Da da da da Da da da da Da da da da Da!

Valucre! 

What, were you expecting me to say Batman? Come on, I love the God damn Batman as much as the next comic book enthusiast, but we're talking about the Valucre blog here, not Batman (The Coolest Superhero of All Time). In talking about Valucre, you can be damned sure that I have some great stuff down below, just waiting for you to stop by and take a sample. Want to know about what's going on in Valucre? Want to meet the newcomers? Looking for a quality read? That's right, the Valucre blog has got you covered- that's something that not even Batman can do for you. ;)

To the Bat Cave... er, The Blog!

What's Happening Valucre?

The Chosen: Round Three Continues- Hey, guess what? A match just wrapped up. Congratulations to Desolate, who has won his chosen match against Suta. Be sure to stop by the lounge and congratulate him. If you missed betting on their match, go bet on the other one- go here to do the gambling thing.

Genesaris Dark Festival: The Carnival of Despair- All week long you have recieved spoilers pertaining to the Carnival of despair, and those spoilers shall continue for just a couple days longer, before wrapping itself up and getting to the ticket sales. It's shaping up to be a spectactular affair and we sure hope to see everyone. If you missed those updates, you can head over to the thread and learn about Ask a Serial Killer, Questionable Treats, Guess Witch Box, The Haunted Labyrinth, The Mystery Jars, The Undead Petting Zoo, Whack a Zombie, Rooms of Great Trial, and the Social Event. Information pertaining to the Scavenger Hunt as well as the ticket buying process will be up in the early hours of Friday morning. For all you regular blog readers out there, I'll toss in a weekend blog special: You PM me the phrase: 'Blogging the Festival' and I will discount your ticket purchases 20%, assuming you buy a minimum of 100 tickets- that means you can get 100 tickets for 60vb, an outstanding deal. This only works for ticket purchases through Midnight of Monday the 23rd. Hope to see you all there.

Spinal Chills 2013- Spinal Chills is still a happening thing, and we have determined a couple of new details- single person entries only, but you can submit more than one entry- so if you have a couple great ideas and cannot decide between the two, you can submit them both! Not bad, right? Anyway, contest entries are accepted through October the 24th, so get working on your entries and bring in a high level of competition, yeah? I plan to enter myself, if I can ever find the time to write out my idea, ha!

Golem Problems- From the Terrenus news network, word of a request for aid has come from the Viceroy of Bizao, looking for powerful wizards (especially those who specifically specialize in the magic surrounding golems) come assist in the improvement of the cities living state. VB rewards are offered for such services, so those with the no-how are encouraged to apply within.

Alterion- This is the expanded bit of information on Alterion, now that some has been made readily available. It looks like Alterion will shape up to be the most technologically advanced area within all of Valucre, surpassing even that of the abilities of other parts of Tellus Mater and the Antigone Isles. The people are said to be religiously fanatic even with their interest in the pushing technology levels, so people should come to expect that from the local peoples. Personal crafts and airships are a commonplace item as well, with these vessels available to those who put in the RP legwork or the VB to earn them. Much of the lore and work for the area is still in progress, so what can expect much more to develop in the board itself over time, as the owners have time to do so. In the meantime, you can ask your questions here.

Contestants Wanted- New member with a quest put together already- mad props for that. So this starts out with a hearty drinking contest down in Last Chance, taking on other patrons at the Snog Inn, who holds a celebrartion of sorts- its main design to increase traffic and draw attention. As you work on getting yourself drunk and under the table, and raid on the inn shall occur, leading to you finding yourselves in some previously hidden tunnels, armed with your wits and some sort of magic compass that may, or may not, lead to a secret treasure- feel up to finding out?

Open Threads- The individual who authored this thread is posting notice that a couple different RPs of his are totally open and that he would love some people to come join him in doing so. One thread is called 'Building a Church' and features a friendly priest who could always use more interaction. Hunger involves the wizard Dodgen, whom after an unfortunate accident while experimenting, wanders Terrenus dazed and confused, looking for a city. If either sounds like a thread you could go for, come get your details from here.

Featured Read of the Week- 

I am seeing a trend with the people I end up featuring, and I certainly hope it is not coming off as intentional favoritism- it's just that I see a lot of the same people participating in closed threads, and there are a few people in particular who just do an awesome job writing out these stories. Not only that, but these two both have been featured before, and like our writers from last week, these two have some incredible chemistry as well. As the thread starts out, you feel the tension that is building and the pain that bubbles beneath the surface. The interactions between the two are intense, full of anger, and building up to something intense. The use of language and description by one member is executed in such a way that it never feels verbose or like a dreaded round of purple prose- it's unique, eloquent, and creates perfect imagery. I have to admit, the heaviest part of this thread is delivered masterfully, leading into a twist that was not expected for me- could have been a great spot for a cliffhanger. I was unsure whether I would feature this one, as the threads movement has considerably slowed since July. In the end, I decided that this thread should be read, despite some inconsistent posting.

Congratulations to King (AGAIN) and Aleksei for being the authors of this week's featured thread.

Hello and Goodbye- Riforte waits for the arrival of her lover, Austere, knowing full well this meeting might not go over well. She feels deep within her gut that her angered friend might decide to shoot first and ask questions later, giving her no time to explain the motivations behind her month of silence. As predicted, Austere arrives with rage still boiling over, gun pointed at her head and a twitchy finger on the trigger, every ounce of his remaining strength focuses on keeping from pulling it. A bitter dialogue takes place, Riforte explaining herself and her recent actions, Austere rebuking the claims as silly excuses and a poor explanation for her transgressions. She dares him to pull the trigger, calling herself a monster beyond worth saving. He nearly does, his hesitation a noticeable detail, as for so long he had been ready to just that. Instead, he hands her the gun and tells her to do it herself, should this be what she wants. The gun in hand, she gives Austere a genuine smile, a warming piece of happiness given in parting as she puts the barrel against her head. Her eyes never leaving him, she tells him to make sure that as he picks up the pieces, he puts them back together well, and pulls the trigger. It's a shocking moment, reacted to with sharp regret that matches the raw emotionality of the previous post. There is a twist in all this, but you ought to read the thread for yourself. 

Lore of the Week!

This Week's Feature: Barnstable Coast, Terrenus

At a Glance: 

• Leader:  Maintained by the City of Casper [Paul, a Psychopomp]
• Population: Dotted with primarily human villages, with small clutches of sahagin who still walk the tides, causing havoc to passing ships and villagers. 
• Defenses: 
• Patrolled by Casper's guard
• The beaches of Azureveil are covered in aquantium wire netting as well as watched over by retired snipers from the Terrenus military, providing an incredibly safe environment for fishermen.
• Hot Spots: 
• Azureveil remains a haven for fishermen.
• Azureveil's end of Summer Festival celebrates the life and work of Bishop Barnstable, for whom the beaches are named. People hold fishing derbies and dress up in elaborate costumes. 

Canonical Occurrences by Members:

•  The Dead-Eye Monocle has been lifted from its watery grave.

Available Quests:

• Only one completed (see above)

Brief Summary of Lore:

Taken from Lore: While it does have beaches where the brave may lay out in the sun or go for a swim, most of the Barnstable Coast, a stretch of land between Casper and the Hills of Noddendody is rocky and dangerous. People tend to stay away from the majority of the coast, except the patrols from Casper that are tasked with guarding it from attacks.

An underwater community exists on the border of the Barnstable Coast: the Tidewalker clan of sahagin, hostile to all land dwellers. Especially Gaians. They tend to attack ships traveling to and from Casper once they're far enough away from the harbor to avoid the city's defenses, and they enjoy terrorizing the smaller villages that dot the coast.

The coast is named after the late Bishop Barnstable, once a humble fish farmer, who oversaw the Gaian claim to Casper from the Legion of Desecrators. After the successful battle, Tidewalkers assaulted them and killed nearly all of their wounded. After a long and grueling campaign to claim vengeance for Gaia's fallen, the Terran sahagin population was cut down to miniscule numbers and driven away from land, where they currently reside, though at the valiant expense of Barnstable's life.

