How did you get your motivation to RP back & how do you come up with RP plot ideas?

[Ironic]

I tried searching for a thread already made regarding this. I may be blind or this is somewhat the first one.

I guess I have two open discussion questions...

1.) When you're down in the dumps, how do you get your love and motivation to write back? I don't know if depression has literally chewed me and spit me back out once all of the flavor went away, but I feel like writing is such a CHORE. I look back at my old stories and work and I can't help but envy my past self because I was (or, I think at least) a very skilled writer. I get these small bursts of a desire to write that eventually quickly simmers away. I know if I start a new story I will write one post and say "I am done. I can't go on with it anymore." I want my desire to come back, the excitement, you know... :[

2.) What inspires/motivates you into writing an original plot idea? It seems that I base my ideas off of previous stories or movies, anime, shows, pictures/art, and books. I don't know if I really came up with an original idea without taking a piece from something similar. What steps do you take in creating the perfect setting, genre, etc? I'd love to hear.

 

[Revelations]

Hrmmm, these are both great questions. I'm not sure I have an answer for them, but I can give my thoughts on each question.

1) I deal with depression quite a bit, personally. Depression is an excellent demotivator when it comes to things you enjoy. With me, when I'm down, I find it hard to want to commit to a story, let alone write a post. Like you, I look back at some of my older RP's and go 'Man I was a damn machine back in the day' when it came to belting out replies. Lately, I've been doing my best to try and motivate myself more. I've found keeping myself a bit busy and finding other projects for me to do has naturally motivated me to write a bit more, and be more active. Exercise, taking walks, and just briefly distancing myself away from RP for a day or two also helps a good amount. I also find keeping an OOC discussion with a partner lately to be a key component to keep myself motivated. The last part may not work for everyone, but I find it's a lot easier to write with someone if we share similar hobbies we can chat about every once in a while. Some RP writers are going to not be as chatty as others though and that's OK.

Generally, I would say my main answers for number 1 would be to try and other things that make you happy, and I feel that a spark for writing may well come back. Depression is a bitch to deal with, and it's a massive drain on one's motivation. It's an uphill battle to deal with depression, but having other hobbies to fall back on helps me out a lot.

2) I suppose this isn't an immediate answer to your question, but I don't feel there's anything wrong with being inspired by, or motivated by another piece of work. I get inspired by things I see all the time, and I feel it's an easy way to spark creativity. That being said, I understand the want and desire to have something 'original'. That's a bit of a tough one for me, I admit. Generally, I try to figure out what sort of story I am looking for at the time. Is it a vanilla romance in a fantasy setting? Something darker in a sci fi dystopia? I try to think of the initial want from the idea, and then I try to build from there. I don't think there's a singular answer that will work here though, as sometimes I've also done 'I just want to write a werewolf fucking a redhead' and that inspired a very long lasting, creative RP that I feel was original and wasn't really inspired by anything.

I don't know if these answers helped, or if they're answers at all, but given I've struggled with RP motivation very recently, I feel your pain and tried to provide my own thoughts on the matter.

 

[JuniorWizard]

Howdy Ironic!

1. There is unfortunately no fit all easy answer for something like that that will work for everyone. Writing is a chore much like anything else, and the more stories you have or the more you write for them the more it will grind you down. Sometimes it might be worth it to take on less than you think you can handle so that you don't feel like you're run off your feet, even if the desire is there to take on more you might actually have a limit that's less than the amount you could theoretically reply to without being overwhelmed - the mental burnout from constantly having to plot and reply can definitely come in way earlier than you think it will. Of a similar idea is that it's just okay to take the time off from writing, sometimes you need a break and some time away as with anything else in life, and when you come back you might want to ramp into it slowly rather than trying to jump in with all the force your previous self would have. We aren't after all who we were in the past anymore than we'll have the skills we will in the future. Another thing I think people dislike addressing about creative hobbies is that sometimes (and this is mostly in my experience so it may not apply to everyone equally) you will just need to force yourself. It's not fun and the stuff you write while forcing it might not be your best, but often times the more we make excuses to delay because we can't think up a good reply to this or a way to progress that will bleed into feeling bad about taking too long to reply and being exhausted with the roleplay itself. Sometimes you just need to at the very least attempt to force the issue so that you can get yourself into a part of the writing that you will enjoy more.

