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]

But do check it out. The quality of characterisation and voice in hp_dungeons has been... not just high, but exceptional. These are some great writers.

Icarus

[snooks-ranting.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking a lot about this post Icarus. I like good writing, I crave good writing, and hp_dungeons has it. Whether this helps you folks as writers, I don't know, but from a reader's perspective I will say that RPGs often produce some of the best characterisations around.

A couple of years ago when ER, X-Files, and Homicide where at delicious peak, a New York Times article discussed the difference between good movies and good series. Basically, he argued that with such quality television and such lackluster hollywood endeavors, the two hours or so of a movie couldn't compare with the quality characterisation and narrative development that a whole television season provides. I remembered this article, because I wholeheartedly agree.

I honestly don't think that RPGs are all that ephemeral. I know that the Double Cross is a site I visit as often as any more conventional fanfic archive, and when I want a dose of Lucius, my favorite aristocratic sociopath, I visit Xandria's brilliant luciusxmalfoy. Indeed I far prefer her characterisation of Lucius in hogwarts_online than in any of her fics. There's a subtlety and depth in her characterisation that is truly extraordinary. Similarly, I find your Percy one of the most compelling versions of the character around. Part of it is the storyline, but mostly it's the slow revelation of his personality that I believe is driven by the lj-format.

A livejournal-based RPG doesn't present fiction in a traditional narrative, but I think that's part of the appeal. Certainly there is a lot of short term pay out, and going through back posts requires effort, but with good players it's definitely worth it. The fractured narrative and the depth of characterisation -- the very post-modernity of the format -- I find fascinating and deeply satisfying to read.

I enjoyed 'Primer to the Dark Arts' and I adore the 'Beg Me For It' series, but I've already returned to your hp_dungeon posts more times than I ever will with these stories even though I like them very much and will probably re-read them in the future.

Your characterisation of Percy in hp_dungeons is outstanding. The 'Beg Me For It' Series has moments of truly excellent characterisation, but dungeons' Percy exceeds even this previous highpoint. Whether you think that your writing is better or worse from this experience, I definitely find it more sophisticated.

[sharp-tongue.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking a great deal about the pros and cons raised in this post and there are many comments and observations that I'd like to make. Unfortunately, most of my brain is sucked into a little side project I've been challenged with and the rest of it has been destroyed by the soul-sucking void that is my job. (Working with Dementors would be a step up, I think.)

But I digress. How can I digress from nothing, you ask? I refer you back to the points made about my brain in the last paragraph.

Where was I? Oh, yes. I'm replying here because, in the absence of any ability to express my own thoughts, I'm going to simply agree whole-heartedly with snooks_ranting.

I can see how there would be downsides to writing for The Dungeons but for me, as a reader, there are so many more good points. The interactivity of the project creates a dynamic structure that can't be replicated or imitated in linear story. The backstories contrast with the snippets of journal entries and owl posts to flesh out each character in several dimensions, allowing them to show a more fundamentally fractal and human face.

As a writer, I'm crap. My writing itself is fine but I'm completely incapable of finishing a story, which is why I don't inflict any WIPs on my fandoms. The Dungeons has given me an unbelievable opportunity to interact with many outstanding writers and to be creative without the pressure of a structured plot to follow.

I simply adore The Dungeons and am throughly thankful to all of the contributors for making it such a fantastic experience.


(Oh, look. I had something of my own to say after all.) *grins*