The infernal problem of location

TheImpossible · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **TheImpossible** on Thu Mar 03, 2011 4:49 am

Hey there,

I'm looking for advice about something that has continually stumped me as a roleplayer/writer of co-authored books. It drives me insane frequently: how in the world do two writers ever agree on what their location looks like?

I for one am a very descriptive writer, and it's second nature for me to add in a detail about a table someone is leaning on, or the view from a window to their right, or descriptions of stairwells and hallways when a character is walking with someone and talking. Yet, short of trading elaborate blueprints with your co-author/fellow RPer, I don't see how this awkwardness regarding location can be easily solved. I always feel self-conscious when I take over the scenery and describe something that I tentatively think might exist, and never know if I'm messing with the other writer's head or taking too much control of the surroundings.

Honestly, this problem is what stumps me 90% of the time when it comes to writing. I'm that obnoxious RP partner who PMs you with OOC questions every five minutes :P Have any of you found good ways to cope with this?

LawOfTheLand · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LawOfTheLand** on Thu Mar 03, 2011 5:12 pm

Usually, the best way to go about this is for the co-authors to agree on who's responsible for what. One person might create the geography of the setting itself, another might take over from there and plant cultures and political machinations around the world that form the basis of the plot, and a third might take what's been given him by the other two and create important NPCs (the bartender, for example) as well as guidelines for player character creation.

TheImpossible · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **TheImpossible** on Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:53 pm

That sounds like a good way of breaking up responsibilities in an RP. Would the writers congregate about this information beforehand in an OOC thread, or would the writer in charge of, say, a jungle just do the bulk of the description in-character posts while the team is in said jungle? Then switch out to another writer who is in charge of the interior of an office building? I realize there are probably hundreds of ways to do this but I'm curious what the seasoned RPers think is the best way. Thanks for the reply!

Tea · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Tea** on Fri Aug 26, 2011 4:23 am

It is essential to have an organized understanding and agreement about this subject before any role-play takes place. The First Rule of Caution which I have used, with great success I might add, through my role-play career is, "The player who makes the object describes it." This rule avoids wounding others' sensibilities and allows freedom of expression for the one who added the design. The Second Rule of Caution which I have used is, "Be willing to edit your posts." If you add a detail to someone else's concept, and they disapprove, then they are always correct. So you should be ready to alter any text you offered which might blatantly contradict a design choice of someone else.

In my own experience the best role-players build on each others' posts. They both add independent objects and scenery which tramples on the feet of neither player. That tends to by my experience and I recommend that you simply say, "If something I add bothers you, let me know, otherwise I will not worry about it."

Still, the best rule that I like to follow is, "Find an understanding role-player." Doing that, though...the finding of someone who is creative, sensitive, and trustworthy, is much more easy to say than do.

LSunday · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LSunday** on Sat Sep 10, 2011 9:35 pm

If you're playing with good RPers, one of the unwritten rules you'll find they all follow is 'yes, and' (as a Theatre Improv teacher of mine used to call it) in which two people playing off each other will never contradict what someone else says. (Not to mean they won't say no to what you want, but they won't say no to what you say the facts are.) I like to follow this rule even if it's something ridiculous and blatantly Sue or pointless, etc. That isn't to say I won't have massive internal dialogue on how ridiculous it is, with the hope the other player will pick up on it and retcon themselves.

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