Common questions

Yes. Look for someone who’s happy to write with a beginner, and start with one manageable scene. You don’t need a finished novel’s worth of worldbuilding or a command of every community term. Tell your partner what interests you and how often you expect to reply.

For example: “I’m new to this, but I’d love to write a mystery with two strangers stranded at a station. I can usually reply a couple of times a week.” That gives you something concrete to discuss together.

No. A game master (GM) can run the setting, introduce events and portray other characters, but writers can share those jobs instead. Having a GM and using rules or dice are separate choices: a game can have either, both or neither.

Before you begin, decide who can add world details and settle uncertain outcomes. For a two-person mystery, you might share background characters but check with each other before introducing the culprit.

Read the ad and the writer’s profile, then use the contact controls if you want to connect. FictionCore doesn’t host roleplay conversations. If the writer shares a contact with you, your first message on that service should introduce you as a potential writing partner, rather than start the scene.

For example: “Your lighthouse mystery caught my eye. Third-person writing and a few replies a week work for me. Are you still looking for someone to play the investigator?” Agree on characters and boundaries before sending a story opening.

Set the scene, show what your character is doing and give the other writer something to respond to. This opening post is often called a starter. It needs enough context to begin, without deciding how the other character feels or what they do next.

For example: “The night train had stopped at an unlit station. Ada stood beside the locked waiting room, turning a damp envelope over in her hands. ‘Were you expecting someone too?’” The place, immediate problem and question all leave room for a reply.

In FictionCore Find, [F4M] means a female writer looking for a male writer. NB means non-binary, A any gender and GM game master. A slash separates alternatives: [F4M/GM] means a female writer seeking a male writer or a game master. These describe the writers’ stated identities or roles, not the characters’ genders.

• OC (original character): a character you’ve invented, including one who lives in an existing fictional world.
• CC (canon character): an existing character from the book, game or other work you’re drawing on.
• AU (alternate universe): a version of that world with something changed, such as a different outcome to a major event.
• PbP (play-by-post): writing in turns without needing to be online together. Length and reply frequency are separate agreements.
• Doubling: a reciprocal arrangement where you take roles for each other. In a fandom game, you might each write your own original character and the other’s chosen love interest.

Outside FictionCore, similar codes can refer to characters instead of writers. Some communities also use a three-part [X4Y4Z] code. These conventions vary; read the ad’s explanation or ask what the writer means. FictionCore uses the two-part writer code.

No. You can decline a contact request or decide not to continue. FictionCore lets someone share a particular contact with you; that doesn’t reveal your own contacts or require you to share one in return. If you both want to write, choose an external service you’re comfortable using.

A roleplay introduction doesn’t require an identity document, exact address or full date of birth. Share only what’s useful for arranging the game, such as a general time zone. Keep contact details in the contact controls, out of public ad text.

Long enough to respond to the scene and give your partner something to work with. Agree on a rough length that suits both of you; you don’t need to hit an exact word count every time. A quick conversation may need less space than arriving somewhere new.

A few purposeful sentences can be more useful than several paragraphs that leave nothing to answer. If an ad says “semi-lit” or “novella,” ask for a typical length or writing sample: those labels don’t have fixed definitions.

Style is how you write: for example, first or third person, present or past tense, dialogue-heavy or descriptive prose. Post length is how much you write in one reply. Reply pace is how often you send one. None of these tells you the other two.

“Third-person past tense, around three paragraphs, twice a week” describes all three. Someone can enjoy long posts and reply quickly, or prefer short posts with several days between them. Discuss each preference separately.

Decide that together. A non-player character (NPC) might be a passing shopkeeper or a major antagonist; the label doesn’t make them unimportant or free for anyone to control. A game master may write them, or the writers may divide or share those roles.

Be specific about shared details too: “Either of us can invent people at the market, but let’s check before changing the town’s history.” An established character, location or plot fact shouldn’t change just because someone posts first.

Yes, if that result follows the rules you agreed to use. You do not have to leave every action unresolved. What matters is that the result has already been agreed or decided by a shared rule, rather than imposed on another writer.

If an agreed roll means your character knocks a weapon away, you can describe that happening. It doesn’t also let you decide that the opponent panics or surrenders. Keep the result within what the roll or ruling actually established.

Only if their writer has agreed, or a shared rule has already established that reaction. Otherwise, describe your own character’s action and leave the response open. Permission for a small transition, such as walking into a room together, doesn’t give you control over later decisions.

