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What is your least favorite part of active RP?

Passion

Passion

Fueled
Joined
Nov 16, 2018
Location
Fever Dreams
I will say that RP isn't the easiest hobby. We have to think of creative ideas, create a character, keep an eye on our grammar, make sure things make sense, keep track of everything going on, try to appeal to our partners, spend a lot of time crafting posts, need to push through filler scenes, and so on. What is your least favorite aspect of it all?

Mine has to be proofreading, which I actually do pretty methodically. When I'm done writing, I want to hit send (and sometimes I just do), buuuuuut I have dyslexia. If I don't proofread, I'd be submitting posts with a few too many typos for my liking. Still, I hate rereading what I wrote. Takes me a fairly long time, I cringe at my mistakes, and at times, I get caught up debating if I should change large portions of my posts that I already spent a fair amount of time on.

What about you?

Please note: I mean in active RPs. Otherwise, an easy and common answer would be, 'finding a good partner'; we all know how that goes at times.
 
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This is just because of the situation I am in personally -- though you bring up a lot of good points that can be a bit draining when it comes to actually writing like proofreading or coming up with ideas and crafting that post that fits the scene.

The biggest or least favorite part of active RPs for me is actually writing out the post sometimes. I am lucky to have a great WFH job that gives me free time at my work computer, but my office for work and my office for writing and gaming are in two different parts of my house. At work, I deal with a lot of agents and paperwork/files/contracts, but it lends me to also have some downtime at the desk itself, where I read a post on my phone and I get all sorts of ideas on how to craft the post, where to take it. Basically, writing it out in my head, and then when I get off work, it's like I really don't want to write it all down now that I had to wait a couple of hours.

I am sure some people also struggle with this.

Sadly, I've been in the boat a couple of times where it takes me an extra day or two to get the motivation to write down everything I already "wrote" down in my head.
 
Osteo said:
This is just because of the situation I am in personally -- though you bring up a lot of good points that can be a bit draining when it comes to actually writing like proofreading or coming up with ideas and crafting that post that fits the scene.

The biggest or least favorite part of active RPs for me is actually writing out the post sometimes. I am lucky to have a great WFH job that gives me free time at my work computer, but my office for work and my office for writing and gaming are in two different parts of my house. At work, I deal with a lot of agents and paperwork/files/contracts, but it lends me to also have some downtime at the desk itself, where I read a post on my phone and I get all sorts of ideas on how to craft the post, where to take it. Basically, writing it out in my head, and then when I get off work, it's like I really don't want to write it all down now that I had to wait a couple of hours.

I am sure some people also struggle with this.

Sadly, I've been in the boat a couple of times where it takes me an extra day or two to get the motivation to write down everything I already "wrote" down in my head.
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I really feel this too. It can be hard to get started even though you have already thought it out. Work also can mess with our mindsets. RP is fun, but it really can be a pain in the butt at times, and it does require a fair amount of effort.
 
Passion said:
Mine has to be proofreading, which I actually do pretty methodically. When I'm done writing, I want to hit send (and sometimes I just do), buuuuuut I am dyslexic. If I don't proofread, I'd be submitting posts with a few too many typos for my liking. Still, I hate rereading what I wrote. Takes me a fairly long time, I cringe at my mistakes, and at times, I get caught up debating if I should change large portions of my posts that I already spent a fair amount of time on.
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Have you tried Grammarly? It should flag awkward sentences/typos and misplaced commas. As a non-native, that thing is a godsent.
 
Tassu said:
Have you tried Grammarly? It should flag awkward sentences/typos and misplaced commas. As a non-native, that thing is a godsent.
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Yes, I use Grammarly (free), Quillbot (just the grammar tool part of it; I don't use AI writing), and then I have my posts read out aloud, text-to-speech (at least for more complex posts). So, is all of this necessary? Probably not, but that is when I feel done and satisfied. I will say, caring to that level has made me a better writer over the years, but it is exhausting; we all have our quirks.
 
Drumming up the motivation. Once I can get started on a post I can usually get it done pretty quickly - it just is getting that effort kickstarted that really hurts me. I don't really know the easy way to just sorta go 'Now I'm motivated' and write my ass off.
 
Oh wait, active writing.

Hrmmm....

Probably fixing typos. Sometimes I type faster than I should, and like 90% of my editing is just fixing typos and I tend to fix them in the worst possible way. Like even writing this I deleted chunks of sentences to fix a typo.
 
The waiting. sarcasm

I'd be a hypocrite if I complained about waiting on my partners, in reality.

