Post by Aphrodite on Aug 27, 2012 0:17:42 GMT -5
I found this and thought it might be helpful to all of our players, new or seasoned. It never hurts to have a few tips under your belt. This article was originally found at rpgcollection.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=hintstipsgeneral&action=display&thread=37113
Introduction
Open threads, you’ve all seen them before. Nice little mini-events set up, usually by one character, in the hopes of attracting someone new and intriguing to post with. It might be someone who’s new to the forum and doesn’t know anyone well enough to request a thread yet. Or maybe it’s someone who simply wants an new experience for their character, something interesting and exciting. It could even just be that someone really wanted to post something, and he/she/they/it felt the easiest way was to throw up an open thread.
So you decide to throw one of your own up there.
And it sits. And sits. And sits. Moss starts to grow on it, people walk around it, and you stare and wonder where you went wrong. You might even be an expert roleplayer, with years of building impressive plotlines and characters that enthrall and amuse men, women, children, and platypuses alike. Yet for some reason, people are ignoring your open threads. They’re posting somewhere else instead, leaving you scratching your head, wondering where you went wrong.
You’re not alone.
Everyone writes dud open threads from time to time. Sometimes it’s by sheer accident. Sometimes the writer doesn’t know better. And sometimes a penguin simply comes along and fouls the whole mess up. So you wonder and ask, how can you write a thread that people will want to take? What is it that makes an intriguing open thread? How can you manage to get people to jump on your open threads like a starved squirrel upon a nut?
This guide’s here to tell you just that, in a nice, easy, step by step fashion. So just sit back, read, and hopefully be enlightened.
Fate’s Tip: This guide is a little on the long side. It gets in-depth. There’s a summary near the end if you want to skip to it and read. You’ll miss some good information, of course, but you’ll get the most important facts down.
Our Example
You have you favorite character in the whole wide world: Jim-Bob. You want to write an open thread with him. So you have him enter the park on a walk. He wanders around, looks at the scenery, and finally stops to examine a pretty flower. You end it there, more than pleased with what you have. Yet for some reason, people aren’t choosing to hang with Jim-Bob, and it’s not just because his super-cool name is intimidating them. Now, let’s look at some points to make about this thread in specific and general open threads. So let’s get started.
Point One: Location, Location, Location
One of the biggest reasons you’re not getting anyone to post with you is because of your location. The plot might be the most interesting plot in the world, filled with daring adventures and car chases and robots and Jedi Knights and talking squirrels and ninjas, but the location stinks. People aren’t going to wander somewhere that doesn’t make sense, and that’s not just for their character. If your character is somewhere that doesn’t make sense for them to be (without good reason), then you’re not going to get many people showing up. So, when you consider your open thread, think of it like setting up a trap. Look for watering holes, places where people like to post frequently. Conversely, you could look in places that nobody‘s posting in at all; the intrigue and newness can often help your thread tremendously. Lastly, like I said earlier, you have to make sure that your character should actually be there. High school students don’t generally hang out in colleges without some reason. Gryffindors probably aren’t hanging in Slytherin dormitories. Superman doesn’t lurk in seedy bars unless he’s looking to punch faces. So figure out the perfect spot, and post there.
Let’s look at our example. Jim-Bob is in a park. Okay, that’s not so bad; parks are generally popular posting areas, and there’s a lot of stuff that could easily happen in a park. Now, if you’re paying attention, you’ve made certain that Jim-Bob has a reason for entering the park. Perhaps he likes to take walks after work, perhaps he’s a jogger, maybe a dreamy painter; we’ll get into the reason later. But we have a location that makes sense and will get us some traffic, so we’re set.
Tip from Fate: believe it or not, people are creatures of habit. When you go to hang out, chances are you’re going to the same few places. You probably have work or school, so there’s one, plus your home, and general roads/walkways between the two. There’s also probably somewhere you like to hang out. Maybe you frequent the library at school . Maybe you’re like Jim-Bob and you hit the park after a busy day at the office. Guess what? It’s the same for characters. Pick a few locations, and have your characters haunt them.
