I've just finished watching a very interesting series of videos on the subject of writing, and I'm wondering whether or not it would be possible to transfer them into RPing. My bet is, from the very nature of RPing, it is not. Some of the main points the guy makes are:
-It's important to enjoy your work and be yourself.
-An essential for writing is a solid foundation, a sort of culminating idea that ties the whole thing together. This should be something the writer is interested in, which includes something that bothers the writer or the writer wants to explore.
-It's entirely possible for a story to be about something different from the beginning, and rigidity to change is death. A good theme to work off of is important, but that doesn't mean it can't be altered.
-A vitally important element of getting people involved in your story is the act of audience transference, by which the audience is immersed in the story. It will take things that concern it and insert them into the story. This can be accomplished by 'open insert' characters that allow the reader to read whatever they want into the characters, or by humanizing characters to the point where the audience likes them and puts stock in them.
-Another important thing is the idea of saying less to imply more. While getting slapped in the face with a thematic statement or a profound insight about something might be interesting for a few seconds, it's over once the slapping is over, and doesn't stick for the audience. Subtlety is better, not just with a theme, but with events in the story.
-Ultimately, the audience must be able to engage the story and make their own experiences out of it.
I don't think that the style of RPing, where there are too many cooks with different ideas of what's interesting to make a coherent and engaging story, lends itself to these ideas. What do you think?
