Matt

A Self-Executed Clean Slate

@Shoryu Magami You've made some good points. Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough, however - I only spoke of my education specifically for the statement that I should maintain a good standard of writing, not to patronise anyone or target anyone with a lack of education. There are certainly other good writers on the site, made so through education or through any other means, and I've written with several of them (a lot of which I would enviously call infinitely more talented or more imaginative than myself). I actually agree with you that a devotion to one's work is more important than education in the field - I began Roleplaying and writing generally with just this. Again, I only spoke of my education in reference to my own work and my own preset standards for it. I think my argument that you saw as patronising I would stress more as constructive criticism - to just spell-check or read through sections of grammatical dubiousness. Otherwise, I've had very little problems in the past with people not applying themselves outside of a last-minute administrative standpoint.

A Self-Executed Clean Slate

@Hank Unfortunately I've only ever had the opportunity once. It was on a day more than a year ago, but if I recall correctly I won a little match against someone quite experienced.

A Self-Executed Clean Slate

@ArenaSnow Sure, sure. I'll make a note on my calendar.

A Self-Executed Clean Slate

@ArenaSnow Ah, I see! I'm using it for a couple of things at the moment, maybe check back later?

A Self-Executed Clean Slate

@ArenaSnow Sorry, I don't get the reference.

@Baklava Thank you kindly.

@Hank Hey, it's nice to see another first-namer. In my past few years of Roleplaying, I've generally kept to Advanced subforums, within which I have dabbled in sci-fi, fantasy, nation RP, personal drama, present-day, etc. If a premise entices me enough then I'm open to all genres.

A Self-Executed Clean Slate

Hello.

I am not a new Roleplayer, nor am I new to this site. Actually, I have an account here that was made as soon as the Guild restarted, with nearly three-hundred posts. My account before the 'Guildfall' spanned another few years, and it had another few hundred posts.

So, why am I creating an Introduction post? Because I want to have a clean slate.

I want to start anew, with all my previous posts, characters and Roleplays left behind. Writing should be more than just an occasional hobby for me now, because suddenly I'm living on my own, I'm at University, and I'm studying English Combined - Literature, Language and Creative Writing. Before now, I could write a post in some random Roleplay with minimum effort applied while watching some TV series or playing a game simultaneously, and then release it without any real thought or care. Consequentially, most of my posts are sub-standard (in my opinion), and there would seldom come a post that I was actually proud of, and that I would re-read after its initial creation for whatever purpose. The same thing happened with my education; I submitted minimum effort work for my final pieces, and already that has closed doors for me. I'm not at a great University, and I haven't written a text that I had to try, really try to create. Simply, I haven't achieved my potential. Today, I have decided that that needs to change.

I am a good writer. That's not boasting, and I'm not trying to patronise anyone. I can say that because I've been studying literature for five years now, and I've been writing for twice that. I have experience, and I've learned a lot from analysing my own work and that of others. I don't want to write with minimum effort applied anymore. I want to seriously write stories and characters with other Roleplayers. This account doesn't have some silly nickname that I created when I was fifteen. This name and my subsequent content will be, hopefully, as blatant as I can get - I am a writer and I'm here to write.

Now, you may be thinking: why don't I just write alone? I'm still here - still Roleplaying - for the same reason I had when I started. I am the most creative when I collaborate. I do write on my own, but my ideal situation is to work with multiple great writers and all contribute to the same story or world, with our characters influencing and interacting with one another. When I say 'great writers', there's no way not to come across as selfish and patronising. A not-so-glamorous reason for this new account is that I don't want to be associated with Roleplayers who don't apply themselves, or who write here for purposes other than the plots and the characters themselves. I am also a 'grammar Nazi', and I don't want to write with people who don't spell-check their work, at least. Roleplaying is a form of publication, and I wouldn't publish a text that was full of spelling mistakes and easily correctable grammatical errors. In this way, I can't help but patronise some Roleplayers here, but I will do my best to avoid arguing about it by just doing my research before I apply to a Roleplay or I let a Roleplayer into one of mine.

In summation, I hope I will fill this clean slate with inspiring work, and I look forward to working with people who share my opinion on the importance of writing with effort behind it, and who love creativity through collaboration.