InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I paddled home with my tongue."

lucie flynn (lucieflynn) wrote in rp_tutorials,
@ 2012-06-26 09:38:00

would anyone mind giving me a few pointers on good thread writing and responding to threads?

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theoddfanaticat
2012-06-26 04:05 pm UTC (link)

What I consider a good tag is one that reacts to the previous tag, and gives the other player something they can react to in the next tag. Sometimes if the reaction is grand enough to the previous tag, it can accomplish both of these at the same time. But sometimes if like Character A gave Character B a lot of information, and their reaction is to think about that information, then the tag needs a little more, like a question, so Character A has something to respond to. I think this is the most important thing. I'm also a person who really likes to get to know in depth the characters I'm playing with, in ways my characters can't necessarily, so I do like their thoughts thrown in along with their actions, but there are some players who prefer just the actions. Just make sure you had fun writing the tag, and that you've given the next player something their character can respond to, and you'll be good.

Responding to threads wise, just respond when you get the chance, and if it's going to be a long time before you get the chance, be sure to let the other player know, so they have some idea when they can expect a response from you. That would be my advice.

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splott
2012-06-26 04:39 pm UTC (link)

+1 to the above. Another thing is to not just regurgitate what the other person has written.

Also, it's something I used to do a lot before I really got into writing and that's the whole Carrying On Two Conversations In Two Different Paragraphs problem. Which is when in the first paragraph your character responds to Hi how are you, and says well no i'm shitty today sucks, and then some thoughts about why today sucked and how they really just want a hug from the other person but won't ask for it becuase of reasons.

and the next paragraph you do some actions and then bring up another topic, as one would in a conversation, and then a few tags later you have a huge amount of conversation in the top paragraph that has nothing to do with what the pair is doing in the bottom.

When I notice that happening, I try to wrap up one or the other topics, and just have one going because if you think about a conversation you're having with someone it's about the thing you're talking about right now, x says this. y responds, back and forth, but you rarely ever have two convos going at once.

the other thing is to have some sort of movement, but don't pull the other character around or feel like you need to be doing everything in every tag. when characters speak to each other, someone should have a quirk like biting their lip or rubbing their neck or whatever it is, depending on the conversation they're having. don't make it a routine like action though. you just wrap it into all of the things you're talking about. watch your overuse though

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	thequarter 2012-06-26 09:33 pm UTC (link)
	Read novels, pay attention to how the authors move scenes and dialogue along. Practice is really the only way you'll improve and develop your own style. Find someone you feel comfortable writing with and bounce short replies back and forth, a handful of cohesive sentences and then go from there. (Reply to this)

fuckyeahbadgers
2012-06-27 12:42 pm UTC (link)

People seem to like different lengths in their tags. Personally, I like to vary it according to what's happening. A very reflective sort of thread full of thoughts and hidden subtexts and wondering what the other person is thinking will have looong replies. A more action-driven one with snappy dialogue works better with shorter replies. The important thing is not to piss off who you're writing with, so unless you have a good reason not to (like an inner monologue that will make it longer, or a sudden reaction that would have more impact in a short tag) try and keep your reply about as long as theirs.

Try not to start all of the tags with the character's name (e.g Harry did X, Harry thought Y). Getting more creative in how you do this is one of those things that comes with practice :-)

Oh, and don't make someone else carry the thread. I don't know how to explain this exactly, but some people I've threaded with make it nearly impossible to reply, and my characters just want to walk off and do something else. Tags without any dialogue, just their character's thought process is one of those things that can be difficult to reply to. Or even just saying things that don't really say anything like, "Oh, I agree." Even if they don't have anything more to say, have them move or do something or say something that your writing partner can react to.

Good luck!

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