trainboundforsantafe:

tips to a successful text post from someone who has never had a successful text post

• no capitals
• at all
• unless you yELP IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR SENTENCE LIKE THIS THAT IS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE
• if you’re telling a story back it up with a photo
• don’t hate on people unless it is nickelback you can hate on nickelback
• be funny and not mean
• never use punctuation

the-collisioncourse:

deanwinchesterthepiesexual:

Possible Reasons Why I Haven’t Replied To Our Thread Yet

• I’m a lazy motherfucker
• My muse is lost
• Your reply was too good and I have no fucking idea what to do
• Tumblr’s being a douche and I didn’t see you replied

NOT Reasons Why I Haven’t Replied

• I hate you
• I’m ignoring you on purpose

Most likely I’m a lazy motherfucker.

buffynaturalhelps:

How to Use the RPCWHA Tags Correctly

There has been a lot of ranting back and forth on what should be tagged and what shouldn’t. It all boils down to one question. What are the rpcwha tags for? The answer is surprisingly simple — help.

The community seems to forget this though and simply tags everything that comes their way leading to a clogged tag that is less than coherent and hard to sift through. The general rule of thumb should be to only tag it if it will help someone looking for rpcwha help. 

If you’re still confused, I have compiled a few simple guidelines to follow.

DO tag:

• guides/how-tos
• your services
• reviews
• texture packs
• graphic help
• tips
• resources
• rants
• any other helpful things

DON’T tag:

• shout outs
• follow forevers
• casual conversations
• replies to questions that have nothing to do with roleplaying as a whole (like that your graphics are close, no one cares)
• roleplay promotions
• posts by roleplays
• that you’re bored
• updates on your personal life and activities

A few reminders:

• The rpcw tag prefers to stay ‘spam free’ {Illyria bless them} and so do not post your services there.
• Don’t tag rpc unless you offer reviews. The c stands for critic for a reason.
• Constant promoing, or even a promo blog for your helper account, is unnecessary and irritating. Instead, draw attention to your blog through posting original content.
• The n word and other derogatory words don’t need to be front and center in our tags. A tasteful ‘read more’ is always nice though I doubt yelling out the n word for requests is necessary.

fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment:

spineye:

amandaonwriting:

Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (BPA) - Resource for Crime Writers

SOURCE

well you never know when this might come in handy.

I feel like this would be useful to some of you. 

rpcgron:

I think, as a community, we tend to go through these cycles where people are at each other’s throats, or nights when the dash is tense, or things happening that may be cruel or hateful. So I’ve decided to come up with a pledge. You can participate or not, it’s up to you. Whether or not you do is your decision and doesn’t really determine anything about you. More than anything, it’s a promise to yourself and those who come to you to put in the best effort you can to try and make the community the best and friendliest place it can be. Now, I know things won’t always be perfect. I know people will argue or disagree. That’s the way the world works. But here is a pledge that will help you to keep in mind some things that you should reconsider doing to help decrease negativity in the community. 

I pledge to:

• Not give negative feedback about a roleplay/person/rpcha without being asked directly by them.
• Not participate in blacklists or hate lists or bad RP/RPCHA lists of any kind. 
• Not send anonymous hate to any rp, rper, or rpcha (or anyone)
• Not say insulting or mean things back to someone for disagreeing with me. 
• Try to understand that a difference in opinions is not an attack, but also understand that guising rudeness as an “opinion” can still be hurtful.
• Avoid making crude jokes or comments about race/sexuality/nationality/gender/heritage no matter what I am or the comment is about. 
• Try my best to properly use trigger warnings
• Remember that we are all people, we are all creators and writers and thinkers. We are all happy here, and that no one has the right to tear another person or their work down. 

There are no requirements to take the pledge. No rules if you don’t do it and no police that are going to force you to redeem yourself if  you break a rule. This pledge is for you. To try and be aware and think about your actions and the effects they can have on other people. It’s for the community. 

If you would like to take the pledge, you may paste this code into your sidebar to display that you have pledged:

<a href=”http://rpcgron.tumblr.com/pledge”>This RPer took the RPCHA Anti Hate pledge</a>

krisnoel-lionhead:

For my first official ‘Motivational Monday’, I’d like to talk about how to organize your writing goals for the week. Monday is an important day to get yourself motivated and inspired to tackle your writing goals. First you need to decide what you want to do and what you can realistically handle every week. You need to figure out how much you’ll be able to push yourself.

You should start out by figuring out how much free time you’ll have during the week. If you work a full time job or you’re a student, it can be hard to find time. Even if you have a day off, it can still be difficult to get yourself motivated. It’s really important that you find some way to inspire yourself when you don’t feel much like writing. For me, inspiration usually comes through brainstorming or planning out an exciting scene. If I’m excited about writing, I’ll always have the proper motivation. I’ll always look forward to writing if I know where it’s going.

Creating a schedule or having daily writing goals DOES HELP. Start out with pushing yourself to write 1000 words a day. You don’t have to do it all in one sitting, but you can write in twenty minute sprints. Most of us don’t have a few hours at a time to dedicate to writing, but we can spare a ten minutes here and there. Figure out what works for you and when you write best. Some people like to write early in the morning and some people can’t write until they relax at night. Take a moment to figure out when you’re most productive and creative.

