Post by Jessie on Apr 5, 2012 11:13:26 GMT -5
Before we Begin...
This tutorial is in no means an attempt to offend any roleplayer, style, or preference. Any other criticism, tips, or other words of wisdom to aid a former roleplayer to expand their skills, simply post below and we'll add to the script!
Thanks in advance for any input, and we hope that this tutorial serves its' purpose!
Prologue! Hello there, and welcome to the How to Expand your Roleplaying Skills Tutorial! This is a simple, handmade guide that'll teach you the basics of how to turn this:
Rose growled as she tumbled back, the sound of water splashing upwards as she fell into the water.
into this:
The tight air gripped the girl in such a terror, that she knew she was not alone in the forest. The waterfall's roar silencing any sound of light footed intruder, eardrums strained to search out the culprit. But it was to no avail, the gentle breeze pressing against the tree leaves, the peaceful melody that could be painted in the hands of an artist, much more than the eye could see.
A sense of paranoia began to choke Rose, her eyes darting in every direction, upon every movement of every bush that surrounded her. She was in the open, alone, vulnerable. Taking deep breaths, she turned her back to the world, eying the waterfall in front of her now, a scowl placed upon her features. Who, what was it? The eyes of a mere shadow baring down into her back, chills rushing through her spine.
Before she had the opportunity to move, the opportunity to react or even consider what was happening, a coldness swept Rose's slender body as water surrounded her. She had been pushed into the stream!
It may seem like a lot, and even more so the effort that is necessary. But it is actually quite simple, and can even be considered fun, depending on your personal preference and interest in literature.
So lets begin, shall we?
Step 1: The Five Senses When posting in a roleplay, always take in consideration of your five senses: Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch, and Taste. No matter where your character is, or what they are doing, you can always implement all five of these senses one way or another. Before you begin to question it, lets refer to our example above, shall we?
Character: Rose
Setting: Forest; approaching a Waterfall
Plot: Being chased
Rose growled as she tumbled back, the sound of water splashing upwards as she fell into the water.
Setting: Forest; approaching a Waterfall
Plot: Being chased
Rose growled as she tumbled back, the sound of water splashing upwards as she fell into the water.
So, I've given you the character name, who is female, the setting, which is outdoors, and the plot of the current thread, being chased.
Sight: Being outdoors is always a bonus, as the world is always changing, rather it be Earth or a fantasy Realm. Colors are almost always vibrant, and surroundings are always full of unexpected surprises. So, let us begin with Sight. Our character Rose is in a Forest, in which she is near a Waterfall. Here are some easy tips to consider when expand your post:
♦Surroundings. What is the setting like in this particular area you stand?
→ The surroundings, as we know to any casual forest, will be vibrant and full of greens. This means trees, bushes, flowers, small wildlife, and then you have the waterfall, which may expand into a stream, a lake, a pond. How high does the Waterfall, fall? Is it just one stream down, or is it distorted by obstacles, like rocks or mountain?
♦Eye Sight. What does the character see? What can she not see, but that is there, like the chasing culprit?
→ Rose can only take portions at a time, taking in the scenery in detail to her eyes. But lets keep in mind that she is also being chased, so her attention will be more descriptive when it comes to the trees, verses the waterfall that is in front of her. There is a mysterious individual hiding from her sight, but she still strains to find any sign of movement in the bushes, such movement can be as small as the wind pushing against leaves and branches, or as drastic as a foot, or skin of clothing being caught into view.
Sound: Based on your surroundings, you also need to consider the sounds, as if you, yourself, were there. What would you hear? Lets list off from the top of our head, what can cause sound in our post:
♦Wind
→ Wind can vary between deep howls, if the pressure is thick, or it can be soft, almost angelic, causing no louder than a rustle against plantlife. In this case, it is soft, low pressure, and also threatened by the volume of our Waterfall.
♦Waterfall
→ The waterfall is our main noise maker in this post. Waterfalls are traditionally loud, almost like a constant sheer of thunder, due to the vast amount of water clashing down upon the surface. Our sound senses and ability to hear will be null due to this effect.
♦Movement
→ There is someone hiding in the forest line, and had it not been for the waterfall silencing minor sounds, you may be able to pinpoint a direction, based off any movement of the culprit in hiding.
♦Voices
→ Even though we do not have any dialogue in our example, you may consider signs of surprise, such as a growl, yelp, or even a short scream from Rose before she is taken under water.
Smell:
Smell is one of our less enthused senses at the moment, but lets think hypothetically, at the moment. If the heat is over powering, the combination of moisture and heat may create a musk-like smell, maybe causing breathing to be a bit more concentrated. Or maybe, if an ocean is near by, Rose would be able to smell a hint of salt due to the atmosphere. Or, take in consideration the stream or lake the waterfall falls into. Nature is merciless, and it is very possible for dead fish, or animal dung to be close by, driving a stench.
