Workshop for the SRP Writer's Craft

[The_gladiator]

It was easier in D&D because you could write what you’d try to do and someone would respond with how that worked out lol.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

How interesting. Usually I'm fine with that sort of thing and take umbrage with more serious stuff - like a co writer wrote in my character having an orgasm once and I was like 'no dude, not cool' because that's totally optional and not necessary as far as I'm concerned. But then there's things like gripping my character etc and I'm fine with it. Because they're not taking over my actions and it assumes so little, if my character isn't happy then they snatch their hand back - adds an element of emotional intensity either way too.

Also, hi Lucian Good to see you!

And that's fair, for me, it's just part of the collaborative process, and if that's what we decide on as a pair, I'd go with that too. It just kind of depends on the moment that the pair are having and/or are building towards, the dynamic of the pair as a whole, and the overall personality of my partner's character. If we're building towards a trusting relationship for example, I wouldn't want my character to do something that would make them want to snatch their hands back. If the character is normally very private, but we're having a tender moment, her actually lending him hold her hands is a pretty big thing, even if it otherwise would be small in the grand scheme of things for most people. So I just find it better to communicate and get my partner's opinion on the matter, and if we come up with something better as a pair, two heads better than one and all that, all the better!

And hello! It's been a LOOOOONG time, lol!

~LD

 

[Nina327]

What are the odds of several people climbing out of the shadows all at once ...

 

[The_gladiator]

Not sure, sometimes seeing someone return makes others more willing o return, build it and they will come

 

[Nina327]

build it and they will come

Baseball fields and vibrator manufacturing plants

 

[The_gladiator]

I see what you did there.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

What are the odds of several people climbing out of the shadows all at once ...

Nah, I was never it in the shadows. I've been here the whole time, lol.

~LD

 

[monique_minx]

And that's fair, for me, it's just part of the collaborative process, and if that's what we decide on as a pair, I'd go with that too. It just kind of depends on the moment that the pair are having and/or are building towards, the dynamic of the pair as a whole, and the overall personality of my partner's character. If we're building towards a trusting relationship for example, I wouldn't want my character to do something that would make them want to snatch their hands back. If the character is normally very private, but we're having a tender moment, her actually lending him hold her hands is a pretty big thing, even if it otherwise would be small in the grand scheme of things for most people. So I just find it better to communicate and get my partner's opinion on the matter, and if we come up with something better as a pair, two heads better than one and all that, all the better!

And hello! It's been a LOOOOONG time, lol!

~LD

I like to keep everyone on the edge of their seats
I had to double take because your name is the same but the profile is different, did you lose your account too? I've heard people have issues with Lit password recovery. My husband included unfortunately.

I think I prefer the mystery but I definitely get the individual preferences when it comes to writing. I like not knowing what will happen next which is the more authentic human experience too, like if someone wanted to ask to hold my hand - I'd prefer their character do literal asking. Otherwise just do it.

Saying that, big plot twists definitely require some OOC discussion to make them work and sketch them out properly otherwise each writer could be on a totally different wavelength and you don't get that symmetry to make it fluid. For the most part anyway, I did have one or two writers capable of rolling with some massive weird curve balls i threw (literally chucked an NPC murder in out of nowhere once - my co writer's response was glorious OOC and IC he was able to roll with it appropriately).

And beyond basic storyline sketch out, Marauder and I never discussed a damn thing, we used our thread to spend the entire time fucking each other's character over

Ah, good times.

Although I find that consistent base touching with your co writer is important too, keeping up with what's happening for them IRL means you're not left wondering if they're returning or anything.

I did just wake up so sorry if this reads like a hot mess too lol

 

[Lucian_Devine]

I like to keep everyone on the edge of their seats
I had to double take because your name is the same but the profile is different, did you lose your account too? I've heard people have issues with Lit password recovery. My husband included unfortunately.

I think I prefer the mystery but I definitely get the individual preferences when it comes to writing. I like not knowing what will happen next which is the more authentic human experience too, like if someone wanted to ask to hold my hand - I'd prefer their character do literal asking. Otherwise just do it.

Saying that, big plot twists definitely require some OOC discussion to make them work and sketch them out properly otherwise each writer could be on a totally different wavelength and you don't get that symmetry to make it fluid. For the most part anyway, I did have one or two writers capable of rolling with some massive weird curve balls i threw (literally chucked an NPC murder in out of nowhere once - my co writer's response was glorious OOC and IC he was able to roll with it appropriately).

