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[Discussion] When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: [Discussion] When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE (/showthread.php?tid=18394)

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When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Kallera - 01-31-2017

one thing I am running into and having confusion with is finding out when it would be best for my character to speak, even if it's to no one in particular, when to have the character think the line (via italics or similar), and when to describe what the character is feeling at the moment (like "Kallera felt blah blah blah, a slight reminder that she needed more blah.")

Is there any advice with this? I want to make sure I'm giving the next responder enough to interact and play with on their next interaction.

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Virella - 01-31-2017

I find that internal thoughts are best left for forum roleplay, and not so much for in game roleplay! Ultimately, no one can read your character's mind. It's nice flavour I find for well forum roleplay, but not so much in game roleplay; because it tends to be a lot more faster paced and less detailed ect.

You can always just skip the internal thoughts, and instead if they are for example nervous, make them smile nervously, fidget ect. So the person you're RPing with CAN pick up on that, because their character can SEE yours doing that.
That's not to say every character will act onto it, by choice or not, but you give them tools for their characters to interact with yours. Because well, they can't read your character's mind (or I assume they can't because most don't).

But really, there's no right or wrong at the end of the day! Best of luck o/

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - SicketySix - 01-31-2017

I pretty much only have one rule for this type of thing. And it's a very simple one. "When I feel like it."

As said above, there really is no right or wrong way. Only personal preferences so feel free to RP how you want.

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Kazukata - 01-31-2017

I'm going to echo a lot of what Virella said. By and large, people keep their characters' internal thoughts to themselves since others can't just read their minds and know what they're thinking. It's much better to, as Virella mentioned, use your character's actions to show how the character is feeling, rather than just telling.

This could be as simple as using -ly adverbs, but sometimes I do find myself clarifying or summarizing a character's disposition when it's the result of multiple motions or expressions (e.g. "John folded his arms and gave Jane a flat stare, clearly not believing her." "Lara sat quietly and got a distant look in her eyes, the gears in her head clearly turning as she processed the information.") I also usually just say something along the lines of "gave such-and-such an incredulous look" instead of going through the long form of all the different visual cues (motion in the eyebrows, staring, leaning in a bit, maybe a slightly slack jaw) that would create that effect. Sometimes, I'll have one, maybe two of those cues, but never the whole shebang.

Outright using thought like internal speech, however, isn't very fruitful, as no one else can hear you think and they have no way of reacting to it. At best, people might view it as a flowery and unnecessary addition in a medium that's usually concerned with space constraints, and at worst, you're opening the door for someone to magically know things they shouldn't or running the risk of someone forgetting two months down the line that you only thought that super incriminating thing about yourself and didn't say it. Any internal thoughts you write essentially become OOC knowledge that needs to be kept separate from what the characters know, and they come with all the same baggage.

Anyway, that got a little soap box-y, but I hope that helps!

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Jana - 01-31-2017

I like to put the emotions and thoughts my character is having into my emotes because she's the kind if person who isn't really capable of hiding her true feelings. Something like "Jana shuffles nervously, the look on her face obviously pleading for the situation to end."

If your character isn't the same way and isn't meant to be obvious, you can still include their thought and feelings in your emote: "She kept a cool face, lazily gazing over the crowd as she hid her anticipation for what was to come."

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Aegir - 01-31-2017

Just smile, nod, and occasionally looked shocked. It works for the warrior of light.

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Aya - 01-31-2017

I won't disagree with the "do what feels right" suggestions, because really this is a hobby activity that we all do for fun, and you should not feel compelled to follow a specific set of rules or to even "do it right".

But I do think there are differences between that and discussing what is most expected, and what is most effective.

I think the suggestion that expressing thoughts is something that should really be left to prose posts on forums, or stories.  I say this for a number of reasons, but most especially because RP emotes are largely meant to be taken in the context of "this is what your character is experiencing", and they cannot read thoughts.

That said there are exceptions, and there are times that I do express thoughts in emote form, but they're rare and often intended humorously.

In terms of expressing emotions: I would suggest not straightforwardly expressing emotions, but instead utilize the wealth of communication potential in body language.  We often share our emotional state indirectly through our expressions, posture, pose, voice, and movement.  That is, probably, the greatest gap between real communication, and text communication, but we can draw upon it to voicelessly communicate to other characters in players in our interactions.

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Nebbs - 01-31-2017

Describe (emote) what you do not what you feel. Like others said you could add some emotional descriptor for effect.

Internal dialogue is between you and your character, so think it yourself but don't expose it. Unless they want to speak it.. Deadweight slapped his right palm over his good eye and she shook his head slowly, "I can't believe I fell for that! The Captain will kill me."

Also have you character speak, because no one knows unless they speak. Most people wont even think about others as they are focused on playing their character.

The exception I would say is for comic effect, but keep that for light occasions. Deadweight considered the odds, and he found them incalculable for his tiny thuggish mind. So with a broad smile of hope he handed the sword to his would be victim so they could show him the right way to run a man through.

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Esther Iteya - 01-31-2017

So keep in mind what I do is a controversial thing. I've gotten my ear chewed off by people with some differing opinions in the past, but I will throw thoughts, feelings, internal dialogues, nearly anything into emotes. I write in third person omniscient when I emote, even in game. This is not right or wrong, but it's not always considered 'good.'

