the greatest general under the heavens
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Post by Egao, Egao Everywhere on Mar 13, 2015 18:52:22 GMT -8
I know this completely contradicts middy♥'s first response, but I want to see a site where the app is nothing BUT an RP sample. You can be a good roleplayer but an absolutely shitty profile writer. And imagine this as an app. The therapist walks into the room, and beckons you to sit down on the couch, before taking her seat beside you on her chair. She clicks her pen, and scrawls something down, before gazing at you in a scrutinizing manner. "Full name, age, and gender identity, then I want you to tell me about yourself. Tell me a brief life story, but remember to include the important parts, and remember that I cannot judge you here in this place, so tell me everything. And finally, tell me how these events made you feel and made you grow as a person." Finally, to conclude, make sure the app has a place to put a picture of your char, and presto. Neat way to mix up the profile process. I think this is what you call a character audition, which I've seen a few sites do and it's great. My argument on this though is that people can write absolutely about anything and you still won't have that much idea of the character. There will be this assumption that as long as you're a good rper, you're not likely to pull out godmod powers. People are also more likely to judge rp samples with bias than apps. A guideline or framework might make it better but it's not like you know your characters that well right off the bat. The difference between an rp sample and an app is that an app is easy. It can be bad, but it will still be acceptable. An rp sample can be bad, but does a single or few rp sample enough to tell you how capable a person is? That's why they generally go side-by-side. I, for one, don't think an rp sample is necessary. Just be ready to boot a member out of the community if they don't meet the basic standard of writing. In a polite manner of course.
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Post by zerohour on Mar 13, 2015 20:22:12 GMT -8
I absolutely love to see an etc section, just because sometimes there are things I want to say but I don't want everyone to be forced to do. I like including "quirks" into my app but I hate mandatory quirk sections, especially when they ask for three or five. What if I have one that's just really important, and adding more is cluttery? I think that's also a nice place to put orientation, since I do like to have something down but it isn't always something that can be simplified into a single word.
For personality I don't mind if other people have bullets, but I prefer to at least have the option of paragraphs, as that just works better for me. Otherwise it feels too cookie cutter to me. I don't mind having a few listed things for appearance: hair color, eye color, height, build, stuff like that just for reference, since art can vary. Don't like paragraphs though, that's pretty redundant.
As for rper information, honestly I don't like doing anything more than ooc name. Rp sample, age, years rp experience all just make me uncomfortable. I understand why you might want to know if someone's a minor but I mean you should have an ooc conversation before doing anything too intense, anyway. I've just had bad experiences with being excluded for age, when that frankly has very little to do with maturity.
As for likes dislikes and stuff, I say just go for an etc section where people can go for it if it works for them and can skip it if it doesn't. Or encourage people to go back and add, I actually haven't seen people edit too much and that might be something worthwhile. But yeah, just my few cents~
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A seadog looking for crewmates
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Post by Elena on Mar 13, 2015 23:12:47 GMT -8
Wise Cracker and beekeeper : for me, freeform applications should be used as character extras, for knowing them better, after you filled in a regular application and got accepted. A freeform application doesn't allow the staff and the writing partners to see exactly what they might be looking for in the bio, while a standardized bio offers the same type of information about all characters, in an organized way. My argument on this though is that people can write absolutely about anything and you still won't have that much idea of the character. This is my point above too. The therapist walks into the room, and beckons you to sit down on the couch, before taking her seat beside you on her chair. She clicks her pen, and scrawls something down, before gazing at you in a scrutinizing manner. "Full name, age, and gender identity, then I want you to tell me about yourself. Tell me a brief life story, but remember to include the important parts, and remember that I cannot judge you here in this place, so tell me everything. And finally, tell me how these events made you feel and made you grow as a person." Coming as a RP sample, directly from the character's perspective and not from the writer's, it is a subjective bio which might hide the real nature and traits and history of the character. The character can always lie; the writer shouldn't, and he is more objective. ".... why do you need a paragraph about me describing what you see in this image that you're already having me link or this person that you're having me reference?" I get even more annoyed when it goes into really extensive detail, like one section for normal clothes, one for general appearance, and one for I don't know some alternate appearance or something. Heights and weights also annoy me but that's more personal since I never have numbers and I'm bad with them.
