I'm unsure if roleplaying's for me. What does it mean to you?

[thempress]

Yo - I've been roleplaying since I was a kiddo and lately, I've been hesitant about re-dedicating to the hobby. The short version is that I'm a shy writer already -- it's hard to tell whether wanting to return to roleplay is just me clinging to an old comfort zone.

There's only so much self-scrutiny I can do, so naturally, I want to return to a roleplay forum to ask you all your experiences! Mainly, has roleplay benefited your creative process, if you're a creative writer, and through what forms? One-on-one, or group, or tabletop... What have you "gotten" from roleplaying throughout the years?

Browsing around overwhelmed me with all these ideas I've thought up overtime, from settings to plot prompts to characters. And for a long time I celebrated roleplay as a way to get me writing. But getting involved in some forums recently has me miss the genuine writing process: the ability to rough-draft, edit, and revise; the ability to control a narrative without relying on other people or the roll of the DM's dice. At the same time, I really am writing and experimenting more through these forums than I am on my own. Plus, random elements on top of the interjections of others make for addicting writing prompts!

 

[Rebornfan120]

Roleplaying for me has been a mixed bag for me, I have done a few groups but most of my experiences were in fact one-on-one over the past years. (2 here on Iwaku, 2 on another and 8 on another, 1 on a game site).
Throughout the years I got my share of good people and most bad ones in recent attempts.
I done roleplay to at least be able to express what I had in my mind at the time when it came to a fandom or something i was into because of how good it was or the fact the characters drew me in.
I know how it feels to return to roleplaying, i haven't done a thread this year as i had my own opinions come up and with sad news of recent times i have not been in the right mindset to want to roleplay again.
I have missed the potential partners at times but at the same time I have not at times to accept some things like self-scrutiny or some people trying to help but it can come off as scrutiny.

But all in all, roleplay i feel is something everyone should have fun doing.

 

[fish-writer]

I've never done an official 1x1 RP. :X All the years of my RP experience has been group RPs. I just came back from like a ten year hiatus, and it's honestly been a long time since I've been as inspired as I am now. During my ten years off, I've mainly been working on a novel, and being the same characters for that long started feeling stale. I tried working on new plots, but I just didn't have the inspiration. But the handful of group RPs I've joined here have really gotten me excited. I have shiny new characters I love, and playing/plotting with a small to medium size group makes it a lot easier for me to generate ideas. I think it also helps my writing on a technical level because I'm reading such a wide variety of writing styles, and nothing improves your writing as much as reading, right? ;)

I have yet to GM my own game, mainly because life things make me nervous about committing to it, but I love the idea of having a plot in mind and other minds pushing and pulling it, breaking it open, creating something new. I definitely get where you're coming from about the whole writing process, but I've found the quicker pace of RP adjacently helpful to writing my own stuff, if that makes sense. :3

 

[Nemopedia]

I started (forum) roleplaying a decade ago as a way to improve my English. At some point I took a half a year break because I found that I didn't really enjoy myself and then got slowly back into it by roleplaying through email.

I never really had any aspirations to become a writer, though I admit that I have played with the thought of writing my own story just for the joy and to see if I can. Roleplaying helps with that, gaining ideas, see new twists be played out, watch the plot unfold as I progress, and try out new things/styles, or simply to practice writing in another language!

TL;DR: Roleplaying started as a tool to improve my English. Nowadays it is experimental grounds for me, and something I genuinely enjoy that helps me unwind.

 

[thempress]

🐛
Up, yeah - the self-judgement was a big thing for me as well. I went through this "hyper-literate" phase -- promptly burned out when I caught up to my own standards... Honestly, I've met a lot of people through roleplaying who lack any self-awareness just in terms of their treatment of others; in that sense I'd rather be kicking my own ass than be up it headfirst!

But is roleplaying something you'd want to come back to when you have the opportunity?

🐛
That's an inspiring thought, to use roleplaying as a means of getting motivated to write. It's like roleplaying could be a writing stage in itself -- just fast-paced brainstorming and collaborating.

I've dabbled in 1x1 but, most of the time, I've been a group roleplayer too.

🐛
I've actually lowkey wanted to learn a second language for awhile; that's a really cool experience. Same thing with roleplaying as experimentation -- it's an inspiring idea.

Think I'd like to consider what I'd want to write in a general sense in regards to what direction I want to take. If any of you want to share what your favorite types or genres of RP are, feel free -- and of course anyone else as well.

 

[Nemopedia]

Nemopedia
I've actually lowkey wanted to learn a second language for awhile; that's a really cool experience. Same thing with roleplaying as experimentation -- it's an inspiring idea.

Think I'd like to consider what I'd want to write in a general sense in regards to what direction I want to take. If any of you want to share what your favorite types or genres of RP are, feel free -- and of course anyone else as well.

I really recommend roleplaying to learn and practice new languages! I'm currently practicing Chinese Mandarin with @firejay1 through roleplay and am still looking for a way to do the same for French. Since it is an activity I enjoy studying a new language doesn't feel like as much as a chore as they do when taking classes and the likes. Practicing it with someone who also wants to learn, or is already fluent also helps with the other catching your mistakes, or you catching their mistakes, but above all gives you more experience with the language so that you can gain more of a feeling in it and confidence.

As for genre. I tend to like them all and apply for all as the muse strikes. All except from erotic and romance, that is. I just don't have any interest in the former, and I'm genuinely bad with the latter. When writing in a language I'm not fluent in and still practicing I tend to stick to slice of life roleplays because I don't have the vocabulary (and confidence) yet to stress myself into a fantasy or heavy descriptions.

 

[firejay1]

HAHAHA. Not that we're particularly good or fast at that Chinese RP (doesn't stop me from wanting a JPN or Korean one, too, though).

