As roleplay writers, we find ourselves, our fellow writers, and our threads often plagued with one line posts.

Quote :

"Yeah." Said Jared. "I totally agree."

What's wrong with this sentence is that there is not enough of it. Although the sentence conveys the point well enough, we are not writing a screenplay, but a novel. We need more than just dialog and something to indicate who's speaking. Add something private that the character is keeping hidden.

Quote :

"Yeah, I totally agree." Jared lied, thinking the whole time that Susan had no idea what she was talking about.

This adds depth to Jared, making him seem more real. He isn't just some robot regurgitating lines of speech on command, he is keeping secrets. What other things don't the other characters know about Jared? You could also add an action.

Quote :

"Yeah, I totally agree." Jared said, walking across the room and giving the man a firm handshake.

This involves another character, turning this post from a solo affair into a multi-player one. You are acknowledging the other character present and giving them an action to react to. Maybe he grips Jared's hand tightly, trying to establish dominance, or maybe he withdraws his hand, not wanting Jared as an ally. A simple action creates as many possible plot directions as it provides choices. You could try adding additional dialog.

Quote :

"Yeah, I totally agree." Said Jared. "But I have to say, I think we can do a lot more with this plan. It isn't going far enough."

Quote :

"Yeah, I totally agree." Said Jared. "I also think that Susan, you need to do your research. You clearly have no idea what you're talking about.

The first one opens up the floor for more dialog between the characters on how to expand the plan, or maybe a counter argument that the plan is just fine the way it is.

The second creates conflict, either drawing attention to Jared and Susan's conflicting personalities, or driving a wedge between two friends, depending on prior events. You can also add description to bulk up a post. I'll cover description more in-depth in my next lesson.

Quote :

"Yeah," said Jared. "I totally agree." He walked across the plush carpet and sat down in one of the leather chairs positioned in front of the polished wooden conference table.

This tells the reader a bit about the environment this scene is taking place in, or maybe acknowledges or builds on details given in a previous post and/or by another poster. Keep in mind, even if it isn't your thread, there is usually nothing wrong with embellishing the description of an environment, as long as you stay accurate to the original, usually more vague description.

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Assignment

Turn the following one-liner into a three to four line post by adding description, thoughts, additional dialog, and actions. Post responses in this thread.

Quote :

Kyle stepped through the door and pushed it closed behind him, then continued on.