Small RP habits you’re guilty of doing

[WaveVelour]

Hey~ So, this is about self-criticism, evaluating and admitting some of the small tendencies you often perform. RP related practices you regularly find yourself doing =) Only for fun though. Little things that would make your partners say; ‘Mhmm, oh yeah, he/she does that~” Not necessarily faulty stuff, but mostly innocent quirks you add into an RP or even OOC chatter.

Like; adding filler so that the paragraphs have similar length, inverting sentences so that it doesn’t start with a noun/pronoun, not starting a new paragraph when you really should, picking the same name for your characters in different RPs, sometimes doing IC rants in your posts instead of reaching out to your partner OOC, overuse of that little wave/tilde character~, judging people for starting a paragraph with the name of their character, being picky about face claims, not sending an OOC reply until you’re finished with your RP post, writing sounds in dialogues etc.

Yeah, things like that =) Do you have any?

 

[Tinkerer Nadia]

I’m awful at fight scenes. I can’t write a fight to save my life some times, as I’m too scared to god mod so I always write really bad “oh boy if you don’t dodge this will hurt!” Crap.

 

[Revelations]

over reliance on certain phrases or dialogue tics. It's hard to cite an example, but i can write one phrase and then 2 lines later i'll catch myself writing the very same thing and go 'fuck my life I need to redo this entire line now'.

 

[ValentineEveNightmare]

Scared of becoming over descriptive or thinking way too quickly about what happens next. Stalking the member's channel to see if people had read my form and dying when they looked but don't respond

 

[WaveVelour]

I’m awful at fight scenes. I can’t write a fight to save my life some times, as I’m too scared to god mod so I always write really bad “oh boy if you don’t dodge this will hurt!” Crap.

Yeah, I feel the same way. Those dreadful fight scenes, right? Losing a fight, on the other hand, is a lot of fun =)

over reliance on certain phrases or dialogue tics. It's hard to cite an example, but i can write one phrase and then 2 lines later i'll catch myself writing the very same thing and go 'fuck my life I need to redo this entire line now'.

You must have many RPs going on. This is when it happens to me at least, having difficulty remembering which phrase I have already used in which story =)

Scared of becoming over descriptive or thinking way too quickly about what happens next. Stalking the member's channel to see if people had read my form and dying when they looked but don't respond

The site used to have a ‘tracking’ feature, before the update. Can you still see if people read your messages? I didn’t know that~

 

[Tanakalian]

I trust on my instinct more than I probably should. I never proof-read my replies. When I am typing them, when it's done, I post. But with English being my third language (after Dutch and French), I probably should be more careful.

 

[Runa]

I like to mix up my paragraph beginnings. It had been openly suggested as a tip once and I took it. Instead of commonly starting your paragraphs with she/her. Try starting it a different way. Maybe an action or thought. It sparked something with me and I've tried to lead with it since so while my replies are a good flow they continue that flow from one graph to the next.
If that even makes sense.

 

[Revelations]

I use waaaaay, waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many m-dashes and semi-colons and end up having run-on sentences like crazy. They're mainly grammatically correct, but they sure are long-winded.

I also kind of suck at naming things. I use name generators 99% of the time, for character names, towns, etc.

Oh man me too on both accounts. - dashes are a personal weakness of mine, and I hate naming stuff, i'm the worst at it.

 

[Revelations]

Fantasynamegenerators.com saved my life. I literally use it for everything.

I use it a ton too, it's a gamechanger for certain.

 

[Dirty Fingers]

I'm a fan of short paragraphs to not only fill more space but to make what I write more aesthetically pleasing. Nothing worse than huge blocks of text, this is meant to be fun not a college course after all.......

....I like ellipses.... a lot.... I use them in different ways....

I've been told I use a lot of run on sentences but my grammar knowledge isn't good enough to really understand what they are...

Most of my male characters are named "Heath" on occasion Nathaniel is used if it is a character set in the past or Daniel if the character is vulnerable.

I don't need face claims to be used but if so I need people not animations/cartoons, I can't take that stuff seriously. I can't start a RP with someone who only gives me one line messages hoping to entice me to play with them.

 

[Praxis]

It's become apparent to me that OOC discussion is basically mandatory with me. I tend to leave out details in my posts that, to an uninformed reader, might seem like crucial details.
However, from my perspective, not everything needs explanation if you've properly conveyed your point. There's tells, hints and bits of foreshadowing you can throw in to lead to further impact later.

I like to build a story with my partner and then it explore it with the characters we've decided would fit best in that setting. It's why I'm opposed to pairings and pre-fab ideas. They are more difficult for me to engage in as my own.

Also, I edit a scene as I dictate. I'll hit a good line or what I feel like is a solid transitional moment and just end it there.
Which can ...be off-putting to those not used to my style.