So play devils advocate for me for a moment. Here is why.

The act of roleplaying is at it's core, an expression of a fictional character to another person. It's a team effort. Anything your audience doesn't know, has no value. This doesn't mean it's useless, or that you are doing something wrong! But rather, these private facts or feelings only exist once it is out of your mind and onto the chatbox or page. These private thoughts, feelings, expressions, can be almost essential to knowing the full situation or to fully grasp your character in a given moment. To hide that from your audience is to deny them the full picture of the story they are creating with you. Yes, they are not controlling that particular character, but both players exist outside the world your creating.

This is meta-gaming. I know for many that is a sin, but I do not believe it's inherently bad. To use emotes to give another player information they otherwise wouldn't know, is giving them a perspective they otherwise wouldn't have. It can be a very powerful tool. Especially for introverted or silent characters. Instead of just standing there, you think. You feel. You get confused. You move with context. There is something for people to read, maybe OOCly they get an inside joke because of it. When done properly, it can enhance a scene.

But! You are breaking an unspoken rule. It's important you do so with intent, and confidence. I don't recommend it to people who are new to role-playing or haven't the ability to explain why they are emoting what they are.

To sum it up, I think of it like this. Roleplaying is just a form of creative writing. Creative writing is like any other piece of art. First you learn the rules, then can you break them.

And always remember: This world is fake. No one has more authority on it than anyone else. Be respectful of your fellow rp'ers, take into account their preferences, but don't be bullied by them either.

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Nebbs - 01-31-2017

(01-31-2017, 03:51 PM)Esther Iteya Wrote: ....
To sum it up, I think of it like this. Roleplaying is just a form of creative writing. Creative writing is like any other piece of art. First you learn the rules, then can you break them.
....

I think you are correct for many folks, and a lot (like myself) come to this place from a more vocal approach to RP. Examples would be tabletop and live action role play, we probably think is pictures not words and may not be that into writing at all.

So what we have is a mash-up of styles in a virtual melting pot. That is why, depending on your tolerances, some people you will get along with their style and others will piss you off. That does not mean any is good or bad.

I suppose I'd add, do what feels right for you as there will be others with a similar approach.

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Gegenji - 01-31-2017

I feel this is a relevant clip for this discussion:

[youtube]sFBhR4QcBtE[/youtube]

In all seriousness, though, I like to believe it's simple enough to give general emotes that can kinda-sorta tell what your character is thinking for others to pick up on. However - and I've seen people do this - when you're doing paragraphs of what's going on in your character's head a la a film noir scene, it might be necessary to trim it down some and remember that, as mentioned, most other characters are not mind-readers and a lot of that would be impossible for them to pick up on. I think a hard-and-fast compromise is adding just enough to provide enough context for the message you're trying to convey to your partner in the RP scene.

* She hesitated, having been burned once before by something like this.
* He cast the line with the experience of several cycles experience at fly fishing.
* He took in the scent, closing his eyes as memories of grandma's home cooking flitted across his mind.

... I dunno. Something like that.

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Kismet - 01-31-2017

My opinion on this topic can be summed up rather simply.

Show, don't tell.

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Verad - 01-31-2017

(01-31-2017, 04:29 PM)Kismet Wrote: My opinion on this topic can be summed up rather simply.

Show, don't tell.

This is the devil's advice and to be distrusted.

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Kismet - 01-31-2017

(01-31-2017, 04:51 PM)Verad Wrote:
(01-31-2017, 04:29 PM)Kismet Wrote: My opinion on this topic can be summed up rather simply.

Show, don't tell.

This is the devil's advice and to be distrusted.

Um, excuse you. I am a pure and innocent angel.

[Image: tumblr_neb5q8YNP51rrr948o3_500.gif]

RE: When to SPEAK, when to THINK, and when to DESCRIBE - Warren Castille - 01-31-2017

I consider roleplay to be a cooperative effort like anyone else does, but I try to weigh a lot of my posts with "how does this move forward the scene." Failing that, a simpler "does this give my partner(s) anything to respond to?" Roleplay is like tennis in my opinion: If the ball never gets to the other side of the court, it's not much of a game.

To that end, I find 99% of internal emoting and dialogue worthless. As an audience, sure. Seeing other people RP that way, it gives me insight I wouldn't otherwise have. The thing is, not everyone is your audience. Some people are your co-stars. Anyone interacting with you might find it wonderfully interesting that your character thinks back to something, but if you don't put anything out there to earn a response? I think that's sort of inadvertently downplaying the give-and-take of a scene. It's somewhat similar to the wallflower discussions that pop up every now and then: Without a hook or something to draw other people to you, it means everyone has to work harder to get anything worth a damn out of someone else.

It makes roleplay a one-sided game of pursuit. When people actively resist becoming engaged or deviate from an encounter (in walk-up, anyway, formal groups tend to ignore most of the rando-RP "norms") it becomes a chore for some.

I also tend to do most of my roleplay in just dialogue. I'm atrociously bad at emoting anything in expressive detail beyond general actions or movements and to some degree I blame MMO roleplay being a visual medium, but that's covering my own ass and excusing it.

Thoughtful edit: I am a fan of one-sentence offshoots that give players more depth of someone's character. I am bored to tears by the paragraphs-long waxing and navel-gazing that is just IC-blogposting in an MMO format.