How to Write a Better Spanking: Top Edition

I've been meaning to do this for a couple of years now because I think that this is an important article. 

It's a sad fact that most people who enjoy spanking role play don't write spankings well. I'm not trying to hurt anybody's feelings, but if I've role played with you, chances are that I do not, personally, believe that you either give or take a spanking at the level that I enjoy role playing. Please don't misunderstand me: I'm not judging you. Nobody has taught you what goes into a good spanking, and no matter how often you read through one, it honestly takes putting certain steps into practice before you learn to do it well.

This will be a lengthy guide, broken down into parts to make it easier for you to read. I'll be breaking the parts to make it easier to read. Each part will come with a sub-heading and an image to help break the page down visually and make it easier to digest.

This article is for TOPS (that is to say, the person giving the spanking). A version for BOTTOMS (the person getting the spanking) is forthcoming.

Basic Tips for Better Spankings

1. Focus on the visuals, not on the sound effects. Most people who write spanking scenes focus too much on the sounds that their hand or an implement is making on the skin of the individual who is being spanked. Instead of focusing on the sound effects, try to focus on the visual. What impact is the implement (or hand) making on the bottom of the person being spanked? How is the skin coloring? Does it jiggle when smacked? These are much more effective than writing out the sounds (like *smack!* *smack!* *smack!*).
2. Know your roleplay partner. Get to know what your roleplay partner enjoys in a spanking, then write that into the scene. If she's particularly fond of leather and has fantasies about "daddy's belt," then use a belt. If he prefers to be spanked over the knee, then do the spanking over the knee. Find the nuances that your roleplay partner fantasizes about and include those elements into the spanking that you're writing for your partner.
3. Write one phase of the spanking per post. One of the big issues that comes up a lot is pacing during a written spanking. The problem is that some people move too fast (*smack!* *smack!* *smack!* and the spanking is done) and some people move too slowly (one swat per post for twenty-five smacks). Instead of focusing on the number of smacks (except in an institutional setting), focus on each phase of the spanking. "Phases" should be distinguished from "steps." Spanking is only one step in the spanking process. I'll update later with a link to the phases of a spanking.
4. Thoroughly read your partner's posts. Someone who knows how to write receiving a spanking well might give you little gems to reply to. Maybe the person you're spanking will fling her hand back to cover her bottom and nearly smack you in the face. Maybe he'll wiggle so hard he gets out of position and you have to pull him back in. Responding to the details your partner gives you keep the spanking fun by keeping it interactive. That's the real joy of role play, isn't it?
5. Focus on details. Most people fail to focus on the details of a good spanking. This is what I refer to as "being a spanking arm." Adults who don't focus on details are interchangeable with one another. In order to stand out in the crowd, you have to do more than just swat a miscreant backside. You have to give details. Focus on the way that you restrain the person you're spanking, on the way your hand feels when it makes contact, the weight of the hairbrush, the sound of the leather being pulled through belt loops. These are delicious details!
6. Use your words well. Not everybody likes to scold during or before a spanking, but this little detail can be delicious for the person who is receiving the spanking. Many bottoms enjoy taking ownership of a spanking ("your spanking" vs. "a spanking") and reference to "good spanking" or "sound spanking" can be beautiful. Focus on the words and use them well to add an extra dose of wonderful humiliation for the recipient of the spanking. Your partner will walk away much pleased but might not even know why!

If you can follow these tips, you're well on your way to being a better spanking writer than most people in role play are! Congratulations for giving it a shot. But if you want to be an exceptional spanking writer, you'll want to follow the steps listed below.

How to Give a Better Roleplay Spanking, Step by Step

This part of the guide is going to take you step by step through what you need to do in order to write a better spanking (as the person giving the spanking). The goal of this section is to illustrate for you, a step at a time, how to keep your energy up while enjoying the spanking and creating a scenario that the person you're spanking can also enjoy. None of this is complicated, but it does focus on details.

Step One: Catch the Miscreant

The first step to giving an exceptional spanking is to discover that the miscreant has in some way misbehaved.

This may happen in one of two ways.

In the first (and perhaps the most common) instance, the miscreant is caught in the act of some misbehavior. This occurs when the top (adult or otherwise "the spanker") enters a scene in which the bottom (child or otherwise "the spankee") has misbehaved. Perhaps the bottom has been interacting with other characters and has gotten up to mischief, or perhaps he has misbehaved and the misbehavior needs to be stopped and dealt with. Either way, in this instance, do the following.

Interrupt the misbehavior. Make sure to do so in-character. If your character has a hot temper, maybe she enters the scene shouting. If he is quiet-natured, perhaps he simply takes the miscreant and removes her from the "scene of the crime."

In literate role play, this is a good time to start a new thread if you are interrupting an ongoing scene. Treat the punishment as its own scene. If the thread was created to court trouble, then simply continue in the existing thread.

The second way a miscreant may be caught is by a phone call to the spanker. This is a less common way to proceed, but in some ways it saves time, and it can be just as interesting as catching the miscreant in the act of a misbehavior. 

In this case, the top ("spanker") will need to retrieve the miscreant ("spankee") from wherever the misbehavior occurred, whether it was at school, a friend's house, or a public place. 

With this particular scenario, you have some added responsibilities, including taking the miscreant back to the place where she is going to be punished. The drive home is a good opportunity to get to scolding the miscreant, so take the time to make it good and be descriptive about the atmosphere during the drive or the walk home.

Step Two: The Talk

While any transfer of the miscreant from one location to the other may be silent in order to promote an atmosphere of nervousness in the child, the next step in a good spanking is to give "the talk." Everybody who has ever been a child knows what "the talk" is. At this point in time, it's the top's responsibility to issue a scolding to the bottom.

