I have a whole document dedicated to editing rp replies 
Part of me just loves refining my writing into a polished piece, and the other is just anxious to get it 'right' for my partner (that's the part I hate, that icky feeling of not being good enough). I go into all the 'put-myself-in-characters-shoes' and 'show don't tell' techniques. Half the fun is in the editing tbh! There's times I have over three different possible replies and battle myself trying to pick the best one
What's your experience with editing when it comes to rp?
Part of me just loves refining my writing into a polished piece, and the other is just anxious to get it 'right' for my partner (that's the part I hate, that icky feeling of not being good enough). I go into all the 'put-myself-in-characters-shoes' and 'show don't tell' techniques. Half the fun is in the editing tbh! There's times I have over three different possible replies and battle myself trying to pick the best one
What's your experience with editing when it comes to rp?
hmm.. I reread every response 3 times before I post. Mostly for tenses/grammar/spelling/clarity.
I do... think about my posts a lot before I start writing though. And will generally know, before I even sit down to write, whether it'll be something I want to spend a little more time on the execution, or if it's mostly going to be a post to keep things moving (thought, action, dialogue). For the first, I would sit with it for a while even with the first draft. Especially if it's a post where I'm trying to do something a little different?
What I don't do is mull over it because I don't think it's good enough for my partner. I have RPs that make me write better, and make me want to write better, and they're amazing. But you write better for you, no? It shouldn't be homework?
There are some responses where I write and make a face at it, and I have to... just.. scrap or revisit later. But that's my standard, you know?
If my average isn't up to par for a writing partner, I hope they'd tell me, and maybe it's not a good fit ?
(yeah, I know anxiety doesn't work that way. Can't just stop. I do get anxious about it when I write with partners that clearly have so much more experience than me. OOC communication is very key, and they usually put me at ease because..like.. they're mostly just doing it for fun too)
I do... think about my posts a lot before I start writing though. And will generally know, before I even sit down to write, whether it'll be something I want to spend a little more time on the execution, or if it's mostly going to be a post to keep things moving (thought, action, dialogue). For the first, I would sit with it for a while even with the first draft. Especially if it's a post where I'm trying to do something a little different?
What I don't do is mull over it because I don't think it's good enough for my partner. I have RPs that make me write better, and make me want to write better, and they're amazing. But you write better for you, no? It shouldn't be homework?
There are some responses where I write and make a face at it, and I have to... just.. scrap or revisit later. But that's my standard, you know?
If my average isn't up to par for a writing partner, I hope they'd tell me, and maybe it's not a good fit ?
I find RP writing is mostly compatibility rather than writing skill anyway.
One of my favourite RPs right now, my writing partner's English isn't very strong. Vocabulary is limited and sometimes the definition of things get a little mixed up. But our story ideas are very compatible, and so are our characters. I just ask for clarification, and expect them to do the same. Based on their posts, I KNOW they pay more attention to my posts than most of my other RPs, and they're very responsive to the details I put in. They don't need to use very many writing techniques to show me that, and I super appreciate it. Makes me want to write better too. Try new things in our RP, and see if it translates/communicates properly.
(yeah, I know anxiety doesn't work that way. Can't just stop. I do get anxious about it when I write with partners that clearly have so much more experience than me. OOC communication is very key, and they usually put me at ease because..like.. they're mostly just doing it for fun too)
Like silenttruth, I read mine over a couple times after mostly for spelling, grammer, and autocorrect when phone posting. While I'm doing this there's been times I notice something I didn't word quite right and decide to fix it.
I find if I spend too much time going over a post, I'll end up going over it forever and might trash the whole thing. It's real easy to get into your own head, at least for me.
Bottom line, imo, writing isn't a competition, nor is it supposed to be work on a roleplay site designed for recreation. I understand the desire to write quality work, but don't compare your writing to your partners in an attempt to 'keep up' or be 'good enough' for someone else. Write to your own enjoyment and convictions.
I find if I spend too much time going over a post, I'll end up going over it forever and might trash the whole thing. It's real easy to get into your own head, at least for me.
Bottom line, imo, writing isn't a competition, nor is it supposed to be work on a roleplay site designed for recreation. I understand the desire to write quality work, but don't compare your writing to your partners in an attempt to 'keep up' or be 'good enough' for someone else. Write to your own enjoyment and convictions.
silentruth wrote:
What I don't do is mull over it because I don't think it's good enough for my partner. I have RPs that make me write better, and make me want to write better, and they're amazing. But you write better for you, no? It shouldn't be homework?
There are some responses where I write and make a face at it, and I have to... just.. scrap or revisit later. But that's my standard, you know?
