⚠️To be edited ⚠️

Spelling, errors, and poor grammer ahead.

Types of story structures

How much does this affect your roleplay? Well, alot actually if you don't have a story. More likely than not, your roleplay will go nowhere and burn out quickly. But first thing first figure out what type of structure you want to use for your roleplay.

1.-each session having its own story working within an overarching story.(episodic storytelling structured by a long term narrative storyline) This method is common with table top role-plays.

2.-Serial plots typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the complete run of the series,"

3.-Parallel plot are self contained conflicts within a story though through a character, theme, setting they can pursue between sessions (like a rivalry or continuous problem)

4.-No plot roleplay, as it would imply by the name these roleplays contain no plot. They typically follow an idea or concept rather than narrative, like two characters meeting or execution of an event.

5.-episodic has a self-contained plot/ stand alone story for each session, while keeping the same setting and themes/ characters throughout.

6.-lampshading "To intentionally call attention to the improbable, incongruent, or clichéd nature of an element or situation featured in a work of fiction within the work itself." In short, it's calling out a cliché or generic nature of a story or element. Why this isn't technically a type of storytelling it can play into a form of comedy.

7.- Meta "a form of fiction that emphasizes its own narrative structure in a way that continually reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work."

Understanding your character and how to roleplay with them.

While hard to do in execution, making your character more dynamic can make a story more enjoyable.

- dissect and analyze characters to better understand them.

-believable dialogue/ consistent behavior.

-personality defines reaction, reaction supports character. Character (Age, sex, backstory, conflict, looks,)explains personality Exp.

He was a very recluse person, when asked about his life he didn't know how to reply, but always kept a straight face. Secluded, quiet, and inept, he found it easier to be alone; Furthermore, in attempts to shield people from his turbulent mindset he ignores those who get too close to him.

(Characters' behavior relates back and can even explain their personality, while their personality dictates their decisions. Reactions redefine characters; since it may re-conceptualize a character, allowing a window for change/growth )

- dissect and analyze characters to better understand them

-Know the mood, when rp-ing or writing a story it is easy to get carried away. Making jokes in an inappropriate setting i.e. dire situations, or rambling about exposition makes for unclear tone. (Moods include: somber, gloomy, comedic, harrowing, optimistic, joyful, happy/light, serious,)

-Switching from emotion to emotion should feel seamless, and shouldn't contrast heavily with the mood/tone of the rp. There should be a hint of rational and logical (atleast to the character perception) reason to an emotion. So when our character shifts emotion it is flawless; for example, let's say our character is mildly angry at someone unrelated to who they're currently talking to, and needs to interact in a calm manner.

Bad (can be improved)

Trying to get away, she ran frantically through the woods. Fearing booming in her veins like a warning bell, she stops and thinks to herself. It was a little rude to run away like that. She admits to herself, turning around and walking back.

⬆️This is unclear and frankly confusing, the mood shifts from frightful to "eh it's an everyday" way too quickly. If you're running from a monster the last thing on your mind is "eh that was kinda rude".

In a nutshell givging another player action can be as simple as dialogue, interaction, and relavence.

Okay class wip out your 3rd grade language arts book, were goung back to the basics. Firstly, when comes to advoiding repretition, verbs and adjectives can do wonders. You can even use objective wording, noun phrases, and a passive tone to avoid over using relatives pronouns.

Types of Narration and Replies

If you're an experienced roleplayer or writer then this may seem like a no brainer, but I thought I'd drop it here anyway since I had it laying around.

First person narration comes directly from our protagonist (I, me, my,). We, the reader, are only shown the story from their eyes if it be description, thought, or interaction with the environment.

Having a sole interest in the protagonist, a 3rd person narrator uses she/he/they pronouns when addressing them and presenting information like feelings, description, thought and action. The speaker is more often than not limited in foresight, unable to or very seldomly describe in great detail other characters thoughts/feelings.

