How many times before you give up on an idea?

[Deante]

I wonder how many times people will RP an idea and have it fail before they just give up on it. I've had a few that just seem to not work out, and whether I should just move on.

 

[Deadsexy]

Sometimes things can just go on too long and interest wains or replies become so slow that you loose track of details and character or it doesn't work from the start. Its better to be honest and kill it and perhaps start something fresh, though saying that I still have a few I just stopped replying to with the intention of cumming back to but never did. I will quickly loose interest if a play isn't always developing and moving towards an endgame or smut scenes become repetitive or unimaginative. I suppose I might give it a couple of replies before I kill something with an attempt to get back on track but other times if the partner just doesn't get my needs or god-mods me big time then its instant death..

 

[Deante]

I’m not talking about a single RP with a person. I mean:

Attempt 1. “I want Beauty and the Beast”. The RP fails, it ends.
Attempt 2. “I want Beauty and the Beast”. New person. The RP fails, it ends
Attempt 3. “I want Beauty and the Beast”. New person. The RP fails, it ends
Attempt 4. “I want Beauty and the Beast”. New person. The RP fails, it ends

And so on.

How many Separate attempts before you retire your desire for Beauty and the Beast?

 

[freeko]

There are two schools of thought here. I am not entirely sure which one I am a part of, so I might just ramble a bit.

On one side, the idea might just not be one that is viable for someone else since you want too specific of a thing. Would it be neat to have a scene where they do whatever it is they do, sure. The problem is somewhat in that particular mythos as the Beast is not really defined as anything but exactly that. I think he is referred to as a Prince and Master of the mansion but never by a name other than "Beast" so the long term plans feel very limited there. Seems great for a one-shot sorta scene though to be honest.

On the other hand, I have a pocket craving myself that I realize is very specific. Looking for partners that would be interested in said specific thing is something that I am somewhat guarded on as well. So, in the history of everything ever, I would be fine with one partner that just sorta gets it. Though I also am not actively looking for the thing that I am mentioning here. I just look for others that are requesting something that is similar in nature and then see if I can get it added into things that we are considering for the rp.

So, I could provide an argument for both sides here. Personally I am leaning toward the latter argument being my present stance. Instead of actively requesting it, try passively looking for it instead for a while.

 

[Deante]

It doesn’t have to fail because it’s too specific, it can just be bad luck. Hell, more of my RPs fail to continue for one reason or another than those that continue to completion.

But I do understand that feel of it not being satisfied because your expectations aren’t being met. In the past when that kept happening, I’d just write it as a story and exorcise it from my mind.

 

[Xanaphia]

So, one of my favorite stories that I ever rped is one that had 4 failures before I finally found a partner who shared my vision for how the story would progress. Each iteration had it's own vision, and while I was rather excited for the first few attempts, they still weren't quite the vision I had for the story. I had actually given up on finding a partner for it, and was about to revise my RT to remove when I found someone who approached me with a detailed idea that was exactly what I wanted.

I would say, what's the harm of keeping the idea on your RT? While it's frustrating to start an rp and never see it through to completion, that's pretty standard for rps ion general, regardless of the idea or plots themselves.

 

[Silverknight]

I never considered my rps to be the same, even if it is the same idea. I know that the rp idea itself will different greatly mattering on who I am writing with. So in you scenario, you have beauty and the beast, each time the reactions, the ways of thinking of the other person in the rp will be different and thus my reactions to that are different cause the scenario changes over time more and more. I have done the same basic rp idea with many people and never had the same outcome. Perhaps it is finding the person who follows with your perceptions of your idea best. Simply put, in another way two bands or music groups can play the exact same song, but their own creative styles will make the same song sound different from each other. Thus I never consider using the same idea to be the same. Thus I never really worry how many times it fails.

 

[Lady Grimoire]

Mm, for me, I don't think it is necessarily that I give up on a failed idea--it just gets moved to the back of the line.

To face facts, I have so many ideas, scenes, kinks, and other things I'd like to write stories around I don't foresee myself ever having the chance to get to them all. When I'm in the mood for something I'll try and give it a go, and if / when it fails I usually just move on to the next idea that I'm also interested in and give that a try. Then the next one, and so on. I do occasionally look back, something reigniting my interest/passion for something I've tried, but between the idea I got 5 posts into before my partner poofed, and the one I haven't even tried yet, I often find myself more interested in going on the hunt for the latter.

Plus, I don't want to wear myself out on any one idea and work it into the ground until I'm bored of it, helps keeps things fresh for me to bounce around. And since I usually leave available past ideas, it isn't like I'd be opposed to someone asking about it. ... I also find it helpful to have a variety of ideas so you can better obfuscate your one-trick poni-ness. x3

 

[M.G.B.]

I don't think I would ever give up on an idea in totality. That it exists means there's something in it that I like, something that I want. I would sooner retire ideas, give room for new ones, and come back to older ones later.

Much more likely to kill an idea is a change in my interests. If I move on from a concept, then the idea that encapsulated it is no longer representative, and it'll die.

Failure alone will just put it on the shelf, and I have no idea how long it would take. I haven't really retired any yet.

 

[RedRose]

I try to learn from what failed. I had to wait years for some of my games… People tend to flake on any story

 

[Alvis Alendran]

Depends on the idea. If there's utterly no traction, I'll keep it around ont he backburner and see if anyone bites. If it starts and fails over and over, adn I may get sick of hte attempt and shut it down.

Otherwise, until I get it done the way I like, finish up the idea with a aprtner. If that happens, I'm done with it. Purpose achieved.

 

[TotesBurger]

Eh I give up way too soon honestly. Though now and then i'll get bored and try to put it back up to see if anyone is interested.

Though sometimes it can be a learning experience. I tried running a Wuxia RP back on Gaia that got no traction, but now I atleast know the areas I need to work on.

 

[Chaos]

Maybe 5 ghosts? Generally though i never delete ideas.
I did find one of my rp ideas attracts self absorbed people who have a hard time understanding clear and concsise requests.
Had this idea for a celtic warrior to be taken on by an egyptian queen as a bodyguard and consort, but nearly every person thinks he was to be her obedient slave despite me making my idea very clear.
So i refuse to do it now. Still have it posted if others like it though, lol.

 

[VitaObscura]

I don't give up on a story that I've invested a lot of time/effort/theory crafting into, sometimes it takes me years to find someone to write with and yet with that in mind, sometimes my writing schedule ranges from once a day to a few times a month/year.

It's a shitty thing to put people through that, but I've found a few people who don't mind that I work/travel a lot, so I'm thankful for them.

 

[Echosmith]

There comes a point where if I've tried to do an idea more than four times and it has not worked out I'm moving on to something else. Sure it's probably a good idea but there's others that can take front and center. I think after trying one several times I get bored. The excitement I once had in hopes of it taking off isn't there anymore.

 

[crony]

I have tried a certain story with multiple partners until it finally took off but ended before I wanted it to. I will go back to it one day.
Then, I have this one idea that isn't taking flight because I can't find a partner for it. I'm thinking of just writing the story myself exactly how I want it to be.

 

[coldhands]

I will keep trying until one more exciting comes along. Forever hopeful!