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.