So, I've been thinking about the format.
Normally, we do sort of like a script like form. But I've seen other online roleplay where it's more like a book.
I'll show you an example of each so you can see what I'm talking about. In this scenario, Noah and Josh (my example characters) are brothers. Josh has just returned home from school, where he has learned a good friend of his has died.
Script form:
*Character's name goes first
*thoughts in italics
*actions in asteriks
*colors to tell multiple characters apart(not required but very helpful)
Josh: *walks in the front door, dragging his feet* *staring at the ground so no one will see his eyes tearing up*
Noah: *looks up from his computer college course* Hey Josh. How was school today?
Josh: *barely hears his brother* *bits his lip* *wonders what it say* It was.........okay, I guess. *opens the fridge door*
Noah: What's up? It seems like something is bothering you.
Josh: *trying to hold the sadness in* *slams the fridge door shut* I'm fine Noah! Gosh, why do you have to ask so many questions? *runs upstairs*
Noah: *watches him go* *thinks* Something isn't right.....
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Now, book form would be, well like a book, with paragraphs if needed and proper punctuation. Same example will be used.
Josh put his key in the lock and unlocked the door. He pushed it open and went slowly in the house, dragging his feet. He didn't really want to be here, but he supposed it was better than school. School was where he got the news. He still couldn't believe that Elaine was gone.
Noah finished the question on his assignment and looked up from the computer. He had been taking his classes at home on the computer since their parents, who were astronauts, had gone into space again. So, he stayed home and looked after his brother. It wasn't unusual, it had happened before and he could deal with it. Right away somethig was off. Josh normally looked cheerful to be home from school so he could go play basketball with his friends before dinner. But Josh looked.........well, not happy. But he decided to follow the script and ask the normal questions. "Hey Josh. How was school today?"
Josh turned and looked at Noah. He'd barely heard him outside of his thoughts, but that was enough. Obviously his brother didn't have a clue what had happened. Josh bit his lip. Should he tell Noah what happened at school today? Should he tell Noah about the confusion about the empty desk, and then the announcement that made him feel terrible? Should he tell him Elaine was dead? No, at least, not yet. He had to save face, so he could escape. "It was.........okay, I guess." He slipped into the kitchen as quickly as he could and opened the fridge door. He wasn't hungry, or thirsty, but it's what he always did.
Noah looked at Josh again. He kept getting a gut feeling that not everything was normal. It was strange though. Everything had been fine this morning. He decided to try again. He knew privacy was important, but something really bothered Noah about this situation. He asked carefully, "What's up? It seems like something is bothering you."
Josh felt angry. He knew Noah cared, but couldn't he just leave him alone? He wasn't going to tell Noah about Elaine just yet, he didn't even want to think about, but that was all that was on his mind. He was trying to keep it all in and here was Noah poking about. As he was trying to control his sadness, he lost control of his anger amnd slammed the fridge door shut. He turned to Noah and glared with fire in his eyes. "I'm fine Noah! Gosh, why do you have to ask so many questions?" he said sharply. With that, Josh turned and ran up the stairs, not even bothering to kick his shoes off. He reached his room and slammed the door behind him.
Noah watched his brother go, feeling very confused. Obviously something was wrong, probably something that happened at school today, but he had no idea what. And what was worse, he had no idea how to get it out of Josh. It was always their mother who could get answers from Josh, even in his worst rages or bouts of despair, but she was far away. Something isn't right, he thought, but what?
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So, those are the two forms I've been thinking of. Obviously both will be easier if you're only writing for one character. There are pros and cons to each.
In a nutshell, script writing is quicker and shorter, which is better since it's a forum. It's easy to learn for newbies, and you can tell things apart more easily. But it's less descriptive and the different rules could possibly get confusing.
In a nutshell, book writing is much more descriptive and it's looser, allowing you to be a little more creative because you don't have to put every action in asteriks. But it could take much longer if you're writing more than three to five sentences, and some people might have a hard time seeing the beginnings and ends if you don't color the text.
I don't know if we should switch to book or stay with script, or maybe even revise on of the forms. What do you guys think?