Gray on White
No matter how well you write, it will not matter if people are unable to read what you have written. If Shakespeare had published his plays on a website with a light gray background and white font, no one would have read them. If you decide to host your Role-plays on a website and do each one as a webpage, make sure the font colors and the font chosen are easy to read and understand. Studies have shown that dark text on a light background is easiest on the eyes, but that does not mean you have to limit yourself. Just try to pick two complementary colors that are easily distinguishable.

Many people also choose to use scrolling marquees, specialized cursors, embedded music, and a barrage of images to “spice up” their Role-plays. For the most part, these are window dressings. If you write solid Role-plays, you do not need the flashy design. If anything, you might annoy whoever judges the Role-plays with long load times, or they might get distracted and miss an important part of what you wrote. My suggestion is to keep the design of the Role-play page as simple as possible.

But I speaks English good!
The intended audience (the federation head, your opponent, and the other players) must be able to understand you. In a quality federation, the odds are good that you will have a wide cross section of people, from the highly educated to the uneducated. There may be people familiar with LEET speak, and people who have no idea what that phrase means. In order to effectively reach all of them, you should strive to use proper spelling and grammar.

Obviously, it is not necessary to treat each Role-play as you would a writing assignment for a class. If your character is supposed to be uneducated, it would be entirely appropriate to let him use improper grammar and even intentional misspellings, such as “li-bary” or “new-cu-lear”. It would probably be best to avoid doing so, but it might be effective in small doses.

One major problem people face is the use of the apostrophe. An example of this is when someone wants to portray their character as Southern. They might write the previous sentence like this “An example of dis is when som’n wants to p’tray ‘der char’cter as Southern.” Sadly, this is a common occurrence. If you imagine trying to read an entire Role-play written in this manner, you can see how it would become extremely annoying to the reader. Annoying the reader is a very bad thing, and something that should be avoided at all costs.

Stick to traditional spellings if you can, and reserve modified spellings for special times, or to convey something you usually don’t. Even then, be thrifty with them. A well-written Role-play grammatically will often earn points in the mind of the judge even if the content is slightly lacking.

Processing
This is pretty simple: sometimes, your computer will crash. If you write your Role-plays directly into an online HTML editor or directly in the posting box on a message board, you have lost all that you have written. When you consider this, and consider the ease of using spell check to help with your spelling, it becomes obvious that you should use a word processor to write your Role-plays. Save often. Spell check.

Muse
So you’ve picked a character name. You’ve given him a back-story. You’ve dressed him, you’ve decided where you want to play, and you’ve been accepted on to the roster. Now what?

Now we Role-play. We open a new document in our word processor, turn on music (or whatever you do to get the creative juices flowing), and settle in behind the keyboard.

But where can you find an idea for a Role-play? Personally, I find most of my inspiration comes from day to day life. If someone in front of me in line at a restaurant is being a jerk, it might make up a little section of my next Role-play. Or maybe I’ll read an article or editorial online that makes me think about something. Or maybe a snippet of a song will spark something. The point is, inspiration can come from anywhere, so be receptive.

Now, before you start, you should have an idea of what you want to say. There was a time in E-Wrestling where it was perfectly acceptable to do every Role-play as a run-down of your next match, just discussing your opponent and trading insults. The game has evolved, though, and many will tell you the insult trading is the least important part of the modern game. Instead, it’s all about the story.

The story? But isn’t this just wrestling trash talking?

No, It Isn’t
No, it isn’t. You see, this is Role-playing. As in, you play a role. You assume the character that you have created, and you bring them to life through your writing. So, before you start a Role-play, take a moment to think of what points you want to make. For me, it’s easiest to keep three lists: daily goals, match goals, and long-term goals. For instance, my daily goal might be to reply to a certain person. A match goal might be to express insecurity about my characters ability to defeat the opponent. A long-term goal is generally more of a concept for me- change from a sneaky heel to a heroic face, for example. It’s something that cannot be accomplished in one week, or even in one month.

Seem like it’s too much? It’s not. But all of this has been an under card to the main event:

Where am I?
Here we go: first, you must decide on a setting for your Role-play. Your character does not exist in a black hole. They live somewhere, and they go places, and it’s your job to decide where. If you have an idea of what you want to do with the Role-play, maybe a certain location makes more sense than any other. Or maybe you just like the idea of doing a Role-play from, say, the North Pole. No matter where or why you decide on a location, you have to create that location with words.

