Does anyone RP (Role Play) to write?

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Lollypop1407

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Apologies if this is the wrong forum, I wasn't really certain what'd be the best crowd to field this question.

Does anyone else write for role playing games? I realize by a lot of people's standards it isn't "real" writing, but it's where I started to get interested in writing at all. I' had a lot of trouble when I was younger getting anything on a page at all, either the idea would get jumbled between my brain & fingers or I'd blank entirely in the face of a blank page. It wasn't until I left my live gaming group & miss playing that I sought out games online & started to write. Now it's about 6 years later, I've written dozens of different characters in several worlds & time frames over different classes, genders, even species.

So I wondered, does anyone else like slipping into someone else's char & making it your own from time to time? I've done a fair bit of sci-fi & some comics, but my primary focus is X-Men. It's fun, it's different than the things I write for myself & I get the option of writing the same char for a good long time (my 'oldest' is 3 1/2 now!). Plus, unlike the solitary writing like novels, RP lets you write communally, which is an interesting change of pace.

Anybody else?


Graymalkin, my X-Men game, where I play Lux, Storm & Aero.
 

tehuti88

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I'm afraid I don't slip into other people's characters, but I do mentally roleplay my own characters, in my writing. I used to roleplay them in real life--not with games and dice and what have you, but just in the "make believe" way, by pretending to be them. When I was little I had a friend who'd play with me, pretending to be our characters interacting, and I would also ad lib things onto audiocassette, in the voices of my characters (the best I could portray them, that is, which wasn't very well :eek: ).

Over time this shifted into me just mentally pretending to be my characters while in certain situations; this would help me cope with things. For example, while waiting out in the cold for the bus, I'd pretend to be a soldier character who was more hardened to such things. (I still do this in my dreams a lot, I notice; I'll start pretending to be one of my characters, and it's as if I'm really them.)

Then at last this shifted into me separating myself from my characters; I don't pretend to be them anymore, not even to cope (though I could certainly use that), but when writing I put myself in their heads, and I often imagine various scenes and events as if I'm them.

My childhood pretending and such did lead to various story ideas that I still write about today.

I realize this isn't quite what you were referring to, since your RP'ing is more organized, but I understand the concept.
 

TheAntar

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I once ran a long-term D&D campaign for about 2 years with a regular group.

The storyline that ended up playing out, a combination of both my own creative work and my players', would make a heck of a novel. At some point I'll try my hand at some fantasy work, but in the mean time I think I'd rather write dark psychological thrillers. :)
 
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Lollypop1407

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Wow, very nice, Antar. Most games I've been haven't run that long.

Tehuti88, imagining is good! I have conversations with some of my chars & have been known to mentally play out 'the rod not taken' in scenes. I love trying to get into the heads of my characters, seeing what makes them tick.

And yeah, I can see not being as interested in other people's chars. I like it cuz it lets you slip in to stories that you really love. What's more, there's nothing saying you can't create whole new characters & put them into worlds that've always interested you...or indeed, worlds all your own. Just because I happen to be a gooby fangirl that's into comics & sci fi doesn't mean there are some great original RPGs out there somewhere.

As I started writing in games, doing my novel this year is a lot different for me. I'm enjoying it, but the solo nature presents some challenges that aren't so present with the back & forth f communal writing. It's nice taking a whack at writing all on my own, with totally new material. A little scary at times, lol, but I like it.
 

scheherazade

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I can relate to what tehuti88 says.. definitely when I'm bored or walking down the street I'll often think.. what would my character be doing right now? Or what would my character say? Sometimes I have to try things that my character likes just so I can write better about them... like ordering a drink my character would order, or dressing like my character when I go out - sort of what I imagine some actors might do when they are off-set to keep their mind on the character.
 

HeronW

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I find that RPing whether based on fanfic or whatnot lets you take your character in new directions. The ideas that are generated from someone else's character RP are invaluable and it's easy enough to redo a segment with just my input for my own work.
 

Tirjasdyn

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Write for role playing: I've written for a rpg video games and I write various modules to run at local conventions.

The characters I write about in my fiction are not from roleplaying. However I often find myself acting out loud during log drives why my characters should be doing in various scenes. I finally gave in an bought DNS mobile edition so I could write in the car. Save me from trying to remember my on the spot brilliance when typing is a no no.
 

Polenth

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I've roleplayed original characters in online video games. I have a few short stories floating around, which were written to go with plots run in the games. But mostly I prefer the improvisational acting aspect of roleplaying over the story writing.

Though it taught me some useful things about dialogue/characterisation, I haven't reused any of those characters in original stories. I'm more likely to reuse small things, like the way a character spoke.
 

katiemac

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So I wondered, does anyone else like slipping into someone else's char & making it your own from time to time?

Not anymore. I did the fanfic thing 10 or so years ago when I was in grade and middle school and didn't know that what I was writing had a name. Even posted a few pieces online (once I knew it had a name) and had a fair following.

Now I stick to my own devices, although I do plan on dragging out an old, old WIP that is 100 percent original, but inspired from some of those old fics.

Eventually I'll play around in the television format, and in a lot of cases that actually requires writing for existing shows so they can see not only if you can write in the format but if you can write other people's characters.
 