It might be tempting to skip this. Both the top and the bottom are looking forward to getting into the action of the thread by skipping the scolding and going straight for the star of the show. Whatever you do, don't rush this part of the process! This has the potential to be one of the most delightful parts of a step-by-step spanking.

This is the period of time when you need to get control of the bottom. It can be time consuming and sometimes the bottom will put up a power struggle. During this step, you will be able to note whether or not the bottom is going to be an interesting spankee, because they will match your energy while still allowing the top to "win" any fight that crops up between the top and the bottom.

Your job, during this step, is to convince the miscreant that what she did was wrong and that she deserves to be punished. This is the step during which you will work on establishing what the punishment is going to be, and what, exactly, you're going to be punishing for.

A wise top will expect some struggle from the bottom at this phase of the punishment. Many role players will use this step (as bottoms) to push for a bigger or more intense punishment, even if they don't need to keep pushing in order to get a serious spanking. Be prepared for this power struggle so that it doesn't come as a surprise, and understand how crucial a good scolding (dressing down) is in establishing your control as the top.

Any power struggle should be won by the adult during this phase. If you cannot win the power struggle during this step of the punishment, then it's time to consider negotiating with the bottom in private or dropping the thread altogether.

(Note to bottoms: It's not wise to make this struggle such a disaster that you wear the top down. Use common sense!)

Step Three: The Decision

The purpose of "The Talk" is to reach a conclusion on what the punishment is going to be. For most spanking role players, this is where things really begin to heat up. This step should take as few as two and as many as eight posts (back and forth between top and bottom) during which the sentence is handed down and the implement of punishment is procured.

This is the point at which I would strongly encourage tops to begin using their "trigger words." Up to this point the punishment has been a theoretical exchange. At this point it is about to become a literary reality for the role players involved in the scene, and while many role players enjoy the warnings and scoldings (sometimes as much as the punishment itself), this is where the scene begins to heat up.

My advice is to personalize the spanking. Force the bottom to take ownership of it. Identify the punishment as "your spanking" and have the bottom retrieve "your hairbrush" to be applied to "your naughty bottom." If using another type of implement, the top should identify that implement as belonging to the top in some way or another. "Daddy's belt," or "Mommy's wooden spoon." These little personalizations are very appealing to the majority of role players, and add quite a bit of detail.

If you wish to describe the implement, this is the pre-spanking period in which you will wish to identify details about it. Is the belt worn from use? Thick leather, wide cut, or thin and narrow? Is the hairbrush heavy with a long handle, or is its face convex and small? How old is the implement you're using? Has it been passed down through the generations?

When the bottom has been sent to fetch an implement, she should be the one responsible for describing the implement, but if she fails to do so, you should take over this part. Your partner will appreciate it!

Bonus Step: Cornertime

While I don't recommend that this be a go-to disciplinary strategy for all top characters, corner time can enhance the spanking scene by adding an additional element. Each character is (and should be) unique, so this should be used selectively and should be done with additional, personalized elements. 

Should the bottom be required to remove the clothing and underclothing before standing in the corner? Should the hands be placed on the head in order to provide more exposure? Does the top character scold during this corner time, making sure to send the message home to the bottom? Is the bottom required to stand straight without wiggling or potentially incur further punishment?

These little details can make a good spanking scene great!

Step Four: The Spanking

This part of the punishment is the star of the show. Anyone who has participated in spanking role play already knows that this is what the majority of age players are posting for in the first place. It is the reason for all bratting, the source of quite a few problems for discerning tops, and it is where both you (as the top) and your role play partner (the bottom) are going to find true chemistry and potential compatibility. 

At this point, I'll be breaking this process down into phases of a spanking. While there (will be) another article detailing these phases, I would like to point out that this is broken down into those phases because each phase should take exactly two posts: one from you and one from the bottom.

I must reiterate at this point that the chief goal is to keep your energy up for this phase. No matter how bland and boring the bottom is (and most are!), your job is to keep your energy high and to try to draw that energy out of your bottom.

Spanking, Phase Zero

Get the bottom into position. This should probably include the removal of at least part of the bottom's clothing (at least the outer clothing covering the buttocks, but potentially also the undergarments or even stripping to nudity depending on your preference and that of the person you're writing the spanking for [the bottom]). In most cases, you'll want to give the bottom the opportunity to remove his clothing before doing the job for him. If you do it for him, it's more humiliating, so knowing your partner is critical. Someone who prefers a lot of humiliation may prefer not to be given the opportunity to do it themselves.

Note that if the bottom refuses to do it the first time and you must do it for them, that potentially adds another post to this phase -- that's okay. Both this phase and the last phase may take longer in terms of the number of posts just due to establishing the part of the scene.

Once the clothing has been appropriately adjusted, move the bottom into position. At Birchwood Isle, we have a relatively long list of positions, but "over the knee" is a favorite for many role players. 

You may also choose to remove the undergarments once the bottom has moved into position, bending over something or has been placed into the diapering position. This allows for more privacy, but can also be more embarrassing for the bottom, and puts you in control.

It's up to you how much control you wish to take with the removal of the clothing.

This is also the phase of the spanking during which you should secure your bottom. Restraint may be necessary to keep him in position, so make sure to hold him down across your lap or to put a hand on his back if you are using a bent-over position, in order to ensure that your bottom doesn't do a lot of moving around. While some wiggling may be fun, restraint is an added trigger (in a good way) for most spanking role players

At this point, if your bottom puts up a lot of resistance, contact your roleplay partner to find out what's going on. If your talk phase was successful, a realistic bottom character shouldn't resist much.

