How Do You Write In Roleplay?

[Odimbus]

I have seen various tenses and structures of roleplay writing on the server, and I was interested to know what you all thought about them.

Some Examples:

1. The 'Would' Tense/Future tense
e: would secretly twerk behind Alex Kade - This would show in chat as:

Philip would secretly twerk behind Alex Kade.

2. The 'Past' Tense
e: secretly twerked behind Alex Kade - This would show in chat as:

Philip secretly twerked behind Alex Kade.

3. The 'Present' Tense
e: secretly twerks behind Alex Kade - This would show in chat as:

Philip secretly twerks behind Alex Kade.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Which tense/writing structure do you use when writing actions in Roleplay? In my opinion, the present makes the most sense, as it is a roleplay situation that is presently unfolded. If you were writing about an event that had happened on the forums, the past tense would make more sense. I don't entirely understand/like the 'would' tense, because it sounds slightly awkward and I don't think a future perspective is necessary.

What do you guys think? And, should there/is there a tense that is generally accepted as the 'right' one on the forums?

 

[UrsaMajor]

I mostly use future tense for combat RP, while I use present tense for regular.

 

[Phon_Senajan]

I use present for everything, and occasionally using would in combo-racking combat RP.

 

[Odimbus]

I mostly use future tense for combat RP, while I use present tense for regular.

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But why the need for switching? I suppose I could understand someone arguing future tense being better to avoid god-rp, but you can easily use the present tense with "Philip attempts to secretly twerk behind Alex Kade"

 

[krios41]

i use mostly use present, but when i write more then one action in teh same line i use for teh second action would, if the action i'm going to do involves doing something with someone else (like fighting or trieng to sneak behind someone) i use would to

 

[Ben_2025]

Personally I like a mixture of the past and present conditional tenses, in my own opinion if my character is going to do something internally, something unavoidable or unseen to any other character then I sometimes like to use the past tense. I.e. "Alistair knew he had kept the focal point of the topic from the group." In that sense there's nothing external he is doing and the action seems more fluid the way I read it in my head to be in the past. However, I personally tend to use the present conditional tense far more as it allows for RP to have more opportunities for interjection. For example, "Alistair would move his hand to strike Bob." Now there's no real difference between "Alistair moves his hand to strike Bob" and "Alistair moved his hand to strike Bob" however using the conditional allows for you to finish up the emote based on what happens, perhaps the person dodged your attempted strike? "Alistair would move his hand to strike Bob, however he faltered, the man having moved aside."

Generally the use of the different tenses doesn't impact heavily on the situation and so can generally be up to personal preference. I don't think that any way is necessarily better than any other way, just see what flows better and seems easier to read in your mind. My general rule of thumb is to use "would" when my actions are going to affect another person, I try to stick to the past if the action is internal.

I hope any of that was of use to you, like I said I think it's a matter of preference and finding what suits yourself and from there you will change and adapt based on how others around you are roleplaying.

 

[Eledana]

I always try to do my best at keeping present-tense, but occasionally go to past-tense because I prefer it. I just don't like using the present-tense, even though I agree in that it is the more correct tense to use. But everyone roleplays in their own writing style, which I heavily respect, so for me, I couldn't care less whether you type 'would' or 'did' or 'does', so long as the roleplay is pleasant and comfortable.

 

[Odimbus]

Personally I like a mixture of the past and present conditional tenses, in my own opinion if my character is going to do something internally, something unavoidable or unseen to any other character then I sometimes like to use the past tense. I.e. "Alistair knew he had kept the focal point of the topic from the group." In that sense there's nothing external he is doing and the action seems more fluid the way I read it in my head to be in the past. However, I personally tend to use the present conditional tense far more as it allows for RP to have more opportunities for interjection. For example, "Alistair would move his hand to strike Bob." Now there's no real difference between "Alistair moves his hand to strike Bob" and "Alistair moved his hand to strike Bob" however using the conditional allows for you to finish up the emote based on what happens, perhaps the person dodged your attempted strike? "Alistair would move his hand to strike Bob, however he faltered, the man having moved aside."

Generally the use of the different tenses doesn't impact heavily on the situation and so can generally be up to personal preference. I don't think that any way is necessarily better than any other way, just see what flows better and seems easier to read in your mind. My general rule of thumb is to use "would" when my actions are going to affect another person, I try to stick to the past if the action is internal.

I hope any of that was of use to you, like I said I think it's a matter of preference and finding what suits yourself and from there you will change and adapt based on how others around you are roleplaying.

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I suppose that makes a lot of sense. I think I still prefer present, (though I may use past tense in the situations you describe), but I understand the merits of "would".

 

[Phon_Senajan]

It's all up to our preference and pet peeves. I sometimes get irritated when I see someone using "would" in their actions myself, gotta admit. It gives more time space for interjection in my point of view, as the action is somewhat delayed into the future. Not instant like present does.

