Choosing the Right Avatar for your Character

This whole situation made me laugh, so I’m sharing it.  (It’s also a good lesson.)

A while back I was in an RPG and we needed a character for the plot.  The character actually needed to die off quickly for the plot to work.

The character (Jared Stone) was a cute, hotshot, skirt-chasing, foul-mouthed-yet-endearing pilot.  He was critically injured and needed to die after a few days to make way for another character to take his spot.

Because of this, we (as a group) chose this avatar:

Cute, yes?  XD

But then……something happened.

Because of the other player dropping out, we needed Jared to miraculously pull through and live.

O.o

The character became a main character, and the avatar was ridiculed mercilessly.

(My favorite one was comparing him to Kahn Singh:

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNN!

And my favorite nickname was “Mr. Booby Chest.”  XD)

So, finally, he chose a new avatar….but the nicknames, I am told, will remain.

So remember, kids….when choosing an avatar, choose wisely. The pic should reflect the nature of your character, and…plan ahead.

What is Role Playing?

What is role playing?

Chances are, you’ve done role playing before.  Most kids pretend to be something they’re not – a policeman, fireman,  astronaut, etc.  It’s fun!

Role playing is the same for an adult – you pretend to be something you’re not.

Online role-playing is a quick, easy way to do this.  You can RP in a variety of formats, with 2 being my faves:

• Twitter
• Forums

I prefer Twitter for roleplaying because it’s fast and interactive, but forums can be enjoyable, too.

Getting started with Online Role Playing on Twitter:

Online role playing with Twitter is simple.

• Start an account at Twitter – it’s free!
• Pick a character you want to be – or make up your own!
• Follow the steps to create the account and then find a picture to use.
• Find other RPers and follow them.  (Another Twitter term)
• Start interacting.

Need help?  Our role playing rpg is very willing to help newbies!  Go to http://navaarstwitterfic.wordpress.com or contact

• Shara at sharatheorion {at} hotmail {dot} com or http://twitter.com/SharatheOrion

You can also post questions as comments. 

RP Haters on Twitter

If you RP in a public forum long enough, you’re going to have a hater.

I, personally, have just acquired a new one.  ((WOO HOOO!  LOL XD))

Not everyone is going to like the way you RP.  They won’t like your character, your storylines or your grammar.  Something.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Once someone realizes that they don’t like how you RP, most people would simply ignore what you RP at that point.

But – for some, strange reason – some people are not content to quietly unfollow you or to not look at the RP threads you post in.

No, they have to attack you.

That, my friends, is when you have a hater.

Why Haters Hate

Now, before I start my little rant, please understand that there are some people that I simply cannot stand to watch RP.  Seriously – there are things they do that just make me go “ick.”

But you know what?  I’m not the end-all, be-all of RP judging, so I quietly unfollow them and that’s the end of it.  No big deal.  They have fun and I don’t have to watch it.  Everyone’s happy.  ( And, most of the time, they have a good number of followers, so my opinion is obviously in the minority. *shrugs* I’m cool with that. )

But haters are different.  They aren’t happy with ignoring you.  Because of some deep-rooted issue, they have to let everyone know – including you – that they dislike the way you RP.

Why?

I have a few theories:

• Jealousy
• Pettiness
• Psychological issues
• No life
• And a few others I’ll keep to myself

So then you are faced with a choice.

Live and Let Live

I have seen some truly spectacular fights over RP.  Stunning ones.  Devastating ones.

But – at the end of the day – it’s just RPing.  It’s not worth getting that upset over.  (Now, if it’s an argument IRL with someone you RP with, that’s another story.  Not what I’m talking about.)

If someone has an issue with the way you RP and simply wants to be a jerk about it, ignore it.

Honestly, don’t lose sleep over it.  Don’t fight over it.  That’s what the hater WANTS you to do.

Just unfollow, block and ignore.

And that’s all I have to say about that.  :D

RP Haters on Twitter (in RL)

Another ooc post.  You're surprised, I know.  Hehe


I have another hater!  SWEET!  Called me a b*tch and everything, plus tried to get me riled up by mentioning an account I have.  Hahahahaha.


