What level of detail is right for story/plot/ideas in an RT?

[A.Storey]

Hello BMR,

Hoping to lean on the experience and knowledge of those who craft the many great RTs that I see please.
I've been wrestling with a draft RT for many weeks now (yeah, I procrastinate...also learning the intricacies and nuances of BBCode).

How do you decide on the appropriate balance of sufficient detail vs open-endedness when promoting one of your ideas/cravings in your RT?

Behind the scenes, outside of the RT, I have a much fuller description that I'm happy to share if someone is interested in it - but I don't want to post up all that upfront to ensure I'm not making the RT too long.

When it's too short and brief though, there's not enough for someone else to go on - something far too vague and open, gives the impression that I want someone to do all the work and fill in the blanks for me - which is not the case at all.

I want to give the impression that I am open to amending and altering details, without projecting being lazy with specifics.

What would you say are the vital essential details to include about a story you want to write to find that sweet spot for when someone else reads it?

 

[Tassu]

Like many things in the world, this really depends. Some people seek out well-written and thoughtful RT's. Some just want the rough details. There isn't a right answer. That said, there are a few things I do consider essential (which likely help you find partners).

List some of your main kinks. When detailing a story, explain which kinks you expect to come up.
Explain how much you usually write and how often you are going to be able to post, roughly.
List a few plots. Some people list dozens, others list a few. As far as I can tell, both approaches work.

The problem with detailed stories often isn't the fact that they get wordy on the screen, but that they offer little for the other person to contribute. So as far as I am considered, the question isn't 'how much detail you put down', but 'how much you should plan in advance'. Obviously some planning is good, but you can end up writing a plot where the other person can really only play a role for you. Many here like to contribute to the story.

If and if you have your story set in stone, I'd keep the details relatively light and mention that there's more and that you don't expect/want any input, unless they wish to offer it.

 

[A.Storey]

For me, I always try to emphasize that literally nothing is set in stone - I'm not interested in asking someone to fulfill a script.
Any detail I provide is really more for colour and flavour - it's just my take - so you can get a feel for where my head is going. But I'm always very open to input and alterations.

List some of your main kinks. When detailing a story, explain which kinks you expect to come up.
Explain how much you usually write and how often you are going to be able to post, roughly.

These seem to be more about me as a writer than the specifics of a potential story that's being mentioned in an RT?

One way I've been trying to think about this approach is, a story has four broad components, plus a premise (plot outline of what's happening)

• Genre
• Pairing
• Themes
• Tropes

Are there any other categories of information, or other details that would be useful to share?
And what do you think should go into an outline so that it is open enough to encourage contribution and detailed enough to indicate there's something of substance - without being too rigid?

 

[Siph]

Like many things in the world, this really depends.

I (very unhelpfully) echo the sentiment. Longer prompts will attract people that like more detailed setups, and probably like longer posts too -- whereas short prompts with less detail are likely to attract people who prefer shorter, less detailed writing in general.

Personally (equally unhelpfully) I try to strike a balance between the two. Though it's hard to pinpoint exactly where on the spectrum my preferences lie (and your thread is about communicating your preferences anyway), I do have a rough idea of what what would be too little or too much, i.e. what I like to see in an RT and what I wouldn't be arsed to read.

Too little: Just a prompt, no matter how detailed, without any OOC information. Tell me about your RP style (length, pacing, etcetera) and, most pertinently, what you'd like to see in this RP. If it's a relatively smut/kink-heavy scenario, tell me how you'd like those kinks to be part of the story, and tell me what you like about those kinks. Just a link to an F-list or similar doesn't tell me anything about that. Similarly, if it's just some OOC info without any suggestion as to the plots or characters they're interested in, I still have no idea what you're looking for.

I will admit I'm somewhat guilty of the latter: most of my RTs are for very specific cravings, so the focus is on those kinks/cravings and my OOC preferences, while fairly light on prompts. Still, I like to list some very elementary setups in which those kinks would work well, and use those to brainstorm with a prospective partner.

In a similar vein as nondescriptive kink lists, I'd also avoid any of the buzzwords that tend to be thrown around here. I have no idea what "semi-lit dark romance novellas" are unless you actually explain what you mean by that.

Too much: Probably the biggest "I must get out of here as quickly as possible" is a massive list of preferences presented as rules, which often comes across as hostile and arrogant. I wouldn't spent more than a couple of paragraphs on OOC bits, while also making sure you're covering everything that's important to you.

Another "I ain't gonna read all that" is a massive amount of world-building that makes you feel like you have to write an essay on fictional geopolitics before you're allowed to reach out to the OP. Similarly, I don't like it when the plot is presented in an (often long-winded) IC way, because it requires you to read a lot of things before you (if at all) get an idea of what OP is really looking for.

That said, I wouldn't say that IC prompts and generally long prompt descriptions are necessarily a bad thing, so long as there's a TL;DR available somewhere. Once a (single-paragraph if not single-line) summary catches my attention, I'll read the entire description, while skipping it if it doesn't sound interesting. Here you can take advantage of formatting like spoilers, to hide away walls of text while keeping the TL;DRs readily visible.

The only thing that I'd say is always too much information are detailed character profiles: established names, personalities, and other character details makes me feel very restricted in terms of the possible interactions they can have. Since RP is (for me) very much about the dynamics between characters, I love being able to brainstorm on interesting pairings with my parnter, instead of fixing one end of the relationship from the very start. That said, presenting general traits of the characters you enjoy playing is perfectly valid and does help a lot when your partner tries to think of how their character would interact with yours.

Lastly, this is super generic advice that I give pretty much all of these threads, but: just try and see what sticks. Don't hesitate to experiment and tinker with an RT you've already posted, and see what does and doesn't work -- throw it in the ConCrit forum too.. You'll learn much more that way than letting it sit in your drafts for ages. (Though jotting everything down in one sleepless night like I do might not be the wisest approach either.)

Good luck!

 

[echo]

I have struggled with this question almost every single time I've written a request thread. "Is it too much?" "Is it not enough?" "Is it too dumbed down?" "Welp, that just scared a lot of people..."

I've tried posting in the ConCrit forum, and no one really looks in there, so I've stopped trying. I've gotten to the point now that I am done hiding how I write and just let it roll... I post long plots, and short ones, a small-ish kind of pairings list, (which I never used to do because well, I don't really care for them, but added to have something of a variety to build on.) I've also tried to emphasise that nothing is carved in marble and everything can be changed...

You win some, you lose some, and well, you should enjoy what you create... Even if one is like me and thinks everything produced is feckin' terrible.