Post by εvanescent on Apr 24, 2009 18:37:34 GMT -5
What is RPing?
RPing is short for role-playing. It is like writing a part of a book of some sort. RPing is usually done in third-person, as though you're watching the character. For example:
Smallpaw padded through the forest, his ears erect, and his jaw parted. It was a good day for hunting.
That's just a very small blurb to show a brief introduction to RPing. Most often this would be too short of a post, and needs to be lengthened. This is a quick, simple list of tips for lengthening posts.
1. Description!! Adjectives are your friends! The cat isn't in some empty void. Where's your cat? What's the place look like? Any sounds? Scents? What's the cat look like? If there's another cat, what's he/she look like? Descriptions make your post seem more alive and richer. Just don't go overboard!(The glowing, shining, blue, brilliant, fierce, confident eyes of the cat....)
- Rays of sunlight filtered through the thick canopy of leaves above head, dappling the ground. The apprentice's sleek brown pelt gleamed whenever he passed under a patch of light. A soft breeze rustled the leaves, carrying with it the mixed scents of the area. Tasting the air again, he could identify the fading trail of a patrol, along with several prey. Smallpaw scanned the area as he moved, emerald eyes alert, searching for any movements in the undergrowth. Any sound of the small pieces of soon-to-be fresh-kill. He set his paws down with care, doing his best to keep silent.[/color]
2. The workings of your cat's mind makes any post more fun to read, and makes the cat unique. Everyone has thoughts, opinions, feelings, and reactions to certain events. Cats are the same. What are they thinking? What are they feeling? Cats have personalities! Inner-thinking is one of the best ways to show it.
- His tail waving in the air, the tom scented the air yet again, his mind focused on the hunt. I can almost taste the mouse already. I haven't eaten since that battle session from earlier. Smallpaw faltered in his steps, suddenly realizing just how hungry he was. It was only sun-high, but his mentor had woken him up early for the dawn patrol and some battle practice. How could I have forgotten to grab a piece of fresh-kill before I left? Blackfur even told me I should get some rest. For a moment, Smallpaw wondered if he should catch the mouse and eat it then and there. He quickly banished the thought, feeling guilty. I'd be breaking the warrior code. The clan always comes first...
3. Try not to be too repetitive when you type. When you use one word over and over again in just a few lines, it becomes tiring to read. It also defeats the purpose of using repetition to make something stronger.
- The ground was soft under his paws. Smallpaw set his paws down in a steady rhythm, always checking if he was about to place his paw on a twig. It was one of the first things his mentor taught him about hunting. His mentor had always told him to walk carefully, and to be careful about stepping on things that could give him away.
That was an example of what NOT to do. Try reading this now:
- The ground was soft underpaw. The young tom fell into a rhythmic pace, his steps steady. Each one was done with care as to not accidentally tread on a twig or even dry leaf. It was one of the first things his mentor taught him about hunting. As he walked, Blackfur's words seemed to echo in his head. 'When you haven't found any prey to stalk, you still have to be careful when you move. That's why you should always be aware of your environment--a lot of cats miss their prey because they accidentally stepped on a branch and scared the prey away.'
4. As my teacher always says, G.U.M. Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics. Keep in the same tenses, so don't skip between past and present. Also, make it clear when you use pronouns about who the pronoun is supposed to be. Paragraphs! They make it more organized and not one big block.Use periods, commas, and quotation marks. Periods and commas are especially useful, so that your post doesn't look like one long sentence that never ends like this see what I mean It gets really annoying and is hard to read now you what it feels like! Quotes show when your cat is talking. Also, make it clear when it's your cat's thoughts or talking. It can get confusing. Homonyms can be confusing, too, and you have to be careful to use the right one.
- The apprentice woks forward as his tale waved in the heir above him Smallpaw flicks his ears trying to here every sound.
Now try this:
- The apprentice walked forward as he waved his tail in the air. Smallpaw flicked his ears, trying to hear every sound.
5. Do not powerplay! This is when you RP another person's cat! Not only is it against the rules, but nobody likes it when another person makes your cat do something you never said your cat was going to do. During battle, it is very important:
- Bob ran at Joe, teeth bared. He leaped into the air, and landed squarely on Joe's shoulders, then bit his neck.[/size]
The other person didn't even get a chance to post as their character! Give the person a chance to react!
- Bob ran at Joe, teeth bared. He leaped into the air. In his mind, he could see himself and on Joe's shoulders, and then biting the foe's neck.
