, use present tense:

*She enters the room with casual grace, moving to a near setee and perching on its edge. As she looks around, she notices the fireplace, the bar, the plush furnishings and tapestries.

Smiling to herself, she settles back, folding her hands in her lap to observe the other guests.*

b. For something noticed after the fact, use past tense:

He was there only moments ago and left a red rose on her pillow. She had smiled to herself, reached for it with two fingers, sniffed its delicate fragrance, and carried it with her to the kitchen where she had made a cup of tea.

(responding to something someone had done)

She moved into the common room and settled in her usual place, looked out the window and remembered easier times. Times when he could stay longer, hold her hand, whisper into her ear. With some remote sadness and nostalgic sweetness, tears streaked her face and she wiped them away slowly.

(Moving to the present)

These things depend on circumstances and may involve reactions to more than one past happening, but the final portion post is usually best done in present tense, as you are, at that moment, acting, speaking, remembering.)

c. Use complete sentences for the most part. Be clear. Use a diversity of words. Avoid repition of common words such as "slightly, easily, moved, said" in the same post.

Feel free to ask questions and post samples for critique.

Ah, you made it, gemangel. For your first assignment, let me see how you do or would begin to role-play. Come up to the Inn, open the door, look around, come in and sit near the window.

Then, I will make corrections for you, explain what I mean, and we will begin a little story line of our own. And feel free to ask questions!

I will ask you a few things as well. When you role-play, do you feel what you are doing or are you detached? Are your characters, or characters you plan, some fragment of yourself?

3nodding Alot of RP is additude. Also remembering tense is somewhat important. Personally I find that if someone has the right additude and maturity in their story(RP) then there is alot that can be over looked. Personally the way that I learned to RP was by standing back for like two years and watching others interact (RP), asking questions in private. Then again I am a bit funny and can sometimes learn better by watching than by doing. Also there is one prerequsite that is essential to any Storyteller (RPer). A good imagination is the single most important aspect of roleplaying. The second most important part is flexibility but not being too flexible. One must allow for RP to evole as it will and accept others. But one must not tolerate twinks or others to simply run rampant. Once one becomes somewhat experienced do what Mahayr and I are doing. Take one or two of those that are new to RP under your wing. Teach them how not to call hits and basically be more normal characters. Also one thing that will seperate you depending on if you have a good strong RP or one that is weak is how much your character actually IS you! How well do you identify with your characters? Are they merely shadows and imagination or do they contian some truth.

I am certainly not suggesting anyone change style. However, I do advocate correctness, depending on circumstances, the way anything should be written correctly.

When you write a short story, you do not interchange tense without it being clear and reasonable. RP is no different. Styles may vary, but proper spelling, grammer according to venue, time periods, education, etc., use of tense and person do not.

Everything depends to some degree, but everything also has a reason, an explanation, and value. To RP in a manner that is easily misunderstood or not appreciated by your fellows would be avoided or taken to a more appreciative setting.

Some things are just down right annoying, and if you make some attempt to follow standards that are clear and discernable, it makes it easier for everyone concerned.

RP is near and dear to my heart, and I like to see it done well, even though I agree that experience is not everything. Mood, state of mind, intention, sincerity and honesty are high on my list, and I have always been dedicated to education, on all levels.

It has been very rewarding in other wheres, and I hope I will be able to say the same for here. We have put a great deal of time and thought and spent the last many years developing DragonHeart. We bring it here for you. And ourselves.

And of course, we do not expect it to be exclusive - other RP threads are always welcome. We try to make another beginning, set a stage, open a warm hearth. Home.

Yup! I think that most of those who are under Mahayr for a while realize this fact. It is usually easier if they are "shards" of yourself. At least I like to thin of my characters as shards of myself. There is the vengeful persona. There is the quiet submissive one, the agressive dominating one... The lazy one, and of course a feminine one. She is rather odd as she is also my agressive one. Odd... I suppose that shard is a Femme Fatal.

I think I have been misunderstood. I believe that STYLE is paramount, and everything important.

My point is that there are good ways to RP and poor ways. For example, I am not one for constant one-liners. I like to be able to picture what is being done, the appearance of the character, the way they move, where they are and going, what they are doing and sometimes feeling.

Facial expressions, hand movements and other body language is important to me. I like to have it described as if you could be seen, the same , and I reiterate, as reading a story in a book. Not having to guess surroundings, descriptions, and the like.

We can have some actual RP examples in here if you like, and I am NOT attacking style. I have my own as well, and yes, Vagabond, I am interested. I think the best role-players feel the same way. All of my characters are pieces of me, and shards is my word, Leonis you rat!

I see mispellings, some gramatical errors, and punctuation errors or absences as trivial. I do not see as trivial correct use of person and tense. You do not want to, in the same post, refer to yourself in the first and third person. You do not want to mix past and present tense except when you are describing something that leads up to what you are, in the last portion of a post, the present, or are reflecting on the past.

You can, of course, RP as you wish. But as most of you know, we all have our opinions of who role-plays well and who does not. Its writing, pure and simple. There are good writers and not so good writers. We enjoy what we prefer. To each his own.

When you see Sqarr RP, for example, you will be seeing one of the best, and Vagabond I know has a great reputation and I am anxious to see HIS style and method.

Mine has already been seem to some degree, but I have certainly kept it simple so far. This will change, I do hope.

And yes, it is the story that is important, but wouldn't we rather they be well-written, well-espressed, with effort made to keep them interesting, compelling, and dynamic?

She walks into the empty room. A faint smile tilting the right corner of her mouth as she whispers:
I suppose it would help if I could be here when there are others to actively converse with.
She places her hands behind her back, right hand over left, dipping her chin towards her chest and leaves the room quietly.