2. I mean I'm sure you know this and it's been said a million times across a million ages, but there isn't anything truly original really. We are the sum of our parts and our experiences and that's okay! Making an original setting or plot to me is more about the characters that are made to go along with it, and thus the setting serves to make the characters within it more interesting. You can spend a long time building up a world with specific rules and exact measurements but in the end if you constantly have to look back and reference the minor details of everything it can be a little draining on the forward momentum of the roleplay - since roleplay is a collaborative effort I find that keeping the setting more open to changes and manipulation as the roleplay goes on is far more interesting and fun for your state of mind than planning it all out. The perfect setting is the setting that you and a partner can make that best serves the characters in it and the story you're trying to tell with them, even if the story is literally just smut for you both to enjoy. Don't think too hard about taking pieces and bits from other media, that's just the nature of things. If something is fun and inspires you and you want to just transplant it into a different setting because you think it's interesting no one but the more obnoxious of writers is going to say that you're unskilled as an author for doing so. If you get really nitpicky you can make anything look as though it was copied from something else, probably because it was even if only unconsciously. Overthinking the specifics of what is truly 'yours' as a writer is a great way to stress yourself out even more, I say the more things you can work into a roleplay that you find interesting and that inspire you the better! It's not like we're worried about getting sued over here for infringing copyright on roleplays right? Save that worry and stress for when you're writing something you actually want to get published!



The long and short of it is that some or none of this might work as well for you as it has for me, in the end you just need to find what you enjoy about roleplaying and focus on that, don't let yourself get bogged down on how good or bad a post is or how creative or original you're being. It's a hobby and you're meant to be having fun, make sure that you're writing the stuff that will put a smile on your face to read and have the chance to reply to and you'll probably be alright. Writing is a chore, and it'll be a chore moreso the more things you have to do in your life, but lots of things are a chore and worth doing and sometimes you just need to try to frame it in the best possible way for yourself.

 

[Trussed Maiden]

All about the balance of cravings for me. I'm not the most stable person and I only have shining moments when IC interest, mood, and muse all gather up; they have their own schedules and if they don't mesh, it doesn't work.

So, spending time on media related to the roleplay (fantasy? watch some fantasy show or another, play games, etc) can help kick the interest up. It's horrible if I'm doing a fantasy play and my head's blaring sci-fi. Mood, eeeeeh... it varies. I take it where it comes. I guess the main answer is to avoid stresses and set some sort of consistency in things so there is less of a chance for it to get in the way. Muse, again boils to consuming media that puts me in that direction and having the right environment. Being out in nature has helped quite a lot. But sometimes it's the act of changing environment alone that does the most.

In short term failure of these I slow down badly, where one of the above doesn't kick in. Might leave lackluster posts or delay a good bit. Usually it's kicked by getting past that post, which doesn't have to actually be bad for it to slow me down, just hit the noggin not quite. That might happen by ignoring the post for a while and then coming back with fresh eyes, or a tiny timeskip as required, or straight up answering with a different thought path.

More seriously there are games I get into that just aren't what I was wanting. The words fit, the practice doesn't - be it the flow as imagined by the other player, the writing style not mixing, feeling bothered or straight up ideas we had different ideas about. Often this isn't their fault at all. I'm not as good communicating this as I'd like, though most recently I've gone over it and hopefully gotten better. The kicker is when no one of these things can be (at least, that I feel) reasonably changed by my partner to make it a mix. Why should they change their style or move around their conceptions for me? The balance has had some pretty crap results in the past. I go for an idea I like, but it doesn't feel good. My muse and interest are sensitive and if it just doesn't click, I'm a pretty horrible writer. It's shut me down across the board, caused extreme self-propagating anxiety and apathy, and resulted in far slower posts and just plain deflated writing that's pushed in the hope that it'll get better or I can work through it.

Different people need different takes, and I think I've taken the wrong one for myself. I try to hold to standards that leave me really spent and doing more damage to myself trying to prop them up out of obligation. I have a few side problems in the head that don't mix with that attitude. The remedy is usually another round of muse to blow through it, or inducing that by cutting off the rotting branch so at least the other things I'm doing can get done. Sometimes doing them first will make that last thing achievable, but it tends to be recurring if for the reasons mentioned.

A lot of the above I think comes from also writing with strangers I have no real contact or connection with beyond the roleplay. Sometimes it does click; I have a completely informal story going that's been relatively good despite being high risk for bad mixing. But roleplaying takes a certain level of trust; some people just give it, others struggle doing that. So I've come to lean towards one-shots that can be reasonably completed and provide low-stake investment to see if 'we' mix. I don't go overboard thinking about the meta that I may not actually want to write, and we both either part ways with little harm done or at least come up with something nice to read. That sort of live sample is more valuable to me than just putting out a generic sample that was written for a different dynamic. Plus it can be turned into something more. To connect with the thread, doing that could give you short-term motivation to reach the next moment and add a gentle urgency. If you take things scene by scene, you shouldn't worry about where you'll be near 'the end' that roleplays rarely ever find. If you're focused on creating moments that stand by themselves, adding to the narrative? I feel more accomplished with that, personally.

