Tips and tricks for a good request thread

[Lynnette]

So you're making your request thread...

Here's some tips and tricks that will hopefully make that search for someone who can fill that hole in your heart... Among other holes, a little easier. The general goal of this thread is to make your thread easy to navigate, easy to understand what you're looking for, and what you're absolutely not interested in.

Remember, clarity is key. Don't make the reader have to decipher what you're looking for. You want your request thread to clearly convey what you're looking for, while also making the reader want to reach out to you. To break it down a bit, here are the key parts of a good request thread, in my opinion. Feel free to pick and chose which parts of it you want to use, but as a general guide, these are the points I would try to include;

The header (Mandatory)
A brief introduction
A section about your ons and offs, make sure to bring any key ones to the forefront.
A section containing any prompts you current have that you want to write out.
A section containing any pairings you'd like to see, but that you don't have anything more specific for.
A section for images that you want to use or see a partner using.

 

A brief introduction

A brief little thingy writing about who you are. This can be stuff like what you do for a living, what sorts of stories you like, your general interests, things that you would talk with others about. It gives a human edge to things, makes it clear it's another human on the other side of the screen. Not mandatory, but I find it helps spark communication at least.

Ons and Offs

Communicating what you like and what you don't like is key, and a summarized version of your roleplayer preferences can be a great help. It doesn't have to be exhaustive, but if you have a particular interest in oral, might be good to bring it forth early.

Your prompts

Your prompts are the lifeblood of your thread. If you have a specific urge you want to fulfill, do a small write-up. It doesn't have to be more than a couple of lines to a couple paragraphs, but it should set the scene, and give a good idea of who the characters are. Be it a grizzled warrior against the cute effeminate prince, or a couple blowjob-buddies from the volleyball-team, give a good idea of the who's and the why. Who are these handsome lads, and why are they doing what they are? Adding visual references is a great aide in attracting interest. If you have a picture you want to use for your character, absolutely include it, it does so much for the attention of the reader.

Your pairings

Don't have a specific idea for it, but know you'd like to see this combination of characters together? Pairings are an easy way to add some options or seeds to your thread. These should be simple, just a couple words for each saying who's who. It's a good idea to communicate which role of the two you want as well in this, many writers use bold text for their own role, or their partners. Communicate it clearly before your pairings if you do go this way.

Image references

Your backlog of images, ones you'd like to see used, that just give a general vibe you like, or spark particular inspiration. Visuals are king, so I'd honestly recommend doing this over just pairings, and remember, the two can always be combined.

 

I hope this gives some simple tips to how you can make your request thread stand out and attract attention, cheers!