6. Large vocabulary can aid in making you seem more intelligent. In short: big words can make you look smarter. This isn't that big of a deal, but it provides a large selection of words to choose from when you type. However, if you use it the wrong way or spell it wrong, it may backfire.
These 6 things are just basic things that will help you lengthen your post. If you put it all together and blend it well, it'll be long, easy to read, and unique. I've put together the examples that showed the right way to do things so you can see it all better. It could be better blended and more fluid, but, as you know, I just pieced it all together.
Smallpaw padded through the forest, his ears erect, and his jaw parted. It was a good day for hunting. Rays of sunlight filtered through the thick canopy of leaves above head, dappling the ground. The apprentice's sleek brown pelt gleamed whenever he passed under a patch of light. A soft breeze rustled the leaves, carrying with it the mixed scents of the area. Tasting the air again, he could identify the fading trail of a patrol, along with several prey. Smallpaw scanned the area as he moved, emerald eyes alert, searching for any movements in the undergrowth. Any sound of the small pieces of soon-to-be fresh-kill. He set his paws down with care, doing his best to keep silent.
His tail waving in the air, the tom scented the air yet again, his mind focused on the hunt. I can almost taste the mouse already. I haven't eaten since that battle session from earlier. Smallpaw faltered in his steps, suddenly realizing just how hungry he was. It was only sun-high, but his mentor had woken him up early for the dawn patrol and some battle practice. How could I have forgotten to grab a piece of fresh-kill before I left? Blackfur even told me I should get some rest. For a moment, Smallpaw wondered if he should catch the mouse and eat it then and there. He quickly banished the thought, feeling guilty. I'd be breaking the warrior code. The clan always comes first... He let out a sigh, and continued forward.
The ground felt soft underpaw as he traveled. The young tom fell into a rhythmic pace, his steps steady. Each one was done with care as to not accidentally tread on a twig or even dry leaf. It was one of the first things his mentor taught him about hunting.
As he walked, Blackfur's words seemed to echo in his head. 'When you haven't found any prey to stalk, you still have to be careful when you move. That's why you should always be aware of your environment--a lot of cats miss their prey because they accidentally stepped on a branch and scared the prey away.'
The apprentice walked forward as he waved his tail in the air. Smallpaw flicked his ears, trying to hear every sound.
RPing is short for role-playing. It is like writing a part of a book of some sort. RPing is usually done in third-person, as though you're watching the character. For example:
Smallpaw padded through the forest, his ears erect, and his jaw parted. It was a good day for hunting.
That's just a very small blurb to show a brief introduction to RPing. Most often this would be too short of a post, and needs to be lengthened. This is a quick, simple list of tips for lengthening posts.
1. Description!! Adjectives are your friends! The cat isn't in some empty void. Where's your cat? What's the place look like? Any sounds? Scents? What's the cat look like? If there's another cat, what's he/she look like? Descriptions make your post seem more alive and richer. Just don't go overboard!(The glowing, shining, blue, brilliant, fierce, confident eyes of the cat....)
- Rays of sunlight filtered through the thick canopy of leaves above head, dappling the ground. The apprentice's sleek brown pelt gleamed whenever he passed under a patch of light. A soft breeze rustled the leaves, carrying with it the mixed scents of the area. Tasting the air again, he could identify the fading trail of a patrol, along with several prey. Smallpaw scanned the area as he moved, emerald eyes alert, searching for any movements in the undergrowth. Any sound of the small pieces of soon-to-be fresh-kill. He set his paws down with care, doing his best to keep silent.[/color]
2. The workings of your cat's mind makes any post more fun to read, and makes the cat unique. Everyone has thoughts, opinions, feelings, and reactions to certain events. Cats are the same. What are they thinking? What are they feeling? Cats have personalities! Inner-thinking is one of the best ways to show it.
- His tail waving in the air, the tom scented the air yet again, his mind focused on the hunt. I can almost taste the mouse already. I haven't eaten since that battle session from earlier. Smallpaw faltered in his steps, suddenly realizing just how hungry he was. It was only sun-high, but his mentor had woken him up early for the dawn patrol and some battle practice. How could I have forgotten to grab a piece of fresh-kill before I left? Blackfur even told me I should get some rest. For a moment, Smallpaw wondered if he should catch the mouse and eat it then and there. He quickly banished the thought, feeling guilty. I'd be breaking the warrior code. The clan always comes first...