I also really am not fond of likes and dislikes and habits as required sections. Those sorts of things tend to come out in RP, and really, I'm going to be entirely honest and admit that within a week, I usually can't name all of the things I list because I find them out through RP and listing them on the app was entirely sort of... random since I didn't have the chance to find out.]
I have answers about this. The face claim is just someone happening to look similarly with your character, not identically. You need the description, especially colour of eyes and hair, because not everyone sees the same thing in the image. What you refer as "chocolate hair" I see it a shade of red, probably mahagony. Other called her character (somehow) blonde (I don't remember the descriptor next to "blonde", maybe "strawberry blonde", maybe something else) when I saw a shade of red and she got offended that I described her as red-haired (but mind you, the "(somehow) blonde" description wasn't in the bio, for reference). Equally, the character's eyes can be different than the playby's, or the playby's eyes can't be ascertained in that photo. You need to know if the character is tall, short or average (not necessarily the numbers; I correct people who put numbers, especially imperial that I can't understand, and I ask them to write comparatively how they see their character: tall, short or average). It is important in order to know if he towers over almost everybody, intimidating them, if he's short and not taken seriously by anyone, etc. Clothing is important for me, first and foremost, to make sure that the writer understands the historical period he is writing about. I had happened over people who imagined their 18-th century lady having a dress above their ankles, which was a scandal and impossible to think in those times. For a man, it is important to know how much he cares about appearance and if he is elegant or not. About likes and dislikes... I like them, I think they can show a character too, and I choose them sparringly and with purpose. Once being there in the bio, they can be looked at for reference, so I make sure they appear later in the story as well. (And also, not about likes in special, but what is discovered later during the story is added for reference to the bio as well). And a question for all of you who are in favour of short, vague bios: how do you know if you are writing your character correctly in the story if you don't take time, in the bio, to structure him properly, to get acquainted with everything that can make him tick? My bios are usually average to detailed, exactly because I need to know them. And afterwards I do the "character extra" things that could be encountered in a freeform application as well (surveys, interviews, etc.)
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the greatest general under the heavens
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Post by Egao, Egao Everywhere on Mar 14, 2015 5:05:58 GMT -8
Writers often mistake description as something purely statistical. This was what landed our class in English of Literature and Creative Writing freshmen an F in a writing exercise. Description is all about describing something so that you would get an impression of it. Listing down the color, shape, item, and such are part of it, but they don't make the whole. A good description is one that instantly prints an image in your head, not overload you with facts, which is what I think Kuroya was describing, and what most sites and writers mistakenly think. Here's a description from The Picture of Dorian Gray that I really love: It's not the description of a person but I think this illustrates my point more. RPers are more aware of describing places in a more expressive way, and it should be the same in describing characters. The thing with using statistical description is the manner of writing. You wouldn't flat out just describe your character and all the details on their clothes in one go. It's not necessary, and also really not just a good way of writing it. In an RP setting, you want your RP partner to take note of half of the things that a stranger is supposed to take note of off your character. For example is the height. You wouldn't write that your character is xx feet tall (although you may cleverly input how "___'s shadow was entirely cast on ___, like a giant, looming tree.") If it's a notable trait, you want your rp partner to be the one to gasp at it. Is height important? No. Just as hair might not be important, just as clothes might not be important, just as shoe size might not be important. You share those information because they are traits of your character. If you don't think it's relevant, that it shouldn't be noted, it shouldn't be written. But they do help a lot in fleshing out the picture of your character. This is my main criticism about FCs. People stopped being able to write descriptions properly and first impressions, which are important in interactions, all end up being either intellectual, emotional, or something of the same. Appearances are what will stick to your reader's mind. It's the appearance that would move and talk in their imagination. If it's just a copy paste of the face of an anime character, without any touch of detail, that appearance is likely to be forgotten. You will fail to make an impression on your reader's head. I think an entire paragraph for a description is important in app. I don't want to have to constantly describe my character to provide information. I don't want to fill up an autograph book though.
