How do You Post?

[Aleister Black]

I just spent about 4 hours constructing a single RP post. Does everyone take as long as I do or am I just weird?



Other than that, I'm interested in how you post. How much time do you typically spend on a post, are there any special things you do, that sort of thing. How far do you think ahead?


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Myself, I usually take quite a while to create a post I'm really happy with. Typically I re-write a post at least twice before submitting it. And that's sometimes after one or more days of occasionally thinking about it and trying out different scenarios in my head.

I always use a lot of colour in my posts. I always have different colours for different characters, and for thoughts and dialogue. I think I took this over from Contra Fates at some point and then I kind of went overboard with it.


I sometimes think quite far ahead, fully aware that the things I think of may never actually happen due to other people's actions or because the RP dies. Half the fun in an RP, to me, is trying to anticipate the other players. (the other half is finding out their posts are nothing like you anticipated!)


I can be a sucker for detail. That's one of the reasons I take so long to post; everything has to fit. I usually have three internet pages up just to read back and see exactly what people said and did.


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So how about you?

[Ryvius]

Like you, I ideally spend a lot of time on my posts. I am ashamed to admit that sometimes I run out of time and just pump something out. (See: my entry to your latest contest.) but I like to spend hours on a post. I rewrite it, add things, take things out. Sometimes I get out of my seat and pace around for a bit until things fall into place in my head. I'm even known to take my lunch in the middle of writing a post.

I also use colors for different characters. I originally started doing it to simplify things for other players, but I suspect I just make my posts look messy and do the opposite...but whatevah. Planning things ahead of time? Oh man, you don't even know. If I ever have the time, I might write a mono for New Age just so I can use some of the things I planned for Thulani and Risa.

[Doaj]

I suppose it depends on how well I know the material, and what the subject matter is in the first place. If it's an original RP, and I don't need to know other characters, locations, etc. then I'll just write it out, double check it for spelling/grammar, and send it off. If I'm interacting with others then I need to make sure I know facts: What color is their hair, their eyes. It's always good to check in on what a person is wearing. Locations and descriptions of, all sorts of things that require a second tab for clarification. With my Pokemon Epilogues story, I have to have a second word document open that has more than 100 character bios that I wrote out myself, so that I can check who's who and what they're doing and where they're going and when they die, and how. I also need the internet open so that I can check in on facts with bulbapedia, and I usually have my FireRed/LeafGreen strategy guide out in front of me too, so I can look at the map and make sure the area they're in connects with where they're going.

As far as aesthetics go, I don't use colors to differentiate often. While sometimes it's fine, I feel like this on it: Real books don't have different colors, no matter how many characters there are. Realistically, good books don't have portions where it's hard to tell what character is talking and when. I really strive to become an author one day, when I'm a better writer, and I feel like using colors is a crutch that will only delay that. I do it in Centra Crisis 'cause it looks cool though. It's quite fitting. =D

[Mellusia]

Aw man, what a question. Sometimes even I wonder how I go about with my posting.

I almost always never have anything planned in mind when I go to make my post. I've spent hours on a post, but it's mostly me just spilling my guts out and then editing stuff - although rarely have I ever removed stuff for being too long. I'm a wordy person and sometimes focus on too many details, and I think my 4000+ word posts prove it xD

I type directly in the post box rather than copy paste from a Word program. So I'm usually writing out and rewriting paragraphs of my posts. Sometimes I'll click "post preview" to see what I have so far and how it looks to others.

And sometimes I'm just staring at the screen, not sure how to end an scene. In RPs, after the first post, it's easy to start subsequent posts, but ending them is still tricky I think.

In general, I prefer Unoriginal RPs because if I'm familiar with it, I can get right into the story and then start improvising certain scenarios and such, and is usually why I have such long posts. But I love to elaborate my character stories as well, including flashbacks and such :3

EDIT: As for actual text, I usually stick to one colour for everything and italicize for stuff that's in thought, or flashbacks. In the Centra Crisis RP, I am using different colours for GF dialogs, but I think I just copied other epople doing it - if I had been the first poster, I don't think I woud've done it xD

[Contra Fates]

I tend to post differently depending on the medium I'm RPing in. If it's IM RP / Messenger RP, I just let my thoughts take over and type up a storm - more of a stream of consciousness, and I don't bother to proofread anything, I just type and send. It turns out that my IM posts tend to be just as long as my forum posts, which recently have been around 2,000 words. As for formatting, I use a different color for each character, as well as a different color for their dialogue, and italicized text for their thoughts or other inner monologues.

When it comes to forum RP, I can spend -days- on a post. I've been a glutton for punishment, and I keep doing these One x One RPs where I get into a habit of doing INCREDIBLY long posts, which pressures my partner into doing the same, and all of the sudden I'm up to doing 3,000+ word posts, and it becomes more of a chore than something enjoyable. It really depends on my level of inspiration at the time, but I can pump out a post in a matter of hours - format it properly, and post it. Other times it'll take me days and I'll just do a few paragraphs, feel uninspired, and come back to it later on when something motivates me to do it.

When it comes to formatting my posts, I tend to get a bit crazy. I abuse the italicize, bold, and underline buttons all the time, to put more emphasis on certain words or phrases that my characters say. I also use a different color text in order to make their dialogue pop out more, and I italicize their thoughts to lessen any confusion. I've recently gotten into the habit of titling my posts, and creating signature graphics for each of my characters - which I place at the bottom of my post to replace the signature I may be using at the time.

While posting I tend to listen to music, and each character has a different set of music I listen to. My primary villain, Gunter, I tend to replay Vivaldi's 'The Four Seasons,' over and over again, or listen to Rammstein if I want to get a crazy German sound going. xD For my more neutral but constantly dramatic characters I listen to a lot of classical music, and Nightwish. For happier characters it tends to be upbeat anime or soundtrack music.

When it comes to visualizing my posts, I tend to picture what I'm imagining like I'm watching a movie, and I use that to get as much detail as possible in my posts. This comes in handy when I'm doing action sequences, which I still admit is not my strong point. But, in general, when it comes to the scenery or even the movements of my character, I try to picture it all and then type it out.