Experiences How worried are you about your RP writing quality?

[Azreal]

I think people are typically way too concerned with the quality of their posts and then they go overboard.

Quantity does note equal quality.

As long as the post is legible and isn't a one-liner, that's all I typically care about. The only thing worse than a one-liner is a 30+ where you mention the wind twenty freakin' times.

 

[Crayons]

I think people are typically way too concerned with the quality of their posts and then they go overboard.

Quantity does note equal quality.

As long as the post is legible and isn't a one-liner, that's all I typically care about. The only thing worse than a one-liner is a 30+ where you mention the wind twenty freakin' times.

In general this thread is about how you feel about your own quality of writing, and isn't really about judging others. There are threads for that but this isn't one of them.

 

[GamerKitty205]

I care a lot, especially when the people around me are writing essays every single post. The only problem is sometimes I can't come up with more than like 3 sentences and some dialouge without it just being full of needless fluff. Other times hundreds of words come incredibly easily.

 

[Sylvio]

Lmao I don’t worry that much about quality. The only thing I worry about a lot is grammar and spelling cause that can really ruin the mood and it makes be big mad

 

[Zipper Man]

I'm not worried about it at all. Sure, it's 100% shite but hey, what can you do about it?

 

[BackSet]

I'm not worried about it at all. Sure, it's 100% shite but hey, what can you do about it?

Get better?

 

[Zipper Man]

Get better?

True, but the only way to do that is by practicing. So being worried about your writing quality doesn't really help with that.

 

[Wealthy Lu]

I care a lot, especially when the people around me are writing essays every single post. The only problem is sometimes I can't come up with more than like 3 sentences and some dialouge without it just being full of needless fluff. Other times hundreds of words come incredibly easily.

Hi, I'm new, because my friend just recommended me to join *cough cough* and I can totally relate to you >.< sometimes I write like, two sentences of description while people have three pages down!

 

[Crayons]

Hi, I'm new, because my friend just recommended me to join *cough cough* and I can totally relate to you >.< sometimes I write like, two sentences of description while people have three pages down!

You'll be fine matey! As many others have said before - whatever your desired/comfortable post length: there will be others who want that too. And quality=/=quantity. It bears repeating though.

 

[Loud_and_proud]

Frankly, I'm not at all concerned about my RP quality because I'm 100% sure that it's shit.

 

[PaulHaynek]

I worry about this a lot. I've always believed that I've driven people away and killed RPs with my writing.

------
Me: Hey, do you wanna roleplay/join my roleplay?

They: Sure.

Me: *begins RP*

They: (Holy s***, this is awful. Time to ghost this mofo and look for better RPers)

Me: )':
------

I have always envied those who can write beautiful prose. How they manage to attach an adjective to every noun, how they paint a picture with words and how they manipulate language to craft masterpieces. I strive to be like them. I've read books that contain such grandeur and even read roleplays with this kind of quality. Yet when it's my turn to write, I instantly regress into simplistic writing with limited vocabulary, sometimes bordering into one-liners.

It... doesn't feel good. *turns into dust*

 

[Crayons]

I have always envied those who can write beautiful prose. How they manage to attach an adjective to every noun, how they paint a picture with words and how they manipulate language to craft masterpieces. I strive to be like them. I've read books that contain such grandeur and even read roleplays with this kind of quality. Yet when it's my turn to write, I instantly regress into simplistic writing with limited vocabulary, sometimes bordering into one-liners.

It... doesn't feel good. *turns into dust*

Maybe you could think about writing some pieces of prose that aren't destined for an RP. It might help you to practice your skills without worrying about other people seeing it? Like a kind of writing sketchbook, it would literally just be for your eyes only to practice and not worry about final results. You can find writing prompts on places like Pinterest and Tumblr, or maybe try doing Inktober with words instead of images?

 

[Sludge]

I have always envied those who can write beautiful prose. How they manage to attach an adjective to every noun,

Roleplays don't last long. Most end after a week or two, some after a few months. It probably isn't related to your skill.

Besides,

Good writing is direct and short. The word "stop" is stronger than "discontinue". "Hurry" registers faster than "hasten".

Do not fall into the trap of writing long paragraphs of convoluted words just to flex your writing ability. Simple writing is coherent and most people will be happy to see just that ; )

 

[DarkNerd]

I'm probably in the minority but honestly, I'm not really worried at all. If a person doesn't like my writing style or thinks a) I'm somehow inferior b) they can find better elsewhere or c) are bored with me, they're completely welcome to leave/ghost. I'm not roleplaying to 'wow' anyone with my writing or character development or forge a permanent relationship. I'm just here to have fun and enjoy my time with others. I don't harbor expectations of how others perceive my roleplay nor do I think I'm "the cream of the crop."

What I do take more stock in is the prospects of brainstorming ideas with other people, seeing where it leads us, and how we can create something together. I know it will not last forever and I'm not here to RP forever either.

 

[Gowi]

I'm finicky about not being descriptive enough sometimes but I'm generally not too fussy.

