I feel like a bad RPer

[Soul Stealer]

I'm not feeling really sure of myself. I've started 30+ RPs over a few months, and as made obvious by barely having more than 1000 posts, none of them really took off. Also, most RPs I join fall apart in less than a month. Only well developed RPs don't destablize and die out. All of my RPs make up for about 250 of my posts, and if you add the other ones I joined that fell apart, there's only 450 posts, coming from 90% of the RPs I've ever been in. Can anyone help?

 

[call me rae]

To be clear are you asking for help making a specific roleplay work or for more general tips on improving as a roleplayer?

 

[call me rae]

Here is a good thread for help on running roleplays @Grey also has some nice tutorials as well.

 

[Soul Stealer]

What thread and general advice. Thanks I guess, but...

 

[Idea]

I think people are gonna tell you this a lot, and it might not really work as at consolation, but that´s perfectly normal. 99% of RPs die, nomatter who or how good you are.


So, one advise I can give is the obvious: Don´t give up, don´t let this take you down, keep trying. You won´t always succeed, nor most of the times, but some will be successful. Keep trying to find partners where you are both having a great time RPing.


Another thing that you should notice is that there is a small period of the year where people aren´t constantly busy, and that is usually around the summer and beginning of the winter. Because of that, these last few months aren't a really good example of how an overall RP availability experience should be, and it´s normal everyone keeps dropping. We all have jobs or tests or whatever, and sometimes it only takes one person to leave to kill an RP. It´s not your fault people can be too busy.


In that regard, I would advise not being too picky or audacious. Try to work yourself into other people´s schedule, work it out with them, Be open minded about what themes, and try to incorporate your ideas into their own or vice versa, depending on the situation.


Although this might seem counter-intuitive given your problem, I also advise you to do everything you can to put your soul into it. The more invested you are in making the RP great, the greater the odds you can actually produce something unique. Chat OOC, come up with plans and plot twists and really take time to develop characters and plot, at the right pacing. Read and research about the topics, and rack your brains to try to find ways to satify everyone or at least find a middle term. RPing is a collaborative effort, not something just to please yourself.


I hope these were useful, or at least helped you cheer up.

 

[call me rae]

Tutorial - One Stop Shop[/URL] Sorry I was on my phone and I guess the link didn't go through.

 

[Dusky]

Alright, so, you've made over 30 roleplays in the span of just a few months? There's your problem.


All those ideas likely needed far more time for you to plan, develop, and round them out. Any roleplay requires a strong foundation in order to take off, otherwise nothing distinguishes it from any other roleplay, or establishes it as anything more than a pretty cool idea.

 

[Myot]

I haven't started a single roleplay on this site yet. Am still looking around. Afraid of failure.

 

[call me rae]

I haven't started a single roleplay on this site yet. Am still looking around. Afraid of failure.

@Depature


I would say to both you and the OP as @Idea said, sometimes you just have to put yourselves out there. Everyone fails, I have never been in a single roleplay that didn't ultimately fail in some way or another. The really good ones just kept going despite of that. Either through reboots or the players getting together to make spin offs. The most important thing you have to learn as a roleplayer is to embrace failure. We all fail. It doesn't make you a "bad roleplayer" it makes you just like the rest of us.


The thing to remember is that each time you fail it will tell you something different about what went wrong. Sometimes it's because you didn't have a strong enough story, other times because the people in your roleplay had conflicting attitudes, still other times it will just be simple lack of time.


With each new roleplay try to work on the issues that plagued the last one and remember. Failure will happen. It's not a bad thing. It's a opportunity to learn and improve.


If you keep that in mind I promise you'll have a lot more fun going forward on this or any other roleplay site.

 

[Idea]

I haven't started a single roleplay on this site yet. Am still looking around. Afraid of failure.

It will happen, don´t illude yourself. However, no need to be afraid of that. Everyone makes mistakes and every experience can be a constructive one. Just go ahead and try. As Benjamin Franklin said (or I hope it was him), "I didn´t fail. I found 2000 ways of how not to make a lightbulb."

 

[Idea]

@Depature
I would say to both you and the OP as @Idea said, sometimes you just have to put yourselves out there. Everyone fails, I have never been in a single roleplay that didn't ultimately fail in some way or another. The really good ones just kept going despite of that. Either through reboots or the players getting together to make spin offs. The most important thing you have to learn as a roleplayer is to embrace failure. We all fail. It doesn't make you a "bad roleplayer" it makes you just like the rest of us.


The thing to remember is that each time you fail it will tell you something different about what went wrong. Sometimes it's because you didn't have a strong enough story, other times because the people in your roleplay had conflicting attitudes, still other times it will just be simple lack of time.


With each new roleplay try to work on the issues that plagued the last one and remember. Failure will happen. It's not a bad thing. It's a opportunity to learn and improve.


If you keep that in mind I promise you'll have a lot more fun going forward on this or any other roleplay site.

well said.

 

[Dusky]

It will happen, don´t illude yourself. However, no need to be afraid of that. Everyone makes mistakes and every experience can be a constructive one. Just go ahead and try. As Benjamin Franklin said (or I hope it was him), "I didn´t fail. I found 2000 ways of how not to make a lightbulb."

Edison, rather, but a wonderful quote nonetheless!

 

[Soul Stealer]

I think people are gonna tell you this a lot, and it might not really work as at consolation, but that´s perfectly normal. 99% of RPs die, nomatter who or how good you are.
So, one advise I can give is the obvious: Don´t give up, don´t let this take you down, keep trying. You won´t always succeed, nor most of the times, but some will be successful. Keep trying to find partners where you are both having a great time RPing.


