Hey, guys! Amara here. I've been an on and off member of Arwen-Undomiel.com since early 2005, I believe. I make time in my schedule, whenever I'm on here, to either: start an RPG, continue one or join one. But, throughout the years, I've noticed that a large number of roleplayers have diminished. Either they considered themselves too old to do it, had too much on their plate or just had to deal with too much real life.

What I want to do with this thread is to basically help anyone that is new to the art of roleplaying. I'll teach you the basics on how to start off a paragraph, how to create a character, etc. If you need help on other things that you personally feel embarrassed about, then please just PM me, whenever you feel the need.

So, let the classes begin!!!

First, I would like to start off by asking who would like to join. I can take as many people as possible, but it'll take some time to reply to everyone. So, just let me know what you need help on. Thanks, guys!

_________________



Siggy set made by the amazing Lembas!

Hello! I've done RPing before, but that was with all original characters, no canons, in a very different format (longer posts, for the most part), so I'm wondering how this style differs. I'm also worried that my first character is a bit of a Mary-Sue (but doesn't every RPer worry that at first? XD). So, any tips you could give me would be greatly appreciated!

_________________


Sig set and banner by the amazing Nurr!!

Hello, Arabella!

I've also done some roleplaying with original characters, but I've also done many with canons. Personally, I don't think that the styles really differ. The only thing that's different between the two is that, with your original character, you write everything involving what you've come up with for him/her/it. With a canon character (be it Jack Sparrow, Legolas, etc.), you have to know what the character is like - What their characteristics are. So, it's pretty much the same. Just know your character. There's no need to change your style.

And yes, EVERYONE fears that their character is a Mary-Sue! I've feared that many times, mainly because I didn't want anything bad to happen to my girl. It's usually always the same two girls that I use. A tip to think about for when you start to fear that, and it's one that I've had to use myself, is to think of your character as being real. If you could pull your character into our world, would they be perfect? Or would they have flaws just like any human being would? You sometimes have to really get into your writing and your characters to make them realistic. Everyone is tore up from the floor up. Even if they don't admit it sometimes. Just keep that in mind and then I think you'll be fine!

I hope all of this was helpful for you, hun.

_________________



Siggy set made by the amazing Lembas!

Hey Amara!
Nice to see you here once again! And this thread is a great idea! Especially now the RPG section seems to have come back to life, this will be very useful! I stickied the thread, together with another Help and Advice thread I started some time ago, so that it will stay on top of the page and cannot be missed.

_________________


O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

Will, thank you so much!

I really appreciate you doing that for me and for you supporting me! It's nice to be back! I missed everyone a lot, so I'm gonna be sticking around for a while.

Hope to role-play with you soon!

_________________



Siggy set made by the amazing Lembas!

hi Amara! I'm quite new to RPG, and my first attempt at it will be in the Nazgul/Hobbit thing on the 9th. do you have any tips for a first-timer? I would appreciate any and all advice you could lend!

_________________




thanks for the Hobbit Team banner, Lembas!

Well, hello there Alanna!!!

The only first-timer tips I have for you is basically to brush up on your grammar. Make sure that your: spelling is correct, capitalization is up to code and that you word things well. Remember, AUTO SPELL CORRECTING IS YOUR FRIEND!

It's a good thing to describe your surroundings! Imagine that you are your character for a moment, before you write. Tell us what you see, hear and smell. Even feel! Then, put it into what your character goes through. Also, know your location! If you don't know the location that the members are speaking of, then do your research.

Starting out, I made sure that I looked up information on EVERYTHING. I wanted to be as knowledgeable as possible. I hope that this all helps you, Alanna. If you have more questions, just ask!

_________________



Siggy set made by the amazing Lembas!

thanks Amara!! yes, I'm generally a spelling freak, so I guess that will come in handy. I'll be sure to capitalize first words when I'm RPG. I generally love to write stories, so that helps too! thanks so much for your advice. I'll be sure to stay up to date with everything, especially locations-wise. if I have any more questions once things start up, I'll be sure to come to you, if that's all right! thanks so much!

_________________




thanks for the Hobbit Team banner, Lembas!

I would love to help you out, if you have any more questions! I'll be here. I'm sure that you'll do great!

_________________



Siggy set made by the amazing Lembas!

Room for another teacher, Amara? Don't want one person too overwhelmed ;D

Arabella: if you're not sure whether you're character is too MS or not, try putting them through the MS litmus test:
http://www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htm
Also, to make them more rounded and not flat, try filling out more detail character sheets for them other then the standard AU sheets(but don't necessarily need to post them. Keep them for refrence for your characters) Here's a good one:
http://luna--rose.deviantart.com/art/Us ... -202100754

As for Canons, whenever I play one(which is rather rare), I'll read a quick excerpt from their book that's all them thinking and talking, or watching a scene with them from the movie they're in just to get a quick feel for them before I post. I usually only do so once for the entirety of playing them because once in that mindset it's pretty easty to slip back into it when I pull myself out to post in other places.


Alanna: I'll agree with Amara. Grammer grammer grammer spelling spelling spelling! So many people tend to use *s or -s when they speak or do a move. That's kind of looked down on here. We like our quotation marks.
Also, know where the other characters are and what they're doing. You have no idea how much confusion it causes when one rper doesn't thoroughly read everyone elses posts and makes a big mistake because they didn't read it well enough.(It could mean the difference between night and day, inside or outside. Quite literally in some cases).

_________________

(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Eruraina, I would LOVE if you helped me out! It would be awesome to have another teacher around!

_________________



Siggy set made by the amazing Lembas!

thank you for the advice, Eru! so, in other words, something like "...Alanna ran and hid behind the nearest rock" would be better than *runs and hides* or something? I'll keep that tip in mind. thanks

_________________




thanks for the Hobbit Team banner, Lembas!

Haha lord, yes. I do NOT like when people do that. Even though, I understand that a lot of them do that because they don't know how to fully roleplay.

_________________



Siggy set made by the amazing Lembas!

I'll try to remember, then. but please remind me if I seem to forget!

_________________




thanks for the Hobbit Team banner, Lembas!

This seems like a really stupid question to ask, but how do you guys beat writer's block? I've obviously experienced it before, given how many years I've been writing and RPing, but it's still so...frustrating! Especially when, like right now, I have someplace I'm super psyched to post, but I just....can't.

_________________


Sig set and banner by the amazing Nurr!!

Hi, Arabella!!!

Whenever I get writer's block, I usually listen to some Lord of the Rings soundtracks or read some creative writing posts on other forums. Maybe even a fanfiction or two.

I don't know how helpful that is, but I hope I at least answered the question.

_________________



Siggy set made by the amazing Lembas!