Newly Awarded!

The Hummingbird: Activity Award!
Supernal: Most Helpful!

Congratulations to both members!!!

New Members and Returns!

Welcome:

Ilasandra:
A long time RPer who still finds herself impressed with all the work that went into crafting our lore- thanks for noticing there Ilsa, we all contributed a ton to the development of it, and appreciate it when others notice! That thank you asside, I also want to thank you for deciding to sign up and make your new RP home Valucre, because new members are what keeps the lifeblood of this place flowing. As you mentioned yourself, reading all the lore is no requirement, but I certainly cannot say I am disappointed in you wanting to do that first. Welcome to Val!

Zen:
Zen starts out their introduction by putting the RP Direction questions into their initial post- not a bad idea really, because it'll give the people an idea of what they are looking for. Well, Zen's an interesting one, already full of snarky quips and an open invitation to shoot at him/her/it- never said one way or another, just that you can feel free to shoot in Zen's direction- can't turn down an open invitation like that can you? Aside from that, that RP withdrawal got the best of Zen and sent them this way, after a brief stop in Gaia, which for lack of a more tactful way of putting it... has changed. :P Well Zen, we're glad to have you, and perhaps you'll find in Valucre everything zen... okay, I was dying to fit that in somewhere.

Kikkawa Shizue :
A new member with a name that I don't even want to begin trying to figure out how to pronounce! :P Kikkawa came looking for an RP site that had mobile compatability- and we provide just that. A long time player of the old style RPG video games, this is a bit of a transition for Kikkawa- so go help him feel at home and eased into this RP process, ya?

Zokomara:
Another member with a strange name that if I were asked to pronounce, I would stutter, stall, and then try to run away. xP. Unfortunately, Zokomara did not give me much ammunition for providing an introduction, so what you see right now is about what you are going to get.

Remonalynn:
Oooo, I like this one. Remona takes eccentricity and spunk stirring them well and adding a splash of wit to taste- making for one of the most entertaining introduction threads I have ever read. Be prepared for (her?) to refer to herself as her characters- yes, more than one- and to frequently address herself with plural pronouns. She(?) assures us that she has no mental illness at play here, it's just that she and her friends used to really get into the RP experience. I'm willing to call this an understandable undertaking- so we'll take you as you are.

Munstarface:
Another recruit coming to us from the world of Gaia- I don't want to put Gaia down or anything, but based on the things I keep hearing, it's almost like people grow up and graduate from Gaia to Valucre- it's all good with me, we'll take on their old members, because we've recruited many awesome folks from over there. Welcome to Valucre Munstarface, I hope you find a fitting niche for your tattooed or masked face characters. As for being a 'race' given our uniqueness as RPers- I don't if I'd call it being our own race, but I too find it very special indeed!

Returns:

BONE:
His first registration wasn't all  that long ago, but he lost the keys to his character sheet (Oh noes!)- okay, not really the keys, just the info- and now he is looking to start back over, given his initial lack of progress. Seems some outside internet issues came about and him out of reach for a bit, but things have settled and here he is. Welcome back to Valucre, glad you made the return. :)

Dodgen:
Back from a hiatus due to being a family man (really Dodgen? Putting having a family over the rest of us? How could you) having little time to spare, he's back on deployment and now, ironically, has more time to RP in Valucre. It has to figure when work related duties frees up your time versus time away from work. I can actually relate, go figure. xP Anyway, welcome back to Valucre, Dodgen!

Vintage:
Never officially on a hiatus or fully gone, Vintage has experienced that dreadful state of lack of interwebz and thus had very little interaction on Valucre. That lack of internets issue has found a resolution and so now she shall be back much more regularly!

Renaryu:
She disappeared for a while, hanging out with some other Rp crowds up until they decided to 'drop her like a hot coal'- which certainly isn't very nice. :( Anyway, she has dropped off the radar a couple of times now, and both times she has found her way back to Valucre. It's as they say- we always have a way of finding our way back home, and Valucre- it's certainly a welcoming home. Welcome back Renaryu, we hope you do get to stay awhile this time. :)

We're kinda short on new members this week (only 6, :( ), but I have seen that we have already gotten some good activity out of a couple of these new folks- I hope they keep it up! In addition, we had four returns, which is never anything to scoff at either. I'll take these ten over none any day. ;)

Other Highlights?

The FAQ- Hey, are you looking for some quick information that could lead you to places where you get more in depth information? Of course you will be at some point- don't you try and deny it! When that time comes (and you're damn straight it will), you can go to the FAQ page, which is conveniently located on the top task bar for Valucre- but if you still manage to miss it, you can click this. 

Did You Know-  About those RP tags you've seen? You know, the colorful ones that say "Open", "Semi-Open" and "Closed"? Well, how about an easier way to change the title of a thread you made? Well, if you missed these vital bits of information, this Did You Know gives you all that you need to know on this subject. Want more Did You Knows- go here.

Closing Thoughts?

Professional Role-players, continued~

Alright, last week we were dissecting these ‘how to be a professional role-player’ guides, taking the bit of good we could extract from them and writing off the rest. My personal opinion, as well as some others who shared similar sentiments with me, is that the people writing those guides are some pretentious folks we would rather not RP with anyway. Many of us take RP seriously in that we put effort into what we right, focus on developing characters, and do our best to maintain credibility in our stories, which is all good. These people, however, try to make it sound like that being a “Professional Role-player” is some highly sought after status position that we should all someday hope to achieve.

BULLSHIT

Excuse the bluntness, but that’s about how I feel about it. To me, this is another useless label providing nothing other than something else to separate us, rather than focusing on how we are all participants in a mutually appreciated hobby. If you read these blogs at least occasionally, you will know by now how much I disdain these labels some people use- literate, illiterate, elite, newb, etc…

Who the ‘eff cares, eh?

Yes, there are varying levels of talent on Valucre and other sites- that’s normal, we all have different strengths and weaknesses, as well as developed skills or less developed skills. Some people have a natural gift, others may be less so, but even then, some of the less ‘gifted’ are the hardest working people you will ever meet- and they hone themselves a respectable amount of skill that gains them recognition. When it comes to RP, I don’t want to hear about people labeling each other- I just want people to help put together a good story with me.

Now, I know many of you want to improve- to grow as a role-player and perhaps a writer too (I am one of them!)- there is nothing wrong with that. You can strive to improve without having to demean yourself with a stupid label- focus on the skill development, not some term to describe your abilities. If you are going to drop any sort of name on yourself, make it awesome- “I am an awesome Role-player”.

Because anyone can be awesome.

Sure, you might never achieve a level of skill that will enable you to be a published writer (assuming you put in the work that goes with achieving that goal), but you can work towards being an awesome role-player- someone who puts some care into their work, helps make awesome stories, plays interesting characters, etc. Anyone can be awesome, and frankly- if you’re on Valucre and you don’t act like an asshat- you are awesome, so there.

Now, if your goal is to become an awesome role-player, I can share some advice for you.

Becoming an Awesome Role-Player

Master BASIC grammar, conventions, and use Spell Check: Look, I am not going to tell you to be an English major or have the skillset required to help someone edit research papers, but getting your use of conventions and grammar to about where you should be when you leave high school makes for easier reading. While I personally can be a little bit of a stickler (try being raised by an English major 0_o), I try to avoid letting my personal standard for myself come out in judgment in others. The main thing I look for is whether the structure of your writing makes it readable or unreadable.

Conventions and grammar exist for a reason- and it’s not to aggravate you, even though it seems like that sometimes (especially with English’s silly and inconsistent rules)- it’s to make the sentence readable. If you use the wrong punctuation, or a lack of it, or let your ideas just run and run, never using a period, the work gets hard to read. I might have to go back and read that sentence over three or four times to decipher what you meant. Or if the writing gets too long or lacks the natural pauses, it can cause me to tire of reading the piece, because I need pauses- it’s just a natural part of how we read.

