Croc's Five RP Tips: Doom Not Included

A lot of this is my personal opinion, but if you're looking to improve your RPing skills, this might help.

1. The thesaurus likes you, but... it doesn't love you.
Do not use 'fancy' words just for the sake of using 'fancy' words, and avoid using words that you aren't sure of what the definition is. It becomes painfully obvious when a writer does this, and reflects poorly on the rest of their writing. Even though it can get boring and repetitive using the same words, that is a better alternative than abusing your poor, poor thesaurus. If you're worried that much about sounding repetitive, take the time to learn what the words you're using mean, and remember not to overdo it.

2. Quality over quantity, although there is a point where a post is Just Too Short.
I realize it's all the rage to post long intros, or just posts in general where the scroll bar is as tiny as it can be, but if you're making something long just so that it's long it is also, most likely, boring. If you can say something in four sentences, and it is well-written in four sentences, do not make it eight sentences. And if all the substance of your post can be summed up in your character walking up and saying hello, the people that just read that post are wondering why they spent five minutes reading that. And they'll probably want four of those five minutes back. By all means, write more than a sentence or two, but give it substance.

3. Not everyone can be a special unique butterfly of unique specialness.
If all that makes your character interesting is that they're so out-there and different and there's no one else like them... it is not a very interesting character. It isn't your character's purple eyes or tragic history that will make them appealing, it's their characteristics that people can relate to or makes the character more complex. If you're trying to be 'different', chances are you're acting like 75% of the rest of the RPers and/or their characters.

4. Show, don't tell.
So your character is really smart? I'm not going to believe it, unless they act like they're really smart, or talk like they're really smart. So don't even say they're smart, or beautiful/handsome, have the character act in a way you think is smart and let others make their own decision about it. Same with looks: not everyone has the same concept of beauty, so let them decide. There are ways to say your character is a looker without putting it so bluntly.

5. Give credit where credit is due.
As a writer yourself, would you appreciate it if someone else used your work and claimed it as their own? I sure wouldn't. If you are going to use a quote, a song lyric, or anything else you did not specifically write yourself let it be known in an OOC note, even if ICly you want your character to have made it up themselves. Plagiarism is a serious crime: do not commit it under any circumstance.

This list may grow as inspiration strikes.