Advice/Help How do you not get discouraged when interest checks are ignored?

[cuzn]

I've been on this site for just over four years now, and whenever I try posting an interest check (no matter what the topic is or how hard I work on it, it could be coded or lazily put-together or anything in-between) it goes completely ignored. Meanwhile, I see almost every other interest check post get tons of viewers at a time, and even when I stylize mine and work extremely hard on my plots, pairings, etc. I've never gotten any messages. The only way I've ever been able to start an RP on here was to respond to other people's interest checks. Is this a common occurrence? Is anyone else going through this? I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to doubt that I have any really interesting ideas at all, at least enough for anyone to respond - how do you keep from getting discouraged by this?

 

[nerdy tangents]

First it’s always a bad idea to compare yourself to others. Whether we are talking roleplaying or real life.

Because other people are not somehow magically better than you or have some mystical power to get the things you want.

For the most part they are suffering the exact same way you are just in ways you can’t see because your not in their mind living their life.

For roleplay specifically having someone post on your interest check means less than nothing.

1. The vast majority of people don’t actually want you to post on their thread. It clutters the thread and (at least in my case) there is a 50/50 percent chance you won’t see the post. They want you to send a PM. Now groups are probably a little different but that brings me to point 2.

2. Just because someone posts in an interest check doesn’t mean they are going to actually join a roleplay. I think I have had three roleplays in the past year last longer than a single post. The vast majority don’t even get to the post portion of the writing process. The other person leaves either due to incompatibility or they just vanish.

3. Your best bet in finding a partner is to actually do exactly what your doing. The two long term partners I found (I mean I ended up writing with them for months at a time) were precisely because I reached out to someone on their own interest check. Now I’m not writing with either one now but that’s cuz I had to take a mini hiatus for IRL stuff. But both have said that whenever I get back into roleplaying they would be happy to write with me again. Because we got along really well and wrote a good story together.

So it is possible to find someone you just have to be patient. Also I have found the key isn’t so much having an interesting story as just making friends with your partner.

 

[BuggaBoo]

Is this a common occurrence? Is anyone else going through this? I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to doubt that I have any really interesting ideas at all, at least enough for anyone to respond - how do you keep from getting discouraged by this?

Hi!

Yes this is a common occurrence and not just on this site so don't worry it's not just RPN.

It's not always your ideas but how you present them and how imited the niche or wide the acceptance is really. Like fandoms for instance can fall prey to this. If it's popular undoubtedly you get bites. Now as for Original settings the sell is harder unless rpers can vibe with the presmise, genre, setting and charrie concept acceptance .

--> can you provide a LINK to your current int CHK so we can give feedback pls?

Cuz like listen I have an RP on here for like 2 yrs now and It is super niche. More of a writing exercise less a RP. It's not popular at all and yet I bump it every so often. The thing it has going for it is that it is ALWAYS open and basically you can post for any OC . The major thing it has against it is that there is no plot nor interaction. So like yeah hard sell and rarely do I get a bite if ever. Bruh in fact the int CHK is just a blurb with a link to OOC.

Why do I do it like this? Cuz the only writers I get actually go to the OOC and say HI!! to me. And all that posted have been amaaaaaaaaazing and sweet, creative people! Like only 5 diff writers and like 20 posts total from them but happy they wrote with me nonetheless. Drop in drop out it's baked in and all goods!

Basically what I'm saying is: keep up, keep tweaking, don't ghost, be engaging and stick to your vision cuz then at least you get a product you happy with.

But like if you want to just run anything that will hit, figure out what's popular and like craft it like a net to capture a wide audience. You may sacrifice what you really wanna run but like you might be able to live with the results and be content cuz like you at least like running a full RP.

Hope this helps but provide a LINK to current int CHK will prolly help even more.

Oh! And I m coming from a group Int CHK perspective k?