This narrator presents facts and whole truths, while they may indulge in a character's own beliefs, they never warp reality.

(3rd person) subjective

This is where the fun begins, our narrator this time over may have a selective nature when revealing information and or presenting it to the reader. More often than not having qualities akin to the protagonist's own ideals and morals this leads to a noticeable bias within the speaker.

omniscient narrator

never to be taken carelessly, like an unbenevolent god an omniscient narrator is something to be trifled with. Unlike a 3rd person perspective an omniscient narrator knows the feelings and thoughts of everyone within the story, at times even possessing more information than the characters. They are the all seeing witness to every scheme.

Unreliable narrators

As the name would suggest an unreliable narrator lacks the ability to tell a cohesive narrative often leaving a blur between reality and perception. “Fiction that makes us question our own perceptions can be powerful. An unreliable narrator can create a lot of grey areas and blur the lines of reality, allowing us to come to our own conclusions.” (reedsyblog)

Unreliable narrator types

-Drunkard (unconsciously altering the truth)

Types of roleplay styles I've seen (more to be added)

1.*sits on couch looking up at you blushing just a little* You know you can tell me anything *rubs hands together nervously* (One liner?)

2.I ran back home, quickly grabbing my bag before making my way out the door once again. I get to class just in time, throwing down my backpack under my seat and collapsing into my chair. ( One liner with fast description)

4.The rasp of a door opening slowly on its hinges and board squeaked from the man stealing bypass them. Amidst the kitchen was a battleground; the overflowing plates in the sink waged a brigade against one another. Mold festering in the darkest of crevices between them sloshing on the water's surface, still, yet festering. Stalking forward cold palms glazed over the gas oven knobs gently testing for any signs of workability. A spark struck the burners, burning sparingly if faint barely reaching the grates he stood there taking on the heats shy embrace. (semi- lit 1 paragraph)

5.He walked into the room, feeling the somberness that clung to the air. Shutting the door, foreign smells began to fill his nose, much to his displeasure. (one liner with detail)

When replying to a roleplay there are plenty of ways to do it, and the most common mistake I've seen in beginner rp-ers is action, action, action. Yes, I put lots of thought into that name and thankfully it happens to be very literal.

Example of this

‘‘I rush into a nearby building, through the first floor and out into a back alley. Then cross the next block into another building. I'm exhausted and know I won't be able to make it further. I lay her down in a hallway, shielding her with debris. I bend down and kiss her and start running again, making my way to a warehouse where I think I'm safe.’’ (For context they are running from a fire breathing dragon after attacking it with a knife)

Now let's stretch out our imagination. If this was an rp reply it would be for lack of better words lackluster while also taking all the tension away from the given situation. In retrospect not only did your rp partner just get hit with “We're moving to another setting, come on.” but now is left with only two options: retcon your reply or attempt to play catch-up. So now for future reference it may be hard to keep up with a rp knowing your partner may just pull "get out of dire situation card".

So advice? just give your partner a chance to reply to your action! when you have action narrate those actions, make sure your not adding to many actions into one reply, (it should be one or more for your partner to focus on in their response) stay grounded, and be realistic within the circumstances of the story.

2.“Yes, and-” why and how its important to rp

Roleplay can really enjoyable if you've found the right people to do it with however more often that not you run into a roleplay that doesn't seem to go anywhere at some point leading you to drop it entirely so what can be done to rectify this well there is a way leading with the principle “Yes, and-” can make a roleplay more engaging

you've probably seen this word thrown around quite a few times but incase you are unfamiliar with its terminology here's a quick rundown originating from improvisational comedy “Yes, and-” refers to an improviser accepting what an another improviser has said and elaborating on it with that description alone you can see why this may be beneficial for any given roleplay but to further prove my point here's an example:

Roleplayer 1 reply: The wolf approached swaying its tail fondly, then sitting mer feet from them it barked “hey, how are you doing?”.

