Elvectica wrote:Hello all! How do you guys stay motivated in an RP or any writing or worldbuilding project? What's your method to combat procrastination?
I find that it takes me so long to garner the willpower to really delve into the minutiae - yet when I feel like I've gotten a good grasp of it, I sort of.. let it go and I get distracted by something else entirely and forget about the previous subject until much later. Perhaps it's because of my personality or flaw, but procrastinating on my writing gets really burdensome for future me. For example, I've started many maintenance threads that quickly die out.
So, in my mind, writing stories (for a solo-maintenance thread for instance), writing RP posts, and worlbuilding require different mindsets and thus different methods of maintaining interest. For a general over-all answer, Dyrrhonian Isles nailed it. The more you do something, the sooner it'll become a habit, and the easier it gets. It's why writing events like NaNoWriMo are so helpful, since it helps people get into the habit of writing every day.
Writing for worldbuilding doesn't need to be organized or in-depth in every aspect. The best part about worldbuiling, especially solo, is your ability to pretty scatter-brained about it. You don't need to write until your finished something before moving on. Instead, you can write whatever parts of your world you wish to, until you get bored and then put it away and pick up something else enjoyable in your world to build. Another thing is that you only need to delve 'deep into the minutiae' if you wish to. Stay high level if that's what interests you. Dig deep where you wish to. And don't get bogged down in things that you are putting off or find boring. It likely means you need to put it down for a little bit and start up again somewhere. As long as you are worldbuilding, it doesn't matter what parts you build. It all comes together in the end.
Solo writing, be it for short stories, novels, maintenance threads, etc, often just takes practice to get good at. Maybe it's your method of writing that needs to change. As it's solo, there isn't a time limit on how/when to do things. If you mainly procrastinate/get burnt out when writing from scratch (pantsing), then maybe it's time to change up your style. Try writing out an outline of what you're planning, so that when you get stuck, you know where to go next. Sometimes having a roadmap is all that's needed to get over those stints of writer's block. Also, for maintenance threads, you really only need one. If you get burnt out, it's a solo thread. Just stop that string of posts and start up a new one within the same thread. Sometimes seeing how much you wrote within a single thread can boost some confidence and help with those times of overthinking about what to write.
Roleplaying is a little different from the other two, as it is inherently group based. It's coming up with a story alongside others. Sometimes that means that you all work together to decide on an outcome or story trajectory before you even start. Sometimes that means coming up with that story free-for-all, and whatever happens happens. And sometimes, there is a person that is railroading the whole story themselves and everyone else is along for the ride. All methods are fine and fun, but no RP works unless all members are having fun, enjoying themselves and are interested. Regardless of the method of roleplay, that means there needs to be communication between everyone. If you're getting bored, then let people know. If you have a subplot idea, let people know. The more communication between players, the smoother roleplays go (at least in my experience). Posts should build on one another, adding to the story. It's a 'yes, and' type story-building situation. In any case, staying motivated can be tricky when you're waiting for others. For this, I recommend taking down notes or ideas of potential things you characters/nation/whatever can do later on in the RP, so you have a starting point for when you're ready to post again. Staying motivated when an RP is bogged down by dozens of 'filler posts' (ie. super short posts, or ones that don't add much to the story) can also be tricky. In this case, discuss with players to know what they would like to do to try and move through those filler sections and get to things you actually want to do. Time skips are completely okay in RPs, as long as everyone agrees to them.
Lastly, staying motivated in an RP when you have way too many ideas all at once and can't decide between them, also is tricky. But again, this all comes down to player communication. If you still have tons of ideas of what to do? Sometimes, just picking one at random is all you need. Wish you could have used a different idea? Well, save it for your next RP.
I do hope any of these suggestions help. Staying motivated and not procrastinating is hard for everyone, and it just takes practice and finding the tips and tricks which work for you.
Good luck!
allowed? I want to lose my nation virginity