Getting your punctuation right helps with the flow of my reading and making sure the sentence sounds right- because a comma in the wrong place might break up ideas unintentionally, making a reader confused. If you want to draw a person into your post, to make them engaged with reading and staying with it the whole time- make sure your sentences are flowing!

The same applies with the grammar, for similar reasons. Using the right grammar helps keep things structured and flowing correctly, which allows me to read without pausing. Sometimes grammar errors are minor and I might overlook it, sometimes they are blatant and I do pause and go- “No no no”. Sometimes, they are just so convoluted that, like with conventions, I have to stop and puzzle out what you meant.  

Lastly- the spelling. Look, if I were to call someone out on being a bad speller, I would be a huge hypocrite- so just make sure you run things through a spell checker. I am not a great speller- I have to use mnemonic devices to help me to remember how to spell words I struggle with, and even then, I still struggle with some- so I use a spell checker. Using a spell checker helps with catching blatant spelling errors, brain-farts, and typos. The tool is as far as the internet or a word document- so use it. ;)

Using words creatively and PROPERLY: I hated that the previous guide tells you that you should never use ‘boring words’, because those boring words are staples for a reason. Look, an entire story does not need to be composed of allusions and an impressive display of your vocabulary- assuming you used it right. Things can be soft. Things can be gentle. Things can be quiet. There is nothing wrong with these words- as long as you do not overuse them and they make sense within the context.

In their example, they used affectionately over gently. If the character touched the other character’s cheek in affectionate manner, I do agree with this usage- use the word that actually captures what the character is doing. But what if the character was not being affectionate, but just touching gently? Maybe it was about reassurance, or wiping something off the cheek, or just touching to touch. Maybe there is no affection intended- it could be someone touching to creep the other person out (evil man preparing to kill a victim)- there are a lot of instances where I would not use affectionate at all, and gentle would serve perfectly.

If you think that a word might prove insufficient in describing what you see in your head, feel free to use something else. If you have a word on the tip of your tongue but cannot think of it, you can feel free to crack open your thesaurus. What is important is to make sure that you do not use a word that you do not have a true understanding of its definition. If you did not know the word before, using it in this sentence is probably not a good idea- because there is a good chance you are using it wrong. Sometimes, words appear as a synonym because it has a similar meaning to one definition of the word- but if there are multiple meanings to the word you looked up, it might be the wrong definition, which puts you using a word that does not work, at all.

A big faux pas.

Make sure you stick to words you know or words you fully vetted- by that, I mean that you should go look up that word in a dictionary first and make sure you have a clear understanding on its meaning, and that you know it means the same thing as you are trying to convey. If it does not, that word will stick out like a sore thumb to all those who know it to be wrong, or those who did not before, but look it up in a dictionary.

Another thing I feel I must point out is that too many big words will also begin to come off as pretentious- I have a very high reading level and even I begin to tire of seeing a seven syllable word appearing three times in a sentence and at least a dozen times in a paragraph. It gets old, makes for unnecessarily dense reading, and it will bore people. Use the little words too- sometimes, they are the best choice.

Write enough to give someone something to work with: Another thing that should be considered is not how you are writing your post, but what you are writing in that post. Posts do not need to be long, though I am sure these ‘professional role-player’ might tell you that they have to be. Sure, many of us prefer to write longer - I do. However, I will write a shorter post if that is the best course of action. If there is only so much going on in the RP, you might be able to accomplish everything you need in one long paragraph or a couple of short ones- in this case, it would be much better to do this than to write a six-page post. However, if there is a bunch of stuff you should respond to and somebody expecting a decent amount of contact from you- you should give them enough.

It is one of the more frustrating things that can happen in an RP- having someone post so little that you feel completely at a loss as to how you are going to respond or move the plot forward- especially if the other person was supposed to do just that. The easiest way to ensure that you accomplish this, without going overboard, is to remember that you need to respond to everything your character would be aware of (even if it is just a mental acknowledgement), react as is fitting to the character, and provide some sort of action. Do they speak, do they move, do they actually fully act out? Providing an action gives someone at least something to make his or her character have a reaction in turn.

Do not force your way into being the main character, or always hog the position: Yep, I am going to argue completely against that advice given to you by one of the guides- going out of your way to be the constant center of attention. In fact, I would say don't go out of your way to be the main star, unless you are starting a role-play whose story does center around your character. If you are joining another RP, or you are starting a group RP with people with a plot that does not directly tie into your character, you should not be trying to become the center of attention. Let the story unfold, the writing flow, and see what happens.

Playing into histrionics or some need to be the center of the RP is just going to frustrate other players and eventually alienate you from an RP. This is not going to make you a better role-player and it is not going to get you more notice. Just as it is in movies, it is not always the main characters we notice most- look at the movie Tombstone. Doc Holiday is not the star- that goes to Wylie Earp. Yet, Doc Holiday is one of the most memorable and entertaining characters from that movie. He did not have to become the star of the movie to gain notice- he did it by virtue of being a well-written character played by a damn good actor who did a great job with the role.

Staying consistent in posting: This serves two purposes, one being that consistent writing and role-playing will give you practice and the second being that you prove yourself reliable. Practice is a necessity when you want to develop your skills in anything- I don't care if you are a prodigy, you cannot develop yourself to your potential without practicing and doing that thing you want to become good at. Posting regularly will also build yourself a reputation as a reliable poster, which is both something that will help you get into more RPs, but also contributes to being an awesome Role-player- awesome role-players are reliable. ;)

Play Interesting and Dynamic Characters: Just as it is in a movie or story, if the character is flat and uninteresting, they make it hard to enjoy the medium (in our case, a role-play). Cookie cutter characters might be a good place to start for someone lacking in experience, but as you become more comfortable with role-playing and getting into portraying a character, you should start to expand- start writing and developing characters with more dimensions. Characters who have hopes and dreams, characters with fears and worries, characters with virtues and faults. The more you can make that character seem like a real person (minus supernatural powers of course), the more interesting they become.

This of course can be excepted by a villain- a villain meant to serve as what they call a complete monster- someone who has no redeeming qualities and is there to make a reader fear for the other characters and perhaps to scare your bowels clean- these guys don't need balanced traits and likable qualities- we love to hate them. Do things to make us revile them, add depth to their vileness and run with that. When it is a genuinely straight up evil villain, I don't need traits I identify with, but things that chill the marrow in my bones, or witty remarks that make me laugh in spite of knowing how evil this guy is. The villain you love to hate.

Use your creativity and contribute: One last big thing to mention- using your creativity and contributing to a story. A plot might be set up in a such a way that there is only one person intended to move a story, but it might be left to everyone to play a part. Use your creativity and come up with interesting ways to flesh out this story. Describe what your character sees and add to the imagery- maybe the initial description only mentioned a generic tavern, so you can use your post to tell us the kind of people your character sees, or the quality of the food, or the smell in the air.

Using this creativity, assuming that others are allowed to introduce elements, you can add complications to the story, create sub-plots or interesting events, or situations that create good role-play. This is part of being a team player, which is always appreciated. On this same note, make sure that you work on ideas as well, starting role-plays for others to join and enjoy. By giving back to others in the form of ideas and good role-play, you can exercise those creativity muscles and provide some awesome stuff.