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Post by beekeeper on Mar 14, 2015 10:24:56 GMT -8
My argument on this though is that people can write absolutely about anything and you still won't have that much idea of the character. This is my point above too. honestly, this is my point too. i think this starting to be less about what's on the app and more about different approaches to character creation. And a question for all of you who are in favour of short, vague bios: how do you know if you are writing your character correctly in the story if you don't take time, in the bio, to structure him properly, to get acquainted with everything that can make him tick? My bios are usually average to detailed, exactly because I need to know them. And afterwards I do the "character extra" things that could be encountered in a freeform application as well (surveys, interviews, etc.) i don't know if i'm writing my character 'correctly' - in fact, my character will probably be very different from the way they are in their first application, and that's fine. i don't see why the only 'proper' way to develop a character is through their application. to me, it's not so much about creating a character as much as getting to know one and i find writing a detailed application is isolated and dry. how do you write about someone's personality if you've never seen them interact with anyone? how do you write a history before they've actually been immersed in the setting? i mean, i obviously come at it with some framework of a character, but i use that as a starting point and let them come into themselves from there, so it's hard for me to have to come up with detailed personality, history, likes & dislikes, etc. and then stress about sticking to what i put down, or having to go back and edit. also i think interview apps are super fun, but they only really work for certain kinds of characters. which brings me back to my point: people forget that freeform means you can do anything - which includes a traditional style app if that's what you prefer. so it's the most accommodating. tbh i used to feel like i was a bad rper because i had trouble sticking to what i wrote in the app, but i've just come to terms with it - different strokes for different folks. taking a organic, open-minded approach to character making has been good for me. so i might not have any idea of what my character is really like on my apps and i may completely change things later, but i've had characters who started out as very flat, stereotypes & tropes become some of my most popular/developed.
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A seadog looking for crewmates
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Post by Elena on Mar 14, 2015 12:07:46 GMT -8
In fact, my character will probably be very different from the way they are in their first application, and that's fine. i don't see why the only 'proper' way to develop a character is through their application. to me, it's not so much about creating a character as much as getting to know one and i find writing a detailed application is isolated and dry. how do you write about someone's personality if you've never seen them interact with anyone? how do you write a history before they've actually been immersed in the setting? I mean, i obviously come at it with some framework of a character, but i use that as a starting point and let them come into themselves from there, so it's hard for me to have to come up with detailed personality, history, likes & dislikes, etc. and then stress about sticking to what i put down, or having to go back and edit. I might not have any idea of what my character is really like on my apps and i may completely change things later, but i've had characters who started out as very flat, stereotypes & tropes become some of my most popular/developed. i write about the character's personality in the bio because there is where I create him. I ask questions when, how, why, where, etc. until I succeed to build a logical history and personality section which are interconnected (I work at them both, shuttle style). I create the character taking into account the story I want to write - what role he has to fulfil in the story - and all likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses and personality traits, also some elements of history, are focused on this. If he will be different than in the bio, then why am I writing the bio? Just to be written, not to help me in knowing the character and writing him accordingly in the story? If you have no idea how he is, then how do you keep consistency during the story? I am the writer; the character is a figment of my imagination that I create and develop as needed in the story. So I have to decide from the start how my character is like, in order to have it shown when they interact with everyone. If I don't have any idea of what my character is really like, then it means he has no purpose in the story, therefore I have to write another with a clearer purpose. And I take care that everything written in the bio will show in the story at a moment or another. If it isn't written in the bio, for reference, I can forgot it later and my character will lack consistency. So I am trying to make the bio comprehensive, then rely on it when writing the character in the story.