Touch/Feel:
No matter what the case, along with sight, touch is a heavy hitter when it comes to expanding the situation. It is important to also take in consideration the natural elements, such as wind and heat. Again, let us list out from the top of our head, what are plausible cases to approach:
♦Wind
→ Out in the open, we have a gentle breeze come by, possibly causing Rose to up her paranoia and suspicions of her follower. This breeze does not only move the plantlife, but it also hits Rose, perhaps sending a coolness against her skin.
♦Heat
→ Being chased, our character Rose has been running. The sun is out, we can assume normal or high temperatures. Has she ran a long period of time? Could she be sweating? Perhaps feeling a but disoriented?
♦Water
→ Back to the waterfall. Not only is there noise, but from the collision into the next body of water, physics is going to kick in and there will be a bit of splashing. Combine this with Rose standing near, and give a good breeze, Rose may or may not feel sprinkles of water coming from the waterfall, also giving a cool intention. Possibly even startling her due to the coldness.
Taste:
This is another sense that is a bit less developed than others, unless the conditions are met, such as food. But none the less, we can still scratch up something. Rather it be a dry mouth from running, or the overwhelming taste of water as Rose is pushed into the stream.
Step 2: Emotion Emotions are an aspect to any literature that can be expanded as far as the eye can read. While one can easily explain a scenario as sad, or happy, to truly understand the mood of the event, you take the extra mile of going into the emotions at hand.
The scene we have, is scary, one might say. A girl being chased by the unknown. Well, lets dig a bit deeper. Scary induces fear, and fear may induce a certain sadness, or lack of understanding, a crave for knowledge of what lies beyond the unknown. Something as terrifying, as physical properties, so scared that your heart begins to ache! You may start to cry, or scream, or your throat may close in such a fear, that you can't even do that.
Body language is an emotion of its own that can tell a story without a single syllable involved. From facial expressions to posture, it is always good to expand on these types of elements in your post, as it portrays more of the characters' personality and overall existence in the roleplaying world.
Facial expressions and emotions are a glorious combination that never fails. Take pictures, or drawings, for example. When someone is happy, they are usually smiling, with an average posture. Verses if someone is angry, they can display an array of body expressions, such as bad posture, shifting their feet, balling up their fist, hiding their fist, scowling, pouting, frowning, and the list can go on. Adding these features to roleplay in a forum, is much like drawing a picture. Capture the characters' personality and describe exactly the way they look, move, twitch. If one is leaning against a wall, we can note this:
♦ Bad Posture
♦ Foul Attitude
♦ Are they putting all of their balance on one foot, the other against the all or on tippy-toe?
♦ Arms crossed, arms to the side, hands in pockets?
♦ Scowling? Eyes shut? Eyes open?
The list, again, can go on, as body language is one of the most important features in portraying ones' personality.
Step 3: The Thesaurus makes a Good Friend! When it comes to lengthy post, even more lengthy than our example, there comes the obstacle of keeping your read interesting. No one wants to read a five paragraph response in which you continuously reference your character as "he" or "she", and nor do they want to read the blunt description of "green trees" every other post, when your exploring a forest.
Expanding your vocabulary is not only an important factor in roleplaying, but in every day life. Big words might seem scary at first, but they at a bit more color to your literary view and understanding. Not familiar with a lot of advanced terms, or can't think of other ways to explain an object? Well, we have the wonderful book, and online guidance of Thesauruses! Full of synonyms and antonyms alike, keeping a Thesaurus near by either as a hard copy or an online bookmark is always a plus. I'm not saying go all crazy on the largest word you can find, but familiarize yourself with a new set of words. An example could be, describing sadness. You can go for...malice, depressed, melancholy, so on so forth.
Not only does expanding your vocabulary and using more eccentric words help you as an individual, but it makes your post more interesting to read, and grabs readers with a hook they, in some cases, can't turn away from. This also helps the opposing members' muse when replying back to you, and gives them the ability to expand their vocabulary as well. Its a win/win!
Step 3: Books, the Basic Building Block towards Literacy Simply reading books of any and all sorts of genre, different point of views, and different information can further your progression in understanding literacy as a whole. It'll help you in reality, and it helps you develop a better sense of taste when it comes to roleplaying. Other than that, its' quite self explanatory! The more you read, obviously the wiser you become. What do you have to lose?
Throw it all Together, and What do you Get?! That concludes, for the most part, the basics of expanding your roleplaying skills. We hope that the things listed above can provide some sense of understanding, and encourage you to give it your all here at Dissimulation, and even at other roleplay forums, games, and even when reality calls, such as novels or essays!
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This tutorial has helped 4 people so far!
Tutorial hand-made by Jessie of Dissimulation.
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