Spanking, Phase One

Begin the spanking.

Now that you have the bottom in position (whether over your knee, bending over or on her back with her legs drawn up in diapering position), it's time to begin the spanking. I do not in any way recommend using a "warm up" unless you are role playing an erotic spanking, since the "warm up" defeats the purpose of a punishment and it unbalances the phases significantly. 

At this point in a spanking, the bottom will (if she is playing realistically), be resigned to being spanked. She will probably have already decided that she can make it through this, that she's too big for spankings and that it isn't going to hurt that much. It's a rationalization that allows the bottom to get into position at all. I encourage bottoms who are reading this to adhere to this convention, since it works well for keeping the spanking going energetically. 

Use this time (as a top) to work on calibrating the spanking. Since the bottom is resigned and determined that the spanking isn't going to hurt all that much, you can spend a bit of time determining how hard you have to spank in order to get a good reaction from the bottom. Start with light swats (and be descriptive! How far are you swinging your arm, or are you just using your wrist? How much is the skin coloring, and how much does it jiggle when you strike it?) and then progress to stronger swats.

This is best done in a single post. The bottom player should be able to adjust, and this allows them room to use more words to describe the reaction to the progressing spanking, as the skin begins to warm up and actually feel the sting. That way you lead nicely into phase two.

To reiterate, at this point the top should be working up to a nice sting. The bottom's skin should be beginning to develop a nice pink, but if your character stopped now, the skin would return to a white complexion almost immediately.

Spanking, Phase Two

At this point, the bottom character should actually be feeling the sting of the spanking. Your character (the top character) should begin to spank a bit harder, taking advantage of the building sting. Really own this part of the spanking by using faster spanks or harder spanks and covering a wider area of the buttocks. Continue to be descriptive about color and the "bounce-back" of the implement (or your character's hand) on the bottom's buttocks, sit-spots or thighs.

This is the first time that I would suggest having your character dip down to the sit spots or the thighs. Up to this point, focus on the fullest part of the bottom, and make sure to state what part of the buttocks or thighs you're swatting. Don't leave this open to interpretation, as it can be very annoying to have your partner decide you were spanking the thighs when you envisioned that you were spanking the fleshy part of the buttocks.

Toss in some nice trigger words when referring to the bottom. "Tender flesh" or "sore bottom" are nice touches, since you can safely say that the flesh of the area is tender and that it's going to get sore as you continue to spank it.

Note that by this point the sting should be building for the bottom, but the flesh won't be hot yet. If your partner is following my guide to writing a better spanking thread, he should be considerate of this fact. It's becoming painful, but it's not unbearable yet. Before you're finished, it will be unbearable, and that means that you need to leave your top character with room to increase the intensity of the spanking. 

Don't shoot your wad just yet. Keep some of the harder and more painful swats in reserve. Always have an ace up your sleeve. Don't strike the thighs yet!

Pro Tip: You know that the next phase is going to be particularly harsh: One of the harshest during the whole spanking. Add some extra restraint by applying increased pressure to the bottom's back or perhaps locking down the arms and legs in preparation for the real thrashing that's to come (from the bottom, if he's following my guide for him).

During this phase, you also might want to continue the scolding that you started before the spanking began. Bearing in mind that the bottom probably won't be listening once the pain mounts too much, you want to make use of the time that he's still quiet to talk about the reasons he's in this position. Keep using the strong trigger words and make sure to be as specific as possible to add to the embarrassment of the situation.

Spanking, Phase Three

At this point, the bottom is actually in some real pain. Her backside is heating up and is probably beginning to turn a darker shade of pink. Use these details to your advantage in your description. When a smack lands, the color is beginning to turn a medium to dark pink now, and you won't see the fading to white, but a fading to a paler pink than you had before. The bottom is probably clenching quite a bit in an effort to control the pain.

If your partner has read our guide on how to write a spanking: bottom edition, she will probably be squirming during this phase of the punishment, trying to get away because the pain is getting to be more than she can handle. She'll struggle, and you're going to have to restrain her. You might have taken care of this in your last post, but if you haven't, this is the time to grab a flailing arm to pin to the small of the back, or to lock in the legs to prevent a lot of kicking. Alternatively, you may enjoy the struggle, and if so, should leave the bottom free to kick and flail.

This is the period of the spanking during which you want to be the harshest. Spank harder and faster (preferably both at the same time) and make sure that you have a good rhythm going. You may wish to take two posts to accomplish phase three by going down to the thighs on the second post to give a good, rapid tattoo there in order to encourage the bottom to stop squirming so much.

Keep talking, even though the bottom is for sure not listening at this point, since she should be screaming and squirming too hard to hear what you have to say to her. Cover the entire bottom, from fullest part of the buttocks, down the sit spots, and down to the thighs.

During this phase, you're breaking down walls. You're trying to get the bottom to submit to the top, so lay it on fast, heavy and hard to make sure you accomplish this goal.

Spanking, Phase Four

If the bottom is following the phases of a spanking, he should be having an all-out fit during this phase. This will be his greatest fight, his greatest fit of temper, and your job is to quell that temper. Spank harder, and use the spanking to punctuate any lecture that you happen to be handing down during the spanking process. Get a few good, hard whacks in on the backs of the thighs, and don't be afraid of the sit spots during this phase! Your goal is to make the fight stop, and to make a final, strong impression on the bottom.

