Advice/Help Converting a roleplay into a readable story of some sort?

[JayfeatherRaven]

So a couple years ago I started a sci-fi/fantasy roleplay on dreams here. It wasn't especially well-known or anything but we had a few dedicated players and all the characters went through some significant character growth and backstory revelations. The plot was also super engaging (in my opinion, but I'm definitely biased) and starting to become a full-fledged adventure epic. Sadly, the roleplay wound to halt - I don't entirely remember why - just that I was very disappointed.

I doubt I'd be able to reboot it or reconnect with all the previous players, but I've always thought about how it would be a shame to let this wonderful idea and incomplete story go to waste. I've thought about rewriting it into a novel but I'd hate to lose any characters' unique narration or perspective. However the hopping around of POVs wouldn't fare well for any kind of writing except roleplays.

What do you guys think? Is it possible to salvage this roleplay in any kind of way? Or should I just leave it be - perfectly yet maddeningly inconclusive?

(I definitely still have unwritten plot points in mind, and am willing to share more information about the roleplay, if anyone would be so kind as to take a chance on redeeming it! Any ideas or suggestions will be appreciated!

 

[Tulik]

There are many books where the perspective of characters changes, moving from one protagonist to another to another. A good novel doesn’t have to center on the experiences of one person, and in fact many of my favorite novels focuses on stories that are happening to different people.

 

[Crayons]

Are you going to use other people's characters or their writing in your adaptation? If so, ask their permission before you do it. If you're not, how will you fill the gaps in your story?

I would also suggest writing a short synopsis of the plot and showing it to as many people as possible to gauge interest. Be aware that often roleplay seem way more exciting to you because you are heavily emotionally involved in them than they would be to a reader. Also be aware that things acceptable in roleplay are often not ok in published fiction - anything from concepts you have reused from existing media to lazy research to the way you write.

 

[JayfeatherRaven]

There are many books where the perspective of characters changes, moving from one protagonist to another to another. A good novel doesn’t have to center on the experiences of one person, and in fact many of my favorite novels focuses on stories that are happening to different people.

Yeah, that's true. But I worry that the perspectives would vary in length, while in novels the chapters are usually pretty uniform in their delivery of each character's narration. And another issue would be the overlapping of plot points from different character's voices. At its prime, the roleplay reached around eight characters in the same setting at once, so as Crayon said it wouldn't be as exciting as reading a novel originally designed to be compelling.

 

[JayfeatherRaven]

Are you going to use other people's characters or their writing in your adaptation? If so, ask their permission before you do it. If you're not, how will you fill the gaps in your story?

I would also suggest writing a short synopsis of the plot and showing it to as many people as possible to gauge interest. Be aware that often roleplay seem way more exciting to you because you are heavily emotionally involved in them than they would be to a reader. Also be aware that things acceptable in roleplay are often not ok in published fiction - anything from concepts you have reused from existing media to lazy research to the way you write.

Hahaha, I'm aware that I am definitely more emotionally invested than the average person. I still have faith in the story and its characters though. I believe a lot of work would be required to polish it into something a reader would enjoy, though I'm sentimental enough to be willing to spend some effort on it.

It's going to be difficult to contact the players - but I'll try! Speaking of this, there's still a bit of progress to be made before the story ends, do you think I should continue writing in the roleplay manner or switch to novel writing (and then adapt the previous content)?

 

[Crayons]

Hahaha, I'm aware that I am definitely more emotionally invested than the average person. I still have faith in the story and its characters though. I believe a lot of work would be required to polish it into something a reader would enjoy, though I'm sentimental enough to be willing to spend some effort on it.

It's going to be difficult to contact the players - but I'll try! Speaking of this, there's still a bit of progress to be made before the story ends, do you think I should continue writing in the roleplay manner or switch to novel writing (and then adapt the previous content)?

Do not proceed with doing anything with their characters or adapting their parts of the writing without explicit consent. If you can't contact them you're going to have to write them out.

Honestly, I'd adapt the previous content first and then continue in novel form. Especially if you don't know how much of the original you'll be able to keep.

 

[JayfeatherRaven]

Do not proceed with doing anything with their characters or adapting their parts of the writing without explicit consent. If you can't contact them you're going to have to write them out.

Honestly, I'd adapt the previous content first and then continue in novel form. Especially if you don't know how much of the original you'll be able to keep.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions! I think some new character creation is called for! And you've actually inspired me to break free from the roleplay content and just write a book - based only on the plot with new characters. The roleplay was the roleplay but it's over now, maybe letting go would give me much-needed closure.

Switching POVs is still something I would want to do, but I don't think I'd be able to pull that off without borrowing narration and dialogue that I haven't gotten consent of. So that's out of the picture.