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Post by beekeeper on Mar 14, 2015 12:55:00 GMT -8
i write about the character's personality in the bio because there is where I create him. I ask questions when, how, why, where, etc. until I succeed to build a logical history and personality section which are interconnected (I work at them both, shuttle style). I create the character taking into account the story I want to write - what role he has to fulfil in the story - and all likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses and personality traits, also some elements of history, are focused on this. If he will be different than in the bio, then why am I writing the bio? Just to be written, not to help me in knowing the character and writing him accordingly in the story? If you have no idea how he is, then how do you keep consistency during the story? I am the writer; the character is a figment of my imagination that I create and develop as needed in the story. So I have to decide from the start how my character is like, in order to have it shown when they interact with everyone. If I don't have any idea of what my character is really like, then it means he has no purpose in the story, therefore I have to write another with a clearer purpose. And I take care that everything written in the bio will show in the story at a moment or another. If it isn't written in the bio, for reference, I can forgot it later and my character will lack consistency. So I am trying to make the bio comprehensive, then rely on it when writing the character in the story. okay and that's great that it works for you but tbh i'm not really liking this implication that i'm somehow lesser because my methods are different than yours
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MOTHER OF THE MAGICAL GIRLS
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Post by SIFR on Mar 14, 2015 14:26:03 GMT -8
I don't think she was implying that at all, she seemed to only be quoting you as a springboard to work with to make her point. Elena's always done thorough work using methods I've seen suggested by professional writers, I don't think that has anything to do with how you function as a writer. We're all different.
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Post by Kratos on Mar 14, 2015 15:19:03 GMT -8
what i like most on an app is versatility. The ability to bend it the way I need to for the sake of getting my character across well while still filling in what the site needs of them for the sake of the roleplay in question. I suppose you could say I like it somewhere in the happy zone between freeform and structured. A note somewhere stating what I should make sure to, in some way include, such as a history and a personality section, maybe some suggestions for those that have difficulty figuring out what to put on a freeform app (which i myself have on occasion), but with no absolute "you must word it in this way".
As I noted on another thread, for me an application is largely filled out in according with how the character is, personalities are formatted according to how the character themselves are, the degree of history description varies with its importance to the character and how the character themselves view their life story. Because of this something that is super structured and rigidly set in stone can become very difficult to make more than one character on and in turn becomes restrictive.
Other than versatility though I do personally like a small 'appearance' section, if you are using playbys then certain details not need be included if you ask me but I really like seeing height/weight , build and maybe a small place to sort of describe the kind of initial impression your character tends to give off, because for example, I have a character who at his core, is one of the gentlest creatures you will ever find. He regularly can be seen on street corners giving out flowers, he's a selective mute too and barely talks and he's awful shy and gets easily flustered. Most are probably going to assume he's of average height, weight and probably build no? Maxi caps out at 6ft7 by his early twenties and works out on a near constant basis. Chances are he would intimidate a lot of people at first, without a place to describe that people would probably attack initial interactions with him very differently. I also have a small 5ft meek little mousy lady who is easily freaked out by the world in general, even if she would get along personality wise with a giant she'd still be terrified of them initially due to the size difference. So personally I really like seeing stuff like this for reference on apps.
as for some of the more decorative things such as images and lyrics i don't mind them but don't think they're a must have either. I do like at least having a spot for an icon because there are certain ones i like to abuse for such things >.>
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Post by Starry Neko on Mar 14, 2015 17:43:04 GMT -8
I’m a weird one, I guess. I used to spend decades on a profile. Writing out appearances, personality, history, strengths, weaknesses, all kinds of things. I literally could spend months on a profile and I would enjoy doing it. I never got bored with any of my profiles. I would have fun doing it- and never really stop having fun writing profiles. However as I spent time here in the animanga base, I realized there’s an underlying message.
No one gives a flying crap about writing that much 90% of the time.
I was openly shamed by many an animanga admin that I wrote too much. That there was no need to write more than ten traits and over one hundred words for history. This was for many reasons I’m sure- but the ones I was named were – It broke the pretty app, it took too long to read, or my favorite, “I don’t really care what happened to your character or what they’re like, we don’t really even read them.” This was not just once, this was not just twice. This was almost constant. Fellow admins I’ve met simply told me that there was no reason for me to write that much- even if I personally found it fun and didn’t see the problem.