For the top, this will continue through the same pattern of hard, aggressive spanking while the bottom works through the next two phases of the spanking. Tops should continue to spank very hard while the walls come down and the bottom begins the process of surrendering. Continue this until you reach the point of surrender (phase six for the bottom).

I personally think that it's important to keep a steady rhythm at this phase of the spanking if you're going to get good results, though it may vary by character. Keep in mind that changing it up too much during this phase could result in confusion on the part of the bottom and you could find that you've set the process back.

Use this time to describe the way that the bottom is coloring. If you have a harsh adult, the bottom should be going from pink to red during this phase. Describe this, along with the flesh's physical reaction to the impact of your implement.

Spanking, Phase Five

The bottom has surrendered now. She is probably laying limp over your lap or is nearly collapse if bent for the spanking, and she is sobbing. This phase cannot come until the bottom is clearly broken down, crying hard, and at a loss for words. If she's still arguing with you or putting up a fight, then she hasn't reached this phase yet. Only proceed when you're sure that you've reached surrender.

At this point you should begin to slow down. Use your words, lecture or scold hard, and spank harder, but much, much slower. Focus on the sit spots and on the backs of the thighs, and use the swats to punctuate the verbal message. 

When you're done spanking (and you should finish in this phase), a few lighter taps are appropriate if using a wooden implement, particularly if they are applied directly to sore spots with strong coloration. 

This is your final chance to describe the color of the flesh during the spanking. You'll get more opportunities, especially if you use an after-spanking cornertime for your bottom.

Step Five: Cool Down

Bring the bottom back from the spanking with a brief "cool down" period. Not to be confused with aftercare (which is step six), this time period brings the bottom back to reality until he is ready to stand up from the position that he was in during the spanking.

Rub the bottom's back and maybe the buttocks or thighs (if you're comfortable with that) until he comes back to the reality of the current situation and is ready to proceed with corner time or affection. Be gentle and encouraging.

This step should not be skipped, however tempting it may be. During this time period, you'll be bringing the bottom back to reality. You must allow them to recognize that the spanking has ended and that it's time to proceed with whatever comes after. In most cases, we recommend skipping post-spanking corner time and proceeding with after care, but you should always write your post for your character and not to our preferences!

Bonus Step: Cornertime

Corner time after a spanking is a good time to give the bottom time to think about why he had to be punished in the first place. This is best done with the well-spanked bottom entirely bare.

Depending on your character, you may wish to observe the bottom and comment on the state of the backside for added humiliation, or you might want to use this time for extra scolding. 

This step is by no means necessary. It can be used independently or with the pre-spanking corner time as well.

Step Six: Aftercare

Arguably the most important step in the entire spanking ritual, aftercare is not something that should be skipped. Some tops don't enjoy this part because they don't desire to connect emotionally with the bottom, but aftercare is something that will help to ease the bottom back into the normal flow of daily life.

It is highly suggested that tops consider getting the bottom something to drink during this time period. Realistically, a bottom may become dehydrated during a punishment because of crying. A drink (water in particular, but also electrolyte solutions) will help to maintain hydration and avoid the bottom from developing a dehydration headache later.

Provide comfort to the bottom using hugs, words of support, and perhaps wrapping the bottom in a blanket for comfort. You may wish to allow younger children to thumb-suck or otherwise self-soothe. Younger child characters and even some teens may fall asleep after a punishment. Spankings can be exhausting, and this is a good way to wrap up the thread!

Make sure to also use encouraging words. "You did a good job," or "You're so brave!" are pleasantly triggering for many bottoms, and make a wonderful ending to an emotional thread.

Metagaming, Power Playing, and God Mode

In role play, you may hear any one of these three words often: Godmod (Godmodding), Powerplay (or Powerplaying), and metagaame (metagaming). They are sometimes used interchangeably, but the truth is that each of these words has a different meaning. 

I'm going to begin by explaining the first of these words, since it is the most commonly used, and it is used incorrectly by the vast majority of people. "Godmod" is an incorrect term. The expression is Godmode, which refers to the god mode in video games that allows the player to not suffer damage or death and to therefore be able to complete the game without the usual obstacles.

Many role players (and administrators) use this term to refer to moving another person's character as well as your own. This is an incorrect definition of godmode, which actually refers to making your character invincible. In "God Mode," your character never takes a hit.

To use an example in age play, let's say that an adult is wrestling with a naughty child who is fighting the sound spanking that they richly deserve. The child is thrashing and struggling and kicking and flailing. In order to avoid taking a fist to the face or a foot to the chin, the adult enters "god mode" in order to not take any damage.

In traditional literate roleplay, this is verboten. "Godmodding" is to be avoided at all costs. In ageplay, however, god mode is sometimes necessary in order to prevent the child/innerkid/little/bottom from overpowering the adult and ruining the thread.

Power playing is the next term that I'd like to address.

This term is, once again, often mis-used or over used. Power playing refers to your character making contact with another person's character without giving them the opportunity to block that contact.

Power Play is harder to explain than God Mode, but allow me to give you an example from ageplay again: You are playing a child character playing with another child character, and a fight breaks out between them. Your character is upset, and being young and out of control, reaches out and smacks the other child. This is power playing, because your character successfully hit the other character without giving that player the chance to have her character dodge the blow.

In ageplay, adults (guardians and parents, otherwise "spankers") must rely on power playing in order to accomplish the simplest of desired tasks, such as spanking an errant child. Without the privilege of power playing under these circumstances, a spanking thread would go something like this.

John (Daddy)

John attempts to smack Jamie's bottom with the palm of his hand.

Jamie (Son)

Jamie squeals as Daddy smacks his bottom!

John (Daddy)

John attempts to smack Jamie's bottom again.

