Discussion How Do You Execute Proper Surprises?

[Kiera Sifdin-Skell]

One of the hardest things for me as a RP writer/player is executing a proper reveal, surprise, or plot twist. In DnD it's easy, as the DM I typically know my players enough to somewhat predict things and adjust accordingly. In my worldbuilding it's easy because I'm the creator and can write whatever I want with as much or as little explanation or detail as I want.

But what about in post-by-post RP? RP that is a mix of improv and fanfiction, and where the story is influenced by multiple writers with different agendas, OOC and ICly, regarding their characters and the stories they want to tell.

As I sit here and I plan out where I want to take Kiera, I realized I had a great idea: a plot twist of sorts that, if you read her backstory, makes sense but... I hesitate. How much do you share with your fellow writers? It's a twist that potentially can have some impact on other characters she interacts with, and how NPCs perceive Kiera- therefore should I reveal it OOC to my fellow writers? Do I not say anything and hope nobody gets angry with what I have already planned?

I guess what I mean to ask is... how do you do it? How much do you, personally, reveal? Do you choose not to in some cases? Where's the line for "this needs to be discussed OOC" and "this is a great twist that should be revealed as such"?

Edit: Classic, totally forgot one other important question. If you have something in your character backstory you want hidden (as in nobody but you, the creator and writer of the character) cna you actually do it? Is it considered too meta to exclude two or three important sentences from your character backstory as to reveal it as a twist later?

 

[Connel Vanagor]

If I have a twist I want to drop, I'll try and build up to it then private message the person I am writing with when I want to do it. Same with your backstreet, it's YOUR backstory

 

[Jonyna Si]

One of the things I've learned with Play-By-Post RP is that the person you're trying to surprise shouldn't be your direct RP partner. It's the people reading the thread, the ones keeping up with your character.

The person you're directly RPing with should be in on it. They're basically your co-writer, working with you to plan out the execution.

 

[Rik Perris]

If it's going to have an effect on the narrative of other characters, then it's generally a good idea to not keep them completely in the dark. How much people (or factions, for that matter) welcome things like this varies widely. Some people are pretty chill about taking whatever comes their way, others may struggle to accept a sudden 'new' input that has a significant effect on their narrative.

Fortunately, people can be pretty good at keeping things separate, if you do unveil your intentions to any extent and make it abundantly clear that the circle of awareness of the surprise or secret in-character is very small up to/and including:

• openly naming any characters outside of your own that are in that circle of awareness/in the know, if any (which means they have implied permission to address/include it in their writing)
• providing parameters by which other people can become aware of the suprise or secret with your explicit permission (you'd likely only allow and unveil the possibility when it become relevant to do so)

Making it an 'open secret' OOC brings more eyes on, interest in, and investment in your IC story (meaning they follow and read your threads), in my experience, and I don't think anyone would want to ruin your fun by metagaming — plainly that's not welcome.

 

[Prex Oda Duun]

One of the most successful surprises I had was having a character's son be possessed by his father's dark side spirit, then revealing it at the end of the story.

This worked in an RP environment, as I consistently (but carefully) dropped hints, had my character act in ways he didn't typically, and other such actions. In the moment, people thought it was strange and uncharacteristic. At the end though, with the benefit of hindsight, the surprise was obvious.

Ultimately, creating a narrative secret that had essentially already happened - they didn't see the spirit take possession, couldn't interrupt it, etc - was key to pulling it off well.

 

[Kiera Sifdin-Skell]

I think for me it's struggling to know what to reveal OOC and what not to. Because I definitely understand the points you've all made so far and I mostly agree. At the same time, however, I want to surprise people- either the other writers/characters I'm writing with or by those just reading it for the story.

I know meta-gaming is a struggle that exists and will always exist- as I said I know everyone has their own agendas OOC and ICly, and while those ideas often don't conflict too much I am aware some writers or factions might not be open to such things (which is lame and gatekeeping RP imo, but that's just opinion). I don't know. It's a weird inner conflict I have because the RP player/writer in me wants to play it close to the chest, dropping hints ICly prior to the reveal I have planned... but I also think "I should let them know this is where I'm gonna go with it and make sure that's okay." I'm probably rambling but adhd go brr

I appreciate the insights so far and am open to more feedback/perspectives!

 

[Kei Amadis]

Environmental challenges are an easy throw in.
Psychological ones are harder to set for the individual but a good option.

For a bigger one. usually a misdirect, or I bring back something that happened in a different form. The latter option is harder. For example, in the Rogue's latest heist, I used the memory/emotion locks we just overcame to be projected by their opponents a few posts later as an attack. Doing this gets you close to jumping the shark or repetition if you do it too often. So misdirects are a much easier option—but then you can stray into ho ho ho i'm the bad guy who knows everything before it happens" cliche if you are not careful.

Tension building doesn't often lead to surprise, unless the goal is to subvert the expectation, but it can still lead to a good thread.

Read the character you are writing with carefully, and you can put the surprise/challenge in a way that might engage them. As long as it's hitting their muse then it's going to work, surprise or not. Anytime I've gone wildly off script, the results are much more mixed and usually involve explosions of some kind. Finally I try to leave multiple options when I introduce something new, so I am not limiting people's responses or creativity overly but keeping structure.

Oh and on backstories. I always leave nuggets of important stuff out of their bios.

Hope it helps.

 

[Rik Perris]

I know meta-gaming is a struggle that exists and will always exist- as I said I know everyone has their own agendas OOC and ICly, and while those ideas often don't conflict too much I am aware some writers or factions might not be open to such things (which is lame and gatekeeping RP imo, but that's just opinion). I don't know. It's a weird inner conflict I have because the RP player/writer in me wants to play it close to the chest, dropping hints ICly prior to the reveal I have planned... but I also think "I should let them know this is where I'm gonna go with it and make sure that's okay." I'm probably rambling but adhd go brr

On the adhd, I getcha, oh do I ever!

A lot of my insight comes from spending time with the people I'm writing with and remaining aware of the broader circle of, say, the faction (or factions) I'm writing in. I feel like I have a decent sense of what's reasonable within the group. And also from, well, full disclosure: I admin for a Major Faction, currently, but it's far from my first rodeo. Been party to running factions, and been doing RP in general, for a long time. I'm effectively furniture, lol.

So, what I mean by factions in particular, is if a narrative of yours potentially has an effect on things at the greater Faction narrative level, then it's a matter of simply checking with the Faction admins, and running things by them to figure out how it all fits... that is, in every faction admin team I've been apart of, the answer has rarely straight up been no.

A faction's admin team just want to be aware, and appreciate the opportunity to collaborate, if possible, if there's room for it. Not gatekeeping, really; it's more that a faction might have things planned out a month or two ahead of time, and have a faction identity to maintain. It's quite a thing to balance, really, with remaining open to people making an impact, which we try very much to be inclusive, that way, within the aforementioned parameters.

Of course, none of this affects simply writing a thread on any planet on the map, whether it's in a faction's territory or not.

 

[Kitter Bitters]

Personally I would say let others in on the surprise so they can help you get there. I’ve had stories I really wanted to do and when I opened up about them it really helped them get finished.

Sure some people may lose the surprise but it still looks damn good in written form once it’s done. Plus others had fun too!

 

[Vazela]

It is extremely difficult, I have found. Most people don't like surprises and prefer to be "warned" or "explained" ahead of time before you write it. There is a culture of approval where if the other party doesn't approve of your characters actions then the expectation is to change the action or alter it so that the other persons character isn't affected too negatively.