There you have it, a simple guide to becoming an Awesome Role-player. Sure, there are elements you can add, and more details and nuances I am sure. However, these are some overreaching factors you can easily address and with some work, start developing into an 'awesome role-player'- just remember, awesome role-players don't bother with the labels either. ;)

To review:

• Master basic grammar, conventions, and use spell checkers- it cleans up the writing and makes it easier to read, process, and understand.
• Use words creatively and properly- remember, it is not all about the big words. Mundane words can be used in a ways that make them sound fresh, and sometimes just because it is the word that works best. Likewise, if you do choose to use a new word, make sure you look it up in the dictionary and ensure it has a definition that fits the context you plan to use it. Also- too many big words sounds pretentious ;P
• Write enough for someone to work with your post- Making sure you provide enough content for another person to respond is just good manners, and makes the RP flow better- if you consistently under post, people might grow frustrated and quit. Likewise, avoid verbosity and unnecessary fluff, because that can make for a boring read as well. React to what you should react to, add at least one action (unless the scene is all dialogue) and make sure you cover the important stuff.
• Do not make yourself the star of every role-play- I find the notion that in order to become a good role-player, you must work at being the center of attention. Really, this behavior just comes off as narcissistic, childish, and annoying. If the plot calls for you to be the center- fine. If the plot pushes you there naturally- also okay. Elbowing your way in? Not cool.
• Stay consistent in posting- hey, this gets you the practice you need and it gives you a track record for reliability, which people appreciate a lot.
• Play interesting and dynamic characters- characters with depth are much better reads and more likely to keep someone's attention than those who are flat, lifeless, or Mary Sues. Work on creating characters with details that make them feel real.
• Use your creativity and contribute- hey, add to that story or make your own stories to share with others- both are appreciated, most of the time at least. This is just another way to be a team player.

There you have it, some fundamentals to becoming an awesome (not professional) role-player. Because if you aren't being paid to do it, you aren't a professional. Also, the labels suck. Let's just all be awesome, shall we?

See you next month folks

-          Acies

"It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it.” ~Jack Kerouac

Like--Ehmagawd! It's Another Blog Update...

This Totally Makes My Day, Ya Know?  

Good Morning Valucre, welcome back to another, like, awesome update of the Valucre blog. This, um, is like the best place to get your Valucre based information. Like, it totally stays vogue, even with all the changes in role-play. I cannot wait to get down to, um, like, all the good Rp that's happening, you know? I promise its like, a righteous update, you know? I'm sure you all agree, mkay, because if not, I might have to go gag myself with a spoon. Blehch!

Okay, I can only do that for so long before I start to feel a little nauseated myself. Seriously, I have to wonder how some people can maintain that sort of speak nonstop- to each their own lexicon I suppose. Anyway, welcome to the second update of the month- we have tons of good stuff here for you, all just waiting for you to take it apart and read it. I certainly hope you enjoy!

What's Happening Valucre?

The Chosen: Round Three Continues- Tired of seeing this yet? Me neither, who can tire of the Chosen. Okay, maybe some people, but that is a personal problem for them to resolve, amirite? Anyhow, both fights are on the move again, and the combat continues. If you feel like you have a winner pegged, perhaps you should drop a bet or three- go gamble people. If not, you can always chat in the lounge.

Genesaris Dark Festival: The Carnival of Despair- Ho there, the secret RP experience has been revealed- the Carnival of Despair is back and it's more macabre than ever! Returning with popular games and activities from the year before, as well as a brand new scavenger hunt, this year's Carnival of Despair is sure to be a hit. Tickets are cheap, admission reasonable, and an IC good time guaranteed. All occurrences here absolutely canonical- meaning you can count it on your character history. In fact, that means bad things can occur- best you be careful. In the meantime, be sure to follow that interest check thread this week, because each of the events are having some expanded looks into each of the events, as well as the prizes associated and who is running the event. Tickets go on sale in just over a couple weeks- watchout!

Spinal Chills 2013- Spinal Chills, the largely popular and quite successful writing contest for last year, is back again and this time, it's posted early, giving people more time to come up with their spine chilling entries. Winners of the contest gain varying levels of VB, with first place winners taking away a Spinal Chills trophy for his or herself. We had some marvelous entries come in last year and I bet the same could happen this year as well! So get to writing and make sure you have something in before October 25th. I know I have an idea brewing- now to find time to write it!

Typhoon University of Magic- Hey, do you want to go to school with some of the most badass spell casters in Valucre? That's right, the masters of lightning, the people who live in the thick of the mana storms and take pride in being struck. What can you say, these people are booksmart- doesn't mean they have any common sense! Anyway, this is more than a classic school based RP where you get to navigate the trials of magic school while dealing with teenage angst- there is a flipping portal opening up and about ready to let a demon come through- and it will be up to your students to stop it. Up for balancing that with your mid-terms?  Check it out.

Alterion: Brand New Level 3 Suboard- Hey, it's about time Tellus Mater got some extra love. A brand new sub-board opened by Syncopy and Paradigm has rooted itself inside Tellus Mater, and you can be sure this will be wide open for the RP. At this point, there is only a bestiary and some information on their major religion, but I will keep you posted when some more info goes up over time.

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked- A different sort of interest check, I like the angle the person took with this one, even though it's not what you would call the 'traditional approach'. In this case, rather than giving you the ins and the outs of the plot at hand, the individual tells it as though you were already thrust into the story itself- you an innocent bystander who witnessed an accidental murder- leaving you with having to decide how you handle this. The RP takes place in Last Chance, and the stylistic approach to this interest check alone has made me feel tempted to sign up. Take a look.

Looking for Writers in Adaviel- Adaviel is still openly recruiting newcomers for the board, looking for people to fill leadership and nobility roles, as well we as prominent roles in the everyday society. If prominent roles aren't your thing, there are numerous ways you can get involved with the developing RP scene. Be sure to take a look into the available lore, and see if something gives you inspiration. ;)

Hail to the Glorious Contenders: Potion Making Contest- The Glorious Contenders competition of Patia continues, with the potion making contest getting underway. In this game, you will be trying to make a love potion, using a process of elimination style practices to try and find the right combination of three ingredients (from a list of many) that will prove to be the most effective potion. If you like logical challenges, this might just be for you. What are you going to mix up?

Featured Read of the Week- 

I really like these little one to one threads like this, especially between the two people involved in this one. It really captures all sides of two villains, who despite being tied up in murder, intrigue, politics, and affairs- sometimes just need a moment to stop, breathe, and appreciate what they have for themselves. It puts a more human spin on the badguy, creating characters rather than archetypes. The writing is excellent and the thread absolutely fantastic read. It seems that King and Noko bring some true chemistry with their characters interactions- it just makes the reading that much better.

Congratulations to Noko and King, for producing our Feature of the Week! ;)

Everyone Becomes a Poet- Phoebe (Noko) arrives home, exhausted, having just rounded out a terribly long week that felt like a blurred continuation of a single day. Aristotle (King) opens up his post with the chilling assassination of a former employee, the gritty detail balancing bloodiness with quality- thus avoiding a gratuitous description. He returns to his home, the lovers reuniting and bonding, talking about business, while a hidden subtext mulls beneath the surface- affection, a clear need for time and each other, something surprisingly romantic and normal, despite their conversations pertaining to criminal enterprises and murder. The thread left off with the arrangements for a body cleanup and a decision to take the night off and enjoy dinner, before taking off for more business as usual.

Lore of the Week!

This Week's Feature: Versilla, Orisia

At a Glance: 

• Leader:  Irene Gabriela DuGrace, The Black Queen
• Population: Mostly human with a growing amount of supernatural peoples, but most pass through on their way to Morgana.
• Defenses: 
• The local military known as the Royal Guard, a sizable force.
• The Black Tempest, Orisia's royal Fleet. The fleet patrols all waters of Orisia, but a larger majority of the ships are kept at Atitlan Lake, under the control of the queen.
• Orisia's Castles are fortified structures made ready for potential battle, especially due to the difficult history the island has endured. The castles boast vast underground system of tunnels and caverns, where people can be protected if there is ever a siege upon the city.
• Knights of the Black Heart: An order of knights maintained by the Black Queen. These are knights separate from the Noble 7 who personally protect the queen and remain by her at all times. 
• Hot Spots: 
• The Dugrace Castle, home of the Dugrace royal family. 
• The Temple, once a beautiful place of remembrance, erected in honor of the late Kalicity. Recent events have left a tainted mark on the temple, leaving the site in ruins. In its place, a new structure has risen, the Templo de Equilibrio. This new establishment features a balance in both rich artistry and simplistic design, with beautiful gardens and plain adornments. It serves not just as a place of remembrance, but also a place to meditate on the balanc
• The Broken Chant Tavern, a popular establishment in the capital of Orisia, ran by the bartender  Frank. The tavern hosts a variety of rooms and brews, from top end drinks and luxurious beds to middle of the road drinks and simple board, to better serve all types- rich or poor. They say you can find no more welcoming atmosphere anywhere inside the world of Valucre. 