A prologue is defined as an introduction to a literary work, presenting actions that lead to current events that the story takes place after. Serving as a cornerstone to build your story off of a prologue, while separate from the main story, contains important information such as background details, character dynamics, and set up.

Formal stuff out of the way let me really sing the praise of our prologue savor. It truly doesn't matter if you write one liners or long winded paragraphs a prologue is a must. Have you ever felt lost in a roleplay? directionless when it came to scenes and setting. Trying your best to fill in the blanks, often suffering retconned replies that go unexplained only to become relevant later or seemingly innocuous events have greater importance than ever hinted to.

If you have then I recommend the word of our savior prologues just 3 fundamental teachings of scripture to improve your roleplay. To start off, introduce your main characters where and what they are doing before the main events of the story. Personally I like to set up my prologues so that the ending events take place at the beginning of the roleplay. This makes it easier for me and my partner to jump into writing. Secondly, Drop hints to the central theme/struggle in the story; it doesn't have to be in your face, but you and your partner should be able to understand what you're both working towards. Thirdly, remember when I said “separate from the main story”. Yeah, prologues aren't info dumps.

They summarize events before the story, not your super special “not like other goth girls” OC the main focus should be on setting and any relevant details.

Here's an example, fair warning this is two years old and terribly punctuated. At some parts taking way too long to get to the point.

Prologue: Was it a knock that had awoken her? Moments prior she layed peacefully in silk sheets pulled to her shoulders tugging at the corners where she had been tucked wrapped like a codel child being carried to bed. Her body sloped into the mattress, holding her firmly like a long awaited needed hug. The king sized bed laid square in the room, sturdy wood decor was littered throughout the room. A wooden bench lined with furred cloth stood under the window plum curtains draped the bench flowing in short cut waves along the frame shielding the room from the moon's glow. Light breaths left her agape mouth so hushed and small her petite figure rose and fell under the sheets. The room is still, silent.

An audible sound made its presents, for how long was unknown to her but with each passing moment made itself louder and louder. Banging rang through the room each heavy thud making the furniture ripple from the vibrations. With squinted eyes, her face that laid so relaxed now contorted into a sour pout her chapped lip parted exhaling a long drawn out yarn. Even then while she was awaking from such a deep slumber, whatever it was felt determined to wake her. The agitated sound continued so urgently its frantic pace never easing its beat. Rising from the warmth of the matters whilst it pleads with her to lay back down with high pitched squeaks.

She quickly hurries to her bedroom door then with rushed steps down the wooden stairs. Only to halt when she got to the last two steps, her paw barely graced the stair step before it retreated back to its previous step. It had only hit her now but she was in the middle of nowhere. In a small town- a village with little to no residents. In the middle of the night. Flicking the air her ear twitched once, then twice, before slowly returning to its previous position the sound was gone, again it was silent. Turning her head to the left she froze.

With wild and bewildered eyes struggling to focus on the shadowy figure she gazed upon the frame that stood over the chestnut sofa just feet away from her. Casting down a shadow of its own over the raggedy couch, it looked right back at her with a silvery glow in their eyes. As a result her fur stood on edge turning into little sharp pines at the sight. Outlined in darkness barely illuminated by the moonlight. striking their back daring not to lay any light to their face instead flooding onto the floor as if it had been afraid to unmask them itself. Her hand had begun to tremble so had her jaw, unknown to her she began to move her mouth uttering gibberish. Incomprehensible whispers left the ghost town of her jaw leaving her breathless. As if rooted into the steps she stood motionless, just for a moment glancing at the landline it was installed on the pillair the next to the sofa, wincing at the thought. Right there right in front of her she could make it if she sprinted for it with all the confidences of mouse running from a cat she sprinted leaping of the steps with a bolt their eyes followed as she grabbed the black phone lifting it to her ear it was yanked from her- from the wall laying at her feet with crumbs of concrete “pas de police”.