Roleplay Advertisement Guide

Welcome to the Roleplay Ad Guide. You’re either here because you’re planning to write an ad or workshop an existing ad. Please read through the guide for aspects to include when formatting and creating your ad.

Literary Roleplay vs Other Ads

There are many different styles of roleplay. "Literary roleplay" is roleplay that is best described as "collaborative writing". Literary roleplay is as though you are writing a book with one or more other people. This differs from roleplay like chat roleplay, where you focus mostly on character dialogue and short actions, or erotic roleplay, which is focused on writing sex scenes.

In Literary Roleplay

  • The setting and sensory details are described.

  • Each character is thought of as having a 'story arc' – an adventure they are on, a goal that they have, or something they want to resolve within themselves.

  • Characters have motivations that they act on in combination with the other characters in the roleplay.

  • The roleplayers collaborate to build the story together and weave together the different characters' motivations.

Literary roleplay is similar to writing a book, but it is different in key ways. Each roleplayer must look to include the characters of the other roleplayers, and make sure that the other characters are equally important. All roleplayers must feel satisfied with the progression of the story in order for the roleplay to be successful. A story where only one character's wants, needs, or motivations is emphasized is often an unsatisfying story for the opposing roleplayer.

Sexual Content in Literary Roleplay

Sexuality can still be a part of literary roleplay, and literary roleplays can still include detailed smut. However, characterization, character dynamics, world-building, and story remain important in literary roleplay, even if smut and kinks are built into the story.Depending on where you post a roleplay advertisement, you can be more or less successful. If you post a chatplay or erotic roleplay ad in a literary roleplay space, you are unlikely to get responses to your ad. If you don't want to change your ad or what you are looking for, it's better that you move to a different space. If you want to enhance your ad to appeal to literary roleplayers, please proceed.

Advertisement Dos

Choosing a Title

Select a short- to medium-sized and catchy title that either 1) describes what you are looking for [“Alien-Hunting Space Opera and Sci-Fi Galore!”] or 2) distinguishes the ad from other ads [a line from a poem, a song lyric, etc.] A title such as “Looking For Partners” does not provide any unique information, nor does it help separate you from all the other ads.

About You

Include the basics so that people are able to scan for appropriate, relevant information.

  • Timezone: so people know when to contact you.

  • Age: so people can determine whether you are in their preferred age range.

  • Pronouns: so people know how to address you.

  • Writing Style: preferred tense (first/second/third, i.e. ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘he/she/they’), typical post length (how many words per post), and writing style (‘snappy’, ‘grounded’, ‘sensual’, ‘verbose’)

  • Preferred Medium: Discord, Google docs, email, forum, etc.

  • Writing Samples: include a link to a Google document or carrd with a sample of your writing.

Personal information is discouraged. This includes things like job/school status, marital status, outside hobbies, and so on. These things can be shared at your discretion with the people who become your roleplay partners. Oversharing personal information is, at best, a distraction from the roleplay ad itself, and, at worst, information that can be traced to your offline persona. The less information about you that’s out there for public consumption, the better!

Partner Considerations

Set out and communicate your expectations. A potential partner should be able to quickly see if they meet your desired expectations. Include the following for potential partner:

  • Reply frequency

  • Preferred post length

  • Tense

  • Partner age range

  • Character references (if required)

  • OOC communication preferences

You may also wish to include in your ad information about what you are looking for in a writing partner, which could include your expectations and wants for how much out-of-character (OOC) chat you are interested in. OOC preferences can vary from person to person, so it is useful to set out these expectations to ensure that you find a partner who matches your level of engagement with OOC. OOC preferences can cover things like using mood boards, creating playlists, talking about headcanons, discussing plots and scene ideas, and generally sharing thoughts about the world and story you are creating together.Remember that literary roleplay is about roleplay that is separate from the writer, so a roleplay ad is not a dating ad or a place to search for a romantic partner.

Plot Considerations

Have specific plots mapped out in brief on your ad. These plots can be as short as a single sentence (‘Two knights go on a quest to defeat a dragon’) or several lines (‘A rugged detective wakes up with amnesia. He tries to solve a mystery while also recovering his own personal history, while thinking through his place in the world.’). Take the time to give your potential partners something to grab hold of.When writing a roleplay advertisement, keep in mind that your pitch should be open enough for the other participant(s) to feel as if they have freedom to collaborate and share in the spotlight.If you don't have a specific plot in mind, offer your preferred genres, which may include but are not limited to: settings/time periods, fandom worlds, relationship tropes/dynamics, etc.Examples include:

  • Time Periods: Ming Dynasty, Victorian England

  • Fandom Worlds: Naruto, Avatar

  • Relationship Tropes/Dynamics: Vampire x Vampire Hunter, Former High School Sweethearts

Indicate which characters in a trope or plot you would like to write, if you have a preference.Make note of content you are not interested in roleplaying (e.g., limits) if this is likely to arise in the plots or content you are looking for and is therefore a “dealbreaker”. If limits are not specifically relevant to your requested plots, you can discuss general limits with your roleplay partner.An example of a “dealbreaker” limit would be placing an ad for high fantasy, but stating that you wish to exclude gory battle scenes. Another example would be that you want to write a gritty mafia plot, but you wish to exclude hard drug use.Focus on what you do want, less so on what you don’t want. This applies both to what you want to write and the type of person you would prefer to write withFor example, say “I’m looking for somebody around my own age/25+/etc.” instead of “children DNI”. For another example, say “I’m looking for A, B and C” instead of “I will NOT write D, E, and F”.

