How to Roleplay: Step-by-step

**Josh** Sun Sep 04, 2011 1:05 pm

1. Create your character.
For different sites, the requirements will vary. However, there are some basic information on character creation:

- Make your character's bio detailed! If there is anything that can be elaborated on, do it!
- Make your character believable. Nobody likes a perfect character or a Mary Sue. Make your character realistic, and you will have so much more fun, however, give them unique quirks so that they are interesting.
- Almost all Character Sheets require a history. Here, you need to explain, explain, explain. Include everything you can think of, don't skip things to save time. Include descriptions of parents, places where character grew up, etc.

2. Start RPing!
If you are on a good RP site, there should be absolutely no text talking! Use full sentences and good punctuation and grammar. Use quotation marks when your character is talking. Otherwise many people get annoyed and you are made to look silly.

- Never post one-liners! This is usually just one sentence of what your character is doing. Posting dialogue is not an excuse for a one-liner. Do not make it a habit to where everyone else has the brunt of the roleplay. You are there too, so make the attempt to write longer posts.
- Use description! Don't just say "Jane walked into the room and sat down on a chair" Where is Jane? What does the room look like? How did she walk in? How did she sit down? How was she feeling? What was she thinking as she walked in? Where had she just been? You need to think of all these questions whenever you RP. Instead, you could say something like, "Jane briskly walked into the waiting room at the doctors office, wrinkling her nose at the sickeningly strong smell of antiseptic. She glanced at the medical posters on the walls, and the magazines by the hard backed chairs lining the walls. She went, and quickly sat down in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, folding her ankles properly." Now do you see what you're aiming for?