There are people who role play like this, but it's not desirable. A good spanking post (in brief) could look more like this:

John raises his hand and brings it down crisply on Jamie's bottom, reddening it where his hand fell. He pins his son down and continues to spank hard, finding his rhythm and ignoring his son's protests. 

In the second case, John (appropriately) power played Jamie's character by saying that the spanking actually made contact with Jamie's body.

The third term that we're addressing is the most complicated: Meta-Gaming.

As to its roots, this term cannot be broken down into the sum of its parts, so bear with me as I attempt to explain both definitions.

Some people use the term "meta-gaming" to mean a character reading the mind of another character through narration.

For example, if Peggy says (but does not say) that she is thirsty, Donny is "meta gaming" if he mentions her thirst in his post.

At Birchwood Isle, we use the term "meta-gaming" to describe one player moving another player's character.

For example, Donny metagames Peggy by saying that she takes a drink of water because she's thirsty.

At Birchwood Isle, we allow limited power playing in order to facilitate spanking.

Metagaming and God Mode are strongly discouraged on Birchwood Isle.

Reasons not to Rush Your Inner Kid at Birchwood Isle

Every age player I know has been there at some point or another. You're new in a group, and everything seems to be happening around you. Being new makes you nervous, and you're worried that if you aren't careful, you're going to be overlooked by the people who are "in charge" in the group. You have to do something to get noticed. Eager to get it right, you weight your options, and you probably decided that you have two or three possible options for dealing with the terror of going unnoticed.

1. You could make a thread in which your character acts like a brat, forcing an adult to pay attention because somebody needs to punish him.
2. You could have a "crisis" in which your character becomes injured or is triggered by some activity that requires adult attention.
3. You could wait it out and hope that somebody notices you, but since previous experience tells you nobody will, you revert to option 1 or option 2.

Most groups are short-lived, lasting a matter of weeks before vanishing into the ether. Those that last rely on quickly-formed bonds between characters who then post almost exclusively with one another, leaving new members out of the loop and without anyone to create threads with.

In short, new members often have to take what they can get, when they can get it, and they often resort to using extreme behaviors to solicit a response from an adult. After all, you never know how much time and how many chances you're going to get to accomplish your main goal with a character (and specifically an inner kid). If you're only going to have one thread in which to express your character's feelings about his or her past, you have to do it quickly.

It's very typical in groups for existing players to exclude new players in favor of their preferred "clique.' If you're new, or if you're not part of the "in" crowd, your threads get dropped, your inner kid gets ignored, and nobody joins the open threads that you post. 

I'm the owner of Birchwood Isle, the one who pays the bills and who curates the site, and I cannot count on one hand the number of times that I have rushed into misbehavior for attention, or that I've pushed a "big reveal" in order to get adults to focus on my inner kids. It's happened to me, and not just in groups with frequent neglect, but in my own groups, when I'm not sure how long it's going to be before I have to move on to being the parent again (which can, admittedly, be stressful).

But here's what I've learned (the hard way), and the reason that I rush less often than I did before.

It's better when you take it slow.

I've talked about this before, and I will continue to hammer this home until every last person on Birchwood Isle understands it. 

We're not going to shut down next week; We've had a forum for Birchwood Isle (though it's moved a couple of times) for three and a half years. Ava and I are both very active and we both play plenty of kids, teens, and adults. We make a point of being available to you if you request a thread from either of us, and we commit to playing our character true to him or herself. In spite of our massive numbers of characters, each one is unique to the others and you'll get a different experience with each one of them.

Most of all, we're reading, and we're listening, and we're remembering. If you state, in one post, that your inner kid hates green beans, trust me when I tell you that we've either remembered that he hates green beans or we know that we should cross-reference dinner threads to establish which food it is that he hates. If you've said in one post that your character was locked in a closet every time she cries, we'll remember it and be able to apply this memory to the interactions with that child.

There's no need to rush information. That's why there isn't any application. Give it to us slow and steady, feed us a diet of your character and make that diet a rich one, full of little secrets revealed slowly, and not only will you get better results, we will crave threads with your character.

But what about spanking? What about those of you who are spankos who want nothing more than a good, swift kick in the pants? How do you go about getting that without "rushing things?" 

How often have you acted out in an arrival thread, knowing that it might be the only chance you're going to get to be spanked because after that, the adults aren't paying attention any more? Trust me, we get what it's like to want the catharsis so bad and worry about not getting the next one!

We're not like that. Give us a chance and we'll show you. Our adults notice things like (ADULT PLEASE) after the title of a thread. We're scanning threads to see where adults are needed and entering them appropriately. We're fully prepared to give you detailed spankings that you'll crave for the rest of your role playing life, if you let us. 

But if you push, we're not going to want to follow through. Take your time and enjoy the ride. We'll still be here next week as long as you're here next week.

We only ban predatory individuals who make it clear that they are interested in non-consensual situations or that they are interested in minor children (in real life).

November is Adoption Month on Birchwood Isle!

November is Adoption Month here on Birchwood Isle!

Most children arriving at Birchwood Isle are sent to one of three group foster homes: New Beginnings (children aged 4-12), Second Chances (teens aged 13-18) or Phillips House (teen parents aged up to 20, with their children). Each of these children is hoping that one day, a forever family will come and take them away from the foster care system. While they are being cared for well in their group homes on Birchwood Isle, they all dream of something more permanent, a family that will be theirs when they grow older and have families of their own.

