Post by Niji Amidasu on Jun 27, 2016 13:27:59 GMT -5
So inbetween waiting for posts, and general boredom. I thought I'd make a few Turn back the pendulum threads, mostly Solo, and potentially with other people.
My question since this is an RP site. How does doing a Solo Thread differ from making short stories, or novelas?
Also would it be alright doing a few Zan Spirit PoV Solo's to build their personality for when Niji rediscovers her Zan Spirit properly this time, rather than the fake Zanpakuto she currently has (After she looses her Zan and needs to re-awake her Asuachi)?
Post by Jian Oreachi on Jun 27, 2016 13:34:50 GMT -5
Solo's give less GP on word count, they're also really only a good idea for very specific short purposes. Doing a lot of your story solo will murder you then it comes time to request milestones/releases.
Post by Niji Amidasu on Jun 27, 2016 13:38:51 GMT -5
Ah. Mostly I was thinking of doing it as a way to avoid having to write character history, wasn't really planning on doing more than getting some GP, get a better feel for personality / back ground. And in the history section just link and be like "Here be my history". Since last time I felt like I had to balance between giving one, and not weighting down the app with words. And it came across as bland. I thought a Solo thread would be a good way to give some life to things, while at the same time needing only to be linked to my app when going for my regrade in a few thousand GP.
Using the solo thread as your history probably wouldn't be a good idea. Your app history and your solo threads shouldn't be the same, since they both give you different GP.
It also probably wouldn't be accepted by staff. Really, you're making a problem where there is none. What you could do is submit the 'bland' history as part of your app, then solo thread the significant events and link to them within your history. Like footnotes, but better.
Post by Niji Amidasu on Jun 27, 2016 13:47:52 GMT -5
Ah.
Thanks for the warnings both of you ^_^ ... now I either need to find more people to post with (my Metathreads are horrible), or a different way to pass time while waiting to post besides lurking on the site XD.
Anyways, what good are Solos for then if they're horrible for pretty much everything?
It also probably wouldn't be accepted by staff. Really, you're making a problem where there is none. What you could do is submit the 'bland' history as part of your app, then solo thread the significant events and link to them within your history. Like footnotes, but better.
So keep the blandness that was in there, but do a few Solos, and link to them to show why they were significant? Because my history was horrible. I think I scored a 0 on it because it was too bland and felt disconnected.
Last Edit: Jun 27, 2016 13:50:55 GMT -5 by Niji Amidasu
Solos are good for short events that are very personal experiences. Stories that for some reason or another just couldn't be told with another player. Like how your character deals with the death and destruction they deal with on a daily basis. Having someone else there could lead to character development, but it might also warp the message and intention of the thread beyond what you intended since that is the very nature of interaction.
Go poke Kire and force her to let you read some of her solos. She's good at it.
Edit: Sorta, yeah. Don't intentionally make your history bland, but if there's any past event you want to go into greater detail with, just make a mental note to solo it out at a later date.
You shouldn't link to your solo threads at all. Your application and your solo threads should be completely different things.
There isn't really much point in solo threads apart from being able to write a story about your character. That's why the GP rate is so low for them, that's also why they don't really get taken into account in requests/milestones. There's no one there to cause conflict or resolve conflicts. If you feel like you've got a little thing you need your character to sort out (like getting over a fear, realising that no one likes them, etc), you could write one, but generally it's better to thread with other people, so more people are involved in your interactive story.
EDIT: Ninja'd by Dew D:
Last Edit: Jun 27, 2016 13:53:09 GMT -5 by Roy Blue
Those are some of my favorites; give them a read, when/if you can. That's what solos should be used for; an inner struggle, a story that can't be told with/would be muddied by another party. I hope that helps any?
Last Edit: Jun 27, 2016 14:02:12 GMT -5 by Cheshire
We're singing I believe that lovers should be chained together and thrown into a fire with their songs and letters, and left there to burn. Left there to burn in their arrogance.
Solos are good for short events that are very personal experiences. Stories that for some reason or another just couldn't be told with another player. Like how your character deals with the death and destruction they deal with on a daily basis. Having someone else there could lead to character development, but it might also warp the message and intention of the thread beyond what you intended since that is the very nature of interaction.
Go poke Kire and force her to let you read some of her solos. She's good at it.
Edit: Sorta, yeah. Don't intentionally make your history bland, but if there's any past event you want to go into greater detail with, just make a mental note to solo it out at a later date.
It wasn't intentional XD. I didn't want to put to little, but didn't want it to be a four or five thousand word + short story either. Since I've seen too little is horrible, to much is bad. But my attempt at a middle ground bombed. Thought actually building a history would take out the unintentional bag of suck that is my character history XD.
You shouldn't link to your solo threads at all. Your application and your solo threads should be completely different things.
There isn't really much point in solo threads apart from being able to write a story about your character. That's why the GP rate is so low for them, that's also why they don't really get taken into account in requests/milestones. There's no one there to cause conflict or resolve conflicts. If you feel like you've got a little thing you need your character to sort out (like getting over a fear, realising that no one likes them, etc), you could write one, but generally it's better to thread with other people, so more people are involved in your interactive story.