Point Two: Lights, Camera… Action
Okay, now you’ve got your location all scouted out, and you know just where to put your bait: the plot. Yes, an open thread can’t just be a meaningless free-for-all. As exciting as it may be for you to have your character contemplating his/her/its naval for four paragraphs, it’s not a thrill for most people who are reading. The open thread needs to have something engaging to it, something happening.
Now, that doesn’t mean that every open thread needs to have explosions, car chases, and ninja penguins. The plot could be something as engaging as a character having a break down and crying. Or perhaps the character spills coffee on someone. Maybe they’re practicing a magical spell for the first time, and you’re not sure how it will turn out. The actual action doesn’t matter, what matters is that there’s something going on.
Notice how Jim-Bob is wandering in the park? Sure, it’s easy for someone to randomly walk into him, and conversation to happen, but that’s not really all that interesting. Jim-Bob needs to be doing something, preferably something beyond simply stopping to smell flowers. Consider having him distracted, so that he runs into somebody. Or maybe he discovers a dropped five dollar bill and doesn’t know what to do with it. So not only do you have some action, but you’ll have something to lead us into the next section:
Point Three: It’s Your Cue!
People need an opening. It’s one thing to have this awesome scene occurring in this awesome place, it’s another to have something open. You can’t simply have a post that’s self-contained, with no room for someone else to come in. the main idea here is to write an “open” thread. That means that there has to be an “opening” for someone else to come in, a cue, if you will.
But how do you open things up? First, you can write the thread in such a way that there are “parts” available for someone to take. Look at our opening thread. We have Jim-Bob wandering about aimlessly, sniffing flowers. There’s really nothing there for anyone to comment on, unless they have a character who happens to be a botanist. But lets say you focus on the distraction idea mentioned above. Jim-Bob stares at someone who gets his attention for whatever reason, and because of that, he literally plows into someone else. Now, you’ve created two, possibly three, different roles for people to take. Someone can either be the person who distracted Jim-Bob, the person crashed into, or a passerby who has an opinion on the manner. Or, they could even try something completely different. The point is that you need to do some of the work here, don’t force people to have to think too much in order to join your thread. Yes, some people are going to do that anyway, but you’re trying to appeal to a wider audience here, do the work.
Tip from Fate: three’s the magic number. Don’t overdo it and create more than three obvious roles, otherwise people get confused. Do try to create at least two different roles for people to take, because that offers them some choice as well.
Point Four: Know Your Audience
Your thread is written. It’s in an active location that makes perfect sense for your character. The action’s intriguing/intense/catchy, and there’s plenty of openings for someone to take. It’s also as long as this guide in a forum labeled “intermediate,” where most of the threads are three paragraphs long on average.
Chances are you’re in trouble. People get worried or intimidated when they see a thread that’s either grossly large or incredibly tiny. You need to try and write a thread that’s roughly the size of the other threads available on the forum, OR you need to make sure that whatever’s there doesn’t intimidate. It is possible to write a thread that’s slightly larger or smaller than average and still come off as approachable; it’s just more difficult and not recommended until you feel you have a good handle on things. If you do deter from the average size, make sure the other parts addressed here are incredibly well developed.
Conclusion
Let’s look back at our original idea: Jim-Bob wandering in a park aimlessly. By looking at the problems, we know how to spruce that up. Now we have Jim-Bob finding some lost money, seeking out the owner, and all done in an approachable manner. The thread should be that much more interesting for people to pick up and enter, and you’ll find more of your threads getting picked up.
The four points in one nice list:
Location, Location, Location - pick a good location that makes sense and invites people to come in.
Lights, Camera… Action - have engaging action and/or drama with a purpose.
It’s Your Cue - set up some “roles” for the other players to take, or at least make it easy for them to join.
