ROLEPLAYING TIPS

# Show, don't tell. The most common of all writing technique critiques, SDT refers to describing things rather than outlining them, and more importantly in roleplaying, to describe to the reader a facet of character rather than merely stating it. Take as the easiest example, the weight of a character. While perhaps at a Carnival a guesser may tell your weight simply by looking at your person, your fellow roleplayers and their characters most likely cannot. Rather than describing your character as weighing 140 pounds, perhaps describe her as tall and slim, not particularly muscular, though perhaps quite often seen in short shirts, a tee, and running shoes. Via SDT, 140 pounds have just allowed for other players to not only "see" the character better, but even know of one of her habitual actions. Interaction is thus facilitated, and control is spread evenly between the described character and whoever chooses to use her habitual running.
-Alias

# Think fast, write slow. Think smooth, write rigid. Thinking can be referred to as a stream of consciousness, thoughts blending from one to another, actions following suit. Writing however, and most importantly to us, roleplaying, requires structure. Who did what unto whom? What was the result? Runons, while they make perfect sense in your mind, are flawed in two ways. First and foremost, they are difficult to follow. Secondly, the separate clauses used to make up a runon are wasted, and lose much of their content and versatility. Subjects get mixed up, verbs might lose tense, and the action may degenerate. Ultimately, stream of thought writing will make your readers lose interest, perhaps even make them skim rather than read, and even ignore your posts without realizing it. Do the right thing: Think fast, write slow.
-Alias

# Read what is written. One of the defining features of a roleplay is the cooperation required for it to succeed. A roleplay is a story, written not just by yourself, but by several people. It would be horrible if you decided to simply disregard one of your own chapters, so be courteous: read what people write. If you're not sure what exactly is going on, PM a player for more info.
-Meatcaber

# Stick to your own character. Metagaming is that elusive skill that everyone always tries, fails, and is reprimanded for. For clarification, metagaming is taking over a roleplay for a turn, and drastically changing it. For example, a stagnant roleplay might even require metagaming, where the leader of a party might move the party to a new location for a new adventure. Bad metagaming is as bad as godmode, when a character ascends past the powers of all others. Bad metagaming is when it is used in excess, or when it isn't required. Stick to your own character. In a dialogue or a confrontation, let the other person play their part.
-Meatcaber

# Stick to one tense. It might seem obvious to some, but everyone forgets about their tenses, especially if they are comfortable in both past and present tense. The most common roleplay tense is past: "My character did this, went there, got that." The alternative is the present: "My character does this, goes there, gets that." Sometimes the verbs of the present are preceded with a being verb, like is. No matter which tense or subtense you use, be consistent with: (1) Your current sentence, (2) Your entire post, and (3) The roleplay and the other players. The third is both for flow, readability, and courtesy. An exception to keeping tense is when using past tense, and including a character's thoughts. You as the narrator are describing what the character has already done in your mind, but you are quoting her in present tense, as though she was immediately speaking.
-Alias

# Pay attention. One of the most profound applications of this is to prevent open contradictions of others' hard work. It causes confusion and breaks down the story. If a character says "I am cold," there is either a reason for it, or they would like for it to be incorporated in the story. The more intertwined the posts in a roleplay are, the better the roleplay itself. Respond by noting your character's winter parka, or perhaps shivers and chattering teeth. At all costs, avoid a situation where you say "It's summertime," at least without due explanation. By paying attention to details provided by others, it becomes possible to tie their loose ends together into furthering your own ideas for the roleplay. If a character's shoe is untied, notice it, offer to tie it, and perhaps notice some piece of the grand puzzle drawn on the floor beneath them, pointing in the direction of a long-desired quest item.
-MumbleTheSilent

# Do not assume. Do not pretend that because you can read another character's thoughts that they are allowing you to. Thoughts are kept personal. Unless you are confident that the thought might be expressed via unwritten body language, you must remember to keep your character and your knowledge as separate entities. Do not assume anything that could potentially subvert another player's thoughts, and always ask questions if you are not certain about another player's intentions.
-Calixta Ravana

# It's all in the details. Although "fluff" is sometimes discouraged, detailing a character's thoughts, actions, appearance, and background will help define your character as a dynamic being that others can interact with. Especially at the beginning of roleplays, many "loose" details can get used up to create relationships and engender action. While shorter, less fluffy and more active posts are appropriate for the core of a developing story, details define the success of a roleplay from the very start.
-Calixta Ravana

# Respect. Respect your fellow players. A roleplay is a cooperative effort, and no one wants to be pushed out of the fun. Give other players a chance, and if you have concerns and issues, discuss them in private and in a respectful manner. If another player's character or written word is slightly lacking, perhaps they might be new to RPing or fairly young of age. If you have a useful pointer, offer it. If a pointer is given to you, do not feel degraded, someone is just trying to help. Forum roleplay is as much the roleplaying as it is a workshop to get better. Be nice and play fair as we are all here for fun.
-Mr Toad

