C
Cheesecake
Guest
Original poster
(DISCLAIMER: This is my first time doing something like this! Also, if you disagree with what I write, please feel free to speak your mind!)
So you've written down your extensive world history, your five maps detailing the thirteen kingdoms that comprise your world, and the two-page character sheet. A week has passed. Why isn't anyone joining your roleplay? Well, there's a couple of reasons. This example is because you overwhelmed potential players! People aren't keen on having to read a bucket of fluff just to join something that may or may not pan out.
Here are some reasons that people didn't join your roleplay:
1. Overwhelmed!
Sometimes you overwhelm people who happen by your roleplay. They see the ten-paragraph opening and press the back button, hoping to find something else. Or, you could have a really long character sheet, making them detail their favorite colors and list their hobbies.
How to fix this?
Trim the fat! Make that ten-paragraph opening less of a novella and more of a written trailer. Write about the important plot elements. What's your roleplay centered around? Set the theme as well! Make the character sheet simple as well!
Ease up on the posting expectations. I know they aren't hardset rules, but they can easily deter newer roleplayers from your roleplay. Set them a bit lower. Even if their inglesh sux. It's everyone's responsibility to help newcomers or oldcomers (that's not a word :p) who have a hard time with English. Help them out, then you've got one more English proficient roleplayer who'll be on the lookout for more of your roleplays!
2. Underwhelmed...
Sometimes you just don't write enough. Sometimes you do write enough, but about the wrong things! We want something to catch our attention. Most people successfully avoid this, but sometimes in rare cases a roleplay just seems so boring and overdone.
How to fix this?
First and foremost, look at your idea. Don't bother thinking about whether or not its interesting. Think about whether or not its roleplayable. Some topics or ideas work better as video games, short stories or forum games, but not so much as a collaborative, multiplayer roleplay. If you think it works, go for it. If you know it won't, don't bother and think of something else! If you don't know, just try! Maybe it actually might work.
Secondly, make an idea interesting. Better yet, make an interesting idea more interesting! Interesting how? In writing, we don't have pretty colors. We don't have explosions. We don't have sfx. What we do have is literary effects. The one I just used was the rule of three.
Use descriptive imagery, not a simple infodump. Remember the last entertaining advert you saw. Try making your opening like an advert!
Bring in a partner! Brainstorm ideas with your friend, collaborate on the shared world. It'll make it twice as interesting at the very least! It'll make it interesting for you, as well as your partner, if the control is shared.
3. You had a roleplay?
A lot of times, people just didn't know you had a roleplay. Many are busy with the three or four roleplays they're already in. Sometimes people just don't check. It's not your fault (and neither are the first two reasons, don't get me wrong), but you can still fix it!
How to fix this?
Make a banner! You don't need to have a professional banner made; just go put up a banner, put the link to your RP, and enter the text. Easy! And it gets approved fast, too, thanks to the mods in Iwaku! Banners help a ton; they put the word out there. It may not keep players in the RP, but it'll get them there. Keeping them there is your job!
PM people! Invite your friends. Invite roleplayers you'd like to play with. If you've ever seen someone in a roleplay, and was all like, I wish we were in the same RP, invite them!
Put the roleplay in a different section. Sometimes you're just not appealing to the right audience. Your RP will probably fit in another category, filled with different RPers who'd probably enjoy your style more!
There are many, many more reasons that your roleplay isn't getting much posts, which I haven't included. One of those reasons is that its a matter of time! Slug it out a bit, and you'll definitely pull one or two suckers in. I can't think of other reasons off the top of my head, but that's where you guys come in: share your thoughts! (Even especially if you disagree! So I can add and change this.)
Thanks for reading![/hr][/hr][/hr]
So you've written down your extensive world history, your five maps detailing the thirteen kingdoms that comprise your world, and the two-page character sheet. A week has passed. Why isn't anyone joining your roleplay? Well, there's a couple of reasons. This example is because you overwhelmed potential players! People aren't keen on having to read a bucket of fluff just to join something that may or may not pan out.
Here are some reasons that people didn't join your roleplay:
1. Overwhelmed!
Sometimes you overwhelm people who happen by your roleplay. They see the ten-paragraph opening and press the back button, hoping to find something else. Or, you could have a really long character sheet, making them detail their favorite colors and list their hobbies.
How to fix this?
Trim the fat! Make that ten-paragraph opening less of a novella and more of a written trailer. Write about the important plot elements. What's your roleplay centered around? Set the theme as well! Make the character sheet simple as well!
Ease up on the posting expectations. I know they aren't hardset rules, but they can easily deter newer roleplayers from your roleplay. Set them a bit lower. Even if their inglesh sux. It's everyone's responsibility to help newcomers or oldcomers (that's not a word :p) who have a hard time with English. Help them out, then you've got one more English proficient roleplayer who'll be on the lookout for more of your roleplays!
2. Underwhelmed...
Sometimes you just don't write enough. Sometimes you do write enough, but about the wrong things! We want something to catch our attention. Most people successfully avoid this, but sometimes in rare cases a roleplay just seems so boring and overdone.
How to fix this?
First and foremost, look at your idea. Don't bother thinking about whether or not its interesting. Think about whether or not its roleplayable. Some topics or ideas work better as video games, short stories or forum games, but not so much as a collaborative, multiplayer roleplay. If you think it works, go for it. If you know it won't, don't bother and think of something else! If you don't know, just try! Maybe it actually might work.
Secondly, make an idea interesting. Better yet, make an interesting idea more interesting! Interesting how? In writing, we don't have pretty colors. We don't have explosions. We don't have sfx. What we do have is literary effects. The one I just used was the rule of three.
Use descriptive imagery, not a simple infodump. Remember the last entertaining advert you saw. Try making your opening like an advert!
Bring in a partner! Brainstorm ideas with your friend, collaborate on the shared world. It'll make it twice as interesting at the very least! It'll make it interesting for you, as well as your partner, if the control is shared.
3. You had a roleplay?
A lot of times, people just didn't know you had a roleplay. Many are busy with the three or four roleplays they're already in. Sometimes people just don't check. It's not your fault (and neither are the first two reasons, don't get me wrong), but you can still fix it!
How to fix this?
Make a banner! You don't need to have a professional banner made; just go put up a banner, put the link to your RP, and enter the text. Easy! And it gets approved fast, too, thanks to the mods in Iwaku! Banners help a ton; they put the word out there. It may not keep players in the RP, but it'll get them there. Keeping them there is your job!
PM people! Invite your friends. Invite roleplayers you'd like to play with. If you've ever seen someone in a roleplay, and was all like, I wish we were in the same RP, invite them!
Put the roleplay in a different section. Sometimes you're just not appealing to the right audience. Your RP will probably fit in another category, filled with different RPers who'd probably enjoy your style more!
There are many, many more reasons that your roleplay isn't getting much posts, which I haven't included. One of those reasons is that its a matter of time! Slug it out a bit, and you'll definitely pull one or two suckers in. I can't think of other reasons off the top of my head, but that's where you guys come in: share your thoughts! (
Thanks for reading![/hr][/hr][/hr]