And beyond basic storyline sketch out, Marauder and I never discussed a damn thing, we used our thread to spend the entire time fucking each other's character over

Ah, good times.

Although I find that consistent base touching with your co writer is important too, keeping up with what's happening for them IRL means you're not left wondering if they're returning or anything.

I did just wake up so sorry if this reads like a hot mess too lol

Yeah, I lost the ability to message and reply entirely, both to threads and conversations. I tried messaging the admins and everything, through this second account of course, but there was nothing they could do to fix whatever the problem was. So I was left with no other choice but to make a new account with a similar name. The old account was LucianDevine. This one is of course Lucian_Devine. I kept it as similar as I could while still making it unique enough to qualify as a new account.

I disagree that big plot twists require OOC discussion. There is room for curve balls, both when there is and isn't a lot of collaboration. It just kind of depends on where in the thread you are, and how you do it. If you are good enough, you know where the wiggle room is, both with your partner and their character. So when you throw the curve ball, it's to try and fool them as the batter, not straight up hit them in the head. Then, if they are good enough, they can roll with it as well. Again, as long as both people know what they are in for going into it, there shouldn't be any problems. That's all I mean about communication. If somebody expects 0 curve balls, because you told them there wouldn't be any, and then you suddenly throw one, that would be a different matter.

One example I have with one partner and thread, is that we agreed that there would be no pictures or links shown in the thread. It would be descriptions only so that everyone would see the characters and locations in their mind's eye only instead of potentially being penned in by a picture.

~LD

 

[monique_minx]

Yeah, I lost the ability to message and reply entirely, both to threads and conversations. I tried messaging the admins and everything, through this second account of course, but there was nothing they could do to fix whatever the problem was. So I was left with no other choice but to make a new account with a similar name. The old account was LucianDevine. This one is of course Lucian_Devine. I kept it as similar as I could while still making it unique enough to qualify as a new account.

I disagree that big plot twists require OOC discussion. There is room for curve balls, both when there is and isn't a lot of collaboration. It just kind of depends on where in the thread you are, and how you do it. If you are good enough, you know where the wiggle room is, both with your partner and their character. So when you throw the curve ball, it's to try and fool them as the batter, not straight up hit them in the head. Then, if they are good enough, they can roll with it as well. Again, as long as both people know what they are in for going into it, there shouldn't be any problems. That's all I mean about communication. If somebody expects 0 curve balls, because you told them there wouldn't be any, and then you suddenly throw one, that would be a different matter.

One example I have with one partner and thread, is that we agreed that there would be no pictures or links shown in the thread. It would be descriptions only so that everyone would see the characters and locations in their mind's eye only instead of potentially being penned in by a picture.

~LD

Yes I should have said some need it, depends on the story, the co writers, a lot of variables. Thanks for pulling me up on that one, I should have had coffee first but Lit tends to light on fire while I sleep and the U.S is awake I get excited to check what you've all been doing while I slept.

I tend to use pictures and a bit of slow description (elaborate on what they look like with words as I go) but everyone knows I'm pretty wordy, sometimes it works in my favour and sometimes it's just too damn much. I have worked on that. Of course I usually have a lot more to write when a thread kicks off cause of scene and story setting, starting character personality and setting up relationships. Some people struggle with those first posts but usually that's where I thrive. Admittedly some are harder than others but once I get a decent idea of how I want to outline a particular characteristic, I roll from there. It's hard to explain.

Answering my own topic question: I also want to add that I've gotten inspiration for specific threads from various places - Massacre State Asylum was my kinky take on Girl, Interrupted (movie), Project L.U.C.I.D is a wild sci fi spin off that started from Ella Enchanted and combined it with the CIA's Project MKULTRA and then Sharky contributed some Blade Runner esque ideas and we rolled it into something brand new somehow. Base Camp November was an idea my sister and I built 15 years ago in an hour while discussing our favourite Matthew Reilly series.

You keep me coming back for more - entirely inspired by a song. Taking Online Offline was based on and inspired by me, by exploring everything BDSM. One of mine was inspired by an episode of Law & Order SVU - we're all shocked. One was inspired by a Lit story I read a long time ago and can't even recall the name of anymore. Some were just inspired by wanting to write something with someone in particular and finding a middle ground together. I also get inspired mid thread by some friggen weird shit like a music video etc. Oh and Two Fanged Seduction was entirely inspired by my obsession with historical figures, my favourite part was only breadcrumbing who Caine actually was when he was human. We drove a lot of people crazy with that thread

And I have a new topic for you guys: how do you go with kicking off a thread? You have your story, your co writer, everything is set. How easy or difficult can a first post be for you?