NSFW Considerations

State your preferences on Not Safe For Work Content in your ad. Is smut required? Do you prefer for romance scenes to ‘fade to black’ as opposed to explicitly writing out sexual content? Do you want to write a completely Safe For Work or platonic roleplay? Make this clear.Reserve the kink list for DMs vs a list in the ad. Upfront kink lists before they are story-relevant are out of place in literary roleplay.

Advertisement Dont's

  • Don’t provide too much personal information - you’re selling the roleplay, not yourself!

  • Don’t complain - about ghosting, past buddies, no one answering your ads, etc. This makes you look negative and like you are perhaps the cause of your own problems.

  • Do not get hung up on specifying the gender or orientation of your potential partner - you are both writing characters, not yourselves.

  • Do not feel the need to reassure the audience or current partners that you are not replacing anyone. This is not reassuring, and in fact makes it appear as though you are involved with suspiciously needy partners.

  • Do not use a ‘password’ in your ad. Anyone can use CTRL+F to search for ‘password’ in an ad without reading it. Likewise, putting “read my ad before you DM me!!” is pointless because the people who don’t read your ad aren’t going to see it!

  • Don’t be vague. Specificity is your friend.

  • Don’t have long ads. No one likes to read them.

  • Don’t add a limit to your ad just because you see everyone else doing it, e.g. ‘feet’, ‘bathroom stuff’, etc. The chance of encountering these is generally low, and the limit comes off as performative.

  • Don’t use terms like ‘advanced’, ‘novella’, ‘literate’, or ‘smut ratio’ without specifying what this means. These terms often mean different things to different people. Use of such terms which have ambiguous or varied meaning can lead to unclear expectations, which can then lead to miscommunication. Be clear why and how you are using such terms if they are included in your ad.

Rejecting Others

Ads are meant to capture a good amount of prospective partners! This means that there is no perfect combination of words that will only attract the “right” person. Seek to make your ad represent your wants/needs to the type of roleplayer you want to attract– and be prepared to decline people with whom you do not mesh. Rejecting (and receiving rejection) is part of life—nothing is wrong with you or with them when you don’t write together because not everybody is made for each other, even (especially) in roleplay land.If a roleplay has started and you want to end it, make sure that you create a copy of the writing to leave with the other person. In the case of emails or Google docs, there's already a shared copy, so all you have to do is make your own copy and leave the original. For a Discord server, you can use the Discord chat exporter and then transfer server ownership to the other writer.Keep your rejections simple, without feeling the need to over-explain. Be polite, kind, and firm.

  • “I don’t think our writing styles are a good fit, but good luck on your search.”

  • “Something isn’t quite clicking for me, but thanks for reaching out.”

  • “I’m going in another direction with this idea, but I appreciate you taking the time to plot with me.”

  • “I don’t think this roleplay is right for me, but good luck on your search.”

  • “I don’t feel that this RP will work for me, but thank you for your time.”

  • “I’ve given my current RP preferences some thought, and I feel like this particular storyline isn’t quite what I’m looking for at the moment. I appreciate all your effort.”

  • “I have enjoyed our dynamic, but I feel like I need a change in my RP interests.”

Rejection messages should keep in mind: honesty and considerate compassion whilst also remaining assertive and using “I” statements to express your opinion or feeling. You may wish to express gratitude for the effort that has already been put in by the other party.

Handling Rejection

Just as you should plan to be courteous in your rejections of others, it is important to know how to take rejection as well.Because this is a storytelling hobby with people from all walks of life, you are bound to interact with folks that have differing ideas about how something should be written. If for any reason you don’t jive, you are likely to either get a gentle let-down, like those we outlined in the “DO” section, or you may find yourself “ghosted” or blocked.Ghosting is when a roleplayer who does not wish to move further with plotting or roleplaying simply stops responding to you. They may leave or delete the server/group you are in together, as well as remove you from their friend list. It is a rejection method that is largely frowned upon and is not recommended, but nevertheless has become pervasive in the community.It can be hurtful and frustrating when someone rejects you, especially if you were excited for the roleplay and felt you were receiving encouraging signs. You may be tempted to pursue the other person or complain about them publicly. Unfortunately, this will only make you look possessive and unable to manage your feelings. If you find yourself feeling strongly after being rejected, don't respond to the message until you have let enough time pass that you feel calm and less hurt. If you have been ghosted, it's best to let the other person go, remembering that many people are socially anxious and lack the social skills to handle conflict.It is best to take any sort of rejection (be it a kind message or a ghost/block) for what it is at face value: they do not wish to write with you. Move on. There are other fish in the sea.

Suggested Template

If you are having trouble putting together a roleplay ad, you can improvise off the following template. We encourage you to personalize however you see fit! Remember that you do not have to give out any personal information you don't want to.

Hello, my name is [nickname]. I am [age], located in [x] timezone, and use [pronouns]. I am looking for [general statement].[Short blurb or list about yourself: include length and frequency of posts, preferred tense(s), OOC chatter preferences, FC preferences, NSFW or SFW, and/or what medium(s) you want to use for the roleplay.][Short blurb or list about the kind of partners you're looking for (if desired). Consider: general age, reply length and frequency, level of OOC chatter, and/or preferred level technical skill.]I would like to roleplay:
- applicable fandoms
- applicable genres
- applicable pairings
- applicable plot hooks
- applicable level of smut (no need for kink lists now, save those for DMs)I will not roleplay:
[Only include general, hard limits, such as FTB only, no gore, characters under 18, etc. full discussion of triggers, kinks, or limits should be reserved for DMs.]Here is a link to [longer ad, writing samples, etc]. Please contact me [via discord, email, PM, your pick].