Some months will feature adoption events. This month, in honor of the American Adoption Awareness month of November, we are celebrating adoption with a Fall Festival at the football stadium at Birchwood Isle High School. All foster children over the age of 8 will be given an allowance for games, rides, and food, and are encouraged to explore without leaving the stadium.

Adults from the community who are willing or wanting to adopt should attend the festival and speak with the children they meet. Parents should bring their children, as adoption is a family affair and not an act that an adult should inflict on a child.

Stay tuned to our Birchwood Isle Roleplay Guides Tumblr account for guides to interacting at adoption events, as this could make or break your opportunity to get your character (or inner kid) adopted by loving forever parents!

If you want to be involved in the November Adoption Event, you'll need to join us at Birchwood Isle!

November Event: Food Drive

Though many of the families on Birchwood Isle are quite well-to-do, there are still some very poor families who struggle to make ends meet. For this reason, the police department has come together in a food drive to support the community.

The officers of Birchwood Isle will be working closely with both public schools (the elementary school and the public high school) to raise awareness of the poverty-stricken areas of Birchwood Isle while also gathering donations of non-perishable foods. Community members are encouraged to also donate whole frozen turkeys, which will be stored for distribution on the day before Thanksgiving. 

Everyone is invited to participate. This is an opportunity to help the community and to come meet the police officers who keep Birchwood Isle a safe place to live, work, and play. Show your community spirit by signing up to help with collection and distribution, or just to spread the word about the food drive!

Threads will take place in a special board in the Police Station, with opportunities to meet the officers and other people in various age groups. Teachers are encouraged to spread the word through their students via threads in their classrooms or simple announcements.

If you would like to participate in this monthly event at Birchwood Isle you may join us now!

The sign-up form for existing members is located here.

November Activity Night at Second Chances

What better time for a roaring bonfire party than November? In the hopes that the teens are capable of behaving responsibly, Second Chances is giving them a chance by throwing a (supervised) bonfire party the first week in November. Refreshments will be provided for the teens, and there will be music, dancing, and social times for everyone! 

Adults will be on hand for supervision or for any kind of assistance that the teens may need. Teens are reminded that they are not permitted to engage in any illegal activity and that the house rules apply during activity nights, meaning that they must maintain respect for the adults and for their peers.

Everyone is expected to participate in this activity night. This includes the teens at Phillips House!

Use this opportunity to get to know other characters in your age group as well as to socialize with the adults who work at Second Chances. This is a great social opportunity and not intended as a chance to get your character into trouble.

If you're interested in joining our foster teens for bonfire night, then you should come along and join us at Birchwood Isle!

It's November on Birchwood Isle!

Birchwood Isle is quite probably the best literate ageplay site on the internet today. We're different than most role playing groups of our genre because while we encourage physical discipline (spanking, paddling, caning, and so on) of the errant children and teens living on Birchwood Isle, we stress the importance of building relationships within the peer group and with the adults who take care of our inner children. In short, we're not just about spanking.

Ultimately our goal is to help every child or teen who wants to find a family to find a loving adoptive family with parents who are able and willing to make a commitment to that child. We understand the flighty nature of ageplay, but our goal is always to provide a stable environment for your inner child to grow and flourish on. Stability is important for the healing process many of us come to ageplay to achieve, and we want to provide that stability for our members.

We would like for Birchwood Isle to become "home" for your muse(s). The real world is the home our bodies live in, but the inner people (our muses) that occupy our minds need their homes as well. Birchwood Isle serves as a fully-developed and overwhelmingly solid "world" for your characters to inhabit. On Birchwood Isle, you will find shoppes, services, restaurants, bars, and coffee shoppes. You will find Community Parks and Recreational facilities. You will find three developed foster care programs for children, teens, and teen parents and married youth. Your inner kid (in foster care) will be well cared for by a team of up to five individuals looking out for his or her best interests. This team consists of a guardian (ad litem), a social worker, a therapist/counselor, a medical doctor (pediatrician or g.p. in most cases unless there's a medical history), and a teacher (elementary school children only). 

Our goal is to get every child adopted, and we have a fully developed Adoption Policy to help ensure that we achieve the best matches. When you find the right person, your inner child will also have a sponsor, foster parent, or adoptive parent to help support and guide them.

Nobody on Birchwood Isle gets ignored. We're active (between 20-60 posts a day), with a relatively large member base (17 members) and the best part? The events and activities! We provide plenty of opportunities for your inner kid or adult muse to get involved in the community and to interact with all of the characters on the Island. Our November Announcement will give you the information you need about the current events going on, and we have even more planned for December!

We don't have an application. Instead, we interview new members in our New Member Interview Room. This room isn't always open. I'll send you an e-mail when you register to join us there so that we can chat about your character. All we need from you is your age, your character's full name (first middle and last), age, year in school or occupation, face claim, and your alias. That's all there is to it, and we can get you started right away! We're very accepting and loving as a group, and we'd love to have you with us!

Join Birchwood Isle Today!

November Activity Night at New Beginnings

At New Beginnings, the kids have a lot to be thankful for. For most of these kids, they have a safe home for the first time in their lives (or at least in quite a long time) and they now have the opportunity to be adopted by members of the Birchwood Isle Community.

November's Activity night focuses on two things: Being thankful for the things these children have been given that they might never have had without New Beginnings, and learning to prepare a meal together (something that's usually fun for most kids!).

This month we're going to be doing things a bit differently than we did with the October Activity Night. Each child is going to be placed into a group with their legal guardian, who will help them to prepare the Thanksgiving dish of the guardian's choice. Groups will consist of one adult with up to five children and threads will be completed with rotational play. All characters at New Beginnings are required to participate.