Just remember that you’re not always going to stick to your goals. It’s important that you push yourself and get into some sort of schedule, but there will be days that you just can’t do it. DON’T LET THAT DISCOURAGE. You’re whole week isn’t shot if you can’t keep up with your writing goals. All you need to do is adjust them and keep working at it. Don’t give up just because you might be disappointed in what you didn’t do.

-Kris Noel

ryan-rivard:

I made this infographic based on John August’s How to Write a Scene post. I found it helpful. Hope you do too.

keyboardsmashwriters:

A World in Words

Exercise –
Pick 1-2 characters and drop them in a completely unfamiliar place (perhaps in the world of another story). They don’t know the land, the people, or the rules of the world. Write at least 500 words of the character(s) interacting in this world for the first time.

Goal –
When a reader opens a new book, they don’t know the world like the author does, even if the story takes place in modern times. The reader trusts the author to gradually and naturally show the setting – the time and place – of the story.

The setting isn’t simply a portrait of a place, but a survey of senses, costume, food, climate, languages, technology, architecture, society, government, and everything that brings a world to life.

The key is to show the world only as the characters discover it, as the reader should be able to discover the setting as the characters do. Refrain from telling or explaining. Utilize the senses to reveal unfamiliar materials. If the characters have never known silk before, don’t reference its name. Describe it, how it feels and smells and what the sensation reminds the characters of. The same applies to computers, or food, or even magic.

Tips –

• If you’re having trouble, step into a place you’ve never been in, or a room you rarely frequent, or simply go outside. What do you see first? What smells fight to be recognized? What does the air feel like on your skin? What about any sounds? Even in perfect silence, there’s always something to hear, whether it’s the buzz of a light bulb, the sound of your own breathing, or even the strange ringing in the ears that perfect silence often creates.
• Dialogue is a great tool of active interaction to communicate information, however –
• Avoid reader feeder: don’t have one character iterate information to the other for the sake of the reader. “You know how we just came from our super boring fifth period history of Europe class?” “Oh, the class where our teacher uses paperclips like army knives?” That’s reader feeder. Both characters already know this information and have no need to repeat it to each other.
• Think of clincher details, the heartstrings of a world that give dimension to your setting. Old newspapers, rotted wood, cat hair on furniture, wallpaper that your grandmother would be proud of, hairpins all over the stained carpet.
• Choose only the best details. Don’t drown the reader in description – ground the reader. Don’t control the reader’s imagination, but inspire it. Hold back on revealing all the world’s secrets at once, introduce a spoonful at a time. While writing, jot down everything that comes to mind if you have to, then revise and leave behind only the strongest lines. Use a little to convey a lot.
• If you’re having trouble picking lines or deciding what details are necessary, ask yourself “How important is this detail to the world I’m trying to create? How can I make this detail sharper? Clearer? More original and poignant?”
• Don’t rely on physical description alone. How does the setting make the character feel? How do they physically interact with what’s around them? What does it do to their body chemistry? Revealing these details also brings out your character, how they see this world in comparison to their own, and illuminating how they react in such situations and what they do with what’s given to them.
• Make sure you do your research. For any setting to be portrayed accurately and realistically (even in the case of fantasy), realistic worlds depend greatly on effective research.
• Make a checklist of the points you want to communicate in your exercise. Set a realistic amount of goals for your word count, or check off the points you hit and think about why the other points weren’t hit.

Be sure to tag “ksw exercise” in your responses!

kgillsrpc:

(Just a word of warning: It’s getting late and I’m kind of high on cough medicine, so you’ll have to excuse me if this doesn’t make much sense, or if it’s not worded as nicely as it could be.)

On more than one occasion, I’ve gotten questions on this account regarding plot ideas; what I think would be a good plot, or kind of plot I would like to see. Upon browsing the tags, I’ve also noticed people saying things along the lines of, “I feel like making a roleplay. Does anyone have ideas for me?”—as well as tons of these “soon to be roleplay, please come and vote for your favorite plot” accounts floating around. Not to mention how some start roleplays only to close them down a week later, just because the creator didn’t think them “popular enough”.

Stop. You’re doing it wrong.

See, here’s the deal. Creating a successful roleplay isn’t as quick and easy as making mac ‘n’ cheese. There is no specific recipe or set of instructions you can follow, but if I had to mention a couple of key ingredients, I would go with passion and dedication. You need to come up with an idea you can fully invest yourself in. You need to fucking embrace that idea. In fact, you need to be so in love with the idea that you’re willing to put a ring on it, marry it, and stick with it until both of you are old and grumpy and need one of the nurses at the retirement home to change your diapers every two hours.

Making a roleplay—especially a successful, long-lived one—takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication. It’s not something you throw together over night, and give up on the moment you reach the first obstacle. Believe me, there will be many obstacles to come. You just have to get past them; and that is the reason why the notion of begging other people to give you ideas feels so backwards to me. Don’t create a roleplay just for the sake of creating one, especially if you don’t have an idea to begin with. And most of all, don’t go around asking other people what plot they would base a roleplay on.

Drawing inspiration from other people as well as your surroundings is only natural—but at the end of the day, if you want it to be well-perceived, that idea needs to be yours. You are the one who needs to love it. You are the one who needs to be willing to pour your heart and soul into it. You are the one who needs to take pride in it. You are the one who needs to remain dedicated, no matter how difficult it may seem. And if you create a roleplay just for the sake of creating one, or to please someone else; then yes, you most likely will end up closing it after a week.

Passion is the key to a successful roleplay.