Know Your Audience - don’t make the thread intimidating; stick to about the average post size on the board.
this guide was written by the Overlord known as Fate, for RPGcollection and overlords of all shapes and sizes
An Overlord's Guide to Starting Open Threads
Writing open threads that don't gather dust
Writing open threads that don't gather dust
Introduction
Open threads, you’ve all seen them before. Nice little mini-events set up, usually by one character, in the hopes of attracting someone new and intriguing to post with. It might be someone who’s new to the forum and doesn’t know anyone well enough to request a thread yet. Or maybe it’s someone who simply wants an new experience for their character, something interesting and exciting. It could even just be that someone really wanted to post something, and he/she/they/it felt the easiest way was to throw up an open thread.
So you decide to throw one of your own up there.
And it sits. And sits. And sits. Moss starts to grow on it, people walk around it, and you stare and wonder where you went wrong. You might even be an expert roleplayer, with years of building impressive plotlines and characters that enthrall and amuse men, women, children, and platypuses alike. Yet for some reason, people are ignoring your open threads. They’re posting somewhere else instead, leaving you scratching your head, wondering where you went wrong.
You’re not alone.
Everyone writes dud open threads from time to time. Sometimes it’s by sheer accident. Sometimes the writer doesn’t know better. And sometimes a penguin simply comes along and fouls the whole mess up. So you wonder and ask, how can you write a thread that people will want to take? What is it that makes an intriguing open thread? How can you manage to get people to jump on your open threads like a starved squirrel upon a nut?
This guide’s here to tell you just that, in a nice, easy, step by step fashion. So just sit back, read, and hopefully be enlightened.
Fate’s Tip: This guide is a little on the long side. It gets in-depth. There’s a summary near the end if you want to skip to it and read. You’ll miss some good information, of course, but you’ll get the most important facts down.
Our Example
You have you favorite character in the whole wide world: Jim-Bob. You want to write an open thread with him. So you have him enter the park on a walk. He wanders around, looks at the scenery, and finally stops to examine a pretty flower. You end it there, more than pleased with what you have. Yet for some reason, people aren’t choosing to hang with Jim-Bob, and it’s not just because his super-cool name is intimidating them. Now, let’s look at some points to make about this thread in specific and general open threads. So let’s get started.
Point One: Location, Location, Location
One of the biggest reasons you’re not getting anyone to post with you is because of your location. The plot might be the most interesting plot in the world, filled with daring adventures and car chases and robots and Jedi Knights and talking squirrels and ninjas, but the location stinks. People aren’t going to wander somewhere that doesn’t make sense, and that’s not just for their character. If your character is somewhere that doesn’t make sense for them to be (without good reason), then you’re not going to get many people showing up. So, when you consider your open thread, think of it like setting up a trap. Look for watering holes, places where people like to post frequently. Conversely, you could look in places that nobody‘s posting in at all; the intrigue and newness can often help your thread tremendously. Lastly, like I said earlier, you have to make sure that your character should actually be there. High school students don’t generally hang out in colleges without some reason. Gryffindors probably aren’t hanging in Slytherin dormitories. Superman doesn’t lurk in seedy bars unless he’s looking to punch faces. So figure out the perfect spot, and post there.
Let’s look at our example. Jim-Bob is in a park. Okay, that’s not so bad; parks are generally popular posting areas, and there’s a lot of stuff that could easily happen in a park. Now, if you’re paying attention, you’ve made certain that Jim-Bob has a reason for entering the park. Perhaps he likes to take walks after work, perhaps he’s a jogger, maybe a dreamy painter; we’ll get into the reason later. But we have a location that makes sense and will get us some traffic, so we’re set.
Tip from Fate: believe it or not, people are creatures of habit. When you go to hang out, chances are you’re going to the same few places. You probably have work or school, so there’s one, plus your home, and general roads/walkways between the two. There’s also probably somewhere you like to hang out. Maybe you frequent the library at school . Maybe you’re like Jim-Bob and you hit the park after a busy day at the office. Guess what? It’s the same for characters. Pick a few locations, and have your characters haunt them.
