Topic: How do I get more replies?

[Mymar]

It seems like most of my communication on this website is one sided meaning I'll send PMs but never receive  a reply. When I do receive a reply I spend time trying to get something going only to have the person disappear on me either when the play starts or I can only assume they decide I'm not a good fit. I've decided it's me because I often see people talking about having multiple RPs going.  Sometimes I feel like it's too much effort only to be rejected by yet another disappearance. What can I do to actually get something going? People I have played with tell me there is nothing wrong with my play style, so it's got to be something else. Can someone help me?

[Nadir]

This is a very good guide on how to get partners.

When you send out PMs, don't copy and paste the same message to multiple people, make each message unique to the person you send it to, look at their ons and offs to make sure they are into what you are offering. Socialise - a lot of my games are with my friends, so interacting with others is a really amazing way to get games. Try to be mindful of your tone in messages - text doesn't have inflection, and relies on the reader's interpretation, so try to construct something open and friendly. Make detailed ad requests, or answer those that hold ideas that interest you.

[AmberStarfire]

Just looking at your profile, I can think of a few things that might help.

- You could add an Ons/Offs link to your signature. I don't know if you have a thread already, but if not then you could create one, as it's something that a lot of writers look for.
- You have your Roleplaying Preferences set, but you have some contradictions in what you have there. I'm not going to post what you're looking for here, because posts in this forum are visible to non-members. However, if you check 'characters I play' and compare it to what you have under 'other notes', there is a contradiction there.
- If you add a visual component on your Ons and Offs thread (you can't add images to Roleplay Preferences - I've tried), that may increase interest in your thread. These could be for decoration or to add inspiration for ideas or story suggestions. All I know is pictures help a lot if they're set out nicely, and I suspect that some writers have more success who have a visually attractiive Ons and Offs thread.
- I would suggest putting a list of everything that you are looking for on there and your Roleplay Preferences, rather than generalising.
- It helps to bring an element of fun to it or to talk about yourself. If there's an element of sexiness to it then that may encourage some people to want to write with you, if those are the types of stories you're looking for.
- Some people could be put off by your (non-sexual) offs in the prominent position that they're in, in your Roleplay Preferences. If you find a good writing partner, they should approach things the right way, but sometimes putting a bit of a warning or caution near the beginning can discourage people who might otherwise have been interested. I'd say move that part to the end or reduce it down. I took some classes in PR at college and they basically suggested to us 'stick with the positives', because even 'double negatives' aren't going to help things along. It might be possible to phrase them more positively in a list of things you are looking for (i.e. a writing partner who will contribute equally to the story and keep me apprised).
- I don't know if you're just looking for solos, but you could apply to group games or check out the one shots forum, as people advertise there too.

Just some thoughts. :)

[FarFetched]

Hm, well, lets take a look at what you have!

Now, building off of what Amber has said and what Dim linked, I have a few suggestions that might help:

• Request Threads > Pms: This is a personal preference, but in my experience Request threads are much better at getting partners than individual PMs. It's the same difference between casting a net and fishing with a single line. Unless you are PMing so many people that you're getting close to breaking E's rules on the matter, more people will see a freshly-spun request thread. Also, as Dim mentioned, many writers here are pretty darn good at noticing request PMs that have been copied and pasted from somewhere else; you should definitely make them unique if you stick with that method!
  
  
  
• Format your O/O's and your Request thread: Amber was spot-on about this; filling these out with detailed, formatted info will draw players. Partners looking for RPs will appreciate it because it means that you have a clear idea about what will happen in the RP you want to do. That's good, because many are afraid of having to do all the legwork to drive story forward. If you have trouble thinking of how to format them, take look at other people's threads and emulate what you liked about them.
  
  Since (I like to think that) I get a good number of requests for my RPs, here's my own O/O thread , and an example request thread for reference, if you need it.
  
  
  
• Lengthen your Posts: I'm not going to bash your writing style because it's actually not that bad. However, looking through your most recent posts, I noticed a quite a bit of the dreaded 1-paragraph-post. I know many writers on E who will straight-up deny a person (usually saying, and I quote: 'I don't think our writing styles mesh well.') if a person doesn't regularly write at least 3 paragraphs per post. I've noticed you doing posts of that size a few pages back in your history. It would definitely work in your favor to try posting in that style again.
  
  And, if you don't have any RPs that could support that style of writing, as Amber said, a group game is an extremely easy way to start something new.
  

