Tips on writing good starters.

dramaticallyfree:

     In the roleplay scene, it can be hard to handle the task of writing a starter or a greeter for someone else.  Especially when your partners have different preferences, and you just aren’t sure if you can handle it.  When you have a lot of starters to do all at once —— it can be quite daunting.  So, with my years of roleplay experience — I gathered a few of my own tips that help myself when writing starters  ( although, now I need to get over the obstacle of laziness ).  I figured, hey — maybe someone else can get help from this.

     1.  Consider aspects of their muse.  It sounds lame, but you need to kind of look at someone’s muse  ( whether you know them well or not, canon or OC )  and figure out answers to questions such as  “what kind of first impression do they give off?”  and  “how would they react to a stranger walking up to them?”.  It’s best here to avoid topics that you feel may grow REPETITIVE.  To you and your muse, a topic such as  “who/what are you”  or   “why are you here”  may be new, but to your partner it may not be.  Try to avoid something as bland and repetitive, and try to find a new edge that makes a conversation or greeter all the more exciting that kind of grabs your partner’s attention more so than a thought like  “oh another starter like this??”.

     2.  Think of how the starter will carry onward in a thread.  Some people like shorter things, while others like to expand more.  You want to try to fit a starter with your partner in this sense length wise, but all in all we should all agree we’d want a starter that could get your muses somewhere.  Whether it’s knowing each other better, or developing a whole new plot on the fly — it all matters on the topic.  Whether it’s a one-liner, single-para, multi-para, etc., it’s your responsibility as the one writing the starter to get something going, not your partner you’re writing the starter for.  Avoid starters that makes them step up and get things going — or something too vague that no one knows what’s going on.  Be clear, be interesting, and find something that can expand longer than just 2 or 3 replies.  So you may write something like  “hey, im lost. can you tell me where i am?”  which could be quickly solved by your partner responding with directions or something — instead, aim for something more like  “you’re lost too?? lets try sticking together to find our way back!”  which will allow the muses to have potential bonding.  Bland example, but it’s an example nevertheless.

     3.  Grab your partner’s attention.  Try to write a starter that you feel will excite your partner  ( but make sure you’re excited for it, too ).  If you check out their blog // wishlist // etc., you may get a better idea of what they’re looking for in new roleplays.  It can help avoid the problems in the two tips above, as well as giving off a good first impression as a roleplay partner that you’re excited, too!  If you read their rules and see they enjoy plotting, you could always hit them up!  But always pay mind to rules concerning everything.

     That’s about all I have, since other posts cover other basics here!