Thread: Roleplays dying without notice?

Have you ever heard writing is hard? I'm not making fun. Any writer you talk to, I can literally dig up a hundred quotes right now from Bestsellers and successful writers that tell you how fucking hard writing is. And that's when they're getting paid, man. That's when they're actually gonna get the work published and read, it is hard to stay with it, it is hard to put down the words, it's hard to feel like you even want to do it anymore. Take away the payment, take away the obligation to commit and that's where the role-play community is at. It's not a unique experience. It is literally part of the role-play game to up and down, cast and reel, cast and reel, sit and wait, napping at the side of the lake under a goddamn tree, getting a bite, and it's fierce to pull that sucker in, thrashing the line all over the place and it still sometimes knocks free and runs away with the bait. What you describe IS the role-play experience. The rarity is the strong connection, the long term commitment, the story that ends up being 900 pages long. Because writing is hard. And role-playing is the specific type of writing where you each pick a character and play that role. Not a lot of stories have parts in them where they aren't completely fueled by character interaction of some kind. If there are, it's not usually for very long because it's fantasy based. We're coming together to each of us play out a fantasy and in turn validate the other person's fantasy. So, if I'm sitting over here and you give me a freaking novel that has nothing to do with my character, depending on how it's done, it can be a bit of a mood killer. Because where is my character in that? You know? Another thing is, the rp community isn't necessarily known for it's healthy and well-balanced individuals. And that's not an accusation. There are two people involved and they don't always play the same role when it comes to interacting with each other and an idea. So, even if for a certain idea or for the most part, you consider yourself a forgiving individual and very cool and balanced, the persons you encounter are not always in that spot. So, while you may be really chill in regards to a particular idea and plot line, the other person is secretly having a fit of anxiety and insecurity in regards to either feeling not good enough when writing a response or not being able to respond at all because they're just not feeling it or how to approach you, since you seem to like the idea and they don't want to disappoint you. You can be the most calm and collected person ever and it's not going to change the way another person's reacts or the internal dialogue they have with themselves when it comes to confronting you. And a lot of times, they just don't know. Sometimes this is based on previous personal experience where someone got real needy and in their face about rejecting an already started rp or sometimes it's just stuff they tell themselves. Sometimes, it's not anxiety at all it is just easier to move on. All of that stuff works together with not only the rp getting dropped randomly, because writing is hard enough as it is, but then we have the added human interaction to deal with and those who are either waiting to hear from a partner about a rejection or those who have to give one aren't the most emotionally mature or level headed when it comes to confrontation period.