If my average isn't up to par for a writing partner, I hope they'd tell me, and maybe it's not a good fit ?
There are some responses where I write and make a face at it, and I have to... just.. scrap or revisit later. But that's my standard, you know?
If my average isn't up to par for a writing partner, I hope they'd tell me, and maybe it's not a good fit ?
I just notice that while I'm editing around sometimes I find myself doing it for that reason and I gotta remind myself to shift my mindset. But for the most part I enjoy the "homework", I genuinely find it fun to mess with possible replies and fix it all up. The problem is when I overthink it
I agree with the compatibility thing, it's seeing that the other person is intertwining their reply with yours instead of being in their own world, if that makes sense??
Ooc talk definitely helps when those anxious feelings hit
glad I'm not the only one who gets intimidated sometimes!
Alien_Princess wrote:
I find if I spend too much time going over a post, I'll end up going over it forever and might trash the whole thing. It's real easy to get into your own head, at least for me.
Yep I get this. Sometimes I manage to convince myself that my writing is terrible, for literally no reason
?But very true we should write to our own enjoyment! But I think (And I'm sure you get this!), still considering the partner in some ways is important since roleplay is cooperative writing. When people just write for their own indulgence it can make things too rigid and uncomfy for the other person. That's mostly what I worry about doing at times, not so much the length or sparkly wording.
My starters honestly take ages unless I’m feeling inspired. Then it goes through two editing programs-Grammarly and WordCounter.net . I used to over-edit to the point that I hated everything I wrote. 😅
I don’t do that as much but sometimes I have my days.
I don’t do that as much but sometimes I have my days.
dizzzy wrote:
I just notice that while I'm editing around sometimes I find myself doing it for that reason and I gotta remind myself to shift my mindset. But for the most part I enjoy the "homework", I genuinely find it fun to mess with possible replies and fix it all up. The problem is when I overthink it
I agree with the compatibility thing, it's seeing that the other person is intertwining their reply with yours instead of being in their own world, if that makes sense??
I agree with the compatibility thing, it's seeing that the other person is intertwining their reply with yours instead of being in their own world, if that makes sense??
My version of the homework is research.. I go down wiki rabbit holes looking for the right word for things.. and then.. no one cares what kind of capacitors my character uses or if it's suitable for the plot lol.. but I'm learning things! And then I'll immediately forget it.
You're right. It's all fun and games until you overthink it.
And yesss one of my favorite things is when both our characters are kinda.. In their own heads, or doing their own thing.. But there are parallels!
dizzy wrote:
But I think (And I'm sure you get this!), still considering the partner in some ways is important since roleplay is cooperative writing. When people just write for their own indulgence it can make things too rigid and uncomfy for the other person. That's mostly what I worry about doing at times, not so much the length or sparkly wording.
I absolutely agree, it's when you write only for someone else that it becomes a problem. There has to be give and take and I've fallen victim to feeding too much into posts where the enjoyment was lost for me, when something I spent a fraction of the time on would have been just as good. If you find a cure to overthinking, patent it cuz you'll get rich, and maybe off just me xD
Rigormortiful wrote:
My starters honestly take ages unless I’m feeling inspired. Then it goes through two editing programs-Grammarly and WordCounter.net . I used to over-edit to the point that I hated everything I wrote. 😅
I don’t do that as much but sometimes I have my days.
I don’t do that as much but sometimes I have my days.
Yep overediting is always a bad idea in my experience
Ah but I love starters, I tend to write way too much for those
silentruth wrote:
My version of the homework is research.. I go down wiki rabbit holes looking for the right word for things.. and then.. no one cares what kind of capacitors my character uses or if it's suitable for the plot lol.. but I'm learning things! And then I'll immediately forget it.
Ah yes the wiki holes
I've learnt a surprising amount of history because of RP
Alien_Princess wrote:
I absolutely agree, it's when you write only for someone else that it becomes a problem. There has to be give and take and I've fallen victim to feeding too much into posts where the enjoyment was lost for me, when something I spent a fraction of the time on would have been just as good.
Yeah I can relate to this as well
Gotta find the balance!
I rarely write directly after reading a response. I read it, ponder on it. Read it again, ponder on how my character/s would respond. Then I write the majority of it. And theeeen I read what I have and ask myself whether or not I'm giving them enough to work with. While some cues are more subtle, some need to be obvious, and my worst fear is someone reading my reply and thinking "I don't know how to respond." 😭 It's an awful feeling for both parties.
If there's no cues for the other player/s to use, I write it in or re-write as necessary while staying in character.