“She offered him the sealed letter” leaves a choice. “He took it, believed her and promised to help” makes three choices for him. If a reaction would help the scene move, ask before including it.

No. Out-of-character (OOC) planning is the writers discussing what they want to happen. Metagaming is giving a character information the writer knows but the character hasn’t learned. You can plan a reveal together while keeping it a surprise for the characters.

For example, you might both know that a guest is using a false name. Your detective still needs a reason to suspect it. Arrange a misplaced invitation or an overheard conversation that gives them a clue.

A short message is enough when you’re able to send one. Say you need more time, and give an estimate only if it’s realistic. You don’t owe an explanation of your private circumstances.

For example: “I won’t manage a post this week. I’d still like to continue, but I can’t give you a date yet.” If this becomes your usual pace, discuss a slower schedule or a pause instead of repeatedly promising a deadline you can’t meet.

Ask out of character (OOC), as one writer to another. Point to the detail you read differently and ask which version you should use. You don’t need to guess whether the other person forgot something or meant to change it.

For example: “I thought the guard had left, but he’s speaking in your last post. Is he still in the room?” Once you’ve agreed, decide whether a small edit is needed before continuing.

Pause the scene and talk as yourselves. In-character (IC) conflict belongs to the story; out-of-character (OOC) conflict is between the people writing it. A character’s hostility doesn’t automatically express the writer’s opinion, but that distinction doesn’t excuse personal attacks or pressure.

Name what’s bothering you: “I’m fine with our characters disagreeing, but the comments about me need to stop.” If you both want to continue, agree on a change or rewind the scene. You can also end the game.

No. Consent is your voluntary agreement to a particular direction, and you can change your mind. Agreeing to a broad genre doesn’t mean accepting every possible scene within it.

For example, enjoying a mystery doesn’t mean you want detailed hospital scenes. You can ask to skip those. Agreement between writers does not permit content that breaks FictionCore’s rules.

Yes. You can ask to pause or stop a direction you previously agreed to. You don’t have to explain why it no longer works for you, and your partner shouldn’t keep writing the affected scene while you discuss it.

Say what you need now: “I’d like to skip this confrontation and pick up the next morning.” You can remove an element, keep it off-screen, rewrite the scene or end the game. Earlier agreement isn’t a promise to continue regardless.

You can stop the scene and end contact. You don’t have to keep restating a clear limit or negotiate until the other person accepts it. If further contact feels unsafe, you can leave without sending another message.

Use the tools of the service where it happens: block unwanted contact and report rule violations there. In FictionCore, you can block the account and report material that breaks the app’s rules. You don’t need a Community Quiz pass to use those safety tools.

Yes. You don’t need to justify ending a game. When contact is safe, a brief message helps the other writer know you’ve finished rather than simply been delayed: “I won’t be continuing this story. Thanks for writing with me.”

If there are threats, harassment, coercion or repeated boundary violations, you can leave without a goodbye. You don’t owe another conversation to someone whose behavior makes continued contact unsafe.

Block when you want to stop contact; you don’t need to prove a serious violation first. Report when you believe a rule has been broken, such as harassment or sharing someone else’s private information. A mismatch in writing preferences alone isn’t a reason to report.

Use the relevant service’s tools. On FictionCore, you can block an account and report material that breaks the app’s rules without passing the Community Quiz. You don’t have to warn the person or send a final message first.

On FictionCore, blocking ends both follows between the accounts and cancels permission to view shared contacts. After unblocking, restoring either takes a separate action: following the person again, or sending a fresh contact request and receiving the owner’s approval.

Open Settings, then Blocked people, to find and remove your blocks. This cannot erase contact details that someone has already copied or saved.

No. The Guide is optional help and reference material. Before you can comment or publish, you need to pass the Community Quiz; FictionCore records that result on your account. A pass is a prerequisite, not a way around other account restrictions or content rules.

Reading articles or opening every answer doesn’t count as a Quiz pass. You can still browse, work on private drafts, block accounts and report material without passing it.

FictionCore’s rules apply inside the app, including Find ads. An ad can’t solicit prohibited material by saying the writing will happen elsewhere. Sharing a contact doesn’t change that.

FictionCore doesn’t host the roleplay conversation. If you choose to write on another service, that service’s rules and applicable law govern what happens there. Your agreement and boundaries still matter, and either person can stop. Someone sharing a contact doesn’t oblige you to share yours or begin a game.