3. Try not to be too repetitive when you type. When you use one word over and over again in just a few lines, it becomes tiring to read. It also defeats the purpose of using repetition to make something stronger.
- The ground was soft under his paws. Smallpaw set his paws down in a steady rhythm, always checking if he was about to place his paw on a twig. It was one of the first things his mentor taught him about hunting. His mentor had always told him to walk carefully, and to be careful about stepping on things that could give him away.
That was an example of what NOT to do. Try reading this now:
- The ground was soft underpaw. The young tom fell into a rhythmic pace, his steps steady. Each one was done with care as to not accidentally tread on a twig or even dry leaf. It was one of the first things his mentor taught him about hunting. As he walked, Blackfur's words seemed to echo in his head. 'When you haven't found any prey to stalk, you still have to be careful when you move. That's why you should always be aware of your environment--a lot of cats miss their prey because they accidentally stepped on a branch and scared the prey away.'
4. As my teacher always says, G.U.M. Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics. Keep in the same tenses, so don't skip between past and present. Also, make it clear when you use pronouns about who the pronoun is supposed to be. Paragraphs! They make it more organized and not one big block.Use periods, commas, and quotation marks. Periods and commas are especially useful, so that your post doesn't look like one long sentence that never ends like this see what I mean It gets really annoying and is hard to read now you what it feels like! Quotes show when your cat is talking. Also, make it clear when it's your cat's thoughts or talking. It can get confusing. Homonyms can be confusing, too, and you have to be careful to use the right one.
- The apprentice woks forward as his tale waved in the heir above him Smallpaw flicks his ears trying to here every sound.
Now try this:
- The apprentice walked forward as he waved his tail in the air. Smallpaw flicked his ears, trying to hear every sound.
5. Do not powerplay! This is when you RP another person's cat! Not only is it against the rules, but nobody likes it when another person makes your cat do something you never said your cat was going to do. During battle, it is very important:
- Bob ran at Joe, teeth bared. He leaped into the air, and landed squarely on Joe's shoulders, then bit his neck.[/size]
The other person didn't even get a chance to post as their character! Give the person a chance to react!
- Bob ran at Joe, teeth bared. He leaped into the air. In his mind, he could see himself and on Joe's shoulders, and then biting the foe's neck.
6. Large vocabulary can aid in making you seem more intelligent. In short: big words can make you look smarter. This isn't that big of a deal, but it provides a large selection of words to choose from when you type. However, if you use it the wrong way or spell it wrong, it may backfire.
These 6 things are just basic things that will help you lengthen your post. If you put it all together and blend it well, it'll be long, easy to read, and unique. I've put together the examples that showed the right way to do things so you can see it all better. It could be better blended and more fluid, but, as you know, I just pieced it all together.
Smallpaw padded through the forest, his ears erect, and his jaw parted. It was a good day for hunting. Rays of sunlight filtered through the thick canopy of leaves above head, dappling the ground. The apprentice's sleek brown pelt gleamed whenever he passed under a patch of light. A soft breeze rustled the leaves, carrying with it the mixed scents of the area. Tasting the air again, he could identify the fading trail of a patrol, along with several prey. Smallpaw scanned the area as he moved, emerald eyes alert, searching for any movements in the undergrowth. Any sound of the small pieces of soon-to-be fresh-kill. He set his paws down with care, doing his best to keep silent.
His tail waving in the air, the tom scented the air yet again, his mind focused on the hunt. I can almost taste the mouse already. I haven't eaten since that battle session from earlier. Smallpaw faltered in his steps, suddenly realizing just how hungry he was. It was only sun-high, but his mentor had woken him up early for the dawn patrol and some battle practice. How could I have forgotten to grab a piece of fresh-kill before I left? Blackfur even told me I should get some rest. For a moment, Smallpaw wondered if he should catch the mouse and eat it then and there. He quickly banished the thought, feeling guilty. I'd be breaking the warrior code. The clan always comes first... He let out a sigh, and continued forward.
The ground felt soft underpaw as he traveled. The young tom fell into a rhythmic pace, his steps steady. Each one was done with care as to not accidentally tread on a twig or even dry leaf. It was one of the first things his mentor taught him about hunting.
As he walked, Blackfur's words seemed to echo in his head. 'When you haven't found any prey to stalk, you still have to be careful when you move. That's why you should always be aware of your environment--a lot of cats miss their prey because they accidentally stepped on a branch and scared the prey away.'
The apprentice walked forward as he waved his tail in the air. Smallpaw flicked his ears, trying to hear every sound.