Then finally I check for grammar/spelling. Though to be honest, I'm quite lazy with this final check lol. A typo here or there never bothers me from my partners and I don't think it's super distracting from a good RP unless it's ridiculously common. After that, I finally send.
If there's no cues for the other player/s to use, I write it in or re-write as necessary while staying in character.
Then finally I check for grammar/spelling. Though to be honest, I'm quite lazy with this final check lol. A typo here or there never bothers me from my partners and I don't think it's super distracting from a good RP unless it's ridiculously common. After that, I finally send.
I am predominantly used to role-playing using the Furcadia client, where role-play is 'in the moment' rather than like it is on a forum or through messaging. This means that I tend to keep an eye out for phrasing improvements and errors while I am actively writing it. I do take the opportunity that forum, message, and Discord posting afford to look over things more and to slow down, making use of the time.
eeeeeeeeeeeeee i only edit fanfic chapters i'm too spoiled by chat rp to ever get into the habit of refining RP posts it's so baaaaaad ahahahaha
that's only become a problem since the ol' brainfires started flaring up regularly -- sometimes i'm confident that the first go is legible and detailed and engaging enough; but a lot more often lately i can just feel when something's not up to par because i know my brains aren't working at a hundred, you know?
if i want to wait until i can write better i keep the scene cooking in my head, rather than keep a draft anywhere. sometimes it takes a few days to turn the problem over and come up with a satisfying plot direction or collect enough relevant details (or just to wait until my spoons can be divided again hah).
but on the whole i only revise chaptered writing; and even then i am so bad at like... posting on the first draft cos i just want to advance the story and then come back like a week or half a year later to revise before updating ~
doesn't do The Craft any favors, buuuut it does keep the hobby from turning into unpaid performance work, which is the sweet spot i aim for.
that said: I LOVE EDITING. i love love love it. i will revisit decades old stories for rewrites and tune-ups and my readers seem to appreciate that (the thing about us olds is, we loves us our ancient fandom ruins). i'm like the workdog that got homed in an apartment, if i don't have any actual work to do i will eat the couch.
that's only become a problem since the ol' brainfires started flaring up regularly -- sometimes i'm confident that the first go is legible and detailed and engaging enough; but a lot more often lately i can just feel when something's not up to par because i know my brains aren't working at a hundred, you know?
if i want to wait until i can write better i keep the scene cooking in my head, rather than keep a draft anywhere. sometimes it takes a few days to turn the problem over and come up with a satisfying plot direction or collect enough relevant details (or just to wait until my spoons can be divided again hah).
but on the whole i only revise chaptered writing; and even then i am so bad at like... posting on the first draft cos i just want to advance the story and then come back like a week or half a year later to revise before updating ~
doesn't do The Craft any favors, buuuut it does keep the hobby from turning into unpaid performance work, which is the sweet spot i aim for.
that said: I LOVE EDITING. i love love love it. i will revisit decades old stories for rewrites and tune-ups and my readers seem to appreciate that (the thing about us olds is, we loves us our ancient fandom ruins). i'm like the workdog that got homed in an apartment, if i don't have any actual work to do i will eat the couch.
I absolutely love editing my replies. It depends on the length, but I'm the sort to go through my post and edit until I'm happy.
Especially with longer ones: I have an RP going with an incredible writer atm, and each response averages about 2000-6000 words per reply. I'm here for it, I love it and it's my favourite way to write, but my actual reply always takes ages because I edit it a few times before sending haha. Shorter RPs I tend to do less on, simply because there's less of it to edit ig?
I do agree with Kidd in that my worst fear is also someone seeing my post and being like, "they've given me nothing to respond with"! I get so caught up in description and inner monologues, and I usually have to go through my piece before I send it to make sure I've left enough things for my partner to pick up on and react to.
Admittedly sometimes I fall into the overediting camp and absolutely hate every single word of my reply lol. Then I just have to hope it's just me and it's actually a decent response 😂
Especially with longer ones: I have an RP going with an incredible writer atm, and each response averages about 2000-6000 words per reply. I'm here for it, I love it and it's my favourite way to write, but my actual reply always takes ages because I edit it a few times before sending haha. Shorter RPs I tend to do less on, simply because there's less of it to edit ig?
I do agree with Kidd in that my worst fear is also someone seeing my post and being like, "they've given me nothing to respond with"! I get so caught up in description and inner monologues, and I usually have to go through my piece before I send it to make sure I've left enough things for my partner to pick up on and react to.
Admittedly sometimes I fall into the overediting camp and absolutely hate every single word of my reply lol. Then I just have to hope it's just me and it's actually a decent response 😂
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