Post Length

D

Demmy

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Hiya, Demmy here. I love to roleplay but personally find it hard to find a good RP that doesn't require a minimum post length. I don't understand why people get so upset about short posts and I'd like your help to understand.

So first, a bit about me. I roleplay often and usually in one liners. This doesn't mean I don't use grammar, despite being horrible at it, but I literally cannot write more unless I have a large amount of inspiration or the post requires movement, ie. a fight scene. I've had many people tell my to describe what my character is feeling or seeing. But if my characters is talking to another and I did that every post then wouldn't I just be repeating myself?

Anyway, I just don't get it. What are your thoughts?
 
Hey, Demmy!

As someone who enjoys long posts, I can go on to explain why I personally prefer long posts. At the end of the day, it comes down to preference. There is nothing wrong with liking short posts, or long posts, and you should do what you enjoy most.

For me, I enjoy longer posts (500+ words), because it enriches the story for me. I don't just want to know what a person's character is saying. I want to know about the world around them, their body language (ie: a character can be sad without ever saying their sad. A tear can well up in their ear, they can sniffle, they can get a heated blush in their cheek, etc.), and what else is ongoing aside from just the interaction of dialogue.

Furthermore, I like the commitment. For me, personally, I feel more dedicated to a roleplay when another partner and I are investing a lot of time in crafting each post. When a partner clearly spends a long time putting together a well-crafted piece for me to read, I feel like they care about the roleplay enough to spend time on it. Likewise, I want my partners to feel like I care about the roleplay, and the characters, enough to be willing to take out a half hour or more of my day to write for them. (:

Again, it ultimately comes down to personal preference. You'll find lots of extremely casual/one line roleplays out there if you know where to look!
 
I typically find that shorter posts, when not done in some sort of collaborative form where the flow makes sense, just leave me feeling a little flat.

Replaying is about the back and forth... About give and take. Action/Reaction. Most onliners do not offer much as far as these well rounded, meaningful interactions go. I also enjoy stories where the world feels real and deep... Where I can immerse myself in the details. Without scenery... sensory notes... I've got nothing to go off of, and I can't connect to it.

Bottom line, a few good, rich paragraphs just offer me more to work with and inspire me so much more to want to keep writing.
 
What you both said makes a lot of sense, actually. However, that also brings me back to one of my previous points. If you are stating what is happening, either directing or indirectly, then would you not simply be repeating yourself with every new post?
 
What you both said makes a lot of sense, actually. However, that also brings me back to one of my previous points. If you are stating what is happening, either directing or indirectly, then would you not simply be repeating yourself with every new post?
I’ve yet to run into that problem because with longer posts, scenes are able to change from post to post quicker than they do if you’re writing short posts because you can transition from one scene to another in one post, instead of in six or seven smaller posts. At least that has been my experience.
 
That's a fair point. Wouldn't that create a possibility for god modding, though? Say for example two characters are having a stationary conversation, how can you increase the speed of the conversation without making it seem like two different conversations at the same time.

I also understand if that is confusing. I am not the best when it come to explaining.
 
The way I 1x1, I actually allow for a little bunnying of my own character. If you look at what a 1x is... in essence it's co-writing. For me, being stingy about a scene or demanding isn't effective. Granted... Not everyone feels the same way, but it's been very successful so far
 
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I'm personally a very introspective writer. I focus a lot on the emotions of my characters and their thoughts and goals. Sometimes that means my posts end up on the long side. ... Usually that means my posts end up on the long side.

But that's just me. That's what I enjoy. I find I get along better with other writers who enjoy writing in similar ways, but not always. Sometimes it's nice just to have a really laid back role-play where you just write quickly back-and-forth with mostly dialogue.

No one way of role-playing is superior to another. It's all down to personal enjoyment. If you like short posts and one-liners, more power to you! There are plenty of role-players (though perhaps not so much in group settings?) that do, too. It's all about finding partners that want the same thing you do.

I will also mention that I, too, dislike mandatory word minimums. That almost always leads to people injecting filler into their posts in a desperate attempt to reach an arbitrary post length. I don't like filler. Write what you need to/want to, and no more. I used to find role-playing so much more stressful when I was trying to force myself to reach a word count. Sometimes that word count was 1000 words per post! 1000 words is not always necessary, not by a long shot!
 
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That's a fair point. Wouldn't that create a possibility for god modding, though? Say for example two characters are having a stationary conversation, how can you increase the speed of the conversation without making it seem like two different conversations at the same time.

I also understand if that is confusing. I am not the best when it come to explaining.
Nah, I understand what you're saying! For me, especially in one on one, a lot of it comes down to trusting your partner, and being compatible with them. I trust my partners to make good, rational decisions based on their character, and allow ample time for mine to react in any way I choose. In groups, it's a slightly different dynamic. I have no trouble writing large posts in groups because I have so much to react to. For example, you have multiple characters at play-- all saying, doing things-- and your character can, and will, respond to all of them in various ways. Long posts allow for you to show that shift in emotion, and to explore a character's thoughts and inner clockwork. It's all about character development, and watching them evolve through their dialogue, and through their actions.
 
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I'll echo what Opal said as well... There's no one way that works for anything. And filler for filler's sake is lame XD
 
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My post length depends wholly on how my muse is doing in that particular moment. If I'm inspired, a massive post. If I'm not... a very lame or short post. With lots of filler. I don't like doing filler, but sometimes it helps jumpstart my creativity, so why not? Plus it helps develop my characters. That's always a bonus.
 
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Like others said, you don't necessarily have to change to writing longer posts - if you enjoy one-liners and fast-paced things, you might even consider looking for partners to play in the roleplaying channels on the Iwaku Discord where one-liners are a little more the norm and it moves quickly. Only a suggestion, though!

Like others mentioned, I like longer posts because it lets people add to the scene. When I roleplay, I'm usually pretty flexible for my partner and I to build scenes together. So my character will perhaps fidget with the knobs on her writing desk but never say she's nervous, because she's too proud. Maybe my partner's character, who hates opulence and luxury, will disapprovingly notice the plushness of the carpet under their feet. Things like that help build a character in the "show, not tell" way that I think gives them greater depth. I could tell you, "she's nervous, but too proud to say so" or I could say "she managed to retain a stoic expression when facing him even as she fretted with the ornate knobs on the desk drawer in front of her, its details beginning to wear smooth after many years of fidgeting" and I like the image that the second paints for me better.