Advice/Help How should a Realistic/Slice of Life roleplay be written?

[Larry]

Hello there everyone! I'm just asking ye here about what you all feel would make a Realistic roleplay, specifically a Slice of Life variant, work properly. I've been very much put onto the idea of doing one sometime in the future, especially after having watched Sangatsu no Lion, Honey and Clover, Your Lie in April and a plethora of other shows of that like in the past few years.

So, my question('s) to ye is, and especially for those of you who might have finished roleplays of this type, is there a certain way of writing these types of roleplays that differ from, say, a Fantasy? If so, how should one go about doing one, from a plot or character standpoint? And would much would those differences be accentuated, between a group-orineted one vs. a 1X1?

Last of all, thank you for reading and I look forward to reading all of your thoughts!

 

[Willow Pillow]

Focus more on the emotional beats to drive your plot. Where does your character start? Where do you want them to finish? Fantasy stories you can create a large looming threat that binds characters together. For slice of life you have to make small moments feel BIG. Slice of life I pull a lot more of myself and why I do the things I do. Fantasy, I write about a problem I want solved. I don't know if that helps.

 

[Idea]

Well, we have to begin by looking at the differences between a slice of life realistic roleplay, and roleplays outside of that category.

A lot of people say that "slice of life has no plot". While I would disagree, there is some truth to that, as in slice of life characters are a lot more passive to the overarching plot, as well to the events that happen in the story. Characters aren't actively going from event to event, chasing the overarching plot, they are simply in a 'normal' that gets occasionally interrupted- and possibly changed- by events from the plot or side-plots.

The realistic part of the roleplay implies, given the shows you used as examples, the lack of fantasy, scifi etc... elements. Now a slice of life fantasy may put a lot of focus on the worldbuilding, or in showing how the character's fantastical elements interact with the things we'd expect from our daily lives. But a realistic roleplay does not have the luxury of fantastical elements. It may depict something unusual in our daily lives to compensate, especially if we're talking about a comedy, but more often than not in a focus to be relatable, most of the things about a realistic slice of life tend to be within the mundane.

As such, you are losing the access to fantastical elements, worldbuilding, and the vast majority of your plot as drivers of the story (note that plot here is distinct from premise). As a result, there is a hyperfocus on the remaining narrative elements: Character and themes. This creates something of a problem, however, as a GM does not really have control over the characters themselves nor the kinds of characters in their roleplay. Sure, you could set up roles, but I don't think that's a particularly good idea in this situation.

Instead, here's my advice in this regard:
-Give players as much freedom as you can afford to, to let them make interesting characters they would really want to explore. Regulate them just enough to ensure the character has enough struggles to be able to actually explore them in the roleplay. Even a character that is seemingly perfect could be helpful towards the interpersonal and emotional drama depending on the themes and characters, but if they don't have anything to explore themselves, what's there for the player to even do with them? Aside from that, giving the player more freedom to mold their character lets them be more comfortable with the character they are playing (not feeling forced to play something they are only partially interested in) and hopefully more invested in them as well.

-I personally think that this kind of roleplay works a lot better with players that are more willing to plan and cooperate, because effective character arcs (especially thematically charged ones) need pacing and set up, otherwise the payoffs will not be what they could be, and it's all a lot easier to do if the player actually has an idea where they want to take their character. For this reason, I find 1x1s are generally a better choice, since it's easier to mold everything and focus the story a lot more on just a pair of characters than it is on a multitude. Either way, I definitely recommend at least being sure to communicate with players about their characters frequently, and taking an active interest in said characters.

-In most RPs, player's characters match the setting or plot, and exist within a plot they experience but isn't build around them- here, it's the opposite. The GM isn't really guiding the story here, they are responding to the beats of the character's individual arcs (ideally). They bringing in events and NPCs that can bring out the potential of the character's current struggles and giving them pushes to their development.


