LESSON Yet Another Guide to Seeking 1x1 RP

The Mood is Write

Mom-de-Plume
Original poster
DONATING MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Looking for partners
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. Multiple posts per week
Online Availability
It varies wildly.
Writing Levels
  1. Advanced
  2. Prestige
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Nonbinary
  3. Primarily Prefer Female
Genres
I'm open to a wide range of genres. Obscenely wide. It's harder for me to list all I do like than all I don't like.

My favorite settings are fantasy combined with something else, multiverse, post-apoc, historical (mixed with something else), and futuristic. I'm not limited to those, but it's a good start.

My favorite genres include mystery, adventure, action, drama, tragedy (must be mixed with something else and kept balanced), romance (again must be mixed, and more.

I'm happy to include elements of slice-of-life and romance, but doing them on their own doesn't hold my interest indefinitely.
"Help! I can't get any RP!"
Hello! This is my third attempt at writing this guide. My first attempt derailed when I realized that I was still very new to Iwaku and didn't even know the community too well yet. My second attempt failed when I got distracted by something shiny. Hopefully, this attempt will actually see itself posted.

There are already several threads on this topic, but everyone has their own opinion on what makes a thread work. For reference, thread writers in the past have been Sansa Stark, Diana, Minibit, ~Dark.Disney.Triplet~, and Elle Joyner. Absolutely look over the guides by other people—I'm sure I've not hit on every point imaginable, and it's always good to have multiple viewpoints.

In the thirteen years I have written on several sites, I eventually learned a method that works fairly well for me in luring people to talk to me, since I am very shy about sending messages. In this, I will concentrate primarily on how I make threads and what I expect of those who approach me.

As a note, my methods will not work for everybody, but they seem to work pretty well for me, and I want everyone to have a chance to find roleplay if they're looking for it.

Thread Construction
I'll begin with things to remember about layout.

Iwaku has a lot of BB Code available, including some that allows for resizing images to sit beside the text on the left or right (icss), floating text when you hover (tooltip), and even some really awesome ways to organize a thread (tabs). I suggest everyone take advantage, but also remember a few key details when making a thread.

First, it needs to be easy to read. Centered or right-aligned text can be hard on the eyes, especially if it's more than one line. Small text sizes can also be difficult, and paragraphs may need to be separated by an empty line if there are a lot of them. Finally, be careful with colors—some may be blinding on some of the site color schemes. All of these serve only to make things easier to read, and will let a reader view the content of the thread easily.

Second, images. I like to keep mine less than 200 pixels wide, and 200 tall IF they are not assigned to float to the left or right. The less a person has to scroll, the more they can absorb about a thread in a shorter time.

Once you have good presentation, it's time to work on the content.


The first thing I do is I write out my preferences in full gory detail. I write out how I hate and utterly despise when a partner asks 'are you having fun' five times to every post because I took an hour on it or something like that. I write about how horrible it feels when someone contacts me when I have a huge list of possible plots, and they're interested in something that is not at all related to any of them, and isn't even a similar genre.

Then, I rewrite them. I get rid of any reference to hatred or things that annoy me, and instead I simply state what I want, what I expect, and what I offer in a way that doesn't attack people, for example:

  • I would like a minimum of five sentences per post.
  • My posts will come roughly once a week.
  • Only contact me by summoning circle using the blood of a duck.

I may pretty them up further by having different sections, but the main point should be to list preferences, like posting speed and length, skill expectations, communication, and details that make or break an experience with a partner.


With preferences and rules set up, it's time to move on to the meat. I usually host my characters and plots elsewhere (such as toyhou.se, f-list, or google docs) and provide a short summary in the thread, so that readers can (in theory) click on what interests them to read more, while I don't clutter them with unneeded information.

For this part, anything goes, though I do have some suggestions.

I usually like to bold a plot's title and offer clearly-labeled links to the story/character. I also typically include tags beneath the title in small font, with a regular size for the description of four sentences or fewer. Concise, short summaries tend to work best in my experience when there are a lot of ideas from which to choose.


The last part I write out is an introduction of myself—something short and personal that relates to RP. It's hard to go wrong here, except maybe by making it a long list (maybe). So, rather than go on about it, I'll just offer an example in the form of a link to Minibit's guide.

Also, find a good title. This thread offers some insight to how people may view a thread's title.

Advertisement
At long last, lovely Diana has re-enabled banners. Someone looking to advertise in this system should make one that is 800 pixels wide by 100 pixels tall and plug it into the form accessible through the "Advertising" tab at the top of the website.

Bannerfans has a simple maker that people can use for this purpose.

Diana does not encourage use of banners for 1x1-seeking where a person only wants to advertise one plot or find one partner. Also, I warn that users seeking to use this resource pay close attention to the star ratings. "Roleplay" is fine for most RP searches and recruiting groups. For sexual RP, teens should use Blue Star, and adults should use Red Star to avoid advertising to the wrong individuals.

Approach
For those seeking information on why people always turn them down, this section will hopefully offer some insight. This will not be correct for all players, but I have heard others complain about people having 'bad' approaches, and it can get very frustrating for everyone involved. To that end, I have a few suggestions.

Avoid saying that none of the ideas they list interest you. Try instead asking if the person is interested in working on something together or using one of your ideas, if their plots can't grab you, but their player information does. When doing this, try to keep your story ideas similar to the themes they include in their plots. A player who loves combat RP may not appreciate being approached for a romance or horror, and a player who advertises RP with a mix of light and dark themes may not enjoy a story that is completely light or completely dark.

My most successful planning sessions usually start with both players acting professionally. It's like stepping into a job interview. Both partners need to impress the other OOC initially. Use your best English and be polite. Choose what you say with care. This one applies to BOTH partners, and I have found that when both partners can do this, the RP will either take off and my partner and I usually become friends, or we are able to part ways without hard feelings.

Finally, take note of how a person asks to be contacted. Some people want to keep their thread empty of posts that don't belong to them, and others don't want a full inbox. Still more are Literally Satan and really want some delicious duck blood with their RP. Respect their wishes, and you're off on the right foot.

TLDR:
When making a thread, keep it simple-looking, clean, concise, and welcoming.
When answering a thread, keep polite, respectful, and relevant.

 
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You might want to also include that saying you will only roleplay over Skype or Email is a good way to pretty much to turn off a LOT of interest, I see that every so often and go 'oooo ouch, you just killed your chance at getting any partners'
 
It might turn away forum-only players, but I'd need to collect some data before I make a claim like that.
 
Thank you so much for writing this guide! It's simple and easy to understand. <3
 
Thank you so much for writing this guide! It's simple and easy to understand. <3
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I hope it helps a lot. =)
 
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Reactions: DangoYumi
It does! In fact the links to the other guides that you provided also helps a lot. I'm so glad I found you ;;v;;
 
I'll be keeping this updated as much as possible, so if you bookmark it, you'll get alerts if I edit it!
 
Omigosh thank you! Will bookmark it right away ;)
 
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Reactions: The Mood is Write
Not a problem! =)
 
The Mood Is Write said:
  • Only contact me by summoning circle using the blood of a duck.
Laughed a bit too hard at that one.