Why?  Because I had the audacity to tell this person (an RPer, no less) that threatening legal action against someone (not me) just because that person said/did something they didn't like was ridiculous.


This person said that the account in question was cyberbullying because it pokes fun of RPers and their storylines.  (And trust me, my accounts are poked fun of just as much as anyone else is.)  


Puh-lease.  If that's the case, every comedian on the planet is a cyberbully.  It's like those countries that put comedians in jail if they speak against their leaders. 


Anyway, I digress.


Honestly, if you don't have haters on Twitter (or anywhere on the Internet, for that matter), you're not doing anything interesting.  


RP is supposed to be fun.  People that get all full of Haterade make it suck for everyone.  That's what the block button is for.  *POOF* The person is out of sight, out of mind.  Then you can get back to RPing and having fun.  There is no reason to keep bickering with the person.  


Just going to toss a few things out there:


1.  You are what you tweet.  If you start name-calling and being a total jerk (ooc, not ic - there's a difference), then people see that.  It's forever.  Debate is one thing.  Name calling is another thing completely.  Name calling is a surefire way to get people to turn against you - and not just the person you are calling names. 


2.  "You understand that by using the Services[Twitter], you may be exposed to Content that might be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate..."  Quoted straight from the Twitter TOS.  Guess what?  Not everyone is going to say or do what you think is right. They may even *gasp* disagree with you.  Again, unfollow or delete.  Don't throw tantrums.


3.  Twitter has very specific reasons for suspending accounts.  "That account upset me/offends me/hurt my feelings" isn't one of them.  Get over it.  Block or unfollow.  Next. 


And my favorite:


4.  "You think you are the RP Twitter Rules God."  No, actually it's God-dess. Hahahaha  Okay, just kidding.  But seriously, since this has been tossed at me twice now, I'll address it.


The only RP Rules I ever post are ones that are generally accepted as standard rules.  I also post guidelines that I personally prefer.  (To my knowledge, I believe I always make a distinction between the two.)  The ones I post that are my personal guidelines are from watching literally thousands of RPers over the years and from personal experience.  I think that kind of qualifies to have an opinion and post some advice.  *shrugs*


Not only that, but I help a lot of new RPers (along with others in my RPG).  I see what they struggle with and what seems to help.  *shrugs*  Seems only right to pass tips along that would help others.


And third, how difficult is it to understand the concept of being polite?  I remind people to "Do unto other RPers as you would have them do unto you" and I am told that's wrong?  Holy cow.  Go figure.


-----------------------------


So, kids - in closing, just play nicely.  And if a hater tries to yank your chain, just block and/or unfollow.   You know what they say about arguing on the Internet.... (If not, Google it.)

Coming up with RP plots

Seems like I keep writing ooc posts.  I'll have to change that, but I think this one needs to be written.


So many times I see the following from RPers:


"I'm bored."


"I can't come up with a storyline."


Or this conversation:


RPer 1:  "I'm bored.  Anyone wanna RP?"


RPer 2: "I'm bored, too.  Sure."


RPer 1: "What do you want to RP?"


RPer 2: "I dunno, I was just bored.  What do you want to RP?"


Then there are 20 ooc posts and they are still no closer to RPing.


*headdesk*


If you come up with compelling, interesting, varied SLs, you will get more and more people to follow you, and those people will want to join your RP (if they are RPers).  People will ask to join you.


I almost always have a plot in mind when I log on.  I may not do it (depending on if others are on, we will sometimes coordinate a different plot off the cuff), but I at least have it in mind.


People have asked how I come up with so many plots.  A lot of times they just pop into my head and I write them down for future use.


But there are times when I have to just sit down and plan something out.


Here is my Sooper Sekrit RP Plot Formula (TM).  And I'll walk you through my thought process.


1.  Pick a place.


Don't know why, but knowing where the action is taking place helps me.  Since I'm in sci fi, it's usually another planet.  


So I look at a Star Wars galaxy map (since that's the genre I RP in) and start looking.