# Stick with the times. Roleplays are often categorized by style and era, like SciFi, Real world, Fantasy, Modern Fantasy, etc. The premise behind this classification is to allow players who prefer a certain style or era to experience it without any of the garbage found in other styles. Thus it is important to be courteous to fellow players and stick to the style, keeping space bugs and ray guns out of Fantasy, and inexplicable magic missiles and night elf mages out of Real world roleplays.
-LadyDarkness067

# Output output output. Input. Everything, including magic, energy, strength, endurance, adrenaline, even dying moments seem to force a character into a supernatural state of incredible power. All is good and well when your character manages a grand feat, but just think: who pays for that feat? God? Nature? The environment? Not at all, but rather your character themselves. If your character has just gotten up after suffering a terminal blow, then be sure after one or two swings of their sword that character will be dead. If you character has just used telekinesis to throw a boulder at the enemy, expect serious headaches, blackouts, and incapacitation in the near future. Everything has its costs, and as a courtesy to your fellow players, make sure that you pay those costs, whatever they might be.
-Calixta Ravana

# The end is only the beginning. It always seems like getting your post in and making it the best is the most important thing to do, but what would your post be without every one else's contributions? The best way to ropleplay is cooperatively, and for that every post needs to be a sequitur into the next. Why finishing up your character's thoughts and actions, don't forget to leave a few loose ends for the next play to jump into. Don't overdo it, but don't leave your fellows hanging because you just left them sitting useless.
-Anvilsmith

# Lift the curtain. When you start a thread, try to set the mood from the very first paragraph, or even the very first sentence. At this point in the story, your writing style is probably going to carry far more weight in keeping the readers attentive and likely to join than the characters and events so far, so make good use of it. Keep away from focusing the plot on yourself, and instead try to hook readers, much like the first scene of the first act of a play, just after the curtain has been lifted. You wouldn't want your readers to stand up and walk out, so keep them interested.
-Anvilsmith

# Write a story, not a monologue. Character development, while important, needs to be balanced with just about everything else. One character does not make a story, neither do two, three, four, etc, without developing the plot and the setting. Don't ignore the chirping birds or eerie silence just because your character is telling the story of his past to other travellers around the bonfire. You wont just make their characters fall asleep, you might drive the players away from the story. Throw in some environment that everyone else can work with and build upon!
-Story Weaver

# You don't have to be perfect. Not all ideas that come to you will be perfect, and at times, you might find them complete rubbish. But just because your idea isn't up to your improbable par, it does not mean that your activity in the roleplay needs to suffer! Start writing out even a bad idea when responding in a roleplay, and you might be surprised at how it turns into something formidable, by itself, or perhaps with another player's help. Writer's block is best overcome by simply writing, and your fellow posters would rather encourage you to overcome it, than to sit back and hope for en elusive spark of genius. Just make sure to proofread your work!
-Fudge

# Be Consistent. Always make sure your actions are plausible and realistic based on the the state of affairs created by yourself and others throughout previous action. Always make sure that others can also understand how your character gets into his new situation from his old one. Whether in a duel or in a freeform roleplay, Don't get lost amid your thoughts. Keep track of what needs to be said to make what you want to happen possible to happen, before you make it happen (Follow that? Read it a couple of times if not, then ask a question).
-KazeTanade

# Don't be the hero. While we ALL would like to be an important figure in any RP that we join in, it is very important NOT to strive for it. Why? Because roleplaying is teamwork. Don't focus on making your own character much more important than the others', as that may alienate the others and have them lose interest in the RP. Work together, and maybe even boost someone else's character into the hero spot!
-renkenjutsu

# Consult your senses. Your senses are what define the world you perceive, so use them! Use them when you want to give detail to your background, your personality, and speech and action and interaction. You want to do something with your post and not just sit like a fly-on-the-wall until someone wanders over to forcefully include you, so make use of your senses when you are out of ideas. Everything your senses define can mean something in a post. So, describe what you feel, see, smell (opt.), taste(opt.) and hear. You want a colorful post rather than a bland one, but remember to keep balanced. If you focus on one sense or one element too much, you will have a post that has little impact or use. However, if you are balanced, your post will be rich in usable details for everyone to benefit from!
-Watchy

# Quality over quantity. Big words and long posts are some times the spice of life, but there is a point where more is not better. Take a step back, paraphrase. Maybe you can cut a paragraph here, a sentence there, to make every sentence mean something important, and to make the post easy to read. It might be short, but quality makes up for lack of length.
Melicious.Prose