A short guide in RP writing...

I took advantage of my recent internet connection problems,to prepare the following guide.
It's not the Bible,it's just what I do-use anything you need....

A Short Guide in Role Play Writing.

This is not a full,professional guide for Role Play gamers,since I am not a professional writer and I presume you're not professional players either-or else you wouldn't be reading this.
Role Playing writing is not the same thing as writing a movie script,or a novel,it's more similar to soap operas.
It has to provide multiple courses of actions and ability to improvise as the game goes.
The difference between novels and RP,is that in novels,we have a solid structure that has distinct characteristics.
A prelude,a course of action and a conclusion-a limited structure that serves a finite purpose,the telling of a story.
To achieve that goal,a variety of tools is being used-which the most important is a defined and solid plot.
If the plot is capturing,then the story is good-if the plot is unconvincing or non existed,the story fails.
There must be plot in RP writing too,but not a definite one,otherwise,the story would end and our character would have nothing more to say....
The most important in RP writing,is the character development.
Instead of designing a solid and definite plot,we design a solid and definite character and we just put that character to interact with the other character,act on his own and react to the variables provided by the other gamers.
As cool as all these sound,there's still the problem of how we create a character.
Luckily,there are ways to create a convincing character.
First of all,we define the gender of the character because here are differences in the way each gender responds to circumstances-for instance,none expects to find a fragile blond delivering punches in the middle of a bar brawl,or a 7 foot neanderthal wrestler in a tea party,munching cookies and chatting about knitting!
Second,we must define the character's alignment,is he a good guy,a bad guy-why is he so,how does he display it,how the other characters perceive him?
A good alignment system was provided in the RP game Dungeons and Dragons,which originally was a board game,involving pens,papers and a story teller with an active imagination,as the Dungeon Master.
That game,defined the characters in the following categories.

Choosing a character's alignment

1) Lawful Good
They have a clear,black/white and no between perception of good an evil and they are on the good's side.
Paladins,Crusaders,Zealots they accept a higher authority and do whatever it takes to defend its cause.
By their example,they may influence other characters and alter their alliance-for better or for worse.
Historical figure: Jeanne D'Arc
Comic figure:Professor Xavier (X-Men)
Movie figure:Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)
2) Chaotic Good
They have an instinctive perception of good and evil and they choose good,not because they are taught so,but
because they feel good being doing good.
They may have trouble accepting authorities,since the moral compass inside them leads them to believe they
have the right to decide what's good and what's not.
Historical figure: Winston Churchill
Comic figure:Batman
Movie figure:Indiana Jones
3) Lawful neutral
They seem to perceive the good and evil as opposing forces,stripped of their moral content and they dedicate
their lives in preserving that balance.
They will align with the side that seems to be weaker,only to the extend that they ensure the balance.
Historical figure: Not really,this type of alignment is pure fiction,since everyone chooses sides sooner or later:)
Comic figure: None I'm aware of-besides the comics based on Dungeons and Dragons.
Movie figure:Same here:)
4) Chaotic neutral
The typical mercenaries,who don't mind on which side they're on,as long as there is cash.
Or,victims of blackmail who may do evil,to avoid consequences on them or their families.
Both of the above,are examples of characters found in plenty of films,comics or books in any genre.
Historical figure:Carlos the Jackal-infamous terrorist for hire.
Comic figure: Conan the Barbarian-in the comic series,he was a ruthless mercenary,trying to establish a kingdom of his own.He got to fight evil adversaries,because there was more gold in it:)
Movie figure:Tony Stark (Iron Man) As a weapon manufacturer,he is de facto a Chaotic Neutral-on the other hand his alter ego (Iron Man),is a chaotic good character.
5) Chaotic Evil
Most of the criminals and villains fall in this category.
They use anything and anyone,to achieve the maximum benefit-their top priority is themselves.
Historical Figure: Name a Conquistador of your choice,as Cortes or Pizarro
Comic Figure: Kingpin (Spider Man)
Movie Figure: Senator Palpatin (Star Wars)
6) Lawful Evil
As strange as it may seem,there is people that do great harm,not to benefit themselves,but because they believe that they do what's best for their country,their people or the whole Mankind.
Even stranger,is that under the proper circumstances,they can revert to Lawful good.
They are the living proof that the road to Hell,is full of good intentions...
Historical figure: Adolf Hitler
Comic figure:Magneto (X men-after the death of Professor X,he took his place as Head of the school and Leader of the X-Men,turning to Law full good)
Movie figure: Darth Vader (following Senator Palpatin's orders,he became the plague of the rebels,only to revert to Chaotic good at the end,saving Luke Skywalker's life and killing Senator Palpatin).

