Advice/Help Been out of roleplaying for a long time... Advice?

[Rose-Chan]

Not sure if this actually goes here.

This marks the second time i wanted to attempt a return to roleplay, if only because of some stupid idea i had. It's been quite a long time since I've actually done any.
The biggest problem i had was commitment, either to managing my own threads and ideas, or in sticking to any rp i was a part of, because my interests fluctuate so much. And the few times i try to take an interest seriously, it seems to just not ever get into a good place. Or that's what i'm remembering of it, anyways. Most of it was probably my fault, rushing into things and all.

But i just want some advice. Should i roleplay again? Should I not try to due to the fact i have such a problem with my interest staying in one place? Is my fluctuating levels of interesting in things a negative, or a possible positive?
To be honest, i think i don't belong in a roleplaying forum as well-set as this one. Everything is done in a certain proper and serious way, it seems.Lots of people here seem to be actual writers, creators, artists... whereas im just a person who creates ideas for stuff as a hobby. Should i look elsewhere? That's my final question. Should i look somewhere else, for a new forum to roleplay in?

To reiterate, i'm unsure if this belongs in this part of the forums or not, but i just wanted some answers.


Edit:: Thank you to whoever moved the thread to the right place, i'm seriously sorry about that.

 

[The Explorer]

There are four important facts to consider here.

1. Are you willing to have fun and learn from writing here?

2. If you are a hobby writer, stick to short rps with clearly defined endings. Are you willing to do that?

3. Are you willing to continue RPing even if some of the RP ideas you have are dead on impact?

4. Always remember, time zones.

If you understand all that, you should be fine.

I have ADHD, so I kind of understand where you are coming from.

I always bounce around from idea to idea, and lose interest after a while, but I am working to deal with that in my own little special way.

 

[Rose-Chan]

There are four important facts to consider here.

1. Are you willing to have fun and learn from writing here?

2. If you are a hobby writer, stick to short rps with clearly defined endings. Are you willing to do that?

3. Are you willing to continue RPing even if some of the RP ideas you have are dead on impact?

4. Always remember, time zones.

If you understand all that, you should be fine.

I have ADHD, so I kind of understand where you are coming from.

I always bounce around from idea to idea, and lose interest after a while, but I am working to deal with that in my own little special way.

I actually did have fun a long while ago as i improved rping, but after an rp with a friend of mine and i died out, things fell downhill fast. I enjoyed roleplay, but i think the lack of closure on that rp ruined something for me.
But to actually answer your questions.

1.Yeah, i'm willing to try it again. I'm not optimistic for the results though.

2.I usually try to stick to defined endings, and i usually plan out endings before i even remotely think about posting an rp idea. Then again, the best one i was in i had no idea how long it'd have gone on for. I'm open to it, let's leave it there.

3. Well... no. Not exactly. It depends on which ideas failed and which didn't. I usually have one or two central, almost core elements i want. Without those? No.

4. I deal with timezones on the regular, being active on Discord a few weeks of every month or so.

 

[The Explorer]

I actually did have fun a long while ago as i improved rping, but after an rp with a friend of mine and i died out, things fell downhill fast. I enjoyed roleplay, but i think the lack of closure on that rp ruined something for me.
But to actually answer your questions.

1.Yeah, i'm willing to try it again. I'm not optimistic for the results though.

2.I usually try to stick to defined endings, and i usually plan out endings before i even remotely think about posting an rp idea. Then again, the best one i was in i had no idea how long it'd have gone on for. I'm open to it, let's leave it there.

3. Well... no. Not exactly. It depends on which ideas failed and which didn't. I usually have one or two central, almost core elements i want. Without those? No.

4. I deal with timezones on the regular, being active on Discord a few weeks of every month or so.

Well, then this is the place for you after all.

As long as you are open to learning what makes a good rp and a lasting RP, combining both into one RP, you should do fine.

There are writers here that will gladly answer your questions, including Sensei. still watching fma .

He taught me a lot on the basics of making RPs last.

 

[Rose-Chan]

Well, if you wouldn't mind, could you maybe relay that information to me? I never... studied into it, ever. I didn't take roleplay very seriously, but i guess if i am to roleplay again, i may as well take it as seriously as i started to take custom card design.
If you don't want to give me some tips yourself, i'll send the person a nice message asking about it. I appreciate your kindness.

 

[The Explorer]

Well, if you wouldn't mind, could you maybe relay that information to me? I never... studied into it, ever. I didn't take roleplay very seriously, but i guess if i am to roleplay again, i may as well take it as seriously as i started to take custom card design.
If you don't want to give me some tips yourself, i'll send the person a nice message asking about it. I appreciate your kindness.