 

[WaveVelour]

I use waaaaay, waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many m-dashes and semi-colons and end up having run-on sentences like crazy. They're mainly grammatically correct, but they sure are long-winded.

I also kind of suck at naming things. I use name generators 99% of the time, for character names, towns, etc.

Oh, yeah. We haven’t played before, but I checked a random thread of yours, and surely, there your em dashes are =) I believe I have never used those before, just prefer commas. Seems like a good way to emphasize things though.

I like to mix up my paragraph beginnings. It had been openly suggested as a tip once and I took it. Instead of commonly starting your paragraphs with she/her. Try starting it a different way. Maybe an action or thought. It sparked something with me and I've tried to lead with it since so while my replies are a good flow they continue that flow from one graph to the next.
If that even makes sense.

It does make sense. I really dislike it when a paragraph starts with he/she or a character name. Or when the same pronoun is used twice in a row at the beginning of a sentence.

I'm a fan of short paragraphs to not only fill more space but to make what I write more aesthetically pleasing. Nothing worse than huge blocks of text, this is meant to be fun not a college course after all.......

....I like ellipses.... a lot.... I use them in different ways....

I've been told I use a lot of run on sentences but my grammar knowledge isn't good enough to really understand what they are...

Most of my male characters are named "Heath" on occasion Nathaniel is used if it is a character set in the past or Daniel if the character is vulnerable.

I don't need face claims to be used but if so I need people not animations/cartoons, I can't take that stuff seriously. I can't start a RP with someone who only gives me online messages hoping to entice me to play with them.

I checked a few of my posts. So, it usually takes me somewhere between 150 – 200 words before I start a new paragraph. And I prefer illustrations over photos when it comes to face claims. On ellipses, I mostly use them to break dialogues. Like when a character does something while they talk.

It's become apparent to me that OOC discussion is basically mandatory with me. I tend to leave out details in my posts that, to an uninformed reader, might seem like crucial details.
However, from my perspective, not everything needs explanation if you've properly conveyed your point. There's tells, hints and bits of foreshadowing you can throw in to lead to further impact later.

I like to build a story with my partner and then it explore it with the characters we've decided would fit best in that setting. It's why I'm opposed to pairings and pre-fab ideas. They are more difficult for me to engage in as my own.

Also, I edit a scene as I dictate. I'll hit a good line or what I feel like is a solid transitional moment and just end it there.
Which can ...be off-putting to those not used to my style.

OOC plotting is a weakness of mine sadly. Don’t know why, but I’m getting less communicative with each RP I play. Once the starter is posted, I rarely return to OOC threads.

 

[ValentineEveNightmare]

I also tend to use sicknesses and injuries way too much in my roleplaying, and I've only recently got used to letting a character die for the sake of a plot

 

[east]

"I always have problems right after dialog." He said softly.

He said softly, she smiled lightly, I don't even know how someone smiles lightly, but these two lines are constantly showing up in my writing they are my WORST habbits. The phrases change from time to time but if you rp with me eventually there's gonna be a paragraph with some dialog and right after that dialog is gonna be some weird description about how the character spoke.

 

[Adamina]

I've been learning with some great partners and their characters, but I'm not good at anything to deal with romance and fluff. I'm not good at love epithets, I can't write mushy scenes where one character is all "I almost lost you" etc., to another; paragraphs that describe deep feelings, affectionate actions, or heartfelt, eye-watering things are almost uncomfy. It's likely due to my monogamous focus on action, violence, and darker themes, I've gotten too acclimated to writing coldhearts that my depth spectrum is limited. That can then put a limit on how far character relationships go, and has upset one or two longtime partners, when they expected a certain amount of depth after our characters have been together a while (understandable). Working on it though!

 

[Noon_Shadow]

I tend to refer to my character's facial expression way too often. A character will smile as he says something, and then may smile again as he has a thought, without it being clear that he actually stopped smiling between those actions. A long time ago I overused smirks until I realized those were very annoying when not done properly. I like to break up big chunks of dialogue, but without obvious actions to place between sentences, I'll often just have a character grin or smile or chuckle or scowl. I think it's helpful to maintain some kind of physicality to accompany the words but I go too far with it.

 

[Dirty Fingers]

Conflict - I get bored by the idea of horny people doing horny things because they are horny. I like characters to be challenged in some way, even the antagonist. I like that they are doing something as much by chance or necessity as anything else.

Twists - I enjoy putting twists on well worn themes and scenarios. I like the idea of a male stripper or model and female client or photographer.

Consent - I find it far more interesting than force or non con.

Misfits - Characters that just don't really fit in or suit the role they are being thrown into. Characters that think a lot and see the world in a unique way.

Realism - Some aspect of realism, I am not into whatever the scenario is becoming like a porn film where a pizza delivery turns into an orgy or if two people get pushed together on a train they just throw down on the floor and go for it.

Most of my RP's will have elements of the above in them in different ways and amounts.