Canonical Occurrences by Members:

•  The Masquerade Gala- A massive event meant to celebrate Orisia's continual prosperity. Also the knighting ceremony of 6 out of the 7 Noble Knights for Orisia's Order of the Black Heart. A lively affair that is attended by many guests, all with different reasons for showing up. From blooming political alliances to not so subtle threats, the Masquerade Gala is the place for everyone to hide and reveal their true intentions. It is in this Gala that the Black Queen weaves her political web and manages to win new friends to her cause, while finally meeting face to face with the embodiment of the Great Northern Threat. Though little is actually resolved amongst the swirling skirts of gowns and seemingly never ending alcohol, all the chess pieces seem to have been placed.
• A Night of Storms- Shortly after being knighted at the Masquerade Corvin left the gala, and made his way to courtyard. By keen nose he found his way to Gabriela’s bedchambers. In hopes to find solace now that he was alone, with the intent to catch Gabriela alone to discuss the matter of his betrayal and oath breaking, which had been settled without giving him any choice in what price must be plaid, even his offer for a trial by combat had been utterly ignored. However; things did not go exactly as planned when she entered the room clothed only in Roen’s shirt and scent upon her flesh, the caged emotions that had long since festered burst forth. Wounding her with his dagger, and binding her naked upon her bed he questioned her barely conscious mind what the price for his freedom was. When he finally had his answer and the shocking revelation of her feelings towards Roen, he finally gained some semblance of control, and loosened her bonds. Surprising himself, he stole a kiss from the very queen he had wounded, confused by his very own actions, and by her even meeting the kiss he was left in a daze.Gabriela, hungering for blood, and still possessing some vestige of her strength capitalized on his daze and pulled him sharply to the bed, and tackled him there. Straddling him, the last of her strength used, she fell against him, whimpering and trembling atop him from the torture his blood caused her as it coursed through his veins. It was then that Shaitari entered the room, and saw the situation before her, called for the guards. A scuffle lasted but a few moments before Corvin was subdued and dragged off to the dungeons.
• Night Terrors (Closed)- A man pretending to be a simple guest of the masquerade slips away into the night, leading a poor young victim to a nearby temple, with vile deeds on his mind. Addicted to perverse chaos and the defilement of that what is innocent and pure, the impostor taps into the school of abjuration to seal all exits and trap dozens of people inside the cathedral honoring the late Kalicity. Utilizing illusion and necromancy, the man creates a scene of terror and bloody gore, dismembering random citizens and using fear to push others into action against the innocent young woman. The end of a nightlong ordeal led to the torture and maiming of his victim, as well as a zombie affliction cast upon numerous survivors, who begin the spread of their curse the moment the doors were opened. This led to the events pertaining to the 'Putting the Dead to Rest' as well as the eventual rise of the Templo de Equilibrio.

Available Quests:

• None Found

Brief Summary of Lore:

Taken from Lore: Versilla is massive city by the sea—not the sea, but an enormous lake by the name of Atitlan, connected by three narrow rivers to the open expanses of the ocean between Genesaris and Terrenus. Although Versilla is a monstrous city in size, it spread across a huge stretch of land allowing for homes and buildings to stand alone without being forced into the usual cramped restraints of urban spaces. Romanesque in architecture, most buildings, including the DuGrace Castle are made of perfectly carved stone—beautiful arches and magnificent columns.  

Newly Awarded!

Sorry folks, no new awards this week. 

New Members and Returns!

Welcome:

Love to Write:
That name, is speaks volumes within my soul, for I too love to write! Only, that headline she(?) came in with makes me little worried- saying 'hello to strangers who already feel like family'--whoa whoa whoa. Anyone ever tell this one about Stranger-Danger? Man, we got questionable characters like Carlos Danger running around, we ought to make sure that she doesn't start calling the wrong person family. All kidding aside, your enthusiasm is contagious and it makes me feel appreciative that you took the time to step into our world to come and do this RP thing. Welcome LTW. :)

Smitten With Mittens:
He's(?) smitten with mittens just as I am smitten with all(almost) all things written. Not only do I suspect that you will meet some awesome people here- I know you will, because you already have. I hope the site continues to prove a marvelous thing for you and that all your RP needs find fulfillment. :)

Myth:
He is myth, legend, and superstition all rolled into one, and he's already made quite the impression on Valucre as well. Anyway, I hope he finds himself a nice RP to nestle into as the day go on. Welcome ;)

JamesAndrew:
In answer to your question James: The address bar and my tabs- yep, looking up, I see an address bar and tabs, as well as an X, a █, and a — sign in the right corner. Yep, that's what I see. Anyway, you are a colorful (I mean that in a positive way :P) and chipper person- I like it. I see you integrated yourself quickly, so I hope that you continue to feel welcome. :)

LooneyLawliet:
Howdy Ana! I see that you like Anime, Harry Potter, and you have a last name that I could not pronounce even if my life depended on it. While that last name is intimidating, you seem nice and I can appreciate your taste in music, so there is a plus ;). Anyway, I see that you already hit up the Role-play direction thread, so it looks like you are off to a good start. I hope you enjoy your time on Valucre! :)

Thewolfwithwings:
Hey, welcome wolf who has wings (not such a common thing I expect). You have taken the liberty of mentioning your gender- I appreciate that, because I sometimes spend countless time trying to figure out if I should call a new member h or she, or write their introduction awkwardly, just so I can avoid the gender based pronouns! So, I can now tell the Valucre populace to please welcome HER to the site, nice nice. With that little odd aside out of the way, I should add that I personally extend my welcome to you and hope that you'll find a healthy dose of RP for yourself while here on Valucre. In all honesty, we probably have as many people here as there are on Google+, just sayin :P

Championrage:
Behold, the Champion of Rage, a bearer of a wicked looking avatar, and quite full of himself to boot. Okay, I tease, I tease- he's just very confident, and assuring that he intends to stick around for sometime. Well Champion, we always like getting new members who plan to be here for the long haul, so of course that is 'spiffy'. You see, Valucre attracts fine blokes like yourself because we too are simply 'boss like that'. Welcome to Val. ;)

Returns:

Peregrine:
He's back around and is using that voice of his to let everyone that he's looking for some role-play. Let's just hope that he's using his inside voice. I'm assuming so, because it looks like the caps lock button was not employed. So for that, I thank you, and wish you a welcome return. ;)

Amenities:
Hey look, Amenities is back--apparently that means things are turning fake and we're going to fuck some shit up to boot. Hell, sounds like a plan to me, because with how crappy reality is at the moment, I could really use some fake and opportunities to blast things. Welcome back Amenities!

Other Highlights?

Writing highlights again? Really? With resignation I step into this unhallowed piece of the blog and rip my veins wide open, sacrificing another part of myself to cover this blasted section- because the readers demand more. Always more.

Alright, perhaps that was a touch melodramatic.

The Valucre Newsletter- Do you miss the newsletter? So do I, so one thing I suggest is that you go jump Carlos and start demanding your newsletter- man is five months behind! Anyway, if you want to reminisce the good old content or do some informational reading (for all you new folk out there who might be reading along), you can take a look at the archive from this here spot- you can also access them from the Community Tab.

Did You Know- Did you know about the Randomizers? Yep, this little used resource is available to you and just waiting for you to tap into it. You can use a self randomizer to randomly find an event to toss in and change up your thread, or you can put yourself down as seeking someone to come aid you. Want to know more? BAM, right there. Want more Did You Knows- go here.

Closing Thoughts?

Professional Role-playing.

