A poll to my friends list: HP_Dungeon readers and not.

[icarus]

Are you reading hp_dungeons?

Here's what I'm finding in the RPG madness:

- It breaks inertia with fresh insights, input.
- It gives you the chance to work with many excellent writers, all at once.
- It is a like a movie set. Hurry up and wait, completely messes with your schedule.
- It is a tremendous time-sink.
- It develops some bad writing habits, dependency, and breaks down story structure as the story is pulled between several people.
- It is addictive.
- It concentrates your energy for a small readership; everyone else is left out in the cold.
- It's ephemeral. Once you write it, it's gone. People don't look back and read it later.
- It reduces your story to 'attention grabbers', there's a flattening that happens over time that I can't explain, except it seems to be related to the story structure being pulled in many directions.
- It has politics behind the scenes.
- It is well-nigh impossible to write your own fanfic while you're doing an RPG (at least that's what I find).

What do you think?

Are you waiting for stories that don't seem to be coming?

Are your RPG experiences similar? Different?

Comments

Re: Yup.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Yes, there you have it. I'm really grateful to hear from you, though I find it telling that most of the people posting in my journal lately are HP_Dungeons readers. I'm neglecting everyone else.

I think an RPG can really help if you're in an anal-retentive mode that can't just let things fly, or won't just 'crank it out.' I did the infamous 'An Audience With The King' RPG at the Barrow-downs (Lord of the Rings fandom) and that cured me - for good - of excessive tinkering.

For right now, talking to my creative writing teacher and to CLS, one of my long-term betas (and a good friend), I need to flesh out my stories more. Let them be richer and juicier. I've gone to the opposite extreme in my ruthless editing and 'spare' style.

hp_dungeons is tremendously fun, but I can see now that it's not what I need as a writer. It's like potato chips though - bad for me, but I'm having trouble stopping. I tried to bail on Halloween, but I couldn't.


Icarus

Re: Yup.

[sharp-tongue.livejournal.com]

*wails*

Noooo! Don't drop Percy. He's the Love Machine! We need him.

*vigorously and defiantly waves her "I <3 Percy" banner*

Re: Yup.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Percy will never stop, but he may take a new form, such as in Skinny Dipping (http://inkstain.slashcity.net/isf/archive/10/skinnydipping.html) Harry/Percy and Sweet Hypocrisy (http://inkstain.slashcity.net/isf/archive/7/sweethypocrisy.html) Snape/Percy and Not My Affair (http://www.livejournal.com/users/icarusancalion/85922.html), which is Ron/Percy.

Not to worry. I won't abandon Peryc. :)

Icarus