Well, I am a writer for the most part. His tips were mainly helping me take a good story, and make it into a Proper RP. still watching fma is a pretty chill person, so i'm sure that they wouldn't mind.

 

[Rose-Chan]

Alright then, i'll make sure to contact them. I've never been a great writer or story teller, that was normally where i requested some extra help from... anyone really. That might've just been my problem...

 

[The Explorer]

Alright then, i'll make sure to contact them. I've never been a great writer or story teller, that was normally where i requested some extra help from... anyone really. That might've just been my problem...

It took me years to get where I am now, and i'm not even the best writer. Keep your chin up. Do what you love.

 

[Onmyoji]

But i just want some advice. Should i roleplay again? Should I not try to due to the fact i have such a problem with my interest staying in one place? Is my fluctuating levels of interesting in things a negative, or a possible positive?

It's really up to you. If you feel like you want to try roleplaying again, then you should. If you think of it as a chore, maybe it's not the right time for you yet.

There is nothing wrong with fluctuating interests. But maybe you can try to do 1x1 roleplays rather than groups. They're easier to start and easier to drop, as you will only need to deal with one person at a time. And maybe you can find a rp partner with similar interests as you and have lots of different roleplays with them.

To be honest, i think i don't belong in a roleplaying forum as well-set as this one. Everything is done in a certain proper and serious way, it seems.Lots of people here seem to be actual writers, creators, artists... whereas im just a person who creates ideas for stuff as a hobby. Should i look elsewhere? That's my final question. Should i look somewhere else, for a new forum to roleplay in?

Forum is just the place. There can be all sorts of roleplays hosted on a forum. From novella style to one-liner rapid-fire responses.
In the end, it's the players who create the roleplay rules. Find the right rp partners for you and create what you want. Where you do that doesn't matter, this forum, another forum, Discord, Twitter, somewhere else... It all depends on "with who", not on "where".

Don't compare yourself to others. Just because you're not a published author or an artist who takes commissions it doesn't make you less valuable. You have a creative hobby too, you're enjoying it. That's what matters.

You are free to explore other forums to see if you find people you can connect with, why not. Sites have different users, so you don't have to stick to one site all the time.

 

[lnbb2rptj6]

I wouldn't worry so much about the writing itself, the essence of roleplaying is completely immaterial; The story is a symptom of your being present and included, not the cause.

At it's core, you're just communicating in amongst one or a few people to invent and share ideas, and it's going to be the actual idea to share and the sight of other people interpreting them that's fun and engaging, and the topic of ideas you share is whatever "roleplay" you're involved in; Being committed to writing a never ending book page-by-page is a divine punishment that you shouldn't exact on yourself, instead, I would recommend you use this as a way to invest in people.

 

[rae2nerdy]

High key agree with the person above. Roleplays live and die based on our ability to invest in people not stories. If story is a motivating factor to you you’ll always end up a little disappointed.

This is a high turn over site so having fluctuating interests is actually a boon in that case. As most roleplays fail pretty quickly due to fluctuating interest or scheduling conflicts.

Finding a partner to write long term with is more about finding that person you click with than any of the technical aspects.

So I would focus on building interests and not so much on the writing side.

 

[Rose-Chan]

Maybe that was the issue with why i quite in the first place, i started to shift my interests. Roleplaying was initially the way i met people i was friends with, and i think losing those friends destroyed something about the experience.

I'm unsure exactly what to do now, but... yeah. I think i've got to change my perspective.

 

[lnbb2rptj6]

Be careful not to set yourself up for failure; You will lose all interest if this forum becomes nothing but a dark hole of effort and energy for you, whether or not you want anything to do with it.

Make your ideas and imagination meaningful, use the people you contact and speak to here as inspiration, for what you can think of, and how well you can fit in amongst individuals you will really meet.

Your involvement here should reimburse you as an experience you can take with you in your day to day life, in ideas that made you smile or scenes in your head you can share. None of us will follow you to work, but the neural link between you and the mind responsible for making whatever you invent here will still remain throughout the beginning and end of your memories.

 

[BunnyDemon]

First of all, never, ever, ever bite off more than you can chew. If you accept every RP offer that comes your way, chances are you will get overwhelmed and each reply will feel like a chore, ultimately resulting in you eventually dropping most, if not all, of them. Start with one or two topics you are most interested in and then go from there.

Second of all, never "just settle" for the sake of RP. If there is a certain aspect you're looking for in an RP and someone comes to you with similar interests except that one thing you're absolutely wanting, you will probably end up getting bored with the RP fairly quickly. Never RP with someone just because you think they will be the only person interested in the same things as you. There will always be someone out there that is compatible with your RP style.

