Post by Alex Vipond on May 8, 2013 10:41:42 GMT -8
A lot of people have lists, long, endless lists of their pet peeves, do's, don'ts, likes and dislikes. More and more of late, I see those lists carrying over to the likes/dislikes that fall into a category that is sexual in nature.
For the former types of lists, I can see where some would want to know, upfront if the players will be compatible in style of play, IE how long do you usually post, do you add markers to indicate when you have started or stopped your post, etc, etc. Maybe I'm old fashioned, or maybe I'm simply one of those who doesn't give a flying rats ass, so long as you can string together a coherent sentence and don't feel the need to rewrite War and Peace, while putting me to sleep in the process. (Yes, I have literally fallen asleep, while waiting for some one to finish posting their seven to fifteen block post on their character's, dress, hair color, what they had for breakfast or dinner that occurred several hours before the scene at hand, color of their bowel movement or if they'd even had one that day... But I digress. Back to the subject at hand.)
For those who write up the latter types of lists, their sexual do's and don'ts, or those who have those 'rabbit hole' pages.... (and you people just flat out fucking scare me, by the way. I always expect some prison rape scene to follow.) There is such a thing called over sharing. You people have mastered it. I avoid you like the black plague that wiped out much of England in the middle ages.
What happened to the art of entering a room, and throwing into play without having one tiny shred of knowledge of the other character, beyond the most basic? What happened to those who held the talent to show their character through word craft? And when I say word craft, I do not mean the ability to inundate the reader with facts. One should never tell who their character is. One should show their audience who their character is, through motion, mannerisms, gestures.
I myself have fallen prey to the self description of my character. Telling what he's wearing in a dull and .... even in my own head, monotone style, rather than showing. The 'Neal was wearing, such and such, ad nauseum as everything from shoes to his hat is described in intimate detail...' rather than oh say... 'Neal paused before the window, checking his appearance in the reflection found in a shop window on Fifth Avenue. Once assured the navy suit he wore was up to his exacting standards, he entered the establishment.'
Less is often more. There was a time when role players understood that and because of that, chose more engaging, descriptive ways to paint a picture, rather than inundating the reader with detail that likely could be left on the cutting room floor.
I am sure I will readdress this at a later date, add more, change a few things, but for now, that is all. The show's over. You can go home now.
Bueler.... Bueler....
For the former types of lists, I can see where some would want to know, upfront if the players will be compatible in style of play, IE how long do you usually post, do you add markers to indicate when you have started or stopped your post, etc, etc. Maybe I'm old fashioned, or maybe I'm simply one of those who doesn't give a flying rats ass, so long as you can string together a coherent sentence and don't feel the need to rewrite War and Peace, while putting me to sleep in the process. (Yes, I have literally fallen asleep, while waiting for some one to finish posting their seven to fifteen block post on their character's, dress, hair color, what they had for breakfast or dinner that occurred several hours before the scene at hand, color of their bowel movement or if they'd even had one that day... But I digress. Back to the subject at hand.)
For those who write up the latter types of lists, their sexual do's and don'ts, or those who have those 'rabbit hole' pages.... (and you people just flat out fucking scare me, by the way. I always expect some prison rape scene to follow.) There is such a thing called over sharing. You people have mastered it. I avoid you like the black plague that wiped out much of England in the middle ages.
What happened to the art of entering a room, and throwing into play without having one tiny shred of knowledge of the other character, beyond the most basic? What happened to those who held the talent to show their character through word craft? And when I say word craft, I do not mean the ability to inundate the reader with facts. One should never tell who their character is. One should show their audience who their character is, through motion, mannerisms, gestures.
I myself have fallen prey to the self description of my character. Telling what he's wearing in a dull and .... even in my own head, monotone style, rather than showing. The 'Neal was wearing, such and such, ad nauseum as everything from shoes to his hat is described in intimate detail...' rather than oh say... 'Neal paused before the window, checking his appearance in the reflection found in a shop window on Fifth Avenue. Once assured the navy suit he wore was up to his exacting standards, he entered the establishment.'
Less is often more. There was a time when role players understood that and because of that, chose more engaging, descriptive ways to paint a picture, rather than inundating the reader with detail that likely could be left on the cutting room floor.
I am sure I will readdress this at a later date, add more, change a few things, but for now, that is all. The show's over. You can go home now.
Bueler.... Bueler....