You knew it had to be coming at some point, right? A subject I thought I would leave alone, given that it seemed to have taken a respite from the vocabulary of people coming through Valucre. That is, until recently. Once again, I have heard someone take upon themself the mantle of ‘Professional Role-player’, with nothing to validate their use of the title other than their own ego. Look, beyond the fact that calling yourself a professional role-player is just another way of branding yourself as an elitist, there is a fundamentally incorrect notion associated with this term:

Professional ≠ Talented

Truly, there are some professionals out there who really suck at what they do. They somehow fell into the field, have the knowledge and fundamental skillsets required to work their profession, and someone is paying them to do it- that makes them a professional, even if their skills are considered inferior to that of their peers.

Let’s look at the definition of professional:

1. Following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain

2. Of, pertaining to, or connected with a profession

3. Engaged in one of the learned professions

4. Following as a business an occupation ordinarily engaged in as a pastime

(Source: Dictionary.com. One unrelated definition ((acting professional)) omitted)

As you can see, being a professional means that you are following through with an occupation that ends with you being paid. If you are not being paid, or at least part of one of these other occupations they call a profession, you are not a professional in that field.

Profession:

1. A vocation requiring knowledge of some department of learning or science (They say compare to Learned Profession, which includes Law, Medicine, and Theology)- essentially, something you go to college for and typically for a significant period of time.

2. Any vocation or business (Vocation being means of employment)

3. The body of persons engaged in an occupation or calling (such as medicine).

(Source: Dictionary.com. Two unrelated definitions ((Religious and professing defined)) omitted)

As you could see, it is theoretically possible to become a professional role-player. While some would reserve the term professional for those who have had significant schooling for their profession (I’m sorry, but you are not a sanitation engineer, you are a garbage man), but even if you want to go with the more lax definition of it the term- turning a pastime into career, there is still one big holdback that comes up for those would be ‘Professional Role-players’.

You are not getting paid to role-play.

The day that someone shows me a realistic means to get paid to do nothing by do play-by-post forum RP posting all day, I will be ready to bow at their feet and shower them in accolades- seriously, a dream job for many of us. Only, this does not happen. No one is out looking for people that they can pay to come write on their website as a role-player. Just to see if this has ever happened anywhere, I actually went out of my way to do a Google search for professional role-playing. The only outfit I could come up with that would qualify as a professional organization was one who did a different kind of role-play—they are actors, who come do skits for work place trainings. It sounds like a fun gig actually, but it’s not what we are doing.

They are not getting paid to participate in a written Role-playing game.

In my search for professional role-players, I did come across a couple of humorous results- if you have me on IM, chances are you saw these on my status- E-How and Wiki-How both have guides on how to be a professional role-player. You could just imagine the groaning that came from me as I read the title of those articles, and the worst part of it is that the articles are not only guides on trying to be something that you cannot be (without actually getting paid)- they are terrible guides! Seriously, I am not sure who wrote these guides, but they make a lot of suggestions that I would never give to another role-player, and when it comes down to it- they are not defining ‘professionals’.

They are defining elitists.

Look, far be it from me to write up a closing thoughts telling people that they should go out and become an elitist- honestly, those kind of attitudes get really old, are often unwarranted by the individual who has it, and it just makes them no fun to RP with, not to mention making it harder to keep new folk around, as they quickly become discouraged. I don’t advocate for anyone to become an elitist prick- let’s all be cool and get along, yeah?

As I stated, I am not going to tell you to take on that elitist mentality, nor am I going to even tell you how (well, hint: Just swell your head up a lot). What I will do though, is examine these Wiki-how and E-how guides, and get down to describing whether or not the advice they are offering is good advice, should your goal be to become a good role-player. After all, someone has to correct this junk, right?

E-How’s Guide to Becoming a ‘Professional Role-Player’:

1. Research. It’s always a good idea to read a book to stimulate the imagination. Try reading fan fiction, maybe even browse the internet for good role playing sites to see how others do it. Try reading manga (which is popular for role players) and see if you find anything that inspires you.

1. Research is helpful if you need to look up a new concept that you are unfamiliar with, or are trying to do something based on reality. Otherwise, I really don’t see this as research so much as just trying to find what inspires you. Reading can be an excellent way to kick start the imagination and get some ideas, much in the same way that watching a movie, watching a play, or even going for a walk can all play a part in that creative process. They call it research, I call it searching for your muse. Do not feel compelled to dig through stacks of books and other material before you start role-playing. If you have a healthy imagination, creativity to spare, and a fist full of ideas you are ready to start writing about- go for it. Other media can help supplement ideas, keep you creatively sharp, and can improve your vocabulary (reading in particular here)- but it is by no means a requirement of role-playing.

2. If you use chat speak (eg: how r u?, OMG, rofl and other anagrams) and “txt tlk” (Text talk is generally what people use when writing texts on their phones. It’s widely known as typing without vowels) then kick that habit! A lot of people will beg you to stop using these. Take time to write out the full word. It’s a lot better looking and shows you’re not too lazy to not write out full words. Besides ‘hw mny ppl cn undrstnd ths?’ Grammar is important.

2. Okay, I am going to give them this one here. Writing posts with chat speak is incredibly obnoxious and a great way to have people ask you to step out of their role-play. They put it as showing that you are not so lazy as to never bother writing out words, but I see it as more than a question of how lazy you are- I mean look, we have some lazy members, and they write out sentences- if anything, its keeping in mind that you are trying to convey ideas, action, plot- you are painting us the picture and telling us the story of your character, and if you are writing it out like you do a text message, details are definitely going to get lost. This is not so much about how lazy you are, but rather how invested you are in telling a great story about your character.

3. Know your Genre: Genre can be described as categories or types such as fiction/nonfiction. The more popular types of Genre in role playing are (but not limited to):

Romance

Fantasy

Sci-fi/futuristic

Modern

Feudal Era Japan

Adventure

Game

Action

School

Anime/Manga

Those are some of the most common ones. Get to know these and others and you’ll be likely to have a wide open range of what you’d enjoy role playing.

3. Know your genre… you know, I have never had genre really become much of an issue for me when going out and role-playing, especially as far as trying to develop my abilities as a role-player and a writer are concerned. Genre is one of those things I would preoccupy yourself with the least. You probably have a good idea of what you like and what you absolutely do not like before you even start delving into RP- I am going to assume you read, watch TV shows and/or movies, and therefore have a pretty good idea of what the varying genres are. Look, when looking to develop yourself, don’t sweat the genre.

4. Create a character. Your character can be either based on the type of role play you do (such as a ninja or samurai in Feudal era) or just something completely random you chose to make up (Maybe a pirate ninja who can fit into any genre).

4. Well, creating a character is important if you plan to role-play, because if you don’t, how are you going to role-play, right? I find the idea of a ‘pirate-ninja’ as fitting for any genre as a comical notion, but I’ll leave my personal asides on things of that nature out of this particular discussion (don’t want to veer too far off topic). When it comes down to it- yes, in order to role-play at all, you need to have some character in mind. This really is a fundamental step in being a role-player period, not so much with becoming a great one, or as they define it, a ‘professional role-player’.

5. Create a sample post.

A lot of people recommend you have a sample of your writing. If you don’t have one to show forth, or don’t have one you’re proud of, now would be a good time to write one up. Samples are pretty easy. If you have a character in mind, write about them. Write a paragraph or two (three’s a charm) on what a day in their life would be like. Explain how they interact with others, and don’t be afraid to go into detail.

5. Hey, if you feel a need to produce a sample post to showcase, I’ll say more power to you. If you are on a website that requires a sample of writing, I could see the purpose behind doing this, but here on Valucre (and the other places I have been), 99% of the role-plays do not require a sample writing for you to showcase. If writing by yourself for a bit will help you get fitted with your character and decide how to RP them- great, go for it. If you feel like that this is an unnecessary waste of your time… well, if you get nothing out of it, it is a waste of your time. What I am saying is, do not feel compelled to follow through with this.

