Roleplaying with ADHD can be a real challenge! As someone with ADHD, sometimes it can be very difficult for me to stay on-task, keep track of whether or not it is my turn in a thread, or stay inspired for threads. Here are some tips that help me roleplay even with ADHD!

Have a robust tagging system so that you can easily find whose turn it is, see inspiring images, or reread past replies. Give threads individual titles. Or, if you can’t think of one, try something like “(partner’s url): (character names)” or “(partner’s url): (thread number)”. This way, you can keep track of threads by tag, and look and see if you responded or not.

Find your favorite situation or location to write in, then stick to it. To determine what that is for you, ask yourself: do you like instrumental music? Do you like to type them out on the train to work on your phone, then copy-paste them into the posts when you get home? Do you like to sit at a writing desk? Do you like having a laptop in an armchair? Do you need some tea or coffee? And so on.

Consider using other platforms to type out replies and avoid distractions. The Tumblr dashboard can be very distracting. Maybe you are someone who keeps track of threads by copy-pasting all the replies into a private discord server, then typing your reply underneath and copying those into a post. Maybe you are someone who prefers writing replies in a physical wordpad and then typing them out. Maybe you prefer an old-fashioned word processor. Whatever the case, you don’t have to write out your roleplay replies on the dash or in the drafts if you find those places distracting or executive dysfunction inducing!

Use tools like spreadsheets or RPThreadTracker if you are someone with lots of threads or your notifications are busted.

Is there a certain step of the roleplay process that stops you from starting to write replies? Cut it out of the process! I find that I get hung up on finding the perfect icon, the perfect gif, or the perfect faceclaim for my replies and characters. What I did to get around this is I stopped using icons and started writing with only text. I also find formatting and icon editing takes way too long and therefore don’t do it. Maybe something else, like fancy tags or pretty post banners, stops you from writing your replies. Try going without those things and see if it helps you stay focused and motivated.

Remember you don’t have to write replies in logical or chronological order! If you think of a witty quip that would go in the end of your reply upon reading your partner’s reply, write out that quip, then work backwards to write the description. Or you can take simple bullet point notes and come back and write your replies properly out later when you are in your writing space.

Have a playlist handy for your muse or ship that you can pull out for a burst of inspiration. You can even have playlists by verse or mood.

Hi!

I think first we need to clear something up about active vs. passive voice. Descriptions and lots of it can all be told in active voice, just like action could be told in passive voice. The difference depends on the structure of your sentence.

For example:

"The flowers were speckled with glimmering drops of rain." (passive) "Glimmering drops of rain speckled the petals of each flower" (active) and "The villain was struck by the passing crane." (passive) "The passing crane struck the villain." (active)

Which you choose depends on the effect you want on your readers! For example, you may not want to reveal what's happening to the character until the end of the sentence to maintain a sort of suspense.

"He was tugged suddenly under the door; a large, skeletal hand digging into his thigh." (passive) versus "a large, skeletal hand tugged him under the door." (active)

Good stories use a combination of both! Unless you're really intentionally writing only in passive or active as a style choice to convey something specific, make sure you're incorporating both where appropriate.

What I assume you mean is that the beginning of your work tends to be full of description and focus on detail, whereas by the end you're just moving bodies through space--focusing on the actions of the characters.

I also have this struggle!

A lot of that work at the beginning is about tone, which I wrote about here:

Otherwise, it's about editing afterwards--adding in the missing details and being intentional about your pacing. This may also help:

use the five senses. sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste. where are your muses currently standing? what does the air smell like? are there birds chirping or people walking by? is there a battle in the distance? does the wooden floor beneath them creak when they walk? is the other muse wearing cologne or perfume? describe the world around them in vivid detail and paint a picture of their environment. this will help your writing partner envision the space.

don't keep everything internal. your muse's internal commentary is important, of course, but when an entire reply is only their inner thoughts, it doesn't give your writing partner anything to go on (unless their character can read minds). make sure you add action, story progression, or character movement in a reply, or provide enough dialogue for the other muse to respond to.

end your reply with a question. at the very end of your reply, have your muse ask the other character a question, or pepper a few questions throughout the reply. this gives the other writer a perfect jumping off point for their response.

incorporate npcs and other things happening nearby. maybe your muses are in a library, and the librarian won't stop shushing them. maybe your muse gets a call from their best friend in the middle of the conversation with horrible news. maybe your muses are in a hotel room, and they hear a noisy party in the room next door. your muses aren't the only two people in the universe - expand upon it with details and breathe further life into this world. it makes things so much more fun.