 

[cloudyskies]

I usually only write as much as I need, and I’m not overly descriptive, so my post lengths are often shorter than my partner’s. In regards to actual writing quality, I worry about it a lot—as I said,I’m not super descriptive and my vocabulary isn’t that great. I can’t exactly pinpoint it, but I think my writing isn’t that good at all compared to a lot of people I’ve roleplayed with. I try my best.

 

[Senedor]

I'm so worried that I get subconscious and it causes me to repeat my mistakes. I tend to have trouble with grammar/spelling but my other issue is that no one actually points it out.

It is a never-ending cycle.

 

[QuirkyAngel]

I worry about writing quality generally when I'm gming an rp. I worry that I'm not setting the right tone or mood for the scene. I wonder if I put enough descriptions for players to get a sense of the setting. If the idea I have is even good enough to bother writing down. This often leads me to take forever writing a post when I'm the gm, which leads to a chain of procrastinations.

Otherwise, I don't think I worry too much about what others think of my writing. When I join another's rp, I write for myself and my characters. Sometimes I may take a while, nitpick certain things, but I attribute that to mild perfectionist tendencies and undiagnosed add, which makes it difficult to organize my thoughts into words the way I want them to. I can sometimes take hours writing a post, re-writing lines, refusing to post my writing until I'm satisfied, but that has less to do what others think of my post and more to do with getting everything that's in my head down in written format so it flows nicely and doesn't sound too overbearing given the mess of idea and thoughts in there. I probably juggle 3+ possible responses to a single post in my head, weighing things like my character's personality, what they would do in that particular situation, whether said action would help or hinder the rp, etc, etc.

But otherwise, I don't feel intimidated writing with people whose writing is clearly superior to mine. I write as much as my muse inspires me. My goal in rping/writing has more to do with progression than writing the best novel about my character and, though I do rp for them, it's more to see their progression in the rp than anything else. Hence why the actual "quality" of my writing is secondary to me. I mean, I do go out of my way to make my post readable, and will get frustrated when it doesn't flow as well as it did in my head, but I'm not a grammar nazi when it comes to my post if that makes any sense =p I'll correct any errors/typos I see, but that's because it bothers my eyes and not because I expect people to read it and care about my little mistakes. People can think what they want, but as long as I'm satisfied with my post I'm generally content.

Of course, that's only when I'm not gming <.< When I'm in charge of an rp, I write for other people rather than myself, for the plot rather than the character, and it gets a bit nerve-wracking.

 

[kevintheradioguy]

Not at all. I know my strengths, and writing is one of them. I'm not perfect by any means,.but good enough to keep people interested... and conscious enough to know when I fucked up. Lately, the fuckups are with the starters, probably due to general disappointment in not finding long-term partners, and thus, most cool plots and good openings going to waste. "Why should I do my best if I am 90% sure you're gonna drop this?", I ask myself, and it's absolutely counterproductive.

 

[Psychonaut]

Literally never. I am excellent.

I liken role playing to chess - when I want to play, I'd rather be challenged by an experienced opponent than explain castling to a newbie.

 

[heartshapedeyes]

I always worry. But if I'm not too invested in a roleplay, or if I don't really enjoy the roleplay that much, I worry a bit less.

HOWEVER, if I really like a roleplay I have going on and really want it to succeed, I worry non-stop, overthink things, spend ages thinking of the 'perfect' reply in order to keep my partner's interest, but in the process of doing so, I seem to make even more and greater mistakes that way... xD And in the end, those roleplays are the ones to ironically be the first to die (in my case).

 

[NotPoisonousIvy]

Probably way too much for my own well being. It’s just the way I am- always overthink stuff (both in the RP and in my real life.) However, I’ve been trying to keep that in check lately (at least on the RP side of stuff) since the whole reason I started roleplaying was to take a break from the stress of daily life- not add more to that load XD

 

[Margo_Saturn]

I worry pretty often, honestly. I'm just generally really anxious so I feel the need to have to consult everything? Like, hey is it okay if I start my character from xyz? Or is it okay if I control your character for a moment, just to get them to another location so I can give more dialouge/actions? With all that I sometimes feel incapable of really writing anything because I'm not sure what I should/shouldn't do. If that makes any sense. Maybe that can come down to communication (although I personally think it's more to do with me worrying about not furthering the plot) but there's the other problem.

Responses from my groups or partners tend to be positive but again this comes down to my anxiety, feeling like people are being too nice to actually tell me I'm not giving enough to warrent a good response. Everything I judt mentioned is totally on me, honestly in my short time being here I've managed to get some really good rp's with amazing people. I guess sometimes I just need to check myself and remeber this is all just for fun. Some of the posts here actually helped me relax a lot.

 

[Coco Adel]

Sometimes I worry if I might be rambling a bit when I RP.

 

[Sludge]

English is not my native language so I used to worry about it a lot. It felt a little embarrassing to attempt creative writing when my language wasn't quite there yet.

Over the years I feel like it helped me improve. You know how sometimes someone skims through a post and ends up ignoring an important detail? I'm noticing less and less of it and that feels good. I am satisfied as long as others can read my stuff without having to focus too much.

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That said, a lot of small grammar mistakes and awkward wording still slip through. Forming a more language focused writing group is a little dream of mine.