[Whowhatwhere]

I'd also like to add that some DMs of open groups are keen to have more people join their games. Scratch their back, and large games will scratch yours!

[Mymar]

I think part of my problem is that I really am open to trying pretty much anything, and I don't really know how to express that in a way that seems interesting.   Maybe it's the ambiguity of that that kind of drives some away?

[FarFetched]

I think part of my problem is that I really am open to trying pretty much anything, and I don't really know how to express that in a way that seems interesting.   Maybe it's the ambiguity of that that kind of drives some away?

Actually, yes? Sort of. Suprisingly, the more specific you get with what you want out of an RP, the more attention you grab. Which... works, up until a point where it can get restrictive. There's a happy medium to experiment with and find.

[Mymar]

Actually, yes? Sort of. Suprisingly, the more specific you get with what you want out of an RP, the more attention you grab. Which... works, up until a point where it can get restrictive. There's a happy medium to experiment with and find.

Would posting the kind of stories I like or genres/eras in history things like that work as a start?

[FarFetched]

Absolutely.

[FarFetched]

Actually, lemme put it in a bit more detail than that; lots of players go out of their way to avoid people who are 'up to RP anything,' because of a stigma around that statement. It heavily suggests that they will have trouble helping driving a story forward. Some might even not help at all! That can be really tough to write opposite to. The best way to prevent that is to work on a setting that both players have a very large interest in. In other words, the more invested you are in an RP, the more you'll contribute, and thus the more material a player will have to work with. RP is all about that back and forward, both IC and OOC.

[FourStellar]

There is a lot of good advice here. I haven't seen it mentioned, so I would add that you could try the socializing forums. Some of them are almost silly and take very little effort to participate in, but can be fun. After you have an O/O page and have flushed out your RP preferences a bit more, place a link in your signature and start playing some of the forum games. If you PM someone who has seen you around, you'll probably have better luck. If you do it long enough and are engaging about it, partners will come to you.

[Mymar]

I had a partner many moons ago who after we each had posted wanted my characters feelings on xyz, even though it had nothing to do with the actual plot, and nothing I said was ever long enough. (I just stopped playing with that partner, this was before E existed I think) To me when you start telling me I have to have a poet at a bare minimum of xyz, it feels like school work. If the post happens to be 5 paragraphs long than sure, I'm not going to add fluff that's meaningless just to hit an arbitrary word count. I also don't often write long posts either here or on some other medium because often I'll spend the x number of time setting up the play only to have the person disappear on me after my first post. No word is ever given on of it's post length real life or if some mystical being sucked them down a sewer pipe, and besides its not me anyways.  If post length is my problem here I suppose I need to find a new outlet elsewhere.

[Nico]

Personally, I don't think it's because of post length. There are so many writers on E and probably as many different writing styles. Some people like long posts, others don't, some love internal monologues, others can live without it. So, you see, that's a very individual thing, imo.

[AmberStarfire]

I think it's more about finding people to write with who approach things the same way and write similar-length posts, as well as sharing interests. There are very likely people here who do (there are a lot of shorter post writers for example) but there likely are on other sites as well.

[Gypsy]

There's been a lot of good advice given here.   There are plenty of people who prefer shorter posts.

What it takes, IMO, is patience and perseverance to find partners that you enjoy writing with, and who enjoy writing with you.  Sometimes that also includes a little bit of give and take -- the more you limit what you are willing to do/want to do, the more you limit the number of potential partners.

There are ALWAYS people who will just disappear on any internet endeavor -- and even in real life.  It's a fact of life.

You can limit that yourself in some ways by taking some time to do research.  Elliquiy has some wonderful tools available to see the posts of potential partners, provided they write on the forums.  Use it.  You can see what kind of posts potential partners usually write, their posting frequency, and how their games progress.  If their posts are longer than you're comfortable with, then if you're interested otherwise, you can reach out to them to see if they would be interested in writing shorter posts.  Many people here are very versatile in style, and in post length.

Yes, it may be a bit of work, but it increases your chances of finding those 'good fit' partners.  And don't wait for them to contact you -- contact them.  Say hello.  Interact with them on the socializing boards.  If you see someone's writing you like, compliment them on it.  Start a conversation.

I've found some great partners that way.  Yes, some have still disappeared off the face of the earth without a word after a while, but I still had fun.   

I suppose it all boils down to what's fun for you and how much you're willing to invest in it.  There is no magic formula -- do this and they will come.   I sort of wish there were.