November provides an excellent opportunity for the children to get some time to spend with other people in their group as well as with their guardians, getting to know them. The age groups will be mixed, allowing for social opportunities with a variety of different ages. 

The Activity Night will continue through the end of November, and new characters can be added to the existing groups right up to November 30th, so if this sounds like something you'd have fun doing, please come along and check out Birchwood Isle Family Discipline Role Play.

Why I Won't Adopt Your Inner Kid

I'm a "yes man" (except that I'm a woman) in as much as I have a terrible time telling people "no" when they ask me pleadingly if I will give them their heart's greatest desire. After all, I'm physically capable of doing it; In theory it's nothing more than words on a screen, written to satisfy the emotional needs of another person. It's a kindness to take care of people when you're capable of doing the work necessary to care for them, isn't it? Don't we all wish to be kind?

Let me break down the reasons why asking me to adopt your inner kid is impractical.

1. I just don't like being asked. It's very difficult to say no to somebody, especially when you understand their need. Being asked makes me highly uncomfortable and if we were on our way to bonding, there's a chance that asking me will interrupt the process that might have actually led to me adopting your inner kid. I'm not doing this to be cruel; I'm just telling you the truth.
2. If I agree to adopt your inner kid, then everybody else will want me to adopt their inner kid too. It might not occur to you that other people in the group have already asked me to adopt their children, but to put it in simple terms, three people at Birchwood Isle have at this point asked me to adopt one of their children. I can't adopt all of them, and if I agree to adopt yours, then that's not fair to others.
3. I have a trusting relationship with my primary roleplay partner, Ava. I role play with everybody and I do not consider myself to be insular with Ava in that I'm willing to play with and punish everyone in the group -- within reason and moderation. I'm even willing to adopt a small handful of kids -- at my discretion. However, my trust has been placed in Ava and I know that our relationship is symbiotic. She gives me more than she takes from me.
4. In general, I'm doing more for the group than I'm getting from the group. Ava and I operate on a 2/3 rule. Each of us believes that we should be giving 2/3 and taking 1/3. Most of the time I'm already giving my 2/3, and I'm not ready to give up the final 1/3 of time that I have to focus on my own inner kids in order to focus on your inner kid. I'm sorry if you feel this is unfair, but I'm giving more than I'm taking.
5. I don't know you very well. Ava's and my relationship took three months to get to the point I was willing to parent one of her kids (Bryn, as it happens), and then took another nearly three months before we were even actually friends. It took a lot of time before we built the trust that we have now. We've been together (intimately) for three years now, and we live together. Getting to know you takes time that many aren't willing to spend.
6. I'm afraid I'll abandon you. Part of knowing someone well, and trusting them well, is knowing that they aren't going to abandon you or that you aren't going to abandon them. Most of us have at some point or another been abandoned by a roleplay parent. I don't want to be the person who gets too exhausted or frustrated with having to do a lot of punishing and therefore walks away from you. Trust me when I tell you that I have little patience for inner kids who drive from one punishment thread to the next, and I'll wind up moving on. I know myself: Trust me.
7. You're too demanding. Insisting that I adopt your inner kid is a very demanding thing to do, and most people who ask do so repeatedly over a period of days or weeks (often before leaving the group, I'm afraid). It's better if you let me interact with you naturally, get to know your inner kid, and come to you. We do adoption on Birchwood Isle for a reason, and our adoption policies make this an extended process that takes a long time so that both parties can be sure. By the time three months is up, if you keep demanding, I'm going to be sure. I'm going to be sure I do not want to adopt your inner kid.

If I want to adopt your kid, I will make sure to come to you with the invitation. I'm not trying to be mean about this, but I'm trying to give you an opportunity to prevent me from getting overwhelmed by you before you even have the chance to explore that type of relationship.

This has been a personal post. Other players may feel differently than I do, so feel free to add your own thoughts to the comments below.

Active vs. Passive Posts: What you Need to Know to be a Better Roleplayer

When people ask us "how are my posts," it's a difficult question to answer, because we're always worried that we might offend somebody with the response. The truth is that no matter how good a role player you are, there is always room for you to improve. We'll be posting a series of posts about how you can improve your role playing. 

Today's topic is "Active vs. Passive Posting." Understanding this concept and applying it will improve any post that you make in any role playing group and it will make you a more desirable roleplay partner.

Good posts are always active, since active posts give your partner something to reply to. 

It is a popular belief in role play that longer posts give the partner more to reply to. On the contrary, an active one-sentence post gives your partner more than 900 passive words. But what's an active post?

An active post creates an action, giving your partner some kind of story to reply to. Here is an example of an active post:

Drew's feet carried him along the path that bordered the woods, his eyes on his feet as he walked with Bryn beside him. For a long time they didn't talk, neither of them exchanging a word as he considered the circumstances and the reasons why they couldn't simply vanish into the woods. He was about to say something to Bryn, to point out that they were being impractical, when a rustling at the edge of the woods caught his attention. Surprised, he nudged her with his elbow. "You see that?" 

In a single paragraph, this post has provided the role play partner with something to reply to. What is that in the woods? Now Bryn's player can reply to the post by seeing something, going to explore it, or pointing out that it was just a rabbit. One way or another, Bryn can reply to this post by doing something or saying something in direct response to the post and to Drew.

Using the same scenario (belonging to real characters at Birchwood Isle), this is a passive post.

Drew continued to walk along the path, his eyes fixed to the ground as he went. Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't speak aloud to Bryn. A bird flew overhead, and he raised his eyes to look at it, then sighed and continued to head back to their home at Second Chances. He wished that they could do more together, get out of the house more, and go into the woods together and never come back again, but that would be impossible. Both of them would get in trouble, but that wasn't the part that concerned him. He was much more concerned about whether or not they would be able to get enough food or supply their clothing.

