Post by A®heim on Mar 15, 2009 22:47:05 GMT -5
So my English teacher gave me an assignment to write a memoir of an event in my life. I figured this place has a pretty big impact on my life AND it's literature related which ought to score big on my literature-obsessed teacher. Anyways I thought some of you might like to know how I view this place.
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There is a special kind of feeling one gets by being a part of something greater. A club, an organization, a community, all these have the unique ability to inspire the best in everyone. Perhaps it is human nature; the desire to contribute to society. Whatever the case, as of Oct 26, 2008 John Wix joined his first RP forum.
For those of you (most of you) who have no idea what an RP forum is, allow me to enlighten you: RP stands for Role Playing. Now before you start saying, “like Dungeons & Dragons and Star Trek conventions? Wow, what a geek.” Allow me to explain exactly how this works. A forum is a webpage with designated “threads” within which someone can post a message for all to see. Forums are often used as an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section for many support websites and help sections, however their simple format and easy-to-learn features provides an effective template on which to perform story-based role-playing. Basically, it is an area where many writers with access to the Internet can gather to co-author joint stories to be played out. To keep this organized and under control, a strict set of rules are often laid down.
The first thing you’ll need to begin your story is a main character. Naturally there needs to be a protagonist (or antagonist if that fits your style better) for the story to follow and for other people to interact with. For my first character I went with a troubled youth from a rich family cruelly wrenched away from him in a freak tunnel collapse. He has tasked himself with locating his “purpose” in the limitless galaxy-- all while coping with a terrible curse imposed upon him by a dark artifact he found after his parents perished. Once the character has been described and its history recorded your story can begin. So you ask, “How is this any different from just writing a story?” A valid question, but ah, there’s a catch: you can’t write it alone.
The moment my character was approved and released to wander the galaxy I met up with another user who wanted Falo (the name of my character) to become the apprentice of his character. There are no words to describe (not really true as it was described in many words) the feeling of watching a story evolve between two intelligent minds. In a way, I feel this writing style is superior as the authors must alternate-- each having to adapt their character to the actions of the other. There is an indescribable (truly this time) feeling you get when you know that someone has read your work. Someone has evaluated your time, effort, and creativity in order to respond accordingly with their own contribution to the story. Oftentimes there will be many more than two players in one story. When you start getting four or five people in one “thread,” a post order must be established to keep things structured and fair.
The collaboration that’s required on this forum has built a tight-knit community in which each member truly knows and respects the others. You begin to make friends with the people you’ve written with and your reputation as a writer spreads among the masses. As I got more knowledgeable on the forum’s workings, I began to realize there’s more to it than just training my character with his master. The whole site revolves around a storyline. Events controlled by characters such as Admirals and Sith lords steer the plot in an attempt to gain the upper hand. It’s like a fantasy story that never ends; the reader can never have the comfort that the good guys will win. In that sense it’s realistic- the good guys don’t always win.
Based on this principle I went on to create several more characters. For each one I tried to cover a different angle. Rah, a pirate lord of my division, allows me to take a break from Falo’s meek do-gooder outlook on life and just mercilessly plunder a few ships. Sean, a marksman in the Republic Army and his robotic companion Ayer give me an inside look into the workings of the protagonists’ army. Through the duo, I learned that the “Republic for Galactic Peace” is just as much a victim of political corruption as any other. After awhile the drama of this world began to wear on me, so I created yet another character named Rn’cherii, a comical, talkative, 7-foot-tall parrot with a knack for taming wild beasts. It wasn’t until recently, however, that I realized there was still a plot of land I had not yet trodden upon. None of my characters, not even the pirate, truly fell under the category of Evil. Being a man of curiosity and literary balance, I immediately set to work on Jeremy Blackstone, an archeologist and collector of the dark artifacts he covets in a quest for everlasting power.
It is this character diversity that I have come to love as it allows me to experiment with different personalities and explore this fantastic universe from every angle available. As silly as it sounds, I don’t regret that it is set long ago in a galaxy far, far away. In a way, it seems to guarantee that the community consists of fairly kind and understanding people. After all, how many jerks and bullies do you know who are obsessed with Star Wars? Even when there are no stories in which it is my turn to post, I amuse myself in chatting with the frequenters of the site in a little IM (Instant Messaging) box at the bottom. This little device is necessary as not everything can be discussed in post form, which would be much too awkward and ponderous. The chat box, or Cbox as it is called in the forum, allows members of the same storyline to discuss future events or arrange meetings with one another’s characters ahead of time. That said, many of my friends including Stephan and Taylor have joined it as well (if only to mess around in the “forum games” a section of text-based mini-games to toy with while waiting for the next person to advance the story, as Stephan does).
My admittance into this wonderful community of talented writers and like minds will forever stand as a milestone in my life. Since I have joined, I have gained that sense of belonging to a community that I discussed earlier. Also, the everyday narrative writing has served to strengthen my literary skills and even expand my vocabulary and writing style. I hope to remain a member for as long as possible and that the forum won’t die out soon. It is something to look forward to after a hard day at school or a day-long outing: the knowledge that I am creating a masterpiece with the help of my friends.