That last point pairs up with the need to manage the low moments. One of the biggest dangers of a slice of life roleplay, is how vulnerable it is to having players lose direction and not know what to do next. Keeping an active OOC, I found, is pretty crucial for RPs in general so it's helpful here to make sure that the OOC is active to ensure the roleplay doesn't stale, but even with that keep an eye to make sure players always have something they could be doing, and they know it, and their characters have reason to participate. It's a rough solution but unfortunately it's the best advice I can give you. Both managing the low moments of the roleplay and controlling the events and pacing to suit the needs of the character's arcs are things which are easy to learn, but extremely hard to master.

But yeah...


Hope this was helpful. Best of luck, and happy roleplaying!

 

[Larry]

Thanks very much for the advice you two, I'll be sure to keep all this information on file!

 

[GojiBean]

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I'd like to offer my thoughts on this too!

The answer to the first posed question of "... is there a certain way of writing these types of roleplays that differ from, say, a Fantasy? " is... Not really.

It may seem a bit oversimplified, but it's true. Regardless of genre there is essentially no substantial difference in how a story is written because all forms of storytelling follow the same basic principles. And those principles are as follows:

* Establish your world and premise (usually before the RP starts in your lore pages and such)
* Establish your character(s) (usually in your intro post(s))
* Enact the inciting incident which kicks off the story
* Enjoy the ride

If there are any substantial differences, they're almost entirely surface level and come in the form of worldbuilding and the natural differences each genre has from the next as far as aesthetics. But beneath the surface, it's all the same process.

What really changes between genres is how you think when you're writing. For example, you'll be thinking differently when you are writing in a futuristic RP versus a medieval RP.

When it comes to 1x1 versus Group RP's, that's when some larger differences in writing come into play. And the biggest reason for this is because, presuming you're the GM of the thing, you'll have a similar but visibly different set of responsibilities.

In a 1x1 RP, your responsibilities as GM are:

* Establish the world and premise
* Discuss with your partner what the RP's general direction is going to be
* Discuss and set both of your respective expectations about posting pace
* Upon reaching the inciting incident, manage and work to maintain your partner's interest and excitement
* Keep in communication with your partner

In a Group RP, again the responsibilities are nearly identical. But there are some subtle differences.

* Establish the world and premise
* Inform your partners what the RP's general direction is going to be
* Inform your partners of the RP's expected pace is going to be
* Upon reaching the inciting incident, manage and work to maintain your partner's interest and excitement
* Keep communication going between your partners

Notice the word "Discuss" when it comes to a 1x1 versus the "Inform" that's used in a Group RP.

In a 1x1 RP, you and your partner share a roughly equal burden for directing the RP because the setting is much more intimate with only two people. Although your partner does rely on your knowledge of the RP for guidance and stability, they have far more inherent freedom and liberty to create because the 1x1 environment allows for more breathing room. Both of your characters have far more power and weight to their actions than they do in a larger group. So when it comes to the RP between you and a 1x1 partner, the burdens of maintaining the RP lie with both of you which is where the communication comes into play. The more you communicate, even if it's not always about the RP, the better.

In a Group RP, because you have multiple people the burden for directing the RP is far more on your shoulders than in a 1x1 because everyone is relying on your understanding of the RP for guidance and stability amongst a sea of chaos. The intimacy and clarity of a 1x1 is lost in the mud, so to speak. And you must take on more of a Moderator role in a Group RP as the GM to not only keep everyone on track and on pace, but also to maintain all of their interest by fulfilling the promises which are made by the premise. This can be very, very tricky to navigate because every individual in your RP is a unique individual and has to be managed as such. But this is why you must "inform" everyone of all the elements of the RP rather than discuss them. In a Group RP, you need to set everything in stone before you start and make sure everyone understands it all and adheres to it.

So yeah!

Very little difference in the how when it comes to writing between genres. Almost all the differences come at the surface level in the natural differences each genre has in its worldbuilding, setting, technological limits, etc. But none of that really changes how you write so much as how you think.

Cheers!

 

[Larry]

Thanks very much for the advice Bean! You've helped me even further, especially with what Idea and Willow had said before. So cheers!