Character integrity

You have chosen the genre and alignment of your character,now it's time your character to begin interacting with the other characters and circumstances created in the game.
The tricky part,is to make your character respond to circumstances,in accordance with his alignment.
You can't have a villain selling cookies to benefit an orphanage (unless if he plans to steal the money),or a good guy,smash a puppy's head with a crowbar!
In order to make a character more believable,it'd be good to design him,sharing a number of qualities and traits with you,so you'll always know how he will act!
For instance,if you're good in following orders and have much respect to authorities and institutions,a lawful character should be no problem to you!

Non Player Characters

Sometimes,we may want something to be said or done,in order to advance our story,but the words or actions would not be in accordance with our character.
This is when an NPC comes handy!
We can create a secondary character,following the same procedure as our main and put him to do or say things our main wouldn't.
However,we must good care of our NPC and not make him act out of his character,or our story will lose it's believability and integrity.

Plot

The plot in RP writing is focused rather on characters,than circumstances,due to the limited control we have on the other player's writing.
In other words,we can only control what we write and we can only write about our character and his interactions-so do the other players.
It is of vital importance to use scarcely definite responses,because ending our posts with a final response will prohibit any further interaction.
For instance,instead of "...he went through the exit" is a definite action, while "...he walked towards the exit" is a non definite action,since someone could intercept the character on his way out and add more posts.

Integrity

Be sure that anything you mention in relation to your character or his actions,is something that can re appear later in your writing,one-out solutions may work for a while,but in the end,if you over do it,your story lines,will appear weak and the plot will seem circumstantial.
As a theatrical writer said "If you show a gun during the first act,make sure sure you get someone shot by the end of the second act!"

Details

Details of the surroundings,the character's movements,their feelings and expressions,add an air of "aliveness" to your RP.
On the other hand,it is easy to give too many details and destroy the action!
So,watch out,details are a knife with two edges...
Examples
Blunt:
"Eddie took out his gun and shot Eric"
Too much detail:
"Eddie's hand was trembling,when he reached for his Glock S-54 MkII-a fine weapon for experienced field agents.
However,Eddie was far from experienced-in fact,this was his very first assignment!
As he was pulling out the Glock S-54 he thought "Can I do it?Can I shoot a man in cold blood?"
Then his training took over,he spread his legs,assumed a solid stance,raised the deadly weapon,aimed at Eric's
head,held the deadly weapon with both hands and pulled the trigger.
The result was lethal-Eric's head was exploded in hundreds of bloody splinters,flying all around the place
painting Eddie's linen white shirt with the color of death-blood red!"
Balanced:
"Eddie reached for his Glock-his inexperience didn't show,his training instantly took over.
Steady,aim,shoot....the bullet blew Eric's head to bloody pieces.
Eric looked at his Glock and shook his head.
If only he could be as lethal and cold as his gun...."

Irrelevant incidents

Sometimes,describing an incident of the character's life,which is not linked with the storyline,helps making the character more substantial and believable,showing that this character has a life of his own and he's larger than the storyline.
For instance,a phone call from a friend in need and a remark from an NPC on the incident later on,will establish a feeling that your character:
A) has friends outside
B)He cares about them and
C) he will do the same for other players,if needed.

Other players


It would be good to follow other player's RP,since there's a good chance your story lines may intersect each other and more complex and intriguing RP's.
RP's among two feuding characters may be simple and fun,but in the end,if all do the same kind of RP,the overall result will be like the Chinese martial arts movies of the 70's,which most of he dialogues were like:
"I will kill you!","No,you die!" "My Dragon Fist is better than your Tiger Kick","Your Dragon Fist is useless against my Snake Block" and so on....