Each Sunday, 1 tip will be posted. If you wish to become a better roleplayer, and move up the ranks of the FWA to the Championship hunt, reading these will get you up to speed on your roleplays and will show in your roleplays themself. So enjoy the tips I have to give you and please take them into mind when writing your RPs.
2. The Structure of an RolePlay
I have many pet peeves in the writing of roleplays... but this has to be one of the worst. The structure of a roleplay is vital to a person's chances of performing well in their matches. It's easy to write a few lines babbling about beating your opponant, but it's not effective. Paragraphs are the main method used for RPs. Remember, the times when you decribe what your wrestler is doing in detail and when he actually talks have to be different paragraphs.True Roleplayers follow these simple steps to creating a top notch RP:
1. The Introduction- In order to capture the reader's(management and opponant) attention, you must have a captivating opening paragraph. This is achieved by being very decriptive in your wording. Again, as said in last week's column, you have to be creative. Starting every RP at the arena is very boring. Change it up all the time. An example of a breif opening is:
The camera comes into focus in an old, abandoned trailer park. The moon is high in the clear, stary sky and the air is humid. Out in the distance of rusted scraps of metal, a figure appears in the distance. The moist air makes the figure wavy and hard to make out. The figure stops 30 feet away from the camera and looks up at the glimmering stars for a moment and continues forward...
Some thing like that...
2. The Body- This is where all the magic happens. The body is mainly taken up by your wrestler's actions/words. The things that he does here truly dictates what his character is all about. Is he a snotty bastard who talks shit? Or is he a determined character speaking inspriational words? It's up to you. The key to this area is being precise on what you are talking about. Don't babble on about the same things over and over again. Set out three distinct topics about your match or about something related to your match... expand on them. However, when you change topics... make sure you separate paragraphs by doing an action to reset your brain... it's somethng like this...
The Crusher- Dominic... as I listen you your words of "wisdom" all I can think of is the bullshit you are. You talk about how you must work for your glory? How is that for you? Ever since you have arrived here... you have been pampered by the boys in the room for your fame in the industry of Hollywood. They adored you because of what you have done in the acting business. Well, working to act is a helluva lot different than working to survive in the ring.
The Crusher pauses for a moment a takes a step to the side and takes a breath... just listneing to the noises of the late night. He then turns back to the camera
The Crusher- When I look into your eyes Dom, I truly see the fear that lurks within you. I hear your voice of terror when ever you talk about the one named Crusher, because you know deep within, that you could not stand toe to toe with him even on your best days.
3. The "GO Home"- This is the final stage of the Roleplay and probaly the part that most remember. This is the area where you finish your rant on your opponant and send a strong message through him. Now this message could be a reminder or even a common catchphrase used by your wrestler. The GO Home paragraph can be done in this way: A breif, but interesting(not repeatitive) recap of your points... a strong warning and a finish line. Here's an example:
The Crusher- So Dominic, you and I both know that deep within you that you know the true difference of Hollywood and wrestling. I know that YOU know that this is nothing like the set. I know that this channels the fear within your body and the fact that you truly do not want to go one on one with the Crush. But regardless of what you want, it will happen. And LIVE this Saturday at Holocaust, you will face The Crusher inside that Steel Cage and you will know the pain that each and every one of us goes through each and every night. You are a rookie and you may not know that common rule that all of the FWA superstars know from The Crusher, so he'll tell you. When you step in the ring on Saturday remember... "The Crusher will crush your dreams and the living soul within your body!"
The Crusher grins and walks off in this humid distance of that trailer park, kicking the rusted scraps of metal as the camera fades to black...
There ya have it... the strucutre of the RP is so vital to your sucess in the FWA. So you best follow it in someway because I promise it will help you in the long run. That's it for this week, check back next week for another edition in the Xtreme Roleplaying Guide!
1. Quality OVER Quantity
This is probaly the MOST broken rule in efeds. Lots of amateurs and lazy RPers think that if they write a whole bunch of short RPs for a match, labelling them Rp1, Rp 2, Rp 3, etc. they will win for sure. Well... this is complete and utter bullshit! You are setting your self up for failure if you write lots of short RPs in high numbers for each event. This is because we look for quality of work over the number of RPs you do. The FWA clearly states that each RP must be at least 20 lines long. When writing an RP... to give it good quality... follow these few rules:
1. Be Creative- Always have different settings, different atmospheres in your RPs, no one likes a guy who does all his RPs in the same area.
2. Be Descriptive- When writing a RP... describe in detail your surroundings(etc. the temperture, the time of day, the noises, etc.)
3. Interact with other wrestlers- Create friends or enemies by confronting them in your RPs, you can attack or compliment them in these situations. These times can be used to create or add to stables, or begin feuds.
4. Crowd Response- This is very important, in your debut RP... establish yourself as a face, a tweener, or a heel. And in your on going RPs here in the FWA, make sure everyonce in a while, you get the crowd to boo or cheer you depending on your status with the crowd.
As you can see... quality is extremely important to the sucess of a member in ANY efed. Remeber these things to great quality: Creativity, Decent Length, Detail, Interaction, and Crowd Response!