Okay, seeing that the conversation in the "Tagless Drifters" thread was easing away from the original focus, I figured I'd start up a discussion here so as not to dilute the other thread.

I saw someone say that they hated people RPing in the past tense and to some extent I understand that annoyance. I heard once that it seems 'godmod-ish" and it could be construed that way if you want to look too far into it. I RP in the past tense because RL I am a novelist. I don't write my novels in present tense (that tense is best left to 'choose your own adventure' novels) and so, to me, RP is an extension of that. I write in the past tense because that's how I tend to work stories and trying to shift back and forth between styles would give me an aneurism.

In my experience, one of the things that impacts RP most and will change your RP style is thinking about character development. Many people RP as though in a vacuum and their characters stay static as though in stasis. Kind of like (hold the rotten fruit, please) Twilight's characters. They are flat, two-dimensional cutouts. This results in stagnant, shallow roleplays that usually default to the obvious: Sex.

Character development means your character wins some, they lose some, and they learn and grow from the experiences they have. It's an organic process that incorporates your character's history, current events, and philosophies. I won't wax on here... I'm going to be working on a blog about RP and such, but feel free to add your own thoughts and views! I'd love it. 🙂