________________________________________________________
OPENING TRANSMISSION…
There is a special kind of feeling one gets by being a part of something greater. A club, an organization, a community, all these have the unique ability to inspire the best in everyone. Perhaps it is human nature; the desire to contribute to society. Whatever the case, as of Oct 26, 2008 John Wix joined his first RP forum.
For those of you (most of you) who have no idea what an RP forum is, allow me to enlighten you: RP stands for Role Playing. Now before you start saying, “like Dungeons & Dragons and Star Trek conventions? Wow, what a geek.” Allow me to explain exactly how this works. A forum is a webpage with designated “threads” within which someone can post a message for all to see. Forums are often used as an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section for many support websites and help sections, however their simple format and easy-to-learn features provides an effective template on which to perform story-based role-playing. Basically, it is an area where many writers with access to the Internet can gather to co-author joint stories to be played out. To keep this organized and under control, a strict set of rules are often laid down.
The first thing you’ll need to begin your story is a main character. Naturally there needs to be a protagonist (or antagonist if that fits your style better) for the story to follow and for other people to interact with. For my first character I went with a troubled youth from a rich family cruelly wrenched away from him in a freak tunnel collapse. He has tasked himself with locating his “purpose” in the limitless galaxy-- all while coping with a terrible curse imposed upon him by a dark artifact he found after his parents perished. Once the character has been described and its history recorded your story can begin. So you ask, “How is this any different from just writing a story?” A valid question, but ah, there’s a catch: you can’t write it alone.
The moment my character was approved and released to wander the galaxy I met up with another user who wanted Falo (the name of my character) to become the apprentice of his character. There are no words to describe (not really true as it was described in many words) the feeling of watching a story evolve between two intelligent minds. In a way, I feel this writing style is superior as the authors must alternate-- each having to adapt their character to the actions of the other. There is an indescribable (truly this time) feeling you get when you know that someone has read your work. Someone has evaluated your time, effort, and creativity in order to respond accordingly with their own contribution to the story. Oftentimes there will be many more than two players in one story. When you start getting four or five people in one “thread,” a post order must be established to keep things structured and fair.
The collaboration that’s required on this forum has built a tight-knit community in which each member truly knows and respects the others. You begin to make friends with the people you’ve written with and your reputation as a writer spreads among the masses. As I got more knowledgeable on the forum’s workings, I began to realize there’s more to it than just training my character with his master. The whole site revolves around a storyline. Events controlled by characters such as Admirals and Sith lords steer the plot in an attempt to gain the upper hand. It’s like a fantasy story that never ends; the reader can never have the comfort that the good guys will win. In that sense it’s realistic- the good guys don’t always win.
Based on this principle I went on to create several more characters. For each one I tried to cover a different angle. Rah, a pirate lord of my division, allows me to take a break from Falo’s meek do-gooder outlook on life and just mercilessly plunder a few ships. Sean, a marksman in the Republic Army and his robotic companion Ayer give me an inside look into the workings of the protagonists’ army. Through the duo, I learned that the “Republic for Galactic Peace” is just as much a victim of political corruption as any other. After awhile the drama of this world began to wear on me, so I created yet another character named Rn’cherii, a comical, talkative, 7-foot-tall parrot with a knack for taming wild beasts. It wasn’t until recently, however, that I realized there was still a plot of land I had not yet trodden upon. None of my characters, not even the pirate, truly fell under the category of Evil. Being a man of curiosity and literary balance, I immediately set to work on Jeremy Blackstone, an archeologist and collector of the dark artifacts he covets in a quest for everlasting power.
It is this character diversity that I have come to love as it allows me to experiment with different personalities and explore this fantastic universe from every angle available. As silly as it sounds, I don’t regret that it is set long ago in a galaxy far, far away. In a way, it seems to guarantee that the community consists of fairly kind and understanding people. After all, how many jerks and bullies do you know who are obsessed with Star Wars? Even when there are no stories in which it is my turn to post, I amuse myself in chatting with the frequenters of the site in a little IM (Instant Messaging) box at the bottom. This little device is necessary as not everything can be discussed in post form, which would be much too awkward and ponderous. The chat box, or Cbox as it is called in the forum, allows members of the same storyline to discuss future events or arrange meetings with one another’s characters ahead of time. That said, many of my friends including Stephan and Taylor have joined it as well (if only to mess around in the “forum games” a section of text-based mini-games to toy with while waiting for the next person to advance the story, as Stephan does).
My admittance into this wonderful community of talented writers and like minds will forever stand as a milestone in my life. Since I have joined, I have gained that sense of belonging to a community that I discussed earlier. Also, the everyday narrative writing has served to strengthen my literary skills and even expand my vocabulary and writing style. I hope to remain a member for as long as possible and that the forum won’t die out soon. It is something to look forward to after a hard day at school or a day-long outing: the knowledge that I am creating a masterpiece with the help of my friends.
TRANSMISSION TERMINATED