6. Now that you have your character, and a sample, find a good role playing website. Small quaint communities are a nice place to get started. In my honest opinion, I suggest you start off by writing fan fiction or just plain fiction in general. It’s a great way to get you used to writing in a good proper formation and also get people to review your work to tell you what your strengths and weaknesses are. Sign up for an account on fanfiction.net and start writing.

6. So, whoever wrote this article is clearly a person who not only believes that they are, in fact, a professional role-player, but is clearly someone who does a lot of fan-fic writing. Look, I am not about to bash a form of writing- some people really enjoy fan-fic writing, and I say more power to them. I just want to quash any notion that writing a fan-fic is necessary step in the process of becoming a good forum role-player, or one at all. Look, writing is good practice, but solo writing is not necessarily going to give you all the experience you are looking for. You get used to writing by yourself, without practicing interaction with others you do not control, with situations that might be out of your control, etc. Role-playing is much more collaborative.

7. Pay attention to details. Have fun with your writing but remember, not everyone will know exactly what you’re talking about if you don’t explain to them. A good role player will know how to reel the readers in with details, getting them to understand why one thing happens that leads to a certain event. Don’t be afraid to explain how large the kingdom is and how it’s ruled, whether or not the peasants quake in fear. Explain how the arrogant soldier always leads with an iron fist, explaining his tactics to the point where it is completely fault proof.

Is it more interesting to read a sentence that said :

“The dragon was big and had sharp teeth. It was scary.”

Or this?:

“The large reptilian beast bore two beady eyes that could pierce the soul of any slayer, or anyone who dare challenge it. Its fangs protruded out of its jaws, dripping hungrily with saliva as it thirst for flesh and blood. By all means, this creature struck fear in the hearts that was too great for words.”

See? Adding details make things more enjoyable. Have fun with it.

7. This is a touchy area, so I will tread lightly on this one. Yes, you do need to add some kind of detail. Writing about a generic castle in the middle of a generic kingdom with generic townspeople is quite boring- it will hold little interest to others. How much detail you should give when fleshing out background information is largely variable, dependent upon your audience, how much of that information is need-to-know, how you plan to describe it, and how much time you have both in terms of to describe the setting, and to get your story done.

When it comes to describing other things- like say the dragon- you do want something more than the generic statement about a big dragon with sharp teeth, who was scary. As I tell people in the trainings I do, while we cover documentation- don’t tell me what the behavior was, paint me a picture! From a legal standpoint, we are obligated to show through objective detail what a person was doing, how they looked and how they acted, rather than making assumptions about their feeling state. In the case of a story, you do not want to tell me something is scary- because I will have the most generic make up of it in my mind when I read about it- you need to show me why it is scary. Tell me about the size and sharpness of the teeth, and how those cold eyes pierced right through you. Just, refrain from stating that teeth ‘dripped hungrily’- I honestly do not see how teeth could do that.

8. Use a thesaurus! If there’s any key hint to sounding professional, it’s the thesaurus! Words like ’gently’, ’quietly’, ’softly’ are over used and boring. Grab a thesaurus and find other words that bring a more powerful sense to your words.

Instead of saying:

“He touched her cheek softly”

Try using:

“He touched her cheek affectionately.”

Simple replacements like that can spice up an entire sentence.

8. Oh boy, we found the land mine.

Anytime someone says ‘use a thesaurus’, I inwardly cringe, because I know that while that advice is well intentioned, it often ends badly. A lot of people like to use a thesaurus to look up new words, pick out something that makes them think that they sound smarter; chances are pretty good that they picked a word that did not work. Look, just because it came up on the thesaurus does not mean it gave you a word you could apply in the context of your current writing. Look, I might want to replace the word ‘ball’ when I am talking about children playing with a ball on the playground, but I should not grab the word ‘globule’ because it came up. A globule is a small, round particle of a substance or a drop- I could have a raindrop, or a bit of fat, or something else small and in the shape of a drop or small sphere- and certainly not a child’s ball used in play.

When it comes to using a thesaurus, please do yourself the service of looking up the word you like in the dictionary as well and make sure it actually fits. If you are looking up a word because you know of another word for it and you are struggling to place it- that’s absolutely fine. Now, further, when they say that some words are over used and boring, I must STRONGLY disagree. Anything in any piece of writing can be fresh and new- if it is written that way! Use the ‘old and boring’ word in a different way or in another context. Find a new way to put that use to paper, so it sounds poetic and different. You can make the ‘overused’ sound great, and the exotic sound clumsy and awkward. Never assume that a common word is a bad word because it gets used often- if anything, if a word is commonly used in mainstream writing- it’s because it works!

Okay, so that was the E-how. Now we move on to Wiki-how. If something overlaps, I will make mention of it and skip that number.

WikiHow’s Guide to Being a ‘Professional Role-Player’:

Things to know:

1. Roleplaying requires a lot of writing and reading. You must have (or be willing to develop) correct spelling, grammar skills, etc. You must read other roleplayer’s posts in order to make your own. If you dislike writing, reading, or both, roleplaying may not be the hobby for you.

2. Roleplaying requires time. If you are tight on time, you may not be able to develop into a master roleplayer. You must be able to make at least a few, excellent posts a day. Advanced roleplaying requires even more effort from you.

3. Roleplaying requires the willingness to accept criticism from other roleplayers. It also requires you to be able to work with other roleplayers. Roleplaying is almost like teamwork; you’re all working together to build up an exciting, excellent roleplay! If you don’t get along with your fellow roleplayers, then the roleplay will not turn out well.

Things to know, by Acies-

1. The first tenet here is fairly true. The act of role-playing itself will require reading and writing, insofar as writing your posts and reading the posts of others. There is a certain degree of writing ability you should strive to develop, but the majority of people will not have an expectation that you write papers fit for publication. To be honest, the average role-player has only a decent grasp of grammar and conventions, as the average person does not typically have a need to know the more subtle ins and outs of grammatical writing- that is for those who write for a living, have a degree in the area, or are anal-retentive (I am in this last category, lol). Being prepared to do some writing, to do some reading, and to be working toward at least a proficient ability in writing skills are all good places to start, especially if you want to be considered among the better Role-players.

2. Wow, this second one is silly. It really tries to blow smoke right up the rear end of a prospective Role-player looking to become good at his craft, lol. Look, people understand that you have a life- you might have school, work, kids, family obligations, emergencies, etc- any number of things that could come up and prevent you from dropping a post for a day or two. Often, this means when your schedule lets up a bit, you do a ‘post dump’- you post a lot all at once. This idea that you must write ‘a few excellent posts a day’, just really strikes me as a pretentious line of baloney.

3. Role-playing itself does not necessarily require that you accept criticism-if you want to role-play with a real lax group who all enjoy doing the Role-play thing together without worrying about improving beyond their current skillsets- then no, you do not need to accept criticism. Now, if you want to improve, you want to build up your skills and grow as a role-player, then yes, you need to get used to taking honest feedback. This is true of anything though- if you want to improve at something, you have to be willing to take feedback from those who know what they are doing.

Constructing Acceptable Characters

1. Being able to construct acceptable characters is an important key to mastering the art of roleplaying. Having poor characters will more than often annoy other roleplayers and stop you from moving onto to advanced roleplays. In order to have an acceptable, excellent character, your character’s profile should contain the following in it:

Name - You should create a first and last name for your character. Try to be creative with it.

Age – The age of your character will depend on the roleplay (ex: a roleplay about teenagers would require your character to be 13 to 18 years old).

Gender – You will have either a male or female character, unless if specified.

Appearance – This is one of the important parts of your character, as this will influence the opinion of other roleplayers. You should include your character’s height, eye color, hair color, skin tone, etc. that describe your character’s appearance.

Personality – This is another important part of your character. Your character’s personality will decide whether he/she gets through the roleplay alive, wins another character’s heart, and other important events. Your character’s personality will also influence his/her decisions. It will also give other roleplayers an idea of what your character is like. Don’t forget to mix in a few flaws – no character is perfect! Without the personality, your character literally has no life to live for.

