Munday - Fanfic Vs RP
On the spectrum of roleplay (or collaborative writing, if you want to be fancy) versus prose fiction, which do you do more of with your characters? Do you focus more on one rather than the other? If you roleplay, do you feel it's helped you to become a better writer in any technical sense?
Well, most of my characters are honestly RP-only -- I don't generally write fanfic for them. So yes, they're focused mostly on RPing. I like exploring different character concepts through RP without necessarily having to have a strict "story" for them, like in fanfic. And if they do end up having stories (like the two Victor Van Dorts below), the fanfic is considered an AU to the RP-verse. It's easier for me to keep them semi-separate than force the character into a mold they might not fit in the RP-verse.
I've got two characters who are active in both RP and fanfic senses --
8butterflyboy8 and my tumblr character Forgotten Vows Victor. With Butterfly Boy, I've been lately doing a lot of RP with him (mostly on his tumblr account), simply because it's fun and lets me explore his character more. I haven't forgotten his fanfic roots, though -- I just haven't started writing the second major portion of his story yet (I'm hoping to finish off one last uncompleted fic for NaNoWriMo this year instead). Forgotten Vows is, interestingly, the reverse -- although he started off as pretty much an RP-only character, I've been focusing a lot more on his fanfic side as of late. Both because I want to get his backstory written up properly, and because -- well, not a lot of people are playing with him as of late.
As for helping me becoming a better writer. . . Well, like I said, I find it a good way to explore characters. It's interesting to see how they evolve and grow as they interact with different characters. It helps me flesh them out, become more rounded. And having more 3-D characters results in better stories.
Well, most of my characters are honestly RP-only -- I don't generally write fanfic for them. So yes, they're focused mostly on RPing. I like exploring different character concepts through RP without necessarily having to have a strict "story" for them, like in fanfic. And if they do end up having stories (like the two Victor Van Dorts below), the fanfic is considered an AU to the RP-verse. It's easier for me to keep them semi-separate than force the character into a mold they might not fit in the RP-verse.
I've got two characters who are active in both RP and fanfic senses --
8butterflyboy8 and my tumblr character Forgotten Vows Victor. With Butterfly Boy, I've been lately doing a lot of RP with him (mostly on his tumblr account), simply because it's fun and lets me explore his character more. I haven't forgotten his fanfic roots, though -- I just haven't started writing the second major portion of his story yet (I'm hoping to finish off one last uncompleted fic for NaNoWriMo this year instead). Forgotten Vows is, interestingly, the reverse -- although he started off as pretty much an RP-only character, I've been focusing a lot more on his fanfic side as of late. Both because I want to get his backstory written up properly, and because -- well, not a lot of people are playing with him as of late.As for helping me becoming a better writer. . . Well, like I said, I find it a good way to explore characters. It's interesting to see how they evolve and grow as they interact with different characters. It helps me flesh them out, become more rounded. And having more 3-D characters results in better stories.