I enjoyed writing a good amount of character detail about my character’s mannerisms, the way they held themselves, and in general just had fun creating a full-fledged character. I created my own mental maps in my mind so I didn’t need to have them interact with other characters to know what they would do. Over time though, it was beaten out of me because members told me they were intimidated by my writing (Though I always said, “Never match me.”) and fellow admins told me they didn’t really have the time for it.
Over time I’ve done the most I can do to limit the app for everyone. Traits, barely any meat on the profile, you name it. I’ve had to accept this. There’s no other way to do it. It simply wasn’t welcome. What happened to all my writing? It’s been placed in a word document for my own joy and fun. No one has to read it, no one has to ever see it but me. Most of these files have so many different things to write about them. This solves my problem I suppose, but I don’t really feel it’s fair. What’s wrong with writing as much as you want? What’s wrong with writing a lot? Why should I have to hold myself back to make other people happy? It leaves a lot to be desired, but hey. Everyone else feels better about it – so I’ve learned that even if it makes me feel a bit isolated, it makes other people happy and sacrifice is sacrifice for your friends to be comfortable to write with you.
I would say give a lot of people optional areas for meat on the profile to be placed. This could be physical appearance, more personality, other areas, you name it. To me, I dislike merging my personality into my history because I write /a lot/ to cover both to my own satisfaction. I like to have two separate areas. As for icon sake, please for the love of tentacle heaven, don’t make individual weird icon sizes that no one has and has to make some. I don’t understand the appeal of cropping an image just for one app you’ll probably never use again. Just use 100x100 icons. Just…try to let people put more meat on the app if they wish. It really does go a long way for most people.
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Post by Verse on Mar 14, 2015 17:58:48 GMT -8
I’m a weird one, I guess. I used to spend decades on a profile. Writing out appearances, personality, history, strengths, weaknesses, all kinds of things. I literally could spend months on a profile and I would enjoy doing it. I never got bored with any of my profiles. I would have fun doing it- and never really stop having fun writing profiles. However as I spent time here in the animanga base, I realized there’s an underlying message.
No one gives a flying crap about writing that much 90% of the time.
I was openly shamed by many an animanga admin that I wrote too much. That there was no need to write more than ten traits and over one hundred words for history. This was for many reasons I’m sure- but the ones I was named were – It broke the pretty app, it took too long to read, or my favorite, “I don’t really care what happened to your character or what they’re like, we don’t really even read them.” This was not just once, this was not just twice. This was almost constant. Fellow admins I’ve met simply told me that there was no reason for me to write that much- even if I personally found it fun and didn’t see the problem.
I enjoyed writing a good amount of character detail about my character’s mannerisms, the way they held themselves, and in general just had fun creating a full-fledged character. I created my own mental maps in my mind so I didn’t need to have them interact with other characters to know what they would do. Over time though, it was beaten out of me because members told me they were intimidated by my writing (Though I always said, “Never match me.”) and fellow admins told me they didn’t really have the time for it.
Over time I’ve done the most I can do to limit the app for everyone. Traits, barely any meat on the profile, you name it. I’ve had to accept this. There’s no other way to do it. It simply wasn’t welcome. What happened to all my writing? It’s been placed in a word document for my own joy and fun. No one has to read it, no one has to ever see it but me. Most of these files have so many different things to write about them. This solves my problem I suppose, but I don’t really feel it’s fair. What’s wrong with writing as much as you want? What’s wrong with writing a lot? Why should I have to hold myself back to make other people happy? It leaves a lot to be desired, but hey. Everyone else feels better about it – so I’ve learned that even if it makes me feel a bit isolated, it makes other people happy and sacrifice is sacrifice for your friends to be comfortable to write with you.
I would say give a lot of people optional areas for meat on the profile to be placed. This could be physical appearance, more personality, other areas, you name it. To me, I dislike merging my personality into my history because I write /a lot/ to cover both to my own satisfaction. I like to have two separate areas. As for icon sake, please for the love of tentacle heaven, don’t make individual weird icon sizes that no one has and has to make some. I don’t understand the appeal of cropping an image just for one app you’ll probably never use again. Just use 100x100 icons. Just…try to let people put more meat on the app if they wish. It really does go a long way for most people.