Another thing that you should notice is that there is a small period of the year where people aren´t constantly busy, and that is usually around the summer and beginning of the winter. Because of that, these last few months aren't a really good example of how an overall RP availability experience should be, and it´s normal everyone keeps dropping. We all have jobs or tests or whatever, and sometimes it only takes one person to leave to kill an RP. It´s not your fault people can be too busy.


In that regard, I would advise not being too picky or audacious. Try to work yourself into other people´s schedule, work it out with them, Be open minded about what themes, and try to incorporate your ideas into their own or vice versa, depending on the situation.


Although this might seem counter-intuitive given your problem, I also advise you to do everything you can to put your soul into it. The more invested you are in making the RP great, the greater the odds you can actually produce something unique. Chat OOC, come up with plans and plot twists and really take time to develop characters and plot, at the right pacing. Read and research about the topics, and rack your brains to try to find ways to satify everyone or at least find a middle term. RPing is a collaborative effort, not something just to please yourself.


I hope these were useful, or at least helped you cheer up.

I think the pacing part may be the main problem for me. Thanks!

 

[Idea]

Edison, rather, but a wonderful quote nonetheless!

indeed

 

[Idea]

[QUOTE="The Departure]I think the pacing part may be the main problem for me. Thanks!

[/QUOTE]
no problem!

 

[JokerValentine]

Just because things fall apart does not mean you did not succeed at all. You are not necessarily the reason for the Roleplays going under, it could simply be bad luck. This happens to more people than you think, so you are not alone. Also, looking at the posts other RPs get does not mean you are worse. Just because an RP dies quicker does not make the writer any worse. You are unique to this site, truly, and as hard as it may be for you to believe it, nobody can replace you and become the same person you are.


My advice: take this as a challenge. Take this as something to work forward on, rather than looking back and lamenting on what failed. Read more, as books personally gave me great ideas on how to write. Thirdly, don't try to be like anyone else. You don't need to look up to anything or anyone, just dedicate your talent and your heart, and nothing can stop you.

 

[Grey]

The master has failed a thousand times where the student has yet to try.

 

[zanarkand]

I wouldn't really worry about it! I've never had a roleplay that lasted for very long and it doesn't mean that you're a bad roleplayer or a bad writer if your games don't pan out. Just try again, find another partner(maybe one that will try more than one plot after the first one dies off)


Don't be afraid to restart! Try a genre that you're not used to! If you play fantasy all the time try scifi(they're really not much different at all but reskinning things can make it fresh)

 

[Morrisaye]

Most RPs die. Don't feel bad. I've been on roleplay forums for years and games like World of Warcraft for just as long.


For every successful RP thread or guild or server -- I've seen hundreds fail. Forum RP is one of the worst offenders in that regard.


People get bored. They get discouraged. Forum RP can move pretty slow, and some people jump in, thinking they'll be into it, but they're just not. It happens all the time.

 

[Flutterby]

Ive been on both sides of this coin: being a part of an RP that fails and being part of one that does really well


Most of the time, RPs fail due to a combination of reason. Players have things happen, get busy, forget, lose interest.. whatever, and the RP cant continue because all of the sudden, no one is there.


The biggest things Ive noticed in the successful RPs Ive been in:


A strong direction for the plot, whether all the players know it or not. This is something the GM is responsible for, but it can always be delegated to the group if necessary. Regardless of who knows what about the plot, theres always a place for it to go. I find that my favorite way to play is with set arcs, kind of like missions, where there is a set task for players to accomplish, and then all the arcs tie in to the main goal. There has to be a main goal, I think most RPers find free-for-all RPs off-putting and eventually drop out. Sometimes, this means that the RP will end once the main goal is accomplished, and thats okay.


Enough room for creativity, but stay within the bounds. Everyone wants to feel like they have input and the ability to add something to whats going on, but too much freedom can derail the story, or lead to hurt feelings and such if people feel like one player is taking everything over.


A lot of the time, I find that successful RPs have a lot of OOC chatter. I love when players use the OOC to help the GM brainstorm for what will happen next or collaborate about what their characters could do. More than once, people start PMs to discuss something they want to do so that they can surprise everyone else when it happens in character.


Doing this kind of talking helps players feel more connected and involved in the game and makes it a lot less likely that they will just drop out.


One more thing- you cant be afraid to recruit new people even in the middle of a thread, or to join in the middle of a thread. If people begin to disappear and you want to keep it going, find more people! All it takes is a little imagination to find a way for new characters to enter, and then you have a ton of new interactions and abilities to explore.

 

[Flutterby]

That was a lot longer than I intended O.o sorry lol


Just keep trying, find some like-minded people, dont be afraid to get out of your comfort zone, everyone has RPs fail, but there are some really great ones out there!

 

[AshCookie32]

@The Departure -- As many of those who have already replied, I too, have been in many a failed RP in the past. What I've learned over the years is that the length of general RPs depends a lot on the people you're writing with. Obviously you want to have a strong story and well thought out plot, but a very important component is the other part of the RP, whether you're in a group or one x one. I try to connect with them -- it tends to make plotting much more entertaining and you're more likely to have RPs that last longer.

 

[Melisena]

RPs falter, wither and die all the time, it's nothing new really.. Enjoy them while they last.. OOC communication is also pretty important. Not only keeps the GM and players on the same page, but players can throw in their own ideas for the RP to make it more interesting and making it last longer. If people simply stop posting, then there's nothing you can really do about that. Just my two cents really.

 

[Soul Stealer]

To be honest, I stopped watching this thread like 2 weeks ago >.>