Work In Progress The Art of Letting the Other Have Their Moment

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Just a thought I had.

Years ago, I made a friend. This friend had something about them that I quickly identified as oddly unique. It was something that we all probably do, but they were supremely good at it. They paid attention and responded authentically with questions, laughter or a reassuring hand on the shoulder - whatever was appropriate. When you told a joke, they would sincerely laugh. You could see it in their eyes that it was not just a polite offering. When you expressed a tale of distress in your personal life, they would not come back with an equally sad tale of their own, but would appear to be almost crying as they asked questions to further their understanding of your plight. I think you would describe this as humility. It is something that I have been working for years to cultivate myself, but find that I have a self-centeredness that creates a constant whack-a-mole situation.

I say all the above, to say this:
Knowing how to give another writer their moment to shine is one aspect of being a good role-player.

Knowing how to do this and not undermine the intelligence or integrity of your character is the goal. A noble goal in a ofttimes silly hobby.

I suspect that running a faction is doing this but adding people management to it as well.

I can be guilty of always trying to give my characters a moment, rather than creating or facilitating moments for others to shine. We probably all can be that way. That is why this thread is a work in progress.

 

[Valery Noble]

I really like this post and hope you don't mind me adding something to it.

Something I learned from an old friend of mine is to look beyond just your own stories and plans in writing and learn to appreciate other people's stories as well, and even follow them actively. All of this is cooperative and, to me, what makes RP meaningful is the people/characters you share the stories with, not always the story itself. If you get invested and love what others have going or are trying to build with their characters, it's easy to make your own storytelling more compelling as well.

Sharing the spotlight and allowing others to have their moments is an important part of that, and I think it can even be fun to join stories where you focus almost entirely on someone else's development. Whether you help them initiate something new, grow something they already started, or just give them more material to flesh out their character - I feel it always adds a lot to everybody involved.

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Thanks Valery Noble I agree!

I know that I am really pushing to get a particular story told, and have been trying to tap into other people's story lines and characters a bit more. My struggle though is my slow reading speed XD no matter how much I read I never get any faster. Makes it tough to follow threads that I am not involved in, but I try!

 

[Giselle von Ascania]

Yes. Good. This is good.