Anyways, now that I've been summoned. To answer your original question, I actually stumbled across RP on accident at a time when I was really struggling with my self-confidence surrounding writing. I've loved writing, just been obsessed with it since I started doing it when I was... 11 I think? 2008, anyways. Romance and fantasy have always been my biggest genres when it came to writing alone, and I had a partner I used to swap stories with, but his criticisms were really harsh and I started getting depressed about my ability, etc. So I stopped sharing my writing with people. But I kept it up privately because I couldn't seem to stop.

RP for me really just feels like a totally different animal from private writing. I do love it just as much, and derive just as much passion and pleasure and meaning from it, but I've actually found RP a way to work on characters and wordplay, while my personal writing has been much more heavily focused on personally important themes, fast dialogue, and worldbuilding. I really don't prefer one over the other, but found each has different strengths and weaknesses in allowing you to portray or explore certain things.

But I will also say that RP boosted my self-confidence when it came to writing a lot. Just having other people witness your writing in an informal setting can be extremely liberating, and I'm sort of the opposite of you: I've always hated editing. XD

 

[Rebornfan120]

🐛
Up, yeah - the self-judgement was a big thing for me as well. I went through this "hyper-literate" phase -- promptly burned out when I caught up to my own standards... Honestly, I've met a lot of people through roleplaying who lack any self-awareness just in terms of their treatment of others; in that sense I'd rather be kicking my own ass than be up it headfirst!

But is roleplaying something you'd want to come back to when you have the opportunity?

Roleplaying in terms for me I would like to come back to it, but my past experiences and attempts have been nothing but ghosters, bad luck and no interest entirely. Like Firejay I had continued at least developing things in private as now I have stopped sharing my interest. I have not done a "hyper-literate" phase but I have been just been down and frustrated with how things have been going.
I got into roleplaying accidentally around 2005 and I been able to do it on a degree of consistency since 2010, and I have gotten depressed of my writing ability and style as well before so the feeling is nothing new there. I've done 1x1 RP's a lot more than group RP's though I have dabbled in group RP's but I have been a 1x1 roleplayer.

 

[thempress]

Speaking of worldbuilding, I've been putting increasingly more stock into it as my writing develops. I do know it's something I've always liked to do via roleplay that's pretty much carried over. I guess since I like random factor so much that'd be where RP differs from creative writing for me.

Editing is what builds my confidence, anyway. Somebody said once that your first drafts are always unfinished... I like the finished feeling because then when it's time for critique, it feels like I genuinely put my best in and can then get better instead of feeling unprepared. Though in terms of roleplay posts which I've never edited at least, there's not really an expectation for writing feedback. I've been in circles before that have critiqued roleplay posts in terms of narrative quality and word choice and what-have-you but I think in hindsight it was misguided good intent. All you really need is something to build off of, right?

 

[PoetLore]

I've been role playing and writing for over 20 years. I came into it as a means of escaping from a horrid divorce. It was a way to put my person problems aside and become someone else for a short time. But it evolved into a creative outlet for me that has become invaluable. I have met so many amazing people, and discovered things about myself. I've grown so much as a writer because of my characters and the stories that have been written about them, and this site in particular has been a big part of that growth. The exercises and inspiring muses forums have pushed me far outside my comfort zone, as have the community wide contests.

I think mostly what Role play has done for me is to allow me to be open to different ideas and feelings. I'm in real life a very Mary Sue kind of person. I love my life, don't get me wrong, but I am that person. My characters get to be mean, selfish, cranky, cruel and even murderous. It's freeing, enabling, powerful and it's just damned fun!

I can't agree with you more about world building. Nothing is worse than trying to write about a world that isn't firmly set in a creator's mind. That said, world building is time consuming and many don't have or want to take the time to develop an entirely new world. That's why fan fiction is popular, and vague general ideas, like dystopian, steampunk, etc where participants can have an idea what they are working with without the GM having to full on create a world.

And editing...bane of my existence because I generally have about 30 typos a post. However, I rarely change anything else. I've never had anyone critique a role play post, and I have to agree that's a bit odd. Now the community wide contests are judged, and that's appropriate, and the feedback given is intended to help the participant write better. But honestly, as long as the next player or other rper has something to respond to, then your post is successful. it's horrible to role play with someone who gives you nothing, or who lets their character remain idle saying or doing nothing.

You've got some very insightful thoughts here! I think, judging by your questions and comments, that you definitely should return. I have a feeling you are a very good writer indeed.

 

[Petrichori]

I've loved writing since I first really tried to piece a story together in 2005. It was for a school portfolio and let's just say my first critique was not a beaming review. But I didn't give up, and wrote stories in notebooks I would pass around to my friends. When I discovered role playing in 2008, I was shy but thrilled by the idea.

Roleplaying has meant a lot to me. At first it was the best way for me to find others who loved writing as much as I did, and then it became an escape. I could just focus on my characters and their feelings instead of my own. For me, finding someone you creatively vibe with of similar skill level (or even better, someone who can push you to improve), has made all the difference. I think it has kept my love for the craft alive in my more depressed and isolated years and given me something to look forward to.

Outside of that, roleplaying has been essential for my writing. It's given me discipline to form a regular writing habit, it's taught me what my favorite tropes are, the kinds of characters I am best at writing. It's shown me areas of improvement, and if I didn't roleplay, I'm not sure I would have stretched myself so creatively. I will be honest and say that while I will try and make sure my posts have decent spelling and grammar, those parts of the solo process, like proofreading, are terribly boring for me. There is a certain nervousness in approaching strangers on the internet and exposing plots that have only existed in your mind, but I think putting myself out there (and my writing) has given me a confidence I didn't have before.