RP School - Rookie Mistakes

Stolen from WWI forum:

Today's Topic: Mistakes that are often overlooked.

Rookie
mistakes. We all make them from time to time.
Just pointing out a few things that can make or break an RP.

-Punctuation
and Capitalization: As a rule this is no big deal. The problem is, if
it ever becomes a deal, it will be a GIGANTIC one. Not only is it
necessary to have periods and commas to break up your sentences, you
must place them in the correct place (where you intend to put them,
rather) so that you portray what you see in your head accurately. And
then proper nouns (discounting names that are lowercase BY CHOICE OF
THE USER) are GREATLY appreciated.

-Know Your Role: When writing an RP, PLAN FIRST. Not "writing an
essay" plan, but "one step ahead in my thoughts" plan. Before you type
any sentence, have a general road map, so that you don't have (overly)
scattered dialog. Unless of course your character has broken thoughts.
But then you would have PLANNED the thought pattern. See? But know your
purpose before you put pen to paper. Are you trying to start a feud?
Are you instigating in a current feud? Are you creating heat for
someone else's feud? Are you picking on the friends of your enemy? Are
you aiming for a title shot? Do you simply wanna be loved? Just go
though a checklist of things you want to handle in your RP.

AND THE NUMBER ONE RULE (of this lesson...):

ALWAYS
DEVELOP YOUR CHARACTER: Whenever you place your character in anything,
you want to generate as much heat as deemed appropriate towards your
character. First stay true to your gimmick. You have already set a
basis of your wrestler, so use it. Secondly, constantly develop your
character. As the game evolves, so must your character. You could
simply define what is already in motion, or you could create another
dimension to you. Finally, do not shoot yourself in the foot. Stay true
to the direction of the evolution. You never want to look bad in your
own promo. DO NOT CONFUSE THIS WITH BEING THE LESSER WRESTLER. In some
instances, you must fall short to gain positive heat. If your character
is a coward, have him get punked around a bit (just a bit, you don't
want to look like a "pregnant dog.") If you are a goody-too-shoes, have
a moral conflict that ends with a chair in your forehead. Or try this
one: cut a promo that INVOLVES you, but does not FEATURE you. Just have
an interview in passing or a convo backstage or something. Seriously,
there is no reason that you have to be in the limelight to gain
positive heat. In a matter of fact, in many instances, spotlight
lessens the impact *cough *John Cena* cough* Sometimes it's good to
wait your turn, so that when you step in, the readers (and we actually
have some!) may want to push you some more (*cough *Edge's First Money
In The Bank* cough*) mainly because you have something to offer (or so
you lead them to believe so, and the illusion is all that matters...).