Below is an excerpt from a series I wrote on writing in roleplay on another website.

Effective Writing in Roleplaying

Every story has a past, a present and a future. This is true of every character, naturally, since stories are interactions between characters and their environments. It is important to understand the history that preceded the beginning of the story, what history is presented as the story progresses, and what reasonable future its characters and environs can expect. A story based on the 80's would make reference to this principle. The principal can be extended to include colloquialisms employed by the characters, as well as the level of technology, the accepted moral norms of the times or culture and the reasonableness of actions taken by those characters. An obvious example would be the ridiculous notion of King Arthur checking his watch and deciding to crank up the Model T for a quick spin over to the local IMAX theater. Which of these things do not belong with the others? That is a fair question to ask in any story. It is also fair to ask why in heaven's name a character in a story based circa 1945 has a penchant for saying 'D'Oh!' or 'Far Out Man.' Those are pretty obvious examples, as well. Yet often writers forget that readers are not stupid. They read to allow themselves the joyful experience of immersion; that is, allowing their imaginations to be taken completely into a time period or culture.

What about the reader? Do we write so we can get a quick RP fix lest we scurry off downtown for the hard stuff? God, I hope not. Writing is at it's best when it is real, as you clearly mentioned. Real is for the reader. Let's face it. Writers are generally voracious readers. It goes with the territory. Frankly, nothing bores me quicker or sends my attention off to find flies to swat more rapidly than disjointed, unrealistic and fragmented story lines. When we write, we do ourselves a favor by remembering that we are engaging in a sort of telepathy. We try to inspire in the reader a vision of what we are describing, the fullness of the characters and their environment. If we fail in that, then we fail as writers. It doesn't matter how wonderful the original idea or the price of the words we use.

If anyone is thinking that these principals only apply to writing books and short stories and are not the heart and soul of RP, then I'm sorry to hear it, because you would be wrong. RP has a great, living and unpredictable nature to it that makes writing a great deal of fun. Yet it is writing just the same. If the story is great and the writing stinks, ... the whole thing stinks. If the writing is great and the story stinks, ... then the whole thing stinks. I think you get the picture.

Characterization: Development and Evolution

Some role players often overlook character development. They seem to feel it unnecessary to develop their characters beyond their initial descriptions. Of course, many do want their characters to develop new skills, powers, hit points, yada yada. Certainly there is nothing to criticize about that. However, an important ingredient to characterization and story development is evolution. A good story begins with an interesting premise, an environment and a conflict or predicament. Oddly enough, so does good character development.

The problem begins when a player sets out his or her character's attributes. For example: Jane creates an Elvin character named Ariel. She gives her the attributes of an elf and assigns a certain balance to her abilities. She doesn't want her character to die unduly soon, so she makes certain that she's a tough character. She ascribes an age of 20 years to Ariel, and describes her as having had a difficult childhood, escaping the evil horde when it attacked her tree-borne village and has traveled the countryside in search of someone who cares and somewhere to belong. Jane then presents her character and begins role-playing in a new story. So far, so good. Sadly, this is often as far as the character ever evolves. Sure, she might meet a fine man or woman as a partner or mate along the way. Yeah, she makes friends and enemies and vanquishes evil with a strong, steady hand. Not to be rude, but ... is that all there is?

If we immerse ourselves in the characters we create, then we must feel what they feel, see what they see and experience their experiences. It is unreasonable to think that a character will start out nearly perfect, go through hell and high water with a team or alone, and come out 200 play turns later exactly as she began. Wouldn't she learn anything? Doesn't she ever argue and disagree with her companions, maybe sulk off or develop a tension with one of them? In real life, yes. In a good characterization, yes again. It is far better to create a character that is weaker, who needs the help of others and the safety of the group. Someone who must grow as a character through experience. Yes, this means you might have to have a bad relationship with your best friend's character, but so what? We're writing and playing another role. Never let your own feelings or relationships interfere with your character's development and evolution.

Another often-overlooked form of character evolution is interpersonal influence. In real life, people who spend a lot of time together pick up certain ways of speaking and acting that bind them together as friends and colleagues. We as writers should not be afraid to let our character be influenced by the thoughts and actions of others. I once created a character that was weak and easily led. I never intended for the character to be anything other that a third rate pawn in the story. However, much to my surprise, over time he learned how not to be so hard on himself. One of the other players decided to take the poor lad under her wing. She trained him well, and he became a force to reckon with. It was a very satisfying role-play and a fond memory.

In a nutshell, create your character as a rough cutout of the person you want them to be. Give them a clear but elemental personality. When you devise their past, remember that it will be a driving force in all of your character's interactions with other characters. Assign them with raw attributes that will evolve and improve over time. Keep notes (or if you have a good memory, take a moment to soak in your character before you write) as your character interacts with others so you don't forget to love or hate them at the right moment. Allow your character to be real and have a life of its own. Let them express their own feelings, even if they are not your feelings. Give them life, and then set them free on the path of adventure. Above all, stay true to your character. You have created a living being in your mind and you have a responsibility to obey its urgings when you write. You also have a responsibility to those who are role-playing with you to not mess things up by changing your character in mid-stream because you didn't like where things were going. Take yourself out of the picture. You are not important. Your character is. That is the soul of writing and the joy of role playing.

Horse

*bumped to bring this subject to the top*

Horse, would you be able to message me the link or the site name that the rest of it is on?

If I may be so bold, I find two other attributes essential to collaborative roleplay

1) Vulnerability. The real story, the real character development, happens when our characters fail, not when they conquer all. The so-called fatal flaw is too trite in this medium; our characters should be vulnerable in myriad ways, for reasons I'll elaborate on below.

George M. Cohan described the formula for a three-act play thus:

ACT 1: Get the hero up a tree;
ACT 2: Throw rocks at him;
ACT 3: Get the hero out of the tree.

What strikes me about Cohan's description is that in each act the hero is vulnerable. Were the hero invulnerable, he would never get up a tree; were the hero invulnerable, there would be no point (and no drama) in throwing rocks at him; were the hero invulnerable, he would need no help getting out of the tree.

2) Team Spirit. Each of us, as a co-writer of a collaborative work, has a duty to create opportunities for the other writers to shine. When we write our "turn," one purpose of that turn is to reveal and develop character, of course - but another, and often neglected duty we take on in writing is to create cues and events and situations to which our collaborators can react, and upon which our collaborators can build.

In this regard written, turn-based roleplay is much like improvised skit comedy: timing, reactions, the unexpected turn; in these we find gold.

I'm also reminded of the advice a salsa dance instructor once gave me: the role of the man in salsa is to fade, while helping his woman look and feel her best in the dance. Here, we are all partners in the dance of writing. We trade off the lead, dance in rings, close again for a final dip. When the lead is ours, we do well to remember that we lead, to serve our partner as much as to set a course.

I hope these two points sit well with you, and that they will find their proper place on the boards.

Very good points.

Important Reminder: Thought, Narration, and Dialog Sovereignty in Role Play.

I think it might be worthwhile to cross link these topics.

I'm bumping this post up as a gentle (Me? Horse? Gentle!?) to some of our new members.

Please read and heed! *smile*