I'll read through and see if anything jumps out at me.  Today I like the Outer Rim Territories.  I click that.


Browsing.....browsing....reading the history.....browsing....


Oooh.  The Si'klaata Cluster.  Let's look at that.  *click*


Reading.....reading....oooooh.  Non-Hutt access was restricted.  Interesting.


Four planets are mentioned in the sector:   Klatooine, Tas-La, Vontor, and Vodran.  *click click click click*


Klatooine?  Nah.  Tas-La?  No, not much info.  Vontor?  No.  Vodran?  Hmmmmm....this is promising.  Jungle planet?  Swamps?  Me likey.


Okay, so this mission is going to Vodran.


2.  Why do they go?


Reading.....reading....


The dianoga evolved there.  Maybe NavKor needs new garbage disposals.  Hehehe.  That could be a fun plot.  Much pissing and moaning from those sent.  Let's do it.


(I could have also chosen a bounty hunter mission, cargo pickup or delivery, etc.)


3.  What happens during the mission?


This is the fun part, and this is where you can get the input of others.  At this point, you have a basic idea and you can ask others to join in.  


So now, instead of saying "I'm bored, wanna RP?"  you can say "I have a mission to Vodran planned.  Anyone want to help?"  And, in the meantime, you can have your character going through steps to prepare for the mission.


What happens on missions is the fun part.  Will it go smoothly?  Does someone get hurt?  Do they run into Darth Maul along the way?  Is a crew member captured by a rival smuggler's ship?  Does one member get captured by the Hutts and forced into slavery until rescued?  Will they have to crash land somewhere?  Do they meet someone that will join the crew?


Always remember these words:  "What if....?"


That's the key.  So many possibilities.


If you are in another 'verse, use similar resources for your genre.  Start reading, pick a place (country, city, building, etc.) and then work from there.  Where is it?  What kind of place is it? Why would they be there?  What could go wrong?


There's never a reason to be without a plot.  Use some reference materials and let things go from there.


And one more thing:  Use DMs or chat to plan a plot.  If you plan everything in ooc tweets, I have no reason to watch it.  I already know what's going to happen!  (I feel another ooc post coming on....)

Creating a character that people want to RP with (OOC post)

Just an OOC post/rant about a trend I'm noticing on Twitter. The following is JMHO, of course. 


Starting role play on Twitter is simple.


1.  open an account, name it, put up a bio, choose a pic.
2.  Start Tweeting.


Seriously.  That's it.  


Now, I can think of several people that do a fine job of "role playing' and they don't even need anyone else to interact with.  They are excellent storytellers, and I enjoy watching their stories as they tweet them.


But for others, they enjoy interactive RP.  They want others to talk to.


I have several characters on Twitter, and they are all pretty popular.  I've seen a LOT of RPers come and go in my time in Twitter RP.  


Here are a few things I've observed in watching both successful and unsuccessful RPers on Twitter:

Do's

1.  Make your character interesting.  Make the character multi-faceted.  Give them flaws.  


2.  Make them realistic.  Even if a character is powerful, he or she should have a weakness.  Even if the character is a good person, there should be some flaw.  Perfect characters are annoying.


3.  Have a storyline.  Even if you are alone, have a storyline.  Make it an interesting one.  This will bring more people into your story.


4.  Interact with followers (other RPers).  Don't just say, "Hey, baby, wanna RP?"  Come up with a plot and then ask if others want to join in.   Try something like "Hey, I am on a mission to Zebus and need someone help me capture a deathstick dealer."  You'll get a much better response.  Once others realize you come up with good plots, more people will want to join in.


5.  Interact with followers (non-RPers).  Talk to them "in character."  The followers get a kick out of it, and it really is fun.  Some of the best RPers are followers who decided they wanted to take the plunge and join the wacky world of Twitter RP.


6.  Make your characters sociable.  This one drives me crazy.  People will NOT RP with you if your character is pissy.  Or silent.  Or emo.  Or violent.  UNLESS you make it interesting for them to do so, and you balance it.  


Case in point:  Jared Stone.  He was an arrogant, smartass bastard most of the time.  But he also showed a nicer side to one or two people, and he was entertaining when he was an ass.  


