mericlecure (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mericlecure) wrote2011-01-25 06:47 pm
mericlecure) wrote2011-01-25 06:47 pm
Plot Point Loves & Loathings
Plot Point Loves...
things that make my inner writer go 'awesome.'
Just say 'no'. I'm a big fan of the very simple 'just say no' method of character development/plotting. And by that I mean flatout telling the character 'No!' to whatever he/she wants. Does all Annie want right now is for her hair to stay in place for the next hour so she can get that perfect prom picture? Well, it's going to rain. Or she's going to be out of hairspray. Or she's going to have to go running after the stupid escapist dog just before the limo shows up -- if it shows up. Does John want the girl? Well, she's going to say no. Or he's going to speak before thinking and majorly offend her. Or he'll get the girl only to find that having the girl is a helluva lot more stressful than longing for her. ...It all really comes down to my personal "complacent character = boring" viewpoint.
Nuance Drama is wonderful. Major, big, drama is absolutely wonderful -- it's what gets games going. But with writing scenes I think a lot can be said for going the subtle route too. Some of the most powerful conflicts I've read in RP scenes came from the fact that the characters weren't yelling, or getting physical, or spouting angst of Shakespearean portions 24/7. Instead it was powerful because the tension a character was feeling was understated, because something important was barely said or not said at all. So when the moment comes that a character does actually fly off the handle? It makes it all the more powerful than if the character had been flying off the handle or melodramatic in every single scene leading to that point.
things that make my inner writer go 'awesome.'
Just say 'no'. I'm a big fan of the very simple 'just say no' method of character development/plotting. And by that I mean flatout telling the character 'No!' to whatever he/she wants. Does all Annie want right now is for her hair to stay in place for the next hour so she can get that perfect prom picture? Well, it's going to rain. Or she's going to be out of hairspray. Or she's going to have to go running after the stupid escapist dog just before the limo shows up -- if it shows up. Does John want the girl? Well, she's going to say no. Or he's going to speak before thinking and majorly offend her. Or he'll get the girl only to find that having the girl is a helluva lot more stressful than longing for her. ...It all really comes down to my personal "complacent character = boring" viewpoint.
Nuance Drama is wonderful. Major, big, drama is absolutely wonderful -- it's what gets games going. But with writing scenes I think a lot can be said for going the subtle route too. Some of the most powerful conflicts I've read in RP scenes came from the fact that the characters weren't yelling, or getting physical, or spouting angst of Shakespearean portions 24/7. Instead it was powerful because the tension a character was feeling was understated, because something important was barely said or not said at all. So when the moment comes that a character does actually fly off the handle? It makes it all the more powerful than if the character had been flying off the handle or melodramatic in every single scene leading to that point.
Plot Point Loathings...
things that make me wanna run
INSTAship!s What is an 'INSTAship!'? It's what happens when a player (or players) seem determined to have their character(s) Fall Madly In Love with the first character that they scene with... regardless of how improbable or out-of-character such a sudden inexplicable devotion is. A INSTAship! will take the character that is supposedly a misanthropic bastard in his profile and render him a smitten romantic with the girl that -- according to his profile? -- is so NOT his type.
...If INSTAship!s had their way, Dr. House would have been dating Cameron by the end of Episode 1, completely changed his misanthropic drug-addict ways by Episode 2, and been happily married and discussing window treatment decor in Episode 3. It's not that total opposites don't attract or that people don't change: they can and they have, it's just usually a process that takes a while and is often incredibly bumpy and with its occasional (or frequent) slips along the way. And, bringing all this digressing back to my main point, while I do love my own share of romantic-like storylines, I just don't think that has to be the case with the very first (or every single) opposite-sex character that my characters interact with.
things that make me wanna run
INSTAship!s What is an 'INSTAship!'? It's what happens when a player (or players) seem determined to have their character(s) Fall Madly In Love with the first character that they scene with... regardless of how improbable or out-of-character such a sudden inexplicable devotion is. A INSTAship! will take the character that is supposedly a misanthropic bastard in his profile and render him a smitten romantic with the girl that -- according to his profile? -- is so NOT his type.
...If INSTAship!s had their way, Dr. House would have been dating Cameron by the end of Episode 1, completely changed his misanthropic drug-addict ways by Episode 2, and been happily married and discussing window treatment decor in Episode 3. It's not that total opposites don't attract or that people don't change: they can and they have, it's just usually a process that takes a while and is often incredibly bumpy and with its occasional (or frequent) slips along the way. And, bringing all this digressing back to my main point, while I do love my own share of romantic-like storylines, I just don't think that has to be the case with the very first (or every single) opposite-sex character that my characters interact with.