 

[Anvyn]

"Would" is a rather cute word, though.

 

[UrsaMajor]

But why the need for switching? I suppose I could understand someone arguing future tense being better to avoid god-rp, but you can easily use the present tense with "Philip attempts to secretly twerk behind Alex Kade"

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Dunno, I don't forcefully switch. It's more of a natural thing. All in all though I like the way future tense sounds.

 

[Deadfoe51]

All depends on the person really, but for me, it depends on what I am doing.. I'll give you some examples.

Combat Roleplay: Moves in close, stabbing inwards with his rapier. Or.. Moves in, attempting to boot the man in the gut.
Regular Roleplay: Moves into the tavern, sauntering down the stairs, and towards the bar.
Generally dis-liked combat: Slashes the man, straight in the gut.

Those are just a few examples, obviously there are different types, for different things; romance, medical, magical, etc..
Hope this helps.

 

[Odimbus]

All depends on the person really, but for me, it depends on what I am doing.. I'll give you some examples.

Combat Roleplay: Moves in close, stabbing inwards with his rapier. Or.. Moves in, attempting to boot the man in the gut.
Regular Roleplay: Moves into the tavern, sauntering down the stairs, and towards the bar.
Generally dis-liked combat: Slashes the man, straight in the gut.

Those are just a few examples, obviously there are different types, for different things; romance, medical, magical, etc..
Hope this helps.

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Well I am talking more about tenses. All of those examples are present tense, I am familiar with god-RP.

 

[Deadfoe51]

Well I am talking more about tenses. All of those examples are present tense, I am familiar with god-RP.

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Indeed, but that is the way I usually do mine, basically what I am saying, is everyone roleplays differently. That is an example of my roleplay. Also, some people think you shouldn't use "would" like it isn't viable, and some will take it as God-RP, but it is perfectly fine.

 

[DankeeYankee]

The Wretched Old Orc would flick his peculiar, wooden staff forward with his wrist, slashing it horizontally towards the man's lower abdomen as the man charged forward with his sword.

I usually use future tense overall. It makes my actions a bit clearer.

 

[DankeeYankee]

The Wretched Old Orc would flick his peculiar, wooden staff forward with his wrist, slashing it horizontally towards the man's lower abdomen as the man charged forward with his sword.

I usually use future tense overall. It makes my actions a bit clearer.

 

[MonMarty]

present tense.

Future tense is my pet peeve, as I feel "would" is too conditional of a statement. It's also an uncertain action, like: e: would secretly twerk behind Alex Kade , Are you going to do that or are you already doing that? Is that a conditional statement, so can I interrupt you before you do that? What is the condition?

In short: "Would do" is too confusing and too unclear for me. Too many unanswered questions.

 

[krios41]

present tense.

Future tense is my pet peeve, as I feel "would" is too conditional of a statement. It's also an uncertain action, like: e: would secretly twerk behind Alex Kade , Are you going to do that or are you already doing that? Is that a conditional statement, so can I interrupt you before you do that? What is the condition?

In short: "Would do" is too confusing and too unclear for me. Too many unanswered questions.

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in my case, if you would ever see me using would i do that to leave teh space for interuption, so if i wrote e: would secretly twerk behind Alex kade , i leave teh option for interferance intetional, and if you would ignore the action or state you don't notice it it becomes present tense, as i said earlier (but not so straight forward as now) i use "would" mostly when it involves someone else. If someone else uses "would" i automaticly assume they do that so people can interfere it.

 

[LadyTeddington]

I usually use present tense and 'Would' a lot. Ehe.

 

[Pastellanar]

Would
Would
Would
Would

Literally everytime.

 

[Magivore]

๖ۣۜFor a majority of the time, I several past tense situations. Nendai wasn't going to swing to hit an innocent child upside the skull, Nendai was swinging to hit an innocent child upside the skull. He already performed the action; he was just awaiting the results, and concerning combat, Nendai already did what he wanted to; he just wanted to wait and see what happened. I feel future actions are sorta weird when concerning combat, like, did they hit me upside the head, orrrr can I combat that or move away still because that is in the future?

 

[PaulaDeen]

I try to use would only when I'm doing something that will provoke a reaction from another individual (ex. Tapping someone on the shoulder, or in combat). Otherwise, I prefer using present tense during roleplay.

 

[OldManJ98]

I try to use would only when I'm doing something that will provoke a reaction from another individual (ex. Tapping someone on the shoulder, or in combat). Otherwise, I prefer using present tense during roleplay.

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Hey! Your back!

 

[Laach]

I don't stick to any one tense, and even experiment with them from time to time. (ex. will be the past in the future: "Will have ____ed")