I think actually getting to writing is the biggest hurdle for me. At times, I find it pretty easy if I'm currently locked in on a certain scene or just have a lot of desire to get into writing, but sometimes I'll read a post, think "oh, I know exactly where I want to take the scene!" and put a whole lot of thinking into what I'm going to write... and then I can't muster up the energy to actually put the words into (digital) ink.
 
i've been struggling a lot to keep up with my active roleplays lately, but then again, i've always struggled with it, lol.
but it seems many of us struggle with the same things, eheh. soo, this is what i struggle with:
  • motivation to write when i actually have time to write: i also read a lot of replies on my phone (but it happens even if i read on my computer), and oftentimes i read replies when i don't have the chance to reply right away. but after i've read it, i have a pretty good idea of what i want to write and how i want my character to respond. sometimes i even add a few notes to remember. but, when i actually have time to sit down and write - doesn't matter if it's later that day or a couple of days later, i just stare at the screen trying to figure out what to write and how to write it. like, i know what i want to write, but i just can't get my fingers to type. and the harder i try, the more difficult it gets. the more difficult it gets, the longer it takes. it's a curse.

  • second-guessing every single thing i write: this first happens while i'm writing, so it takes me a looong time to write a post because i spend so much time trying to formulate the perfect sentence. but when i'm finished with the post and i read through it all, i realize i don't really like any of it, so i end up changing a lot. eventually, i'm like "this is good enough" and i post it. but then i always go back later, sometimes an hour later, sometimes the next day and i read it again and i see things i could have written differently, some minor typos, etc and i just can't help myself, so i edit my post. this can happen several times - sometimes even after i've received a reply. i try not to read my posts too may times after i've posted, but it's hard. i'm always afraid my partner will think it sucks.
 
Finding motivation to write/starting to write a reply when I have the time is probaby my biggest one too. Sometimes I find the burst of motivation to write multiple replies back-to-back and spend like two hours doing just that. Other times writing even one sentence a week to one of the replies feels like an impossible feat.
 
Passion said:
Mine has to be proofreading, which I actually do pretty methodically.
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If it helps anything, I'd argue it's better to take your time proofreading one last time than do the thing where I stubbornly post it, notice one small typo, hastily fix it, then start doubting everything I wrote and rush to read through the whole thing again . . . It might be worth trying to take a short break -- grab a snack or something -- before giving your writing a final check, so as to ease the urge to immediately hit send or simply make the mental switch from writing to reading. It's something I should start trying, at least.

As far as what I dislike the most, it's either the above or the fact that I write really slow. Sometimes I can finish a post within thirty minutes, but more often than not I've barely managed to produce a full paragraph after an hour. None of my partners have ever taken issue with it, but it's strangely discouraging when they only need fifteen minutes to send an equally long response.

I can convince myself I'm just not in the right mood and should quit until I can feel the words come to me more naturally, but in the long run that'd only be more discouraging and make me even slower. I guess it's kinda like working out, in that I have to push myself to get things going.

Also, finding a good partner
 
Mine tends to be fighting the "Muse" when I have the time to write. When there is time to put words to the screen, I find it difficult to wrangle the muse for whatever needs to be written. But when I do not have time to put words to screen, the active muse for whatever is in need of being written, fills the brainhouse to no end. I will sometimes be able to jot down a line here or there for whichever, but more times than not, I do not have the liberty of any device and am at the mercy of the pen...

I used to write everything down by hand before transmitting it to the electronics and I do find that my success rate had been higher when I had taken to that... now, I struggle with just getting the brain to focus on what to write instead of writing a line here, two there, and another ten in another tab...

Still learning :/
 
Gonna add some brutal honesty here, (one of) the worst parts are when you write erotica and it's nice and hot and then it actually becomes too hot, you fall to the temptation and masturbate and then you're spent and don't really feel like writing more erotica but whoops, the scene is only halfway done.

Don't look at me that way, this is a smut role play website, I'm willing to bet all but few of us have that happen to us.
 
When a RP is an excuse to jump into smut or throw it at me out of nowhere, i usually ditch them.

Got cases of some who couldn’t separate fiction from reality, thinking they can treat you poorly, like some prostitute.

Can we bring back consent? Because i do not see that anymore.
 
Biggest hurdle is getting the first few lines down. When I'm in the "flow" state, everything just comes out naturally, the fingers don't stop moving as I type everything out. Problem is getting to that state in the first place — I keep second-guessing myself, re-writing the same sentence over and over again, even discarding entire paragraphs. In extreme cases, it's exhausting and killed my drive for writing more than once.

As a side note, I haven't heard about Grammarly and Quillbot mentioned in this thread, but they look like very useful tools, so I'll definitely give them a try.
 
Gordian Knot said:
Biggest hurdle is getting the first few lines down. When I'm in the "flow" state, everything just comes out naturally, the fingers don't stop moving as I type everything out. Problem is getting to that state in the first place — I keep second-guessing myself, re-writing the same sentence over and over again, even discarding entire paragraphs. In extreme cases, it's exhausting and killed my drive for writing more than once.

