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

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I hope you don't feel that, because I never became involved, I shouldn't be commenting.

Heavens to Betsy, are you kidding? It's the people who aren't hooked that I wanted to hear from most, because (giggles nervously) I know the rest of us are no longer sane.

These are some very thoughtful and observant points. My key touchstone of perspective is wildernessguru. When he gets that soft note in his voice and the little crease in his forehead, "Honey? You need to spend less time on this" I know that I've gone off the deep end.

For me it has hurt my writing in all areas except my understanding of Percy (and a little of Harry, Ron - plus a new image of Lucius that I love). But I appreciate that it has helped my understand a friend of mine who has struggled with her writing since she wrote an extraordinary collaboration. For that reason it has been worthwhile. But, yep. It's time to get back to my own stories.

Snape Manor, here we come. Though I think to recover I'm going to need to do some short porn pieces.

Icarus