Think there's a solid difference between "this must happen because we plotted it" and "when we go in novel directions, let's communicate about it."

For example, I find sex revolting. Actively disgusting. My characters do not necessarily have that written into them (but I leave "sexuality" fields in apps open, because I abhor thinking about it).

I would not enjoy it if someone decides to make our thread sexual* without first seeking my consent, and then afterwards justifying it as "my character decided to do it."


* this includes "my character is sexually attracted to yours" and/or "we can just fade to black"

I'm just...
 
I have no idea who Oscar Pines is nor what RWBY is supposed to be, but he's got brown skin, freckles, black hair, and a vibe that makes me want to write him as a dorky mechanic.


EDIT: Honestly, I think it's fine if the FC and character have some similarities. If you're looking for an older lady with those "I may be old and infirm but if you don't shut the fuck up I am going to whoop your ass into 1932" vibes, you'll probably wind up having to find an older lady who may canonically be just that in the source material.

But it's also fun to intentionally play around with expectations, kind of like casting an actor renown for his romantic roles into the main role for a horror murder film.

Meanwhile I pick FCs like Red and write them into a nervous wreck. 8)

90% of the time I pick FCs I don't even know what they're like in the source material, I just like the vibes they're giving me fitting the vibes of the character I want to write tbh

I don't have a muse, I write whenever I please. If I don't feel inspired, I'll get myself inspired. And sometimes I'll write something I'm not proud of, but I vastly prefer "the post that exists and sucks" over "the perfect post that doesn't actually exist".

As for "get into the specific character", I always have small lists of notes for characters to guide their behaviour. For the last character I wrote, for example, I wrote "nervous around people he doesn't know well", "say the right thing in the wrong way", "everyone's out to get you. EVERYONE", and it works pretty well at ensuring I capture the essence of the character.

Don't. Your feelings are valid.

I get that it sucks (for yourself) to start from a position of mistrust and low expectations. But you didn't choose to be this way, and from the sounds of it, you're trying to break out of that cycle.

Don't feel guilty when you've got a bad moment. Once you recognise you're falling back in that pattern, just take a little distance, reorient yourself, do something you enjoy, then come back with a refreshed mind.

Healing isn't something that happens at the snap of a finger. It takes time. So give yourself that time, and don't feel guilty if you sometimes take a step back.

I think what Neko means is that at the end of the day, you are responsible for everything your character does in roleplay.

It's definitely been a problem at times where people tell me that "the character didn't cooperate", or "their muse left" so they aren't able to write the post they want. That tends to come across as shoving off responsibility, like saying you couldn't possibly prevent your character from steering in a different direction than you agreed on with your writing partner.

But you can. You may not be "actively" making decisions, but you're making decisions nonetheless. Everything we do is a decision we make. Foisting off responsibility for your choices to some imaginary force can be irksome for those of us who want to communicate.

Since this is roleplay, it's almost impossible to make sure a detailed plot can be followed entirely. That's why I instead identify an end-point, and don't really fuss too much about the journey itself; so long as it's an enjoyable one, it all works.

While writing each post, I keep an eye on my end-point and try to ensure I keep moving towards that. If my writing partner doesn't play ball and moves in a different direction, it's fine to let go and accompany them to their end-point instead.

Ideally, we can tread the same road and both get some character development and progress in, so whenever we thread, I try to figure out what my partner wants to get out of the thread.

Since often, roleplayers are pretty laissez-faire and want to follow where the winds blow, it's often plenty to gently steer in the direction you want, rather than going along with whatever happens and hoping neither of you walk into a dead-end.

"Wouldn't you like a taste of the power, wouldn't you like to use more than words~♪"

This song is so crazy catchy. Kinda dig someone's going the effort to make the Odyssey accessible to today's generations by making it a series of songs. Well, it does vary from Homer's original on certain points (Poseidon wrecking Odysseus's fleet instead of the man-eating giants, f'rinstance), but man, I'm so glad to experience it again.

Ah, yeah, sounds like you're doing just fine coming up with the good starters, it just doesn't feel like they're as good as you thought when written down, huh? I think you can cut yourself some slack: ideas cavorting in the mind often seem better than those committed to paper, but only one of those two is tangible. We're often our own biggest critics.

For naming threads, I often see people use song lyrics, but I think quotes (either from the opener or otherwise) could work, or just a brief one-line synopsis of the thread, e.g. "Annette's Worst Day", "Coming Out to the In-Laws", "Breaking My Boyfriend's Heart by Confessing I Am In Love With His Sister", "My Happily Ever After".

What's your process like?

Anyway, I like writing and I was a bit surprised I hardly ever see talk about writing in the animanga roleplay community. Just seemd so hand-in-glove that a hobby rooted in writing would discuss writing more, so I am mostly just surprised this is not the case and wanted to understand why that is.

I’m satisfied with the answers “it’s too subjective” and “cos I just want to chill and not think too hard about it.”

Yes, I’m aware. But again, I’m not arguing writing (and roleplaying) aren’t subjective. I’m saying you can give feedback on writing that is rooted in more than “oh, I just like it this way.” I don’t want to pull the “I’m a professional editor at a publishing company” card, but it’s not like I’m saying this as some hobbyist enthusiast. My colleagues and I do give feedback to writers based on what the writer wants to achieve with their prose, and what techniques one could use to achieve that. And I assume so do you. It’s not just, “well, imo…”

It remains subjective, but I believe firmly there’s a difference between “I use long sentences because I like them” and “I used a long sentence here to build up the same sense of overstimulation the main character is experiencing from the constant barrage of sounds and flashes of light and voices and the clanging and banging of pots and pans and mice skittering over the floor as aunt Marie’s cackles with delight while a train’s lights flash in the rearview mirror.”

If someone asks, “Hey, how can I convey this character is being overstimulated?”, is the answer “Eh, that’s a matter of opinion”? Sure, there’s not one universal answer to that question, but knowing what you can do can help people develop the style that works for them.

The point was that writing may be subjective, but there's people employed whose approach to editing is based on more than "this is just my opinion." So I think dismissing talking about writing based on "it's all subjective" is a bit short-sighted.

Maybe I'm just entirely wrong for questioning the status quo. I accept I'm probably the weird one here.