Not even going to lie but the treatment you received is pretty awful, you should be able to write as much as you want. Generally when I do make applications I say you must do a minimum at least if I require people to write something. But if they write more? Great, I'll sit and read it and ask questions. Especially history, a site lore is amazing to read when people make applications, I love reading how they make their character and like to make sure they understand the site through it.
But to tell a member to change it? Honestly if you're not going to put up a max word count to begin with, you really shouldn't tell someone to change it.
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Post by Jacob on Mar 14, 2015 19:27:46 GMT -8
I’m a weird one, I guess. I used to spend decades on a profile. Writing out appearances, personality, history, strengths, weaknesses, all kinds of things. I literally could spend months on a profile and I would enjoy doing it. I never got bored with any of my profiles. I would have fun doing it- and never really stop having fun writing profiles. However as I spent time here in the animanga base, I realized there’s an underlying message.
No one gives a flying crap about writing that much 90% of the time.
I was openly shamed by many an animanga admin that I wrote too much. That there was no need to write more than ten traits and over one hundred words for history. This was for many reasons I’m sure- but the ones I was named were – It broke the pretty app, it took too long to read, or my favorite, “I don’t really care what happened to your character or what they’re like, we don’t really even read them.” This was not just once, this was not just twice. This was almost constant. Fellow admins I’ve met simply told me that there was no reason for me to write that much- even if I personally found it fun and didn’t see the problem.
I enjoyed writing a good amount of character detail about my character’s mannerisms, the way they held themselves, and in general just had fun creating a full-fledged character. I created my own mental maps in my mind so I didn’t need to have them interact with other characters to know what they would do. Over time though, it was beaten out of me because members told me they were intimidated by my writing (Though I always said, “Never match me.”) and fellow admins told me they didn’t really have the time for it.
Over time I’ve done the most I can do to limit the app for everyone. Traits, barely any meat on the profile, you name it. I’ve had to accept this. There’s no other way to do it. It simply wasn’t welcome. What happened to all my writing? It’s been placed in a word document for my own joy and fun. No one has to read it, no one has to ever see it but me. Most of these files have so many different things to write about them. This solves my problem I suppose, but I don’t really feel it’s fair. What’s wrong with writing as much as you want? What’s wrong with writing a lot? Why should I have to hold myself back to make other people happy? It leaves a lot to be desired, but hey. Everyone else feels better about it – so I’ve learned that even if it makes me feel a bit isolated, it makes other people happy and sacrifice is sacrifice for your friends to be comfortable to write with you.
I would say give a lot of people optional areas for meat on the profile to be placed. This could be physical appearance, more personality, other areas, you name it. To me, I dislike merging my personality into my history because I write /a lot/ to cover both to my own satisfaction. I like to have two separate areas. As for icon sake, please for the love of tentacle heaven, don’t make individual weird icon sizes that no one has and has to make some. I don’t understand the appeal of cropping an image just for one app you’ll probably never use again. Just use 100x100 icons. Just…try to let people put more meat on the app if they wish. It really does go a long way for most people.
That various administrators have treated you horridly because of application length was, and is, their personal mass problem; such applies to ordinary members, likewise. Them throwing conniptions simply because a prospective, or even established, associate writes more than they prefer has always sat poorly with me. I can scarcely stress how juvenile I find it.
I sympathize, for I endured the very same treatment three years ago. Specifics unable to be publicly shared par community guidelines, I ultimately left ani-manga role-plays after everything boiled over. Nevertheless, the man (i. e. me) was not deterred from his method of writing, nor longer did he care if an individual complained as a result.
There are so many that understand and will gladly take time. You just fell among the wrong people to try with. I know I'll likely behold disagreement; however, I feel I developed differently as a role-player. Should others not mesh, then avoiding them is open. Concerning those folk, I saw myself daunted starting out twelve years back; however, such feelings gradually faded.