As a side note, I haven't heard about Grammarly and Quillbot mentioned in this thread, but they look like very useful tools, so I'll definitely give them a try.
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Wow, this is so me. Sometimes convincing myself to get the first few words out is hard, I procrastinate and think of every menial task in the world to do first. But, when I do start writing I just get it done. I'm not somebody that likes to write so much, take a break and then continue later. I get into the same flow state and just want to get it out in one.

Grammarly is great, by the way. It's not perfect but it's nice having an extra spell check to help proof read. It's helped with my writing.
 
Definitely the part where you wrap up a reply and believe you're a fraud; that every compliment you've ever been given is a lie, and all your partners are disappointed that you simply aren't measuring up to the impossible standards you've set inside your own mind.

That shit sucks bro lmao.
 
SoleAccord said:
Definitely the part where you wrap up a reply and believe you're a fraud; that every compliment you've ever been given is a lie, and all your partners are disappointed that you simply aren't measuring up to the impossible standards you've set inside your own mind.

That shit sucks bro lmao.
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Eesh, that sounds really rough. Is that something that happens to you often? I'm fortunate, while I can be hard on myself sometimes, it's never like that. That sounds infuriating.
 
Eh, you learn to live with it. Sometimes it wins. Other times it doesn't.

I'm still writing, so it ain't getting the K.O. on me!
 
The active fear that this story isn't going to get told.

Not to delve into social contracts and ethics of a partnership agreement, but I have a severe anxiety disorder, and anything that resembles me being tricked into investing in something that is bad for me gets my anxiety really flaring. I've had arguments in my head running with employers from 15yrs ago over bait-and-switch jobs. The way my brain churns over these things, a canceled story and my characters get chewed up in my mind until they're like a malignant tumor with teeth in my psyche.

This is entirely my mental health issue. But every new partner and story feels like Russian Roulette with the chambers filled with tension headaches and months/years of negative repetitive thinking.
 
Siph said:
It might be worth trying to take a short break -- grab a snack or something -- before giving your writing a final check, so as to ease the urge to immediately hit send or simply make the mental switch from writing to reading. It's something I should start trying, at least.
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Holy shit, this makes a lot of sense. I'll have to try this, since like many people here it seems, proof reading is not my strong suite.

Chapman said:
Gonna add some brutal honesty here, (one of) the worst parts are when you write erotica and it's nice and hot and then it actually becomes too hot, you fall to the temptation
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Actually based and grounded sentiment. Is it really ERP if it's not getting a rise out of me? Although, I find that riding it out and channeling it into my writing produces amazing results.


THE ADHD IS REAL IN THIS THREAD. But seriously, I struggle with ADHD and frequently have long periods of time where I don't feel like writing, or think I want it. It's actually kind of a terrifying thing, where I can get so wholly wrapped up in a hobby, just to lose all interest in it out of the blue. If anyone has any strategies on getting past that, I'm all ears!

Sometimes I'll be able to force myself to get started, and then things will flow, but sometimes it just ends up feeling like work and the process is awful. It's difficult to tread the line between pushing past 'writers block' and getting something going, and just ruining my enjoyment of something.
 
My least favorite part of RP is when I know it's my turn to reply but I'm at work or something and have to make my partner wait...
 
Knowing when to end a sex scene.

Typically speaking, this responsibility falls on the male/penile-equipped character. You want it to go on long enough to give the impression of events occurring in real time, but if it drags forever, you won’t get to the next story scene and it’ll get bland after a while. Though I suppose a decent indicator to your partner that you’re getting ready to close the scene out is describing your character’s cock as starting to throb/twitch in anticipation of orgasm.
 
Thinking of ideas is fun. Having to sit down and write it can be a chore sometimes.

It's a hobby and it's supposed to be fun and it often is. However, sometimes finding the time and strength to write is too difficult. Partners that require fast paced responses make things even more troublesome.
 
Pacing.

My least favorite thing by far is being excited with 15 different awesome ideas for a character, introducing them all in a rush way too early, not taking the time to explore them all thoroughly, and then be sitting on my hands - now what? I guess we better have sex.

The good news is this is very much a me problem, so I can focus on me solutions. I know a lot is simply becoming a better writer, and in particular a better pantser. It's sort of an adhd thing that I'm so afraid of forgetting a good idea that I'm focused on getting them all written down. (Adhd referenced broadly - not actually clinically diagnosed here.)

In a funny way I think this is actually the path that brought me from my original Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying here to smuttier rp. Sex could be less about peacocking about with creative new ideas, and more just appreciating the sensuality of being there, in character.

(Well that and a particular Google search one horny night, once long ago - but I'm sure many here can relate to that too)
 
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