Point Two: Lights, Camera… Action
Okay, now you’ve got your location all scouted out, and you know just where to put your bait: the plot. Yes, an open thread can’t just be a meaningless free-for-all. As exciting as it may be for you to have your character contemplating his/her/its naval for four paragraphs, it’s not a thrill for most people who are reading. The open thread needs to have something engaging to it, something happening.
Now, that doesn’t mean that every open thread needs to have explosions, car chases, and ninja penguins. The plot could be something as engaging as a character having a break down and crying. Or perhaps the character spills coffee on someone. Maybe they’re practicing a magical spell for the first time, and you’re not sure how it will turn out. The actual action doesn’t matter, what matters is that there’s something going on.
Notice how Jim-Bob is wandering in the park? Sure, it’s easy for someone to randomly walk into him, and conversation to happen, but that’s not really all that interesting. Jim-Bob needs to be doing something, preferably something beyond simply stopping to smell flowers. Consider having him distracted, so that he runs into somebody. Or maybe he discovers a dropped five dollar bill and doesn’t know what to do with it. So not only do you have some action, but you’ll have something to lead us into the next section:
Point Three: It’s Your Cue!
People need an opening. It’s one thing to have this awesome scene occurring in this awesome place, it’s another to have something open. You can’t simply have a post that’s self-contained, with no room for someone else to come in. the main idea here is to write an “open” thread. That means that there has to be an “opening” for someone else to come in, a cue, if you will.
But how do you open things up? First, you can write the thread in such a way that there are “parts” available for someone to take. Look at our opening thread. We have Jim-Bob wandering about aimlessly, sniffing flowers. There’s really nothing there for anyone to comment on, unless they have a character who happens to be a botanist. But lets say you focus on the distraction idea mentioned above. Jim-Bob stares at someone who gets his attention for whatever reason, and because of that, he literally plows into someone else. Now, you’ve created two, possibly three, different roles for people to take. Someone can either be the person who distracted Jim-Bob, the person crashed into, or a passerby who has an opinion on the manner. Or, they could even try something completely different. The point is that you need to do some of the work here, don’t force people to have to think too much in order to join your thread. Yes, some people are going to do that anyway, but you’re trying to appeal to a wider audience here, do the work.
Tip from Fate: three’s the magic number. Don’t overdo it and create more than three obvious roles, otherwise people get confused. Do try to create at least two different roles for people to take, because that offers them some choice as well.
Point Four: Know Your Audience
Your thread is written. It’s in an active location that makes perfect sense for your character. The action’s intriguing/intense/catchy, and there’s plenty of openings for someone to take. It’s also as long as this guide in a forum labeled “intermediate,” where most of the threads are three paragraphs long on average.
Chances are you’re in trouble. People get worried or intimidated when they see a thread that’s either grossly large or incredibly tiny. You need to try and write a thread that’s roughly the size of the other threads available on the forum, OR you need to make sure that whatever’s there doesn’t intimidate. It is possible to write a thread that’s slightly larger or smaller than average and still come off as approachable; it’s just more difficult and not recommended until you feel you have a good handle on things. If you do deter from the average size, make sure the other parts addressed here are incredibly well developed.
Conclusion
Let’s look back at our original idea: Jim-Bob wandering in a park aimlessly. By looking at the problems, we know how to spruce that up. Now we have Jim-Bob finding some lost money, seeking out the owner, and all done in an approachable manner. The thread should be that much more interesting for people to pick up and enter, and you’ll find more of your threads getting picked up.
The four points in one nice list:
Location, Location, Location - pick a good location that makes sense and invites people to come in.
Lights, Camera… Action - have engaging action and/or drama with a purpose.
It’s Your Cue - set up some “roles” for the other players to take, or at least make it easy for them to join.
Know Your Audience - don’t make the thread intimidating; stick to about the average post size on the board.
this guide was written by the Overlord known as Fate, for RPGcollection and overlords of all shapes and sizes