I think a gentleman or lady, adolescent or adult, shouldn't be expected to restrain their creative abilities to satisfy impatience. It constantly reflects more every day, especially after much pondering and heeding wisely given advice. Application and post lengths are both fine if longer; views simply vary.
Don't mind silly treatment! Sites welcoming how we sorts compose exist, even ani-manga. While I haven't a place to join yet, I've made friends from inside this genre who can conduct themselves maturely. You'll discover more enjoying of your natural formula, also!
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I'VE BEEN A MENACE FOR THE LONGEST
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Post by WILLOW on Mar 14, 2015 20:06:50 GMT -8
i prefer free forum apps but also have a hard time coming up with stuff to write about so short lists of bulleted traits also work for me. personally, if you're site HAS to have histories, i'd say don't put a limit/minimum on it. the worst thing for me is seeing a site with a history and then having that history have a word minimum, like. i'm not trying to waste my muse on a history i'm never going to look at again or can summerise in a few words rather than 9 paragraphs.
like i said before i adore free forum apps since they promote freedom in writing and allow the writer to have any sort of freedom they want, but i also enjoy traits because it gives me a sort of direct and more of a vague idea of how i want my character to be and i think that one icon or one large image is enough. i hate hate hate hate hate filling out apps with word minimums because unlike some people my muse is limited and runs out a lot so i often write in short bursts when the motivation comes along, and i think apps aren't supposed to be your character fully fleshed out, i think it's more of a template to say "this is my idea for my character" and i believe real character developement should be left for roleplay because that's what roleplay is supposed to be imo. i mean, i have no interest in rp'ing a character that's fully fleshed out with a full-out history, personality and what not. i want to see the process of my character getting from place a to place b and i want to see what happens in between.
i also try to avoid writing apps longer than say like 200+ words because my attention span and motivation are incredibly fickle so if i can barely sit and write those 200+ i'm not going to expect other people to be able to sit and read an app that's 1000+ words and even if i could write 1000+ words on a daily basis i don't think that's fair to the people who are reading my app as not everyone has the time/motivation/energy to read all those words. not to mention i think short, vague apps give me more freedom to plot, so idk yeah that's my opinion about apps and what not. i mean, at the end of the day roleplaying is about having fun and everyone has different ideas about "fun" so as long as you're willing to fill out the app multiple times and put your full effort into it every time then i think it'll be a fine app. am i making sense? lmao.
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A seadog looking for crewmates
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Post by Elena on Mar 14, 2015 21:48:59 GMT -8
but tbh i'm not really liking this implication that i'm somehow lesser because my methods are different than yours I never made any statement like what you imply. You aren't lesser. <3 I just don't understand how it is possible to be vague and still keeping consistency, this is all. It might be my problem for not understanding it. And yes, SIFR, I have always based my stories on creative writing advice. I even have succeeded to take an online creative writing course and I was happy to have succeeded it. (Given that in real life I am an economist, and that creative writing is not a subject learnt in Uni here by those who are major in Literature). But until doing it, I had simply to read all creative writing articles in English which fell under my eyes...
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Post by eggy azoozoo on Mar 15, 2015 9:46:52 GMT -8
it's pretty apparent by now that different people have very different rp styles and needs, and differerent set ups work for the, better than others. Tho the idea that a full paragraph profile that asks for written out histories and personalities = pretty much the bulk of your character's development is kinda.. Not really accurate to what happens? That too is meant to be only a starting point from which a character is expected to grow in different ways depending on who they interact with. Plotting and even back-plotting is super easy also, even with some kind of written out history, its not like rp freedom is being forcibly curtailed.
Except shounen sites. Some mothafuckas try the craziest Naruto-Bleach-Kal El rip off bullshit and you want that all out in the history section to stamp it out ASAP before you go chasing them down in threads about it. I don't trust a single goddamn person anymore on that point.
Obvs not trying to convince people to stray from what works best for them and their creative energies, but it's like we're all literally trying to do the same thing in RP, and are able to even with different methods. It's really just a matter of deciding whether or not you as a site runner want to attract one type of member rp style over another.
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