Do you see how in the second example, Bryn might have difficulty replying except to make a post in which she shares her own thoughts about what she's doing? 

Passive posts are an especially difficult problem for role players who place heavy emphasis on the length of a post. The longer a post is, the more likely it is to be filled with "filler," words that aren't required in order to make the author's point. Good role play posts focus instead on three things:

1. Setting 
2. Action
3. Dialog

Since setting need only be discussed in the opening of a thread, and it's unnecessary to repeatedly describe a character's attire, points two and three become the imperative parts of a post. Your focus, therefore, should always be on the action and dialog of your posts.

In other words, each post should ideally contain two cues for your partner: An "action" cue and a "line" cue (much like in theatre). 

The action is something that your character has done or which has happened in the environment to which your partner may reply. 

Drew reached out to grab Bryn's arm, pulling her back from the danger of the bear lurking at the edge of the woods.

The line is something your character says to your partner which indicates that it's their turn to speak. 

"Watch out! Back away slowly, and be careful where you step!"

If you have questions about how this works, or would like to see more examples, please feel free to leave a comment, and I will supply some examples via our Tumblr page.

4 Reasons Severely Disordered Ageplay Characters aren't "Special" but Annoying

Although Birchwood Isle Ageplay and Spanking RPG is appless (meaning that we don't require many character details before you can get started), we do expect our members to work on developing their character and on fine-tuning their personalities. BWI is obviously a discipline-related role play, and we encourage (and use) physical punishment with the children and teens on the Island. However, our primary focus is not on the spanking, but on the relationships that build out of it.

Here's what I want to talk to you about today: Everybody wants to be special. 

Every player is trying to make their character stand out in the crowd of other characters on the site, especially considering that the administrators have a long list of characters originally created to flesh out the group and to give it the feel of a thriving community. More on this in another post.

The problem with this is that all-too often, people choose to build their character around what amounts to a list of disorders and symptoms in lieu of giving them a real personality. Before I get into the specific reasons that this doesn't work out well in the long run, I want to give you some examples of what we're talking about. These aren't specific examples pointing fingers at specific people, and any one of these issues alone wouldn't be a problem. 

• A severely autistic child who is also intellectually disabled and who is entirely mute. He writes backward using his left hand and only knows the Greek alphabet.
• A teenager who has a special eating disorder causing her to only want to eat rocks. She won't eat real food and any attempt to make her do so results in massive tantrums.
• A child who still wets their pants at age 11 and cannot be potty trained. This child is entirely antisocial with children his age and relies entirely on interactions in which adults change his pants.
• A girl who is absolutely terrified of men and who therefore becomes non-compliant in their presence, forcing them to punish her for her fear, or to simply stop interacting with her entirely.
• A child whose religion forbids him from being housed with other children in of the opposite sex, meaning that he must instantaneously placed in a private foster placement.
• A teenager whose chronic insensitivity to pain means that she cannot be physically punished in a system that espouses physical punishment, but who then acts out frequently due to her ADHD.

I could go on for quite some time about this, but my point is that your character needs to be more than any symptoms of diseases that they have. 

Please don't misunderstand. We absolutely permit you to play characters who have disorders or symptoms. All we ask is that you take the time necessary to research your disorder and understand the disease instead of making it up as you go along. For example, we have a thriving community of Deaf characters on Birchwood Isle. The people playing these characters have a firm understanding of Deaf culture, American Sign Language, and the Deaf community. 

If you choose to play a character with a disorder, be prepared to understand that disorder. Eating disorders and drug addiction are the most common and likely types of disorder we'd see in foster children on Birchwood Isle. These are relatively easy to research!

I've composed some reasons why making your character nothing but a list of their symptoms is unwise.

1. Characters who don't have personalities are boring. Bear in mind that a list of symptoms does not a personality make. Strengths, weaknesses, skills, and hobbies are the foundation of personality, as are motivations and behavior. Symptoms aren't any of these things, and therefore they are secondary to your character's personality. Characters with too many symptoms are generally void of personality, making them dry for their role play partners.
2. Disordered characters are difficult for adults. Our experience tells us that there are plenty of age players who seem to enjoy the strain that they place on the adult players, but we frown on this because over time, these types wear down the adult players, who will eventually leave the group or who won't want to continue to role play with the disordered child or teen. Don't make a difficult kid for the sake of being special. Do it because it's inside of you and be patient with your partners.
3. Disordered characters are often bratty or needy. Many people make a list of symptoms in the hopes not of making their character unique, but of making somebody "love" their character and want to bond with them because they are so needy and special. The fact is that most players with adult characters don't have the time or energy to devote to these disorders, and it's probably not going to happen for you. 
4. Severely disordered characters are generally considered "unadoptable" on Birchwood Isle. Because these children are especially difficult and place a lot of strain on the adult playing with them, the character is going to need to form a strong bond with an adult (and their player) in order to convince them to look past what makes the child or teen character difficult in order to love them.

I'm writing from experience. My character Toby is one of my earliest characters. I still play her because I love her, but she is especially difficult, with a nicotine addiction, anorexia, and a learning disability. It's taken me years of cultivating her personality and showing her vulnerabilities (which are few) in order to make her endearing to other people. Many people find her strange and unlikable because she's just too much.

If you need to, or want to, go ahead and make a disordered character, but bear in mind that they need to have a personality and that three or four disordered stacked on top of one another may result in your character being undesirable for adoption.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments!