How do you do it?
#1
So obviously... I haven't been around much lately. :c It's a combination of a lot of things, but the biggest ones are that I keep getting sick and I still haven't found a car so my days are still running 6 am to 12:30 pm before I can go to bed. I have time in between classes to do posts and homework, but... I can't seem to do it. And that's just not okay with me. :< I miss writing, but can't find the motivation.

When you're faced with this, what do you do? I have plans for my characters kind of, and I have more plans for future characters. I've thought about trying to play around in Lasky with Fee and Robert and Noah, but then I'm afraid I'll neglect Vigilante, Foxglove, and Artemis even more. :x

Suggestions? What helps motivate you? Music isn't doing it, Disney movies aren't doing it, and rereading favorite books isn't helping, either...
#2
I dunno what motivates me :c Honestly, I'm surprised I'm still going as I am. I try my best to find plots to do or just.. force myself to post. But it's hard, especially when I have more interesting characters to play.

Meggles, if you figure this out, you will get a package of cookies of awesomeness.
#3
I look at their motives, their personalities, what they need in their lives. I imagine that they're real, and write what their life looks like inside my head. That always helps me get unstuck.
#4
When things get bad, I take breaks... and if my break is too long, I force myself to post. It helps if you're really interested in the thread; dropping boring ones and picking up new ones might help. I'm having issues right now because Vesper has quite a few meet-and-greet threads rather than ones with a purpose, so I'm not looking forward to those as much as others. So keeping threads to a minimum, and only agreeing to those that have a point might help, especially if it's a plot you're excited for. :3

And, when it comes down to it, switching out old for new characters might help too. If it's the character that's keeping you down, dropping them as that last resort to get a new one could really make it more fun to write. Or if you play them in LASKY, you'll still actually be writing, and that energy can help you on your current, actual threads.
#5
Moving forward with your characters. Even if its in small ways. Get old plots/ideas/threads done and over with and start fresh!

Even if it means thinking a bit out of their character, do something that is interesting to you that you believe will add content to their background that you can build on. It might mean going back to the fundamentals of character building (meeting new characters, forming bonds and developing new interests) those things might create a new interest for you in that particular character.

Also thread with people that you may not have thought to in the past, it will make things fresh and new. As well as fresh blood, ask those that you are confident in to help you develop new plots, those oldies are still goodies and they can help you brain storm and keep you motivated.

& some people disagree but... force yourself. A laps of posting can be a good break for some, and for others its the dwindling end of their membership here. If you want to continue, but don't know what to do... just write. Your a practiced rp'er, it will come back to you just like riding a bike will. But of course you need to get back on the bike first! Also, prizes help with that... write 3 posts and get a treat!! Big Grin
#6
For me, getting myself to post is sitting down for five to ten minutes and just posting something that gets the job done. I've lost interest in long posts and I find that short, action-focused posts are more interesting and easier for me to write. I try to always write 200 and aim for 300 where it's possible. But if I don't have anything more to say and I'm at 250 words, then I just hit submit and be done with it. c: I've found that focusing on what really matters: responding to other characters' actions and questions, making sure my dialogue doesn't overlap (i.e., ensuring I only have one instance of dialogue rather than it scattered all over) and making sure my posts flow and keep the thread moving forward really keeps my interest.

Once I stopped trying to be poetic and revolutionary with my posts, I found it was a lot more fun. XD When I first started roleplaying, I always tried to write in a way that was elegant and nice. But then I found it was a lot of work and not fun!

I also find it fun to write in different tones for my characters when I remember. My writing for Hybrid always emphasized shorter sentences, simpler ideas, and circular logic 8D Wolves are bad so we eat them because they are bad etc. Haha.
#7
Gen - 'Souls should have a cookie exchange program. Marie and I have already done this with cookies and cupcakes lol.

Bria - I'm not really sure if I get what you mean... I think because that's already how I write? ^^;

Raze - The problem is, breaks just seem to make it worse for me, and I don't want to drop any of the characters I have right now... Dropping Princess was super hard, and I have plans for these three. The one I have the least plans for is Vigi, but there's no way I'm dropping him, at least until after I've had Fee for a while and after I eventually pick up Noah, which will be a looooong time from now and after I have Robert. xD;

Alli - I need to figure out some good prizes then. xD I tried to do that sort of - if I reached my goal of 35 posts a month for Vigi and 20 minimum for Foxglove and Artemis, I'll allow myself to buy art, but that's WAY too high of a number I think... Because right now, a few is hard, heh.

Tammi - I already scrapped the idea of trying for long posts like... a year or more ago lol. Five years ago, I wouldn't post less than 1000 words. Now I'm lucky to hit 300 and I'm fine with it. xD I just write what comes out and if it's short, oh well - as long as it gets the point across and isn't written poorly, then it's good in my book.
#8
I don't know if I'll be of any help, but I'm with Tammi on the short posts. I never sit down and say 'I'm going to write this much', I just make sure that my posts are 300 words minimum and thats a good goal for me to keep. If I go over that- great!

I like Alli's idea of roleplaying with people you haven't rped with before- I can't say I've ever threaded with you and I would love to snag one off of you if you felt like you were up for it!

It sounds silly, but what bummed me out more than anything when I played Theodore and Saul at the same time and I hadn't yet figured out that I can't play dark characters. Once I dropped Teddy and my muse returned, I sort of realised what I'm good at playing and thats good characters. If you know the types of characters that work for you, and that you can play for, its less likely to dampen your muse when you go to post because you won't have to change your whole mindset when writing for them.

Does that make sense? Hopefully!

I hope you work out how to push through it <33
#9
Honey, I'm not sure if we've ever threaded before either! I can't remember, haha. I'd definitely be interested in a thread if you have anything in mind for Vigil, Foxglove, or Missa. c:

I'm not great with darker character types, either... So I'm a bit nervous about the direction I plan to eventually take Foxglove, even if it's not really dark, per se.
#10
If things seem hopeless to me.... I read other peoples stories, even if it's something entirely different and then see how my own character would react to that. It tends to get my imagination rolling again.

I also tend to listen to a bunch of music and I can't have anything else that is distracting, like the tv or questioning kids (that's a hard one for me) or any other type of distractions. Lol I'm lacking on most of my muse because I wanna do the dishes but then I want to rp and i keep flipping back and forth, see? In any case yeah Music is really good motivator.

I also tend to use my inner vision and "see" my characters actually moving in the environment we give them as well Smile


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