Recently, the rank application to move to Advanced rank begun requiring that the RPer write three of his or her top tips for other RPers. One of the original ideas was to compile these tips into a list so that they can be viewed and taken into consideration by everyone.

Here are the tips that have been submitted by various members of WR.

Bixle Jy Star

• Never force yourself to post. There's a difference between forcing yourself and pushing yourself to do more. I personally think that if you force yourself, your posts aren't fluid and they aren't as enjoyable to read.
• Think about how you would react if you were in your character's place, just make sure to take in their own personalities into consideration. Put yourself in their mindset.
• Never, ever apologize for a post; If you think you have to apologize, then it's better not to post until you're sure of what you're posting and you have nothing to regret.

Callisto Verity

• Keep real life separate from RP. Make the distinction between what your character knows and what you know. It is a good thing for the RPer to know more about the characters and the situation than the RP character knows. Your RP character should not be able to know what he/she has not experienced with his/her five senses somehow. For example, another character might know the animal of the patronus charm your character makes if he/she has been seen making it before, but only the RPer would know the memory that was remembered because that is something in the narration.
  This also crosses into another sub-tip. Don’t let RPing have an effect on real-life relationships. Just because your character doesn’t like someone else’s character doesn’t mean the RPers have to fight all the time. For example, Callisto really dislikes most Slytherins (particularly Mina Cordova), but I try not to let her dislike for another character seep into my dislike for the other RPer (in this case, Dee).
• Be sure to read and re-read over RP posts before you draft a reply and then read over the posts again before you actually post the reply. Pay attention to what other people write. This also includes running your document through a spell checker before you post.
• Do your research. In a fandom-based RP, this includes looking up aspects about the canon universe you are RPing in. In Harry Potter, it may mean looking up different spells and their effects or ingredients to a specific potion. If your character has a specific hobby, be sure you know a little bit about that hobby before you RP your character participating in it. For example, if Callisto enjoyed ballroom dancing and had taken lessons, I would have to look up some sources and read a little bit about the differences between a waltz and a tango. In general, if you don’t know the meaning of a word someone else uses, look it up in a dictionary.

Ivory Vein

• If you're stuck on what you should post, or you want to add more length and depth to your posts, consider all five of your senses. You don't have to incorporate all of them into every single post of yours, of course, but such things as sight - i.e. what your character is seeing around them - should definitely make their presence known in RP. It adds lenght and depth to your posts with that sense alone, but then allows you to expand onto it with the reactions of your character to their surroundings. That's very important.

Byron Biswensky

• Good posts are born from creativity and fluency. If you are writing a post, and everything seems like a stretch, stop writing. When a post is so difficult to write that it becomes a chore, the only thing you should do is walk away for a bit. Let your brain detox, then approach the post from a different perspective. You might have to sleep on it, or simply wait five minutes. The point though, is writing should not be a chore… It should be a release.
• Size isn’t everything. Ignore it. Plan out a thoughtful and rich post—account for all your character’s senses and don’t be afraid to use metaphor. If you do this, your length won’t matter. Just a reminder though: it is almost impossible to write out a rich post in one-to-two paragraphs.
• Ask you character what he/she would do before you write. Don’t try to figure it out yourself. Let your character become alive and literally tell you what he or she would do in the story. I say this not to encourage schizophrenia, but to emphasize the fact that a good character takes on a life of his/her own.
  In a sentence, good posts require you to take a breath, strive for quality, and let your character come alive.

Sophia Stark

• Have fun! Although improving your skills is encouraged roleplaying should still be fun. Don’t stress yourself out and just have a good time. If you find yourself stressing out, don’t hesitate to take a break.
• Read and React. Read the posts you are replying to. I know you’re probably thinking this sounds like a “duh,” but I mean really read them. Know what you are replying to and react to what the person before you did so that you can move the thread forward.
• Variety is the spice of life. Variety is good in many ways, shapes, and forms. Variety in words and sentence structures is good, as well as the people you RP with and the situations your character is in. Sure familiarity is good, but it’s always fun to spice it up a little and try new and different things.

Lucy Winkleman

• Really know your character. It is a lot easier to post as the character once you have established what he or she is like. When I first started with Lucy I was utterly lost because I know I wrote her personality but it wasn’t until I really started placing her into scenarios that I started to get a feeling for what she might or might not do. What they would think, say, do, or how they would move really can make posting go so much smoother!
• Don’t be afraid of opening up! No one bites…and the only way for your character to progress is to have interactions. If you want to start a new topic just go for it but make sure you stay true to your character’s personality. The best way to really have a good plot going is to start talking or threading with people and the only way to do that is just to not be afraid to start RPing. Everyone has to have their first topic!
• Length isn’t everything. Sure I’ve been told that, but it’s really true! I could have a page of words written and nothing would have been said, but one single paragraph – if chosen correctly – can mean a lot more. A well crafted sentence could lead to an awesome reply were as thousands of words could just lead to confusion. Not that long posts are bad. If it adds to the plot of the thread or the characters by all means use it!

Saul Falkenau

• Remember that building a plot is a group experience. Sometimes it's easy to become swept up in your character to the point where you forget that role playing is a collaborative effort. God knows I've been guilty of this. But when you provide action and reaction in a thread, the whole plot takes on new life. It's probably the most important thing to do, in my opinion.
• Try to focus on action more than exposition, if you have the choice. This isn't to say that you shouldn't set the scene or talk about your thoughts; far from it. But it's essential to provide something for the other players to build off of if you want to make a thread interesting.
• Don't be afraid of conflict. Really! Weird though it sounds, conflict is what drives drama and makes all those great works of literature and theater so moving. Hamlet is pretty boring without, y'know, all the murder. Your character is completely capable of being a nice person while still bitterly contesting the goals of another. When characters truly want something, suddenly a level of urgency and poetry emerges that wasn't there before. It's awesome.

Donovan Isaacs

• Bring your character out of his or her comfort zone. By doing this, not only will you develop opportunities to stretch your character, but you will also give yourself an opportunity to improve as an RPer.
• Never, ever force yourself to write long posts. Sometimes, a shorter post is all that’s needed and quite frankly, is better for the pace of the thread. Just make sure you give the other person (or people) enough for their character(s) to react to.
• Look to people you see IRL to make your characters more well-rounded. One thing that I’ve found I have trouble with is informal dialogue and I’ve spent hours just sitting at the local coffee shop, listening to how people talk and later, emulating that with my characters. It just helps to make the RP more realistic.

If you're at Advanced or Elite rank and would like to submit tips for inclusion on this list and you did not do so for you application, please PM me with the tips you'd like to include.