M.R.J. Le Blanc

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A lot of my World of Warcraft toons end up with brief storylines upon creation, partly because I play on RP servers and partly I just can't help myself :tongue. Some of them end up getting detailed as they go, and I plan on turning some of them into stories. It sort of helps me dictate how I'm going to play the character too. Don't know if I would ever get them published, unless I can get them approved by Blizzard (the company who owns World of Warcraft, for those who don't know) but they'd make great stories. Maybe next year's NaNo hehe

One of my three current projects right now is based off of one of those characters, though I plan on publishing it so I'll have to remove the WoW references in the editing stage.
 

Cybernaught

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I was a heavy Role-Player back in the day. Now I want to be as far away from it as humanly possible, lest I start writing the awful dreck that I did when I made the transition to stories.
 

Nagoyaka Aikouka

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Roleplaying is actually how I did most of my writing growing up. Since I wasn't able to actively roleplay with physical individuals, I did a lot of what's known as "text" roleplaying. It started off with all Pokemon fanfiction roleplaying and eventually expanded to original works. Now? I'm the creator and administrator of a text roleplaying website and a big fan of DND 3.5 Edition.

It's a great way to break through writer's block!
 

TheAntar

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Write for role playing: I've written for a rpg video games and I write various modules to run at local conventions.

The characters I write about in my fiction are not from roleplaying. However I often find myself acting out loud during log drives why my characters should be doing in various scenes. I finally gave in an bought DNS mobile edition so I could write in the car. Save me from trying to remember my on the spot brilliance when typing is a no no.

How did you get into writing for rpgs? That's like... something awesome I want to do!! :)
 

WerenCole

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Sounds kinky.



No, really. Just look at me name here. Weren Cole is a character I made up back in the days of AOL beta when we played in the Space Wars Sim Forum. Lord (Overlord, Emperor, Admiral, General. . .) Weren Ignatius Cole. A lot of my early, comprehensive writing was done in such a role playing fashion where we were in a game on a message board. I really wish I could find all that stuff again, but the internet is not the same thing it was back in the early '90s.

Weren changed. He is now a character I tend to write as a first person narrative and some of my best fiction has been through him. In fact, he has an entire (realistic, not sci-fi oriented) family now. Think of it like Salinger's Glass family. Carter Cole, his nephew, is a prominent figure in my novels.

So yeah. I role played, if that is what you mean. I had a blast and it really got me into the craft of writing when I was young.
 

Phantasmagoria

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originally posted by tehuti88
I do mentally roleplay my own characters, in my writing. I used to roleplay them in real life--not with games and dice and what have you, but just in the "make believe" way, by pretending to be them. When I was little I had a friend who'd play with me, pretending to be our characters interacting, and I would also ad lib things onto audiocassette, in the voices of my characters (the best I could portray them, that is, which wasn't very well ).

Over time this shifted into me just mentally pretending to be my characters while in certain situations; this would help me cope with things. For example, while waiting out in the cold for the bus, I'd pretend to be a soldier character who was more hardened to such things. (I still do this in my dreams a lot, I notice; I'll start pretending to be one of my characters, and it's as if I'm really them.)

Then at last this shifted into me separating myself from my characters; I don't pretend to be them anymore, not even to cope (though I could certainly use that), but when writing I put myself in their heads, and I often imagine various scenes and events as if I'm them.

tehuti, you've just pretty much described my own history with RPing, in a nutshell! :) Though I still do kind of a back-and-forth between two character sometimes, aloud... when I'm by myself, of course, where no one can hear me and think I've lost my mind entirely. (So many people have told me jokingly that it's only a bad thing to talk to yourself if you answer yourself as well... oops... It doesn't make it any better that it's not technically me talking to myself, but two different people talking through me, does it? :D)

Ah, memories... For years my girlfriend and I would RP over AIM; we developed a pretty decent cast of characters and did some fun worldbuilding together. Of course, then she decided she was an artist, not so much a writer (even though she's got more natural talent at writing in one pinky finger than I will ever have)- so it's been put on hold, but it's one of those things I think we'll end up finishing someday, even if it takes twenty more years. We'd better; I'll always love everything about the story, and I can't stand the thought of letting it die!
 

dirtsider

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Yes and no. I love roleplaying, although I LARP now, rather than play tabletop. I do keep a journal as my character for the game but I don't actually write stuff based on my LARP. Although my WIP was originally based on an X-Men RPG I played a loooonnnnggg time ago but it's morphed since then to the point it's totally original now.
 

echnos

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Oh the memories! I was heavily active some 14 or so years ago, back when Prodigy timed boards were still around (oh those bills!) in a Star Trek rpg group. Star Trek universe, but thankfully we used our own characters. My very first attempts at writing...and I learned alot. It was so much fun, but sadly, but perhaps for the best, it died out after a couple of years.

I do rp now on insane journal...mostly because my partner asked me to. It is fun but I'd rather spend my time on my own characters. I do it merely for relaxation--which is not a bad thing, long as it doesn't become obsessive (which always seems to happen for a few).
 

frisco

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I've been rping for many years now. I absolutely love it. I originally went into rping just to help me getting into the habit of writing on a regular basis, but I ended up creating characters I cared so deeply for that i've kept them going for years now.
I realize I would be better of just breaking away from rping entirely and focusing on writing, but at the same time I've written so much material and actually have been read by many people online that its tough to quit. My roleplays have had a far widen audience than anything else i've written and I enjoy it.
Perhaps one day I will write a book based on my roleplay characters.
 
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