This is textual. There are no pictures. That means you have to paint a picture for the readers with words. You can say “Character is in his bedroom.” Its better, though, to say something like “Character is in his bedroom. The room is small and cramped, with white carpet and purple walls. There is a poster of a giant green goblin hanging over the twin-sized bed. Character is finishing making the bed, pulling the yellow comforter up and tucking it under the bright blue pillows.”

See the difference between the two descriptions? In the second one, it’s possible to picture how the bedroom looks. There are times such a description is unnecessary, such as when the character is in a location most people would be familiar with. “Character is in line at McDonald’s” is a good example. Most people can picture the inside of a McDonald’s without too much help.

If you use a location (like the bedroom) more than once in a given Role-play session, it’s entirely appropriate to simply use “his bedroom.” You’ve already told the reader what the room looks like, doing so again is overkill. Now that you’ve decided on a location…

Action!
Your character is not simply standing still and speaking, is he? Even if he is standing in one place and speaking, he’s probably at least moving his hands, or using facial expressions, or… you get the idea. There are two common mistakes people make when describing action: too much and not enough.

It is not necessary to discuss every action your character makes. For example, if he is walking from the refrigerator to the table, it’s not necessary to say “Character takes a step with his right foot, and then his left, and then his right. He pulls out the chair, steps around it, and sits down. He slides the chair in and picks up a fork, stabbing it into his steak.”

At the same time, it would make no sense if you established that your character is sitting on the couch and had an action aside like this: “Character turns on the faucet and blood flows out of it.” Find a happy medium. Pick actions that are significant, such as moving from one area to another or a particular facial expression.

Take That!
Now the important part: your character talking. This is where you really flesh out your character. The way people talk reveals a lot about them, and your character is no different. If your character is supposed to have a Harvard diploma then he shouldn’t be using only monosyllabic words. On the same token, if your character is a stupid bum, he shouldn’t use words like monosyllabic. Think about where your character is from, what his education is, and who he is trying to reach when you’re choosing words.

But more important than the words used is the meaning behind them. This is where your characters worldview comes into play. Know your character. When you first start, it’s like your character is a new friend- your cautious, still not sure that they are what you think they are. Tread softly, and think about your words and meanings carefully.

For example, if your character is supposed to be a nice guy, friendly to everyone, then you have to avoid tossing off casual insults. And if your character is supposed to be a total asshole, then you should avoid being kind to anyone at all. These are black and white areas, but it’s best to use broad strokes at first. As you write, you’ll figure out what makes you most comfortable, and where your writing style fits best. As you do, you’ll notice that certain areas of your character are starting to be emphasized. This is known as “character evolution” and is a very good sign.

Advancing an Angle
So you’ve mastered talking trash, and you’re starting to have an idea of who your character is. Now, it’s time to try and advance the angle your character is involved in. Your federation will usually insert you in an angle, and it is up to you to make it work. How do you do that? Devote time to it. Figure out what your angle is, decide how your character feels, and spend a little time discussing it each Role-play. Angles are long term, so you don’t have to spend a lot of time on it, but try and move it a little forward every day. For example, your angle might be that you’re mad at the guy who beat you for a title and you can’t get over it. So, rather than just focusing on your opponent for that week, you spend a little time talking about how much you want to get the guy you’re mad at. You talk about how they cheated, or how they got lucky. Maybe you hint at having reinforcements for the next time. Or you start challenging them to a match almost daily, trying to force a reply. Anything at all to keep attention on the angle moving it forward.

Sub-stories
I mentioned earlier that you cannot spend all your time talking about your match. At first, you probably will, and that’s fine. You need to figure out your character, find his voice, and determine his views before you can venture into sub-stories. But let’s say you’re ready.

What is a sub-story? A sub-story is an angle you yourself run in your RP’s. This is usually done to flesh out a certain aspect of your character, and is commonly referred to as “character development.” They usually connect to your main storyline within the federation in some way, but not directly. They show something about your character that just in-ring action or trash talk cannot do. In my case, the first major instance of character development came when my character denounced his theatrical “demon” character and destroyed a set where he was supposed to give an interview. Rather than doing another formulaic “evil” interview, he gave an interview as himself rather than the character he’d been portraying. It was a short sub-story, but it established the character as more than just another cookie-cutter Undertaker wanna-be.

Other examples I’ve seen have been relationships, reconciling with a family member, divorce, marriage, having a child… anything that reveals something about who your character is. Your opponent will read your Role-plays because he’s facing you. To get everyone else, you have to have an interesting character. To make your character interesting, you have to develop them. If you can make your Role-plays “must read,” you’ll be well on your way to a title shot.