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How much OOC Plot discussion is too much OOC Plot discussion?

I have a few odd partners. The best clicks tend to have some of the slowest ICs. Usually we share random stuff or they let me babble about my nonsense. One I've started four different roleplays with, all of them left me hanging, but we share 'wut' moments through DM on discord, so... it's cool?

In a way, my 'perfect ooc' on the last page never happened, since it usually goes a bit too far into plot discussion or otherwise getting sidetracked. Since I do better OOC than IC anyways, I also pretty easily enable a situation where the IC goes really slow as the OOC burns pretty bright and often.
 
There for sure exists a set of people who like the idea of RPing a lot more than they like RPing. They'll happily plan out RP and they'll even go into some detail about how they want the story to develop and the various twists and turns (kinky and otherwise) it might take. But they lack any interest in actually making all of that happen!

I've learned to kind of spot this behavior. Now when I encounter it I'll generally just politely but firmly insist that I think we have enough figured out and I'd like to start. Typically this just chases them away but oh well!
 
I've learned to kind of spot this behavior. Now when I encounter it I'll generally just politely but firmly insist that I think we have enough figured out and I'd like to start.
I need to do this.

So far I can’t spot any telltale signs. Are there any that could be common /as a rule/? Or is it just some instinct? I’ll have to hone it then. 😐
 
I don't know that there are clear patterns. Mostly it's just a matter of sticking to your own preferences. If you're satisfied with the level of planning then just say so, and if you feel like they're going too far with it just walk away.
 
Like an hour before the RP is fine, but christ mate. Every other response we do, and you're still trying to hit it up with me? Like, not every post that you give me, should suddenly spark a conversation, then an explanation, then followed by a lecture. I'm totally fine with some friendly talk, but I can get claustrophobic pretty quick if somebody is overwhelmingly interactive. Interact with me in the RP more, if you want that type of thing. Kek.
 
I wonder what sorts of rps succeed with little ooc versus which kind succeed with copious and extensive ooc. I can't imagine writing a multi-character epic with multiple simultaneous plot lines progressing withpout an outline, and consensus about what plot points we want to touch on. I suppose if you are just looking for a story that focuses on a relationship between characters, there isn't much need to ooc outlining.

I guess if rping is just "What would X do in Y situation" then ooc planning could work against the desire to play it out. In my case, building up a rp to that scene my partner and I are discussing OOC, and playing it out is one of the best feelings. It almost never comes out exactly how I imagine it, but it's often much better, because it's informed by the characterization and details we have littered throughout the story.

How long do other's "non-ooc" rps last?
I missed this before. I don’t know how.

A multi character story written by two or more people definitely needs a considerable amount of OOC planning. Discussing the world, scenarios etc to a basic level. It’s like making a virtual space and dropping the characters in to do their own thing. Such RPs that I’ve been a part of, lasted fairly long, a min of 6 months in high fantasy type settings and close to two years for an open post apoc setting. This with just minimal OOC plot discussion. Banter, is another matter altogether.
 
I haven't read all the replies, but two cents (or ten).

Personally, I like at least a couple OOC posts to see how people communicate and just, if we feel compatible. For me that's on the super low end, but at least. It's partly kinks and partly what they seem to expect in terms of style and even the relationship (there's sooo many levels to that, I won't even start). Occasionally people have posted such wonderful stuff elsewhere or are (at least it seemed!) such an obvious match, that feels like enough. Usually though -- I mean the vast majority of cases, I prefer to go on in OOC for a good while and really get a sense of the type of story it's going to be and some details that might be used take it in various ways.

Some people absolutely abhor this, but I feel like if we can't do that much and feel like we match in OOC, why bother putting parts of it in an even longer form first. Cause I do want it to go on a while when it's a post. Of course, if you like one line or one paragraph in your posts, that's maybe a different story. And if it turns out we don't like how each other does the story writing, at least we got to enjoy and maybe develop the idea for a while. (Although it's still kinda frustrating if it's dropped after doing "planning" forever and thinking everything was grand and the intent was to make a story together. But one has to start someplace, and who knows, they might have dropped it at the first post anyway regardless.)

It seems to me that actually posting (or messaging) the story is really another form of writing. So it's not that shocking if things still go wrong there even after discussion. I don't know how many people here enjoy restarting or redoing posts; I usually honestly don't. I've had a few people ask me to, but usually it's under condition that it suits their preferences without much regard for mine... Or by then, I'm just tired of it cause I put a lot into my posts and with this demand for redo, I lose confidence and momentum. It does frustrate me when people disappear after I posted and don't even say something, though. And a tiny bit of polite, maybe sympathetic explanation would even feel nice but that's incredibly rare - could they just let me know (ok, without snapping at me) anyway?

I also think different people have different expectations of first posts as such... I see them more as setting a mood and expressing character outlook on things at the beginning. Maybe that's partly because often, I don't expect to have such full control (or knowledge) of what's next, when others are in more dominant positions starting from the next post. (I'm actually beginning to feel it makes more sense to let the dominant role in conflict situations, be the one to start the story too. Maybe that's just my bad luck, though.) It's different if we've agreed in OOC that some particular thing should be accomplished, or some particular place should be described fully, to begin with. Sometimes others apparently have other ideas though - cause they yeah, just disappeared.

I agree (re: Lekhika) multi-character rp's may need more discussion (at least, in an "open" setting when there's room for them each to be moving or acting). I've occasionally built way too many "interesting" characters up too far, and then gotten stuck trying to juggle them all without enough reply to inspire what's next. That can just become frustrating.
 
I agree (re: Lekhika) multi-character rp's may need more discussion (at least, in an "open" setting when there's room for them each to be moving or acting). I've occasionally built way too many "interesting" characters up too far, and then gotten stuck trying to juggle them all without enough reply to inspire what's next. That can just become frustrating.
One thing I'm doing has this problem right now, where I have over a dozen viable characters for use (long story how it ended up that way) that I pretty evenly enjoy. In this case, some frank OOC and some back and forth regarding what we want to do when is almost essential. The more intensive the play/complicated the scope, the better it is to stop by OOC and check up on things at the very least.
 
I don't know but I'll be sure to let you know once I've figured it out, lol.

It varies by partner, as most things do. Some like to get a loose idea of the characters and setting and run from there. See where it goes "naturally".
Others seem to prefer to hash out the medium or even small details to further build the world or characters in it.

I'm open to either with a slight lean toward the latter. Work is being done to be more accommodating to more potential partners.
 
I feel it’s a case by case thing.. Depends on the people and the role play too. Some rps can call for more elements of surprise, while others need to be finely combed over. I myself will always try and see a role play through to its end, no matter the amount of OOC planning.
 
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