Opening Post!

Well, I've had it in my head for a while to create a blog designed to help people with the roleplaying aspects of writing and the writing aspects of roleplaying, particularly in regards to play-by-post RP. By no means do I intend to limit myself to addressing the issues of PbP. If this blog takes off at all, I'm going to be covering a wide range of topics relevant to everyone from the casual roleplayer to the serious writer.

I'm probably going to follow this general outline as I create this blog, and any readers and commenters I may get will be vital to its success.

Topics I intend to cover, in rough order:

The Mechanics of the English Language: Basically, what I will be covering in the first several posts in this blog are the things your elementary and middle school teachers taught you in Language Arts. The reason is that I believe without a strong background in whatever language you're working in (in my case, and in the case of most of the people I hope to attract, English), you're pretty much doomed to failure in writing, and condemned to mediocrity at best in roleplaying. I'll devote my next post to why good mechanics are important, and then move on to the actual issues at hand.

The Basic Elements of Writing: Why have writing (the meaty stuff) before roleplaying (presumably the lighter stuff)? I'm going to continue my building metaphor. If grammar and syntax are the foundation from which all else can grow, then the basic elements of writing are the planks and beams that make up the framework. You can't put a roof on a house before it has walls, right? This section will focus on the basics of setting, characterization, and plot.

The Basic Elements of Roleplay: This will actually be a little different than the basic elements of writing. Roleplay is, by its very nature, collaborative, so this section will deal more with the social aspects that you'll encounter while roleplaying online. It will also discuss the differences between PbP and chat-based RP.

After that, I'll probably intermingle different roleplay and writing aspects throughout the blog as we discuss more complex topics, such as in-depth world building, character creation and realization, and plot twists. Included in most posts will be a special tip to help make your writing really pop.


Okay, purpose aside, I'm M'Rigg. I have different handles in various other corners of the internet, which are not terribly important here, so we'll skip them. I am a 21 year old American female who has been writing as long as I can remember. I have two terrorkeets named Darmok and Jalad, and a WGSD named Riker (yes, I AM a long-standing Trekker, how could you tell? O_O).

Other than writing, I like to knit, crochet, and sew a little bit. I enjoy art, history, trivia, and engaging conversation; I don't like watching what could be a rational discussion turn into a flame war. The only reason I can see for the trolls and flamers that inhabit the internet is anonymity. Anonymous has said a lot of great things over the last several thousand years, and all the John and Jane Does that need to be nasty because no one can see them give the name a bad reputation.

Some of my inspiration over the years has come in the form of Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, the various Star Wars and Star Trek authors, Michael A. Stackpole, and Dungeons and Dragons. I have a healthy respect for classic literature, and hold no truck with book series that have rabid fans (read: I haven't read the last Harry Potter or seen the latest movies, have never touched Twilight (and will never), and only read one book of the Wheel of Time series). So you can expect to see references to Beowulf and The Illiad, but don't expect horcruxes and sparkly vampires.

And that's running long for a first blog, so I'm going to end it here. Happy writing!

~*~M'Rigg~*~


Extra Special First Writing Tip for Roleplayers: In cases of burnout, try changing your writing venue. If your butt has worn grooves in your chair and you can't write another post or even think for another post in that particular chair, move to another room and see if it isn't easier to write in there!