rpanons | the masses thirst for the smallest drop of wank

the masses thirst for the smallest drop of wank

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I don’t get what I’m doing wrong. I have useful information on my journal. I try to give helpful information and prompts whenever I can on memes. I write starters for PSLs. I can’t get anything going unless it’s with friends in a game. Sometimes I want to write stuff I don’t have in our game 💔

do you play weird characters? that can really get you sometimes

Not really? My characters do really well in games and not to boast but the feedback I get is highly positive about writing and characterization, being fun and consistent. Things like that. It’s only when I try outside of the structured environment of a game.

def a skill issue

yeah and they're trying to figure out what the missing skill is

imagination isn't a learnable skill

Maybe I really do have poor imagination. I don’t have trouble in games but maybe my plots benefit more from the existing structures in games. Thanks, you’ve given me a lot to think about.

well... not totally unlearnable? read books by people you admire, see how they create scenarios, live a bit more in your imagination, take some time away from the internet, feed that part of ur brain. it's not impossible.

maybe take a break, come back to dwrp with ideas that you can show and enjoy with other writers?

adding to this... rp partners often are a source of inspiration. you sometimes do get fortunate enough in this hobby (because it is a writing hobby and fundamentally does have some very creative folks), to meet people who genuinely inspire you.

anon comms aren't the place for it (usually), but there's some insane creativity and originality in this hobby. we're very lucky to be around some of the people who love this hobby! you might just not be finding compatible people. keep looking, you never know who you'll run into.

no, no. other anon said it's unlearnable so ayrt is just a lost cause. they should probably set themselves adrift on an iceberg now so as to avoid further burdening society with their failure.

being adrift on an iceberg could force some imagination! leo had a door and a dream

I disagree
imagination is a muscle

+1

there's a reason why a lot of writing advice from professional writers is "get into a routine and stick with it even on the bad days". use it or lose it. and you can definitely train it to be better through reading widely and experimenting with style.

and there's lots of ways to exercise it, too. Hell, that's part of why plurk memes like "your character and mine are stuck in an elevator for 4 hours, what happens" become so popular, is cos... it's like a little stretch exercise for your imagination. Practicing really does help your imagination.

honestly it takes different skills to be good in a game format or good in a meme/psl format. games you have structure and easy cross-canon opportunities that help framing writing around it much easier. also characterization in games can be variable in that you're there to have your character change and grow through cr/plot. it may be that what makes you great in a game is what's not connecting on a psl/meme. i'm not sure the solution in your case but maybe think in terms of how you'd be playing one on one and if your characterization matches up to that specific person rather than a whole game.

hope it works out for you, anon!

my advice as a frequent psl-er: you have to exercise your setting/premise writing muscles. because you don't have a preset worldbuild (game premise and mechanics) to fall back on, one or both of you will have to do the heavy lifting of padding out the environment. your characters need something to react to and interact with.

for example, you're playing a space romance psl. how are your characters meeting and where? what circumstances have happened before your characters even meet that brought them together? you can either preplan the broad strokes or just build things out as you go, but you both gotta do it if you want your threads to go somewhere.

also a psl only rper who scoops up meaty new threads pretty regularly. setting and atmosphere details, blocking and movement and action become so much more important in one on one threads esp without the game & events setting the tone and the inability to pop into inboxes for quickie 'text' threads. otherwise, you just end up with 'talking heads in the void' thread syndrome

back to that space romance psl - where does this take place? a spaceship? bar in a spaceship? is it a fancy retro-jazz bar with plush upholstered chairs and a holo-singer on stage where your character orders a martini from the android bartender? is it a junky dive bar where it's shots or nothing, all the chairs are overturned cargo boxes, and the spaceport dock workers all give your characters the stink-eye?

just to be clear, you don't have to wax lyrical about Every. Single. Setting. Detail. in all your tags or anything, but the difference in atmosphere between these two settings alone would create a huge difference in the vibe of the thread and the way different characters feel or act (comfortable in luxury vs. comfortable among blue collar workers, only wants to drink a fancy cocktail versus here to pound down shitty moonshine). and what's important is using setting, vibe, and background to highlight the interesting parts of your character's personality and give the other person hooks to work with. it also allows you to throw in new hooks relating to the setting - the android bartender spills wine on one character, other character needs to mop them up, etc.

all of this! you generally only need one to a few expository tags where most of it is just developing the environment, after which you can switch over to the usual character-focused tagging. you've already set the stage, as it were, now you can get to the meat of the psl

good luck to OP, hopefully this helps /gen

tbh it could be a number of reasons. i drop threads if i feel like our vibes are a little off and i don't feel bad about it. maybe it's just because in games you can rp with your friends, but outside it you have to adapt to the fast-paced nature and be vigilant and not care about dropped threads, following w/ people up despite that. it's hard because you're likely just strangers.

That’s fair. I don’t really bother following up if someone ghosts because I feel like a pest.

I've been in this picture and my advice is, difficult as it is at times, try not to care as much if a psl/meme doesn't go somewhere. It sucks plotting things out or writing up starters that people flake on, but that's just how it is out there. Focus on the rp partners that do write with you and don't stress so much on second guessing yourself on the ones who dont.

It stinks when I spend a lot of time working on something and getting crickets. I’ll get over it.

not to rp woe olympics, but while seconding the above advice, I think it's also fair to say you're very lucky to have friends to rp with in the first place, even if it's "just" in a game.

That’s very true. I think it’s important to be approachable and open to other peoples fun. I know it feels lonely in this community when you don’t already have a friend or two.

I have the opposite problem where I can't seem to get PSLs going with my friends who I met in games. I have more luck here, bakerstreet and EMP.

I find a successful PSL/meme thread is a hit and miss, so it could just be you're currently finding all the players who say they want to PSL but get overwhelmed/actually don't want to PSL but want to chase after that shiny feeling. You'll find your people! Keep putting yourself out there. Even take a look at bakerstreet and see who are the super active players, and if they're characters you would like to write off, tag them and see how it goes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

the masses thirst for the smallest drop of wank

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+1

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+1

ayrt

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