Finally, ditching happens. You'll ditch RPs. You'll have partners that ditch you. It's all part of the process. Some RPs will last longer than others, but every RP you take part in is experience. Every time you write, you are learning something, whether it's better grammar, better descriptions, how to make longer posts, or how to make better character designs. And if a plot you come up with fails with one person, don't be afraid to tweak it and pitch it again to someone else.

 

[lnbb2rptj6]

Honestly, I'm not really sure how everyone can get so worked up and involved over this stuff anyways, we all know that this stuff is still here if we leave for a month and come back, right?

It might be inconvenient to someone who has had nothing else in their life to take the place of being here, but, we can just, build up ideas and imagination from the experiences of real life and come back another time to bring something to life that you and a constituent lost interest in; When I started, we just posted sentences on a scroll feed, everything got sucked up into the top and dissapeared, all of our RPs lasted like, a couple of hours at the maximum..

 

[Rose-Chan]

Honestly, I'm not really sure how everyone can get so worked up and involved over this stuff anyways, we all know that this stuff is still here if we leave for a month and come back, right?

It might be inconvenient to someone who has had nothing else in their life to take the place of being here, but, we can just, build up ideas and imagination from the experiences of real life and come back another time to bring something to life that you and a constituent lost interest in; When I started, we just posted sentences on a scroll feed, everything got sucked up into the top and dissapeared, all of our RPs lasted like, a couple of hours at the maximum..

Worked up over what, exactly? Roleplay as a whole?

 

[lnbb2rptj6]

Yes.

 

[Rose-Chan]

Well, for people like myself, it;s because we've had a different experience from you. I pretty much always had a constantly downward spiral of failures when it came to roleplay, so for me, roleplay is a bit of a negative topic because it reminds me of how i went from being really good, to suddenly incompetent and unable to develop an idea that people even liked.

So im always scared to try and return to make a comeback, because it usually ends the same way. Does that answer your question?

 

[lnbb2rptj6]

Somewhat; How do you fail in a roleplay?

 

[Rose-Chan]

Usually, i find myself incapable of actually generating anyone's interest anymore. I can;t start a roleplay, which was always the thing i did. I was never able to really join a roleplay, because i didn;t find that fun. It was difficult for me to just hop into something like that. I either worked with a partner specifically, or i basically didn't have the ability to rp. Group roleplay was a struggle for me, but eventually i found myself unable to start a 1x1 roleplay. Nothing ever came of any of them.

Actually, if it wasnt for the few successes i;ve had, i;d say my roleplaying experience has been nothing but constant failure and negativity.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Usually, i find myself incapable of actually generating anyone's interest anymore. I can;t start a roleplay, which was always the thing i did. I was never able to really join a roleplay, because i didn;t find that fun. It was difficult for me to just hop into something like that. I either worked with a partner specifically, or i basically didn't have the ability to rp. Group roleplay was a struggle for me, but eventually i found myself unable to start a 1x1 roleplay. Nothing ever came of any of them.

Actually, if it wasnt for the few successes i;ve had, i;d say my roleplaying experience has been nothing but constant failure and negativity.

So part of the problem might be how your approaching this. I have been roleplaying for close to a decade. Every single roleplay I have been in has “failed” in some way.

A majority of them either drop off during the planning stage. The rest ended when myself or my partner had to leave the roleplay due to lack of interest/lack of time.

As for people not liking your ideas, again that happens to everyone. Its really a waiting game when it comes to finding partners. It might take anywhere from a week to a month.

So it’s not personal really. Everyone has these exact same issues it’s just most of us have learned to roll with them. There is this fantasy a lot of people have that the grass is always greener on the otherside. That everyone else is doing so much better and has things so much easier than they do.

And it’s always a fantasy. Unless you are cyber stalking someone and reading their PMs you have no idea how much work they had to go through to find a roleplay. You have no idea how many times they failed before they found a roleplay. For that matter you have no idea how long each of their roleplays last.

One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given as a role player was to just not take things personally. This is not a hobby that has a high rate of success for anyone.

The key is to have reasonable expectations and to enjoy the things you can. For the most part this is having fun talking to people for as long as you can and working out ideas in your head for as long as your/their interest lasts. To most people that is a success.

 

[BunnyDemon]

So part of the problem might be how your approaching this.

This.

I know I said before "never just settle" but you also have to make room for your partner(s) to have input. RPing is a two way street that you have to share. If you're having trouble elaborating on a basic plot you would like to try, throw it out there in a way that makes room for others to help fill in gaps.