Edit - We no longer have a word count limit of 500 (we ask players to shoot for at least 300) but this is still helpful!
Long paras are a staple of TOS, but we know it can get a little intimidating when you don’t know how to match the colossal para you just got, or that 500 word limit is just a little too far away. So we’ve compiled a series of tips to make replying to someone that much easier, and ultimately, hopefully, to help make more confident writers. Obviously none of these are rule rules, just advice to give for a spin when you do get stuck.
Try to give your rp partner 3 active things to respond to. An explicit action, dialogue (asking questions is great), or a change in the environment worth commenting on. This is especially important in the starter, because replying to starters that only have one thing to respond to is hard. The more you give in the starter, the easier your next reply is. If you’re the one replying, make sure to respond to what your partner gives you, both verbal and nonverbal, active and passive. If both players are actively making sure there’s plenty for their para partner to respond to, you’re making it easier for the both of you to reply in much longer ways.
Ask for more to work with! It really is okay, and most people won’t have an issue writing a couple more sentences to help you out, or give you a description your character can respond to– especially if you’re in their character’s office or something like that. You can also ask if it’s okay to progress to the next plot point if you have something planned out, or if you can introduce a new element altogether. Communication is the bomb.
Describe the other character. You can obviously do this in one big chunk in one para, or space it out. We don’t mean like “He was wearing blue clothes”, but rather, how does their appearance affect your character’s opinion of them? Do they think her clothes are as disorganized as she must be? Does their abuse of the color yellow put your character off? Does he look as tired as your character does, and what could that mean. We all judge people by their appearances, and those judgements depend on how much you like the person, and don’t have to be right in reality or wrong. It’s also a really cool way to show character development and their connection changing over time if the way you describe someone changes. Someone who at first may come across as haughty may later be interpreted as nervous, and it’s fun to play with that.
Additionally, if a character is disabled don’t be afraid of mentioning that in your writing or having a character interact with that aspect of the other character. If you’re not familiar with something or some aspect of a character and are maybe afraid of being offensive, don’t be afraid to look things up or ask the other player for some more information. Your character might not always be 100% PC and that’s okay. Just be sure to use appropriate trigger warnings when that’s the case.
Have a plan. Long paras can go on for a long time, and sometimes it’s hard to know when to dash or how to keep it in one timeline. Even if the plan is as vague as “They fight. She wins.” If you have a vague idea how it ends, you can base future interactions on it while you’re still writing it. It also helps with inspiration. If you could go anywhere it’s harder to pick which way to go. When you have a destination in mind you know heading East will get you there faster than going West will.
Is your character someone who looks forward or looks back? Having them reminisce and connect the current situation to the past is a great way to slide in your neat little headcanons and give everyone perspective on your character’s motive. If they’re looking forward, how does this link to their future, what they want? For example, someone who wants a relationship someday talking to a “taken” character– how does the relationship they perceive match up with what they want of their relationship, and how doesn’t it? This can also help build tension or specific dynamics, and, when use consistently, introduces new characteristics.
Use your setting. It’s there, it’s around you. It can help build mood through language choices and details, or show how your character feels in certain environments, as well as drive plot points. Maybe they’re really chilled out outside, and agitated in an office. Maybe meeting new people makes them want to examine a leaf on a nearby tree. Maybe there are glowing eyes in the forest nearby that are kinda freaking one character out while the other is oblivious. By doing so, you’re making them real people in a real place, not a person detached from reality in an endless void, or someone obviously pasted onto a CGI background. The world is real to them; make it real to you.
Write in a word document or something and make the font size 8, single-spaced. Not advisable for those with bad eyesight, but it’s kind of a neat way to trick your brain into writing more. 500+ words looks and feels like a lot less when it’s tiny. Then you make it big and… hey, when did you write that much?
Sometimes starting is the hardest part. Try having a word war with yourself– write for 10 - 15 minutes straight, no pauses, no editing. Once you’re in the groove, you’re more likely to keep going, and you’ll have a good chunk of it done. Try this.
Try not writing in order! When you read a para, try writing down your immediate responses– a dialogue, a thought, an action– and then building around it. It also helps having a framework. Say you make 6 bullet points of things to say/do/think. You write about 85 words on each bullet point minimum, you’ve got it down pat, and make sure you’ve remembered to include things for your partner to reply to. The first sentence chronologically can be the last one you write, and things can always be rearranged or changed.
Try waiting to read replies you receive until you can reply yourself. Some people are the planning types and need 24+ hours to mull over the kind of response they want to write, and that’s fine! However, reading a nice reply that gives you things to play off of can give you an immediate surge of ideas and inspiration that dwindles the longer you wait to get typing. If you’re the second type of person, then waiting to read the reply until you know you can write yours might result in increased productivity and flow of ideas.
Don’t get hung up on using colorful language or describing details. Try using the first word that comes to mind, because 99% of the time, it’ll be the best and most genuine choice, and it means not getting stuck in one place and needing to find your groove again. You have something you want to accomplish with your reply, so do that and fill in the other details around it afterwards. Editing can always come later.
Use the Plot/Character/Mood rule. This ties into other advice listed, but it’s a great way to decide whether something is relevant or filler. If you’re worldbuilding, character building, advancing the plot, or showing the mood, it isn’t filler; it’s building a story.
Ultimately, practice makes perfect. The more you do it, and the more often you do it, the easier it becomes. The more it gets put off, the harder it looks and the harder it becomes. We hope that with these tips, 500 words feel less like an unclimbable mountain, and more like a molehill.
Some more awesome guides:
Tips and Advice for Describing Characters
Better Prompts, Starters, and Beginnings
Exercises to Improve Writing
Writer’s Block Flow Chart
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