This was kinda more for me than anything else, but hopefully there's something useful to find here.

I also think I've changed a lot, not necessarily for the better. Writing used to come far easier, the above wasn't as worrisome. Maybe you've just changed. Gotta see where you are, what you need to do... if the hobby is still your thing. If it is, at least frame it in the now. Bogging in what things were hasn't helped me too much.

Second question's much simpler to me. Forget 'original'. What you'd mainly want is a niche. Doing the thing you want with unique execution. I've seen writers bend into their butts trying to make something unique and coming up with barely coherent 180s of tropes that aren't particularly enjoyable and aren't common because the goal was weak subversion for its own sake. Nuh-uh. Secondly, forget 'perfect'. At most, professional authors with a meta goal might worry about 'perfect' as it can be to appeal to the people needed to keep it going. Anything less and an acceptable fuzzy ground of 'good enough' is ideal, as it appeals to you. You might not have dreamed up all the parts, but you're doing it in your way. It might be similar to something that exists (and if you look hard enough, you will always find an uncanny comparison) but if it fits the aims you made it for and isn't IP squatting, it's probably just fine.

If you find yourself just taking ideas often though, you may find it useful to deconstruct what you're pulling. Ok, you took this thing. Why? What made it fit? What makes it fit with your idea, and what should change to make it optimal? That kind of approach I think is original by virtue of many writers never going into that amount of detail. Some do, but many offer potential, not the 'best' form of that piece. They had enough to worry about, you have the luxury of being a fan/outsider that is probably under much less pressure and a different goal. So you can afford to flesh it out. As long as credit goes where it's due and you respect what you're pulling, I think you've done well enough.

And finally, I've come to think that 'plot idea' slightly misses what a roleplay is going for. You're looking for dynamics. What sort of bouncy goodness in the scene itself, the elements you use in writing comes from it. A plot idea should dish up the stuff you'd like to write. Game of Thrones has dynamics that are worlds apart from Lord of the Rings on purpose. Dig into why that is and what they are, and maybe you can tailor plot ideas/suggestions to get those things.

 

[Seranda]

1.) When you're down in the dumps, how do you get your love and motivation to write back?

When a story becomes a chore, it may be time to communicate with your partner to see if there is anyway to ignite a new spark. Your partner may be having the roleplaying experience of the year, and you on the other end are slogging through what you feel is just plain work. I will say, having been on that boat... if you trust your partner, and are willing to invest in them... sometimes slogging through a few posts to get to the next main event can be worth it. Sometimes all you need is something different or impactful to happen, to change your angle and give you motivation.

2.) What inspires/motivates you into writing an original plot idea?

Video games, movies, commercials even. Any images I may see on an image board, adult content artists and their original characters and styles. Music or the lyrics within. Just random television shows. I could be watching the Food Network. And some lady is cooking and her son comes in to help her. And for some reason that gives me some incest idea or an idea with a mother and her son's close friend. I dunno.

 

[Fruit]

1.) When you're down in the dumps, how do you get your love and motivation to write back? I don't know if depression has literally chewed me and spit me back out once all of the flavor went away, but I feel like writing is such a CHORE. I look back at my old stories and work and I can't help but envy my past self because I was (or, I think at least) a very skilled writer. I get these small bursts of a desire to write that eventually quickly simmers away. I know if I start a new story I will write one post and say "I am done. I can't go on with it anymore." I want my desire to come back, the excitement, you know... :[

I was somewhat like that. For the longest time, I liked having posts out that were good quality but never enjoyed the actual process of writing said posts. I'd think of a plot, really feel like I want to write it because I could craft something beautiful, but then when I actually do start writing I'll feel like I'm working rather than enjoying my time with a hobby. I remember thinking that I'd rather do anything else with my free time. My posts would take an average of 1-2 months, and then when I'd summon enough will to write them, I'd still post something rushed and typed in an hour. I was also wrestling with depression at the time. I didn't really enjoy my life, and that was reflected on my enjoyment of writing.

What helped me was taking a break. For around 2-3 years, I barely wrote anything on BMR. I'd still keep slow RPs that never took off, but I mostly browsed the place to respond to graphics requests and banter once every blue moon on the discord server. During that long-ass hiatus I'd frequently update my RT with ideas and plots but never really bump it. When I got back from my break I was rejuvenated to write again. Having absorbed a lot of inspiration from movies, shows, games, books, and song that I'd been exposed to through out my break, I had a lot of ideas to turn into stories.

One source of inspiration for me was that I started experimenting with completely different aspects of eRP. Originally, I'd mostly write seductive vixens in consensual stories. I'd written a bit of FxF and some eccentric characters here and there but mostly I revolved around the same theme: strong, sexual, hetero female characters. After my break I started drawing with new crayons. I threw myself into BDSM stories, dub and non-con pairings, snuff, femdom, MxM, etc.. I think the change really helped me rekindle the passion alongside the extended break.