7.  Give your character a face.  Another pet peeve of mine.  It's really hard to "get to know" a character that is faceless.    Hard to relate to someone that way.  Find a pic that at least comes close to your mental image for your character.  


8.  See if you can join with an existing role playing group.  This is the easiest way to find people to RP with.  Ask the group members how to join. 

Don'ts

1.  Don't be an RP slut.  Do I mean you need to be a saint?  No.  (Most of my characters are Orions.  Duh.) But don't be one of the types that just prowls for sex and that's the only thing you RP.  Don't make sex or a relationship be the focus of your RP.    Don't be "Single and Looking."  IT'S RP, FOR GODS'S SAKE!     


A relationship (and/or sex) should ENHANCE a storyline, not BE the storyline. 


You want a character that's promiscuous? (Or, as I prefer to say, poly-amorous?)  Fine!  But have the sex be in some kind of a decent storyline.  Just sayin'.


And by "decent storyline" I don't mean "Hey, baby, I'm a [fill in the blank with some type of profession here], wanna make out/have sex/screw like rabbits/have babies/get married (even though we met 5 minutes ago)?"  Um, no.  (And I am seeing this more and more.)


2.  Don't just post "I'm bored." or ooc posts all the time.  Create a storyline!  Make it exciting!  You'll draw people in quickly.


3.  Don't god mode.  Don't have a character that can't be beaten.  Or that beats everyone else.  Seriously, it sucks.  


4.  Don't just jump in with someone else's storyline.  Ask first.  You never know if they are ad-libbing or have a storyline planned out.  And ESPECIALLY don't attack or grab someone without asking first.  

***

Okay, I've said my piece.  Are these hard and fast rules?  Not necessarily.  I'm sure there are exceptions to them all.  Just saying that in my 2+ years of RPing on Twitter, these are pretty good rules to play by. 

Smut Blogs

Before I start, let me say up front that @SlaveGirlPR not only knows about this post, but was the first to read it because I sent her a copy of it before posting.  She's cool with it.  In fact, she suggested the title of the post.  LOL


I've been helping pass along and RT links to SGPR's blogs.  I RT lots of links.  Heck, I RT lots of stuff, period.  I RT her blog links because I know that some of my followers like adult, mature, erotic science fiction.  Her blog has plenty of warnings on it, so it's not like it'll take anyone by surprise that her blog is NSFW.  It is a self-proclaimed smut blog.


I've gotten a lot of DMs from followers about it.  A lot.  They all say pretty much the same thing:

"When is Shara going to have a smut blog?"

My first, kneejerk reaction was "Never."  


Then I took some time and thought about it, discussed it with some long-time followers of Shara's - male and female.  


After lots of thought and discussion, my answer is a fairly lengthy one.  Please read the whole thing.


At this point, I'm not comfortable writing hard core stuff about Shara or my other characters for all the world to see.  I'm not a prude, and I certainly don't mind whatever anyone else writes.  (In fact, I subscribe to SGPR's blogs. ) I just don't think I'm ready to write that way about my characters. 


On the other hand, I did have a protected account before, and I did "tweet some smut" (not really hard core, but definitely R+ rated) for followers on that account, and the ones who followed it seemed to like it.  Several have (quite vocally) expressed how much they miss it. 


((Update 11/20/10 - I have a protected account again.  It is @SharasOtherAcct ))


So I am going to do a compromise.


I have created a second blog for the "mature" stuff.   Right now, there's nothing on it, so there's no reason to post a link, but I will anyway:  http://nsfwnavkor.blogspot.com

I think for starters, I'm going to re-post a few things on that blog that were on my locked account.  Kind of test the waters a little bit.   When I do, I'll re-post the link.  I hope when I do post, you'll give me feedback.


Rest assured, if I DO post a link to the other blog, I WILL preface it with plenty of warnings.  It will also NOT be the blog listed in my profile.  Ever.


I hope that answers everyone's questions.  If not, feel free to DM or @ reply me at @SharatheOrion, or you can leave a comment on this blog.