(Told you guys I was wordy)

 

[Crystal_Dust]

So if I’m really into a thread, the first post is, honestly, the easiest. A lot of my threads required a great deal of world building, including Massacre. That one took place ‘in the real world’ but in this bubble. Tessa was the constant, the true north for that bubble, and so her first post had a lot of world building there.
It’s also easiest (for me) because there’s zero baggage. Or near zero. That post may need to accomplish certain things, but it doesn’t have any history to move within.
Anyhow, world building is very much my thing, and most of my stuff takes place outside of the normal world, so for me, it’s where I thrive.

 

[monique_minx]

Oh my god yes! Following the history built in a thread can be so hard, sometimes I have to go back and reread to get details accurate. I mean you get the basic premise but 6 months after that post, those details are super fuzzy sometimes and so much has happened in between too.

And Dust? You were the best pick for Dr Massacre, 100% never regretted it I think a lot of people were actually surprised I wasn't the 'headliner' or the character with the name in the title of my own thread to be honest there were so many wild profiles and collective world building for that story. But the storyline and direction were solid so I think it made it easier for everyone to build their characters off that too. I remember getting into specifics, like we even had a discussion on camera positioning and everything (and I got hounded to start the IC so hard ).

I also think goal setting is important - when you have specific things you want to do inside a story, you have an aim and a direction to meet those. Sometimes you don't need them but that depends on the story and the writers and whether the creativity is there to go without goals.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

The first post is ALWAYS the hardest for me. I'm always torn on just how much detail to put into it and how much to save for later, especially if some is stuff that one character has, one character doesn't, and some is just stuff I think the readers should know. For example, the Sword Art Online thread that I started, or rather had my partner start, since my character actually wasn't trapped day one, but was joining 2 weeks later, because he bought the game and the headset, but got called in for a work emergency. So, by the time he got home, everything that happened with the launch was already all over the news, meaning that he knew not to log on, but then he learned that they were still stuck on floor one after 2 weeks, and because of some live streamers and such, he was able to see the first floor and figure out the puzzle to trigger the first boss spawn. There were recalls and everything, pulling the game and everything off the shelves, but there wasn't a good way for them to get the address of the people that had the game but hadn't logged on, like my character. So he logged on to help, told everyone he interacted with how to trigger the boss spawn while trying to level up as fast as possible, etc. He'll naturally be underleveled compared to my partner for the first boss, but it's just who he is. He's a dual-wielding tank, and my partner is an archer. Thread name is SAO Remastered.

 

[The_gladiator]

I love first posts though they aren’t always easy either.
Inspiration comes from lots of places I guess, fantasies I guess

 

[JackHemingway]

Reflecting on my activity on Lit over the years, I've gained a few key takeaways, and I've improved significantly, looking back at my early attempts at writing smut. It's been about starting over, learning about people, and trying to expand as a writer. For a brief time, I worked as a writer and researcher, eventually finding a formula that worked. However, I soon learned that prioritizing good content over grammar and spelling alone was not effective. Lit started as a fun exercise, but I connected wonderfully with several female partners on multiple occasions, to the point where, during the enjoyable back-and-forths in the roleplay section, we'd often do each other's actions because we knew each other so well. I know that isn't the norm, and it doesn't happen overnight by any means. It is a wonderful part of collaboration. So I've always cared about story, and it is about finding satisfaction with a good working rhythm. Many times, I say no because the person wants some sex scenes with as much plot background as your average adult film. I'm looking to collaborate with someone who shares my passion for crafting stories with characters that have depth. I'm looking to collaborate with someone on a good story where we have chemistry as we play roles together. I know I won't get my ideal, but I'm looking for someone to write with who doesn't ghost me, communicates well, and wants to collaborate on a good story. I hope this is one step closer to finding someone I enjoy writing with beyond my current partner, who is lovely.

 

[Felix80]

Sometimes my opening posts are more vague and general, presenting the scenario and leaving a lot of details open.

Sometimes they go into intricate detail and spell out exactly what happens before the start of the scene.

But I love it when they build from a simple scenario into something amazing.