 

[foxgloves]

I use way too many em dashes!

 

[LizH]

Overuse of ellipisis....

 

[WaveVelour]

"I always have problems right after dialog." He said softly.

He said softly, she smiled lightly, I don't even know how someone smiles lightly, but these two lines are constantly showing up in my writing they are my WORST habbits. The phrases change from time to time but if you rp with me eventually there's gonna be a paragraph with some dialog and right after that dialog is gonna be some weird description about how the character spoke.

Well, you kind of need to add something after the dialogue. X suggested this, claimed that, glared at Y, snorted in frustration. But you can follow it with an action too. Crossing arms, shaking head. I’m definitely no expert, but instead of saying ‘he smiled’ you can narrate it a little differently, like ‘his lips stretched in a smile’ or something similar =)

I've been learning with some great partners and their characters, but I'm not good at anything to deal with romance and fluff. I'm not good at love epithets, I can't write mushy scenes where one character is all "I almost lost you" etc., to another; paragraphs that describe deep feelings, affectionate actions, or heartfelt, eye-watering things are almost uncomfy. It's likely due to my monogamous focus on action, violence, and darker themes, I've gotten too acclimated to writing coldhearts that my depth spectrum is limited. That can then put a limit on how far character relationships go, and has upset one or two longtime partners, when they expected a certain amount of depth after our characters have been together a while (understandable). Working on it though!

Oh, I like romance in movies, books and other media. And admittedly tear up rather easily. Though, RPing is a difficult medium to establish that. I guess, I’d rather consume such media than actually producing it.

I tend to refer to my character's facial expression way too often. A character will smile as he says something, and then may smile again as he has a thought, without it being clear that he actually stopped smiling between those actions. A long time ago I overused smirks until I realized those were very annoying when not done properly. I like to break up big chunks of dialogue, but without obvious actions to place between sentences, I'll often just have a character grin or smile or chuckle or scowl. I think it's helpful to maintain some kind of physicality to accompany the words but I go too far with it.

Personally, I think playing opposite to an expressive character is a plus. It should match what’s happening though. What I really dislike is having characters who blush in every post. How red can a person get?

 

[lasciel]

I infodump. I infodump way too much, and if I last infodumped a few pages ago, I'll forget that I did it, then do it again. My RP partners are inundated with worldbuilding details, magic systems, internal dialogue, random pieces of irrelevant history, bits of scenery, and the like. And I overuse italics for emphasis, if that part wasn't clear.

Also purple prose! But that seems to be a pretty common self-crit in this thread.

Personally, I think playing opposite to an expressive character is a plus. It should match what’s happening though. What I really dislike is having characters who blush in every post. How red can a person get?

Oh, I've definitely written about characters who would've blushed more, if they weren't already as red as they could get!

 

[M.G.B.]

As this happened while that happened and then...

I feel like I'm always fitting as many verbs into a single second as I possibly can, like every character I play is the goddamned flash. The number of times "as" and "while" or "meanwhile" and "then" show up in my writing is too damn high, I'm certain.

Also, don't let me have two side characters in a room, it turns into a painfully "I wish I was Quentin Tarantino" conversation that lasts way too long if you ask me.

 

[Blobbles]

Alack, so many things, I can make a list

• Whenever a character acts vaguely smug, they'll smirk, smile, snicker, giggle or some other variation of smile/laugh
• I have weird sentence construction at times, kind of like a stream-of consciousness thing (also, copious uses of thus, therefore etc at sentence starts)
• Vague euphemisms for various things
• A tendency to write as much as my partners, + one or two paragraphs (a side effect of trying to address most aspects of their posts, then adding a bit of my own)
• I misuse adverbs terribly (case in point)

 

[Ivory11]

I’m awful at fight scenes. I can’t write a fight to save my life some times, as I’m too scared to god mod so I always write really bad “oh boy if you don’t dodge this will hurt!” Crap.

You just gotta clear out how badly one character can mess another up. Also, only write out the moved, not the impact they make and if they got or not unless previously agreed upon.

If you aimed to have YC skewer another character, write that they make the strike with the aim/hope to skewer them.

Also, for everyone out here writing characters in fight scenes: let a few hits make contact. Really let your characters get 50 shades of totally fucked up.

This fight scene is a great demonstration of this in action.


View: https://youtu.be/B66feInucFY


Now compare it to a fight scene where the main character is an "untouchable badass" who dispatches enemies without breaking a sweat.


View: https://youtu.be/2AzyWKfqybg


One is just goofy and cheesy. One is brutal and badass. The biggest difference? One actually takes the hits and keeps fighting while worn out.

 

[Ouranos]

I’m awful at fight scenes. I can’t write a fight to save my life some times, as I’m too scared to god mod so I always write really bad “oh boy if you don’t dodge this will hurt!” Crap.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that struggles with this.