The Short Post

[Darth Abyss]

I think post length his highly dependent on multiple factors, and not just word count alone or how much the other writes.

Personally I think anything around 200-300 words is the sweat spot for a normal paced thread. (A handful posts a day max). But if you write with someone who has little time and gets to posting once a day at best I prefer to make longer posts, simply with the intent to move the story along further without the need to spend a million years to finish a thread. It also goes the other way around. If I play with someone who responds very quickly I reduce the length, because it allows for more interaction between the characters while still feeling coherent due to quick responses.

What the thread is about also matters. If it is just two people talking then any additional description besides a handful of internal thoughts and body language a redundant most of the time anyway so I think keeping it short is the way to go.

 

[Natalie LaForte]

I think the point is people will only take away the basic descriptions and speech you do, in reality, the extras are nice but you can only respond to actions, not thoughts, at least with it having relevance to the story.

 

[Soeht]

I think the point is people will only take away the basic descriptions and speech you do, in reality, the extras are nice but you can only respond to actions, not thoughts, at least with it having relevance to the story.

One of my biggest pet peeves is to be faced with a very long roleplay post that only has a sentence or two of writing that any character can respond to.

OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

For me it all depends on the type of thread. PvP, yeah don't need all the fluff, the setting of that has been set and it is time to get down to business.

Adventure threads or similar need the fluff, (at least for me). Generally I like the longer post, cause I like to write them too.

Short posts are perfectly fine as long as they have good content and to the point.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

The essence of communication is to convey an idea.

I am guilty in fluffing up my post and sneering at the shorter post. However, I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment of this thread.

I remember one duel in particular, where every day I dreaded to read the post because it was paragraph upon paragraph of needless slag. That being said, it was not the size that put me off, but the amount of verbal self-gratification I had to wade through in order to understand what was going on. Later, when confronting the writer about this irritating experience, I received the retort: "So you are mad that I am a better writer than you?"

Quantity does not equal quality.

That being said, I am all for embellishment and colourful descriptions; I like getting a glimpse into the other character's (and writer's) thought processes, as long as it helps the reading experience.

Clarity first, beauty second, length a distant fifth.

Then again, who am I to say? Just some scrub on the internet.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

I am a very immersive person. Part of the reason I enjoy reading, and by extension, RPing is by being able to picture what is going on in the setting. If it feels like two characters against a white wall, I'm going to get bored really quickly. That being said, I typically find that opening posts are long for me, generally over 600 words. When writing invasion posts I tend to write about 500, because subtle nuances can make a big impact on how the other person reacts, such as where your character shifts their eyes, how they move, etc. In general threads where there is a lot of time passing through dialog I keep it to around 6-7 lines.

But 1 sentence posts kill the vibe entirely for me, almost immediately. More than one or two of those in a thread and I become confident that you're not interested in the thread and I lose all muse.