#admin maggie

Your dashboard. So what generates the most interactions is always what’s happening on your dash. If your dashboard is slow or always populated by the same blogs, or doesn’t inspire activity, then this is where you need to start. 

How many blogs are you following? You can check your following list from the dashboard sidebar menu. If you use the xkit extension, you are also able to view how many of these blogs are inactive (or haven’t posted in a month or more). Everyone’s preference here is different, but for me, I like to be following around 100 blogs at any given time. 

Granted, 10% of these may be old friends who are taking a break from their blogs and are not active, and another 15-20% are non-roleplay blogs that post content related to my muse (their faceclaim, their aesthetic, info related to their profession / hobbies, etc.). 

For me personally, not all of the roleplay blogs I follow are characters I would want my muse to interact with. Sometimes I follow a blog simply because I appreciate their character, their writing, or their friendship. Even though I may not be interacting in character with these blogs now, I may do so in the future, especially if one of us changes muses, and even if we never interact in character, I find it beneficial to interact out of character. You never know how you might meet a new friend or what might inspire new ideas for aus, meta posts, how you organize your blog, and other aspects of roleplay that are not muse or fandom specific. 

Of course, the majority of the blogs that I follow are active roleplay blogs that I am potentially interested in interacting with. I personally like to wait a week or two before interacting with a new follow so that I can get a feel for their content, style, and personality, just to make sure that this person would make a good fit as a partner for me, but if you’re eager to make friends and not worried about it, you can go ahead and jump in by contacting potential partners. 

Contacting a roleplayer. Before you contact a roleplayer about potentially writing together, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you take a quick minute to review their rules, as there may be very pertinent information that you need to be aware of, including if this person is PRIVATE. If a roleplayer has the word private anywhere on their blog or in their rules, it means you need to wait for them to follow you back before you interact with them. I know this can be difficult when they look like a super cool person and they write a character you really want to interact with, but the most important thing to consider in roleplay is the person behind the screen. A roleplayer who is private might have chosen this policy for a variety of reasons, but what matters is that we respect their boundaries. If a private roleplayer follows you back, or if a roleplayer is not private, then go ahead and reach out!

When contacting a potential new roleplay partner, I like my message to follow a basic formula: first, I introduce myself. Hi there, I’m Chaya. I personally consider an introduction to be a prerequisite for initiating roleplay. To me, it acknowledges the other person as a human and not just a writer. If you like, you can even let this person know what drew you to their blog. I really love your interpretation of xyz - or even just, I love your blog. 

The second part of my approach is asking if this person might be interested in writing together. However, for me personally, I don’t like to suggest writing together without at least throwing out one or two plot ideas off the top of my head. In my mind, it feels like showing up to a fancy party without bringing wine or cupcakes. I always like to bring some ideas to the table outright to let this person know I appreciate their consideration and I don’t expect them to do all of the heavy lifting. It also serves as a really excellent conversation starter! Sometimes a conversation can lull once you get past the whole great sure let’s do a thread sometime part. I also like to let the person I’m messaging know that I’m not particularly committed to any of these ideas if they’re not feeling them, and that I’m very much open to their own ideas if they have any. That way I don’t feel like I’m steamrolling anyone and hopefully this person feels comfortable engaging in some brainstorming. 

I know that contacting new roleplayers can very very difficult for some writers. There is definitely a level of vulnerability in putting yourself out there, but what you have to remember is this: roleplaying is ultimately a social hobby. By its very nature, it necessitates human interaction, and if you aren’t willing to reach out, this may be why you are experiencing a lull in activity. If we are all too afraid to reach out to one another, then we will never get to have any of those great interactions that make roleplay so much fun. I know the fear of rejection can make this hard, but just remember that the worst another roleplayer can say is no thank you, and that this decision is almost certainly not based on you as a person but maybe factors like their style of writing, or your fandom, or what kind of threads they like to write. It might even be because they’re overwhelmed with the threads they already have, or because they’re looking for something very specific. None of these things have anything to do with you, so even if a roleplayer says thanks but no thanks, it’s really not so terrible. You might be the ripest, juiciest peach on the tree, but there still might be someone who just doesn’t like the taste of peaches, and that’s okay. 

Another thing to consider when you’re contacting new partners is that it might not be the best idea to message every new blog you follow, or at least, not message them all at once. I often follow new blogs in batches and then give it a week or two to see who I really vibe with before messaging, and even then, I only message up to three potential partners at a time. Obviously, you can run your blog however you like, but I find it very overwhelming to generate too many potential plot ideas (quality ones, at least) and it can get confusing to keep up with who to respond to. Just something you may want to keep in mind. 

Inviting interactions. If you’re like me and you don’t like to message a lot of new partners right away, I like to encourage existing partners and new mutuals to engage with me indirectly with my own blog activity. 

The most important way to bring followers to your blog and put yourself out there is to make sure your blog has a promo, and that this promo is posted in the correct tags. Tumblr will only post your content if your blog has been live for 72hrs, so if you just made your account, this will have to wait at least three days. Secondly, tumblr will ONLY post your post in the FIRST FIVE tags that you use, so use them wisely. After the first five tags, any tag you use is for your own blog organization, so I always start with indie-fandom-rp first and then my self promo tag sixth. Remember, if you are finding blogs to follow by searching tags, other roleplayers are doing the same, so it’s important to make sure that you are there for them to find. 

Just as a sidenote to this, your promo does not necessarily have to have fancy graphics, if that’s not your forte. As long as your post makes it clear what your blog is for, your promo can still be effective. If you want to have fancy graphics anyway, there are resource communities out there who offer graphics services free of charge, or you can commission an artist. 

I’ll post a sentence starter meme or two, maybe a writing prompt for muses, some AUs I’d like to try, or a wishlist of specific plots and ideas that really interest me. Even if I don’t have a specific idea, I might post about an aspect of my muse’s development that I’d really like to explore more and see if anyone has any ideas. 

I also like to take this time to write headcanon or meta posts about my muse that might generate a conversation ooc or even inspire someone to approach you with an idea. A lot of the time, seeing your interpretation of your character lets other people get an idea for you and how you write your muse, and if this vibes with them, it could be the start of a beautiful partnership. 

Another helpful tool to invite interactions is filling out a plotting cheat sheet. @bandagedbandit has created a really great template for one that you can use here. Posting a plotting cheat sheet can be a great way to let people new to your blog know what’s up more quickly and easily, and may encourage potential partners to feel more confident in contacting you with their own plot ideas. Personally, I like to link to my plotting cheat sheet in my blog’s sidebar or google doc, that way it’s always handy and easily accessible. 

Lastly, if you feel comfortable doing so, you can always post one or more open starters. These are starters for a thread that are not directed at any partner in particular and are clearly marked as open for interaction with anyone. You can also tag your open starters with the same tags you use for your promo, or even different tags that you weren’t able to use for your promo due to the five tag limit.