RP First Aid
By Vitora
Every
month—every day, in fact—people, kids and adults alike, new to the Redwall
series are discovering the R(edwall)O(nline)C(ommunity). Often they will start at Redwall.org and go from
there, to Snowfur’s Encyclopedia and her List O’ Links, to Terrouge, to
V(ulpine)I(mperium) and the Golden Leaf Inn, to T(he)S(word)O(f)R(edwall), to
various other small, one-webmaster sites.
Often these
forums will hold role plays—and these vary in and of themselves: there are
survivor contests, basic forum role plays, and chat conversations at a set
time, just to name a few. For those new
to role playing and the ROC, things can get very confusing very quickly. So where can “newbies” go to become “veterans”?
How about
the Golden Pen Forum, and Yn Nor?
Starting at
the end of this month (you’ve got to give me time to gather up volunteers,
people), a new section will be added to the Golden Pen Forum. It will be known as the “RP First Aid”
section, and will be available to any and all who want to come and role play in a friendly environment or to volunteer helping the newbies
hone their talents. There are
most certainly terms and conditions, though.
Volunteers:
—You
must be a registered member of the forum.
Guests will not be allowed to post.
—You
must be willing to dedicate time and effort to the RP First Aid board.
—You
must be a patient person (or at least be able to control yourself online; if
you aren’t patient in real life but don’t convey that through your posts, it’s
all the same to me).
—You
must have participated in several role plays over time and will need to have
someone I can contact for reference regarding your role playing skills. (In other words, you must be a good role
player.)
—Remember,
we are teaching the veterans of the future.
Those
seeking help:
—You
must be a registered member of the forum as well.
—You
must be willing to stick with a role play you have started/entered.
—You
must be willing to take constructive criticism without feeling offended or put
down. We are here to help you, not hurt
you.
—You
must read the monthly Yn Nor writing articles, and be
willing to take a short quiz regarding them (probably via PM on the forum), to
help you learn more on your own.
If you
would like to apply for a volunteer position, contact me at willows_the_golden_pen@yahoo.com
with your forum username (sign up with one if you are not yet registered), your
promise to the above terms, and the name and contact information of your
reference(s). If you would like to apply
for role play help, contact me at the above email with your forum username
(sign up if you are not yet registered) and your promise to the above terms.
Final
words:
Those
seeking help:
Our purpose
at RP First Aid (RPFA) is to encourage and teach up-and-coming role players so
that their work is as good as possible as early as possible. Role plays will be conducted in a normal
fashion, and each member who has applied for help will received
constructive criticism and helpful comments via PM. As the role play continues, you should notice
improvement in many areas of your writing: description, character development,
plot advancement, and clarity. If not,
you may stick with the “program” until you are satisfied with the results.
Volunteers:
There is no
reward in volunteering, save that of making those in the ROC better role
players. This may be for your own
good—the more good role players, the better a story is—or for the good of
future generations—perhaps those we teach now will grow up to teach the next
wave of new Redwallers. Remember that
you are a teacher, and those you volunteer to help are your students; teach
them well.
I hope that
this resource will help everyone involved.