Your character’s profile must also consist of other information that the roleplay requires. Skipping those requirements ma y result in your character not being accepted into the roleplay.

2. Once you have written out your character’s profile, look over it again to see if you wish to make any changes to it. Be sure you have included enough flaws so your character will not be considered a Mary/Marty Sue. A Mary/Marty Sue is a flawless character with both an excellent personality and appearance. Mary/Marty Sues tend to be annoying and will always say or do the right thing.

Having a Mary or Marty Sue may get you kicked out of the roleplay! Plus, if you have a past of creating Mary or Marty Sues, advanced roleplays or another other roleplays may refuse to admit you in.

3. Finally, get to know your character. Knowing what your character would do or say in a situation will help develop your skills in roleplaying. If you enter a roleplay without getting to know your character at all, you will have problems with writing!

Character Creation with Acies

1. Wow, crafting acceptable characters is an ‘important’ part of mastering role-play. Well, I always thought it was a good practice, but not something that necessarily inhibits my ability to role-play. I like to think I can role-play with a well written character, with a poorly written character, or with some randomly generated NPC I am using to assist others in their storyline (ST duties). This does not mean that I have to have the perfect character built up in order to get involved with the RP. As for appearance affecting my opinion…

Really? So, we role-players are such a shallow lot now that if your character does not look really cool, or fit our idealized notion of a good character appearance, we are going to think less of you as a role-player? Hey, characters come in all shapes and sizes, just like people. Sometimes you have the handsome gentlemen with silvery eyes and long flowing, nearly white hair- other times you have the short, small, funny looking guy missing an ear. Character appearances should not have any bearing on the opinions of others about you the role-player.

2. Well, Mary Sues are a pain in the rear to deal with, and they do come up in role-playing. Some people just think their characters should walk on water, be celebrated by the masses, and have a bunch of awesome to spare- what can you do. It is a good practice to go over your character and make sure they balance out as someone who seems real. If you are really unsure of where they are at, look up the Mary Sue litmus test- it’s a good resource for thinking about how your character comes across.

3. Well, of course you want to get to know your character. I have never really had a problem with this, and I think that people generally have a pretty good idea of what they are doing with someone before they toss them out into the world.

Requirements in Advanced Role-playing

1. You will need to be able to write multiple paragraphs. More advanced roleplays will not accept one-liners (posts that consist of only one line) and they will expect a lot of writing from you. If you dislike writing, advanced roleplays are not for you. Your paragraphs should also consist of good quality and excellent vocabulary that everyone will understand. In fact, it is better to have a few sentences that ooze of excellent quality, than a few paragraphs that make other roleplayers want to scream!

Make your posts longer and more interesting to read with descriptions, dialogue, word choice, and correct conventions.

If are able to, describe everything from your character’s view. If your character meets another character, describe it. If your character enters a building, describe it. If your character eats something, describe its taste. Your description should consist of strong words that make the reader want to continue – anything to make your post longer and more interesting to read!

1. Okay, now that we are on their main list, I will go back to the above format. A lot of this one is true- the majority of our role-players tend to write on the longer side, so you will need to have the ability to write more than a one liner. However, as they themselves have mentioned, it is a better idea to have 5 sentences of pure awesome than 25 sentences of pure garbage. Please, focus on good writing and do not sweat the length, unless yours will be significantly shorter than the average, or a one liner. If shorter than average- try to avoid doing it all the time. Sometimes, all you have is enough to write to short paragraphs and then having to let it go on.

Now, as for description- again, BALANCE! Sometimes, there are things that just need to be described. They set mood, or a catalyst for the conflict of the story, or something else that is significant. However, there is overboard, and we get into that wonderful world of purple prose- please, do not tell me all about the flavors of your lunch!

2. Come up with interesting dialog. People don’t want to just read a whole bunch of descriptions! If your character bumps into someone, apologize. If your character walks into a restaurant, don’t just simply write that your character ordered some food – have your character ask for the food himself/herself! For bonus, add some extra sentences that reflects your character’s personality (for example: “Milkshake, please,” Ginger sniffed, her manicured fingernails impatiently tapping on the counter. The air circling around her reeked of her designer perfume, causing some customers to cover their noses.).

2. This one I can get behind, more or less. Yes, description gets tiring- please include action and dialogue. If your character is interacting with people, it is often better to include the dialogue exchanges rather than just describe, describe, describe. However, be sure to be careful with how you tie in character traits- it can go from interesting to obnoxious quickly.

3. Avoid using “he” or “she” at the start of every sentence. Have a variety of other words to depict the scene in the roleplay. Refrain from repeating words in your posts, especially in sentences. If you find that you have trouble with thinking of different words, try using a thesaurus.

3. Actually, I have no problem with this. Varying word usage in your posts is a good practice- whether you are writing a story or doing a post, redundancy can cause some to cringe (okay, me, I admit).

4.  Attend conventions. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling are extremely important in roleplays – you cannot stress that enough! If you have many misspelled words, run-on sentences, and grammar problems in your posts, you will get kicked out of any roleplay you attempt to join. Mistakes happen to the best of us, but you've got to check over every word, run your post through Microsoft Word – whatever it takes to minimize your mistakes.

If your sentence looks too long, add a comma. If it looks like it has too many commas, add a period in there.

4. Wow, sounds like this person belongs to a site with a lot of assholes. Look, if you are looking to become heralded as a great role-player, you certainly do want to work on your conventions. I have no expectation that people will go out and learn the ins and outs of writing that comes with having an English degree- you do not need to be a published author or an editor in order to be a good role-player. Just make sure that you are hitting a certain minimum standard- about at a level one could reasonably expect someone your age to have the ability to write (if you are out of high school- at a high school graduate level; if not out of high school- on target for whatever grade you are in).

5. Read other roleplayer’s posts. Reading is a huge part of roleplaying! If you avoid reading other people’s posts, you won’t know what is going on in the roleplay! In order to have excellent posts that qualify for advanced roleplayers, you’ll need to read to know what is appropriate and not appropriate to put in your post.

5. The more and more I see this stuff about ‘advanced role-players’ and ‘qualifying’, the more I think that the writers of these guides come from extremely elitist places. Anyway, reading is a great way of getting better. Read other people’s posts and see what they are doing, find what you like about it and see if there are things you could apply to your writing. Now, don’t outright rip off someone’s style- but see if you notice things that they do that you think you could easily incorporate into your own righting.

6. Interact with other characters. If your character does a solo act and refuse to speak to any other characters, you will most likely be left behind while the others travel onto the action! If you do interact with other characters, you will most likely be included in all the action.

6. This one is such a gimme that I am surprised that this made a guide for ‘advanced or professional role-playing’. Of course, if you do not interact with others, you really are not going to get anywhere. Duh, duh, duh. ;P

7. Try to become one of the lead characters; it may give you some attention from professionals and it will help your reputation! Although this role will take some time to work for, if you make enough excellent posts, your character will most likely be the star! However, refrain from shoving others out of the way in order to receive the spotlight, or your character will become unpopular. Don’t make your character do too many kind acts either, or you will be labeled as a Mary or Marty Sue!

7. Wow… I must refrain from laughing, must refrain from laughing, must refrain from laughing… BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Ahem.

Anyway, when it comes to whether or not you are the star of the show- don’t sweat it. If you want to start a role-play where your character is going to be the main focus, and you can get others to join you- more power to you! If you join another role-play and have to settle for a supporting role- who cares! Go out there, get some practice, get comfortable in what you are doing, and have fun. This crap about being a star and getting noticed is a silly concept.

Holy heck, this got long- really long. Granted, I borrowed some of this material, but I don’t think it was necessarily that long, lol. I was going to go into my own guide on what you can do to become a kickass role-player, but it would seem this shall have to be a part two for next week.

With that, I bid you all a good day.

As they say in some town out east- Don’t forget to be awesome. ;)

-          Acies

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit.” ~Richard Bach