It’s the least talked about WoW pillar and I’m wondering how to start. So, how did you begin? How long have you’ve done it? Can you rp and still have time to play the game? Are you with the same group you start with, or just gather people like flowers?! lol 
I like writing and figure I could learn something too!
I don’t RP
Find a kinky e-girl
Followed my daughter to Moon Guard.
Joined a guild.
Tried RPing cause I loved D&D.
Discovered it was nothing like D&D, more like 90210.
Noped out of RPing.
When I RP’ed in wow, I’d just go up and start talking to people, add them as a friend if they are fun. Having that one addon was like the ‘ticket’ to letting others know you RPed.
Only did it for a bit in wow, during down times when I didn’t feel like running content. Wasn’t active enough to make any lasting friends.
Guilds can be a bit advanced/complicated/in-depth, but a decent starting place.
Not that I know of. People dont shut up about it.
Half of the YT videos are about it.
Step 1: Roll up a character on a RP realm. The higher-population ones are Moon Guard Alliance and Wyrmrest Accord Horde. Try both! RP is all about finding your people who have the same preferences and like the same themes as you do.
Step 2: Download TRP3 and Listener to view people’s profiles and to more easily keep up with conversations in crowded areas
Step 3: Hang out! Watch people in public areas and what they do and say without getting in people’s faces.
Take it in. See if it’s your jam. If it is, start trying to approach people for in-character conversation. That’s about it, to start!
Created a Dwarven hunter, since they’re all about adventure and workshop related RP.
Then Attimis came along.
Roll a toon on Moonguard and head to Goldshire.
I love everything about me so I never felt a need to roleplay.
That’s a pretty good advice. I don’t rp anymore since my rp buddies quit thanks to bfa and sl and are now playing other games. Well and I took long breaks over the last couple of years and now my sub is about to end again. So yeah^^
But TRP3 is needed, if you really want to rp since other players will automatically see what your character looks like (old, young, scars etc.), in what mood he/she is etc. Alliance seems to be more active when it comes to rp, so a good place to start would be Stormwind. 
You say it’s a pillar, but it’s more like…a thing that more than a few players enjoy and most of the rest of community equates to erotic roleplay. If it were an actual pillar of the game, we’d see more being done for it and to accommodate it. At best we’ve gotten transmogs, the barber shop, and some in-game towns and cities built with the idea that RP could happen there. But there’s really nothing the development team does or has done to facilitate or create RP in the game. That’s a completely community-driven aspect of the game.
That said, like most hobbies, you should start by doing what’s most comfortable for you. That can be reading about something, going and observing it for a bit, or just jumping right in head-first. I would not recommend the latter, however, because most peoples’ first forays into RP tend to involve making a lot of mistakes and alienating or angering a lot of people in the process. It isn’t ALWAYS like that, but experience has told me this is often the case.
Check out the Lore and World’s End Tavern forums. Read the forums for the RP realm you’re looking to join. Go and spend some time on the server watching how others interact, and if something looks like fun to you, chat with the people in tells or sign up to an RP guild. Not everyone will be receptive to chatting in tells, by the by.
Most RP servers have a discord or three you can check out, and nine times out of ten, if you ask on the forum there, people are going to be more than willing to help you out and direct you to places and resources that will aid you in your journey.
WoWPedia is your friend.
Also, if you’re into writing and want to chat with some like-minded people, we have a discord called “Writers of Azeroth” which you are more than welcome to join. It’s not real noisy, but newcomers are always welcome, and everyone there seems to be genuinely interested in helping out others–especially with RP issues or questions.
Like most groups of people, everyone has their idiosyncrasies. Not everyone is going to like or want to be a part of certain types of RP. And that’s fine. And it might take you a while to figure out your own likes and dislikes, and that’s okay, too.
And if that all seems like a bit much all at once, feel free to take it slowly.
One of the best ways to get involved in RP is to find a guild with an RP concept that interests you and join them. You may find it clicks for you. You may find it doesn’t. But it’s one of the better ways to learn. Also, …don’t be afraid to ask questions–even if you think they’re dumb. Or someone at some point said that was a dumb question. We all have to start learning somewhere. And maybe the “dumb” question will help you to learn better questions to ask.
TL;DR:
Treat it like you would any other hobby. And have fun. 
that’s a great guide! thx! - So the backstory I have in my head about my character I write down?
I once, accidentally, came across a wedding in the outside of Ironforge area. At first I didn’t know what I was looking at, but then it was so sweet. I went and sat on a rock far enough away to not intrude and still see. I’ve never forgot it. But then started hearing the crud about Goldshire and backed off even trying. Though that wedding is a rare gem in my game memories.
Just stay away from that place and it will be fine.
If you like writing longer texts you could also download unlimited chat message.
Oh and one more thing, please don’t try role playing as a “long lost” daughter or son of one of the npcs or something like that. 
Thx so much for all that great info and insight - extremely helpful. And thank you for the invite, I just might try it. It just sounded like you said, a possibly fun hobby to mess around with in WoW. No harm in trying for awhile without expectations, and see what happens.
Arator did listen closely.
I should -actually- answer your question by the way:
I came to WoW back in 2004 when RP communities were rather small and MMO RP communities were even smaller. It was a great group of people to be a part of, and I’d come from other MMO’s and RPing in them (most notably Dark Age of Camelot).
I didn’t know a lot of other people at the time; so, I just did my best to pretend to live in the world as best I could. It took a little bit–learning the world, understanding the various dynamics between races and factions, etc. But in the mean time, I played a human–this human, in fact (though she’s been character deleted, realm transferred, and on occasion story-retconned a time or two–often due to the server transfers).
Although her story grew over time, it has remained relatively consistent since the beginning, though I rarely RP at all now. The time commitment involved and the lack of time on my end make it a lot harder to do so in-game, unfortunately. I’ve also been caught up in a lot of the Dragonflight stuff; so, …not really sure where things have been going–especially with that 3 year time-span jump. So I’m still thinking that through and deciding.
My actual start in role-playing came when I was in high school and met a bunch of choir misfits. I’d always loved the idea of creating roles and characters; so, when I learned that there was a way to do this with paper, pencil, and a bit of math, I think I was probably hooked. Mostly, though, getting to flesh out a concept and THEN getting to play that out with other people? Yeah…that was the clincher, right there. It …wasn’t always great (the concept, or me learning to play by RP rules), but it was fun. And I made some of my most lasting friendships and relationships through it.
My current other half and I met through an MMO, in fact, and he is the reason I started playing WoW. And we still play the game together to this day. 
There have been many great guilds, many wonderful stories, and a lot of good memories–much like your own. And I hope that there will be more of those to come. And I hope you find some more of those in your own search, too!
Speak in character. Phew, one needs to have a solid backstory full of rich detail in order to pull that off.
The wedding thing was awhile ago - I almost went to talk to someone about it when it seemed to be finished, but was too shy. I’m guessing shyness might be a hinderance. Though jump into the skin of a toon and pretend you are them.
Is it a pillar?
It’s one of those non load bearing ones.
I think I recalled one funny rule is to stick to walking or ground mounts. 