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Professor RP · @ProfessorRP
14th Apr 2014 from TwitLonger
#Lesson @Jester_Candy asks: "How do you write an interesting starter or OpenRP?"
You may not realize it, but what you are really asking is "how do you write a hook?" A hook, in a novel, is what writers use to draw a reader in. They make you want to keep reading. For example, in Stephen King's "Under the Dome" (the novel, not the show), the book is well written but the hook is amazing: A town finds itself trapped beneathe an invisible dome. Who wouldn't want to read that?
My canned answer is of course: Do something, make it public, and invite interaction.
Example: I am in a museum, surrounded by priceless artifacts. I whisper into my headset: "Cut the lights."
Now, the above is a good starter for a few reasons. It's interesting (who doesn't enjoy a good robbery?), it invites interaction, and god knows there are a lot of possibilities (at least if you have a good imagination). What are you trying to steal? Are you stealing anything at all? What if when the lights came back on it was a flash mob?
That is my standard answer. But I think it's about time it got modified:
Make something INTERESTING happen, in a place where PEOPLE or the person you want to interact with are EXPECTED TO BE, that invites interaction. Also, in some way, express your character: the little things that make them interesting. Personalize it. For the love of RP, though, keep it below three tweets if you can.
"Crying naked on my bed" is not a good starter. Why? Because why would I be in your bedroom and why would I care? I, as a writer, have no connection to you, outside of your incredibly obvious cry for approval, which is boring in and of itself.
"Sleeping under a tree." Yeah? So? Now I don't want to disturb your nap.
"There is an explosion somewhere, and I come rushing toward you with a bleeding victim in my arms. "Don't just stand there! Call 911!""
...Wow. Now don't you want to play with that? It's simple, it invites interaction, and it makes you want to see what happens.
Questions?