If neither of these two ideas look attractive to you, Ironic, I recommend you focus on the aspect that you enjoy about RPing. Do you like writing, but not enjoy the commitment to specific time-frames and standards? Do you enjoy writing in small bursts, like you said? I think you could it fun to write a solo story. Whether you post it publicly in the stories section here or keep it in your PC, I think it could be a perfect way to enjoy writing, and not feel bad when you take a breather after every piece.

2.) What inspires/motivates you into writing an original plot idea? It seems that I base my ideas off of previous stories or movies, anime, shows, pictures/art, and books. I don't know if I really came up with an original idea without taking a piece from something similar. What steps do you take in creating the perfect setting, genre, etc? I'd love to hear.

There is nothing wrong with using other works as inspiration.

In any case, to create your own story you either approach it as an engineer (plot-driven stories) or farmer (character-driven stories). The analogy here is that as an engineer, your characters are tools. They're there to serve a goal in the grand plot that you have. You're after the plot, and they're pawns in it, affected by it, and only affecting it in a purposeful way (as in, they were created, originally, to affect the plot in this specific way) just like how an engineer uses their tool. I think Game of Thrones is a perfect example of this. As a farmer, you plant the seeds and watch the plants grow. You create the characters and throw them in a world, and then ask yourself "what would they do" and then go from there. The characters make decisions, reap the consequences, and evolve from the results of their actions. And in enacting their decisions, the story progresses. The plot evolves in both styles, but the characters in the plot-driven stories are swept by the current that is the plot. However, in character-driven stories, the characters' actions steer the current. Breaking Bad and most Quentin Tarantino movies are good examples of character-driven stories.

I'm really bad at explaining things, and that is merely my own take on it, but there is plenty of articles online that describe this in a better way and offer insight on how to craft a plot from scratch. I think the most immediate way I could think of is to create a character type that you find fun to write, and then give them a motive or a goal, and then see how they'd go about achieving that goal.

 

[Gambuiness]

1. The question starts for me not when the motivation is gone but already when I feel that it begins to fade away. Once that happens, I often decide to take a break, either from a certain roleplay or from roleplaying in general. What I never stop though is to stay in contact with my writing partners, telling them about what is going on. I've been lucky enough to have found a few writing partners here on side, that are very understanding and were willing to wait. (I love you gals and guys) That was also one important step to get my motivation back, to know that there are people who are willing to wait because they like to write with me.
Too much of anything will do you no good. I believe in that saying and if I have written a lot for a certain amount of time, then the bottle of motivation will get empty sooner or later. That is why I then take a break and do completely different things, stimulate other parts of my mind until I really start to miss writing.

2. For me that is very closely tied to point number one. When I take a break from rping and do other things, I often find ideas or scenarios where I think, that this would be interesting to write out. In my case, a idea for a story never came from the desire to experience a certain kink or something like that. Those things just come as part of the whole story. My ideas for storys mainly come from situations I experience or hear about when I am not writing ... or from my dreams.

In general I think it is good to find a different activity outside from writing, that you like to do as well. For me some prime examples are, reading books and taking time for my other big passion.

 

[Deante]

1.) When you're down in the dumps, how do you get your love and motivation to write back?

If I'm so depressed that I Just Can't Even, then things are bad and I need to make getting out of that hole priority #1.

One thing I've found that helps me when I'm really, really down is to do things that only make me smile and laugh. The childhoold nostalgia that fills me with uncontrollable glee. Shows that make me laugh, that feel me with warm fuzzies. Music that makes me want to dance. Negative emotions are not allowed--those are reinforcing the depression, I need to fight it with good vibes.

I don't know if I really came up with an original idea without taking a piece from something similar.

Almost everyone does. Everyone is being influenced by something else, whether they realize it or not. That's just how our brains work. It's incredibly difficult and rare to create something that has never been done before and to have it not inspired by anything that existed before it.

What makes it original is that this is your version. No one else can do it exactly like you.

As for how I do it, well really the question is "what do I want". What am I in the mood for? And I make something that gets at that.

 

[Lady Irony]

I'm always coming up with plot ideas that is just me. What I lack at times is the right partner, someone I have chemistry with and can really bounce off. That makes the difference for me.

 

[Chaos]

for many years i struggled with posting during the work week but since ive moved home ive had a drive to write like never before.
which is useless cause i cant keep anyones interest for more than a month or two.

 

[LunarStar]

1) Because life sucks and making a story helps distract some of the thoughts, plus its fun seeing how the characters from someone else reacts to the ones you write.

2) Random images of characters that seem appealing to try out...