EDIT: Ninja'd by Dew D:
Yeah, posting with others is good, and I did make a Metathread for that. But as I said, my metathreads are horrible. Like gawds aweful. Even my super short, to the point one is horrible XD. So I'm not really getting that many interactions outside of 3 peeps. Mostly I wanted something to do while waiting for the few threads I have to update, rather than lurking on the site almost all day XD. Thought a few solo's going into depth on areas that were labled as bland / disconnected. Would make things better for the re-grade.
But yeah ... so Solo's are a horrible idea, apparently and now I don't know what to do with my time while waiting.
Those are some of my favorites; give them a read, when/if you can. That's what solos should be used for; an inner struggle, a story that can't be told with/would be muddied by another party. I hope that helps any?
I'll definitely give them a read in a bit. Thanks Chesh ^_^.
I dont think there's any harm in linking a solo that expands on an event in your character's history after the grade has already been given. They're not too obtrusive. If someone wants to read further, they can. If not, then they just continue readong the summary.
And that's all a solo is. A little add on that can be ignored or read for insight into a character. You dont want too many, which is why you can only write one solo at a time but can have as many normal threads as you can handle, but I wouldnt call them weaker. Merely a variable we've chosen to exclude somewhat from our metrics so that we passively encourage people to thread with others more.
Edit: When exactly were solos removed from consideration for requests? Thats how I got Dew's second power. A solo to cap off his development. Milestones i understand somewhat, but all requests?
I dont think there's any harm in linking a solo that expands on an event in your character's history after the grade has already been given. They're not too obtrusive. If someone wants to read further, they can. If not, then they just continue readong the summary.
And that's all a solo is. A little add on that can be ignored or read for insight into a character. You dont want too many, which is why you can only write one solo at a time but can have as many normal threads as you can handle, but I wouldnt call them weaker. Merely a variable we've chosen to exclude somewhat from our metrics so that we passively encourage people to thread with others more.
Edit: When exactly were solos removed from consideration for requests? Thats how I got Dew's second power. A solo to cap off his development. Milestones i understand somewhat, but all requests?
Yeah, I was think of only having about 4 or 5 (since my character's past before getting captured was spent in a solitary lifestyle. Which has had a huge impact on her psyche.), but I've also been looking for some other people for when she goes to the Academy to show her interacting with others and getting re-adapted into society.
I'm not sure where this "solo threads aren't allowed in requests" fear is building from? As far as I know, that is not a rule. They are simply frowned upon if your story could have been better and more efficiently told w/ another player or two. The final thread in Jian's Prestige request was his solo. You're all good.
We're singing I believe that lovers should be chained together and thrown into a fire with their songs and letters, and left there to burn. Left there to burn in their arrogance.
Solos can absolutely be used as part of a mastery, milestone, or release. One of the linked above is my own, and is the start of Takua's final arc- should he survive it, it is the second most important thread in it. It's a solo. Is this bad?
Well that depends. Your character is absolutely shaped and molded in large part by their interactions with other people, and your requests should absolutely reflect that. A request without another person in it is...not going to be looked at well.
But at the same time, there are some things that simply can't be explored in any other way. Intensely personal things, a story that you don't want to be deviated from...and that's also its weakness. A solo has no risk, no surprise, no potential change that you haven't envisioned. My own thread up there works, I believe, because it's A: Set in a place no one else should have access to, B: The lion's share of it takes place in an Inner World analog (not exactly but it's the closest thing so we'll just use that) and C: Deals with incredibly personal subjects. Another person would actually dilute that message and the tone I needed to set. For things like this, solos are fantastic.
I would recommend you not inundate your history with solos. If you want to highlight a few specific, very special moments that helped to form the character, then go for it.
Did anyone say that anywhere? I merely advised against doing most of your story solo.
Edit: Two criteria before I advise a solo
A) Is it really really necessary to tell this story?
B) Can you really not do this properly with another person?
Think hard on both, if both are yes then this is likely best suited as a solo. Chesh gave some great examples.
Slightly misread Roy Blue's Post, as for your two Criterion.
A) I think so. After all I don't want to bog down my character's app with to many words. But at the same time, I want to erase the blandness / disconnectedness that was felt in how it is now. (that and it'd allow my to viscerally explore her personality / traits. So when I re-write her I have a better hold on how she plays).
B) While I am trying to get people for a Turning Back the Pendulum thread for when she was re-integrated into society / before this Month+year. To build a stronger story. Before she entered the Seireitei, and became a Shinigami, she spent a century of her life in isolation for the most part with a few, went horribly wrong, forays into society. So a Solo for those parts of her past makes sense. Since she'd have little in the way of long term interactions.
Would I be open to a few interactions from a previous Plus now Shini, and Niji? Or even Shini searching for her, and being one of the few who found her? Definitely, could be fun. But for the most part, up until the last 26 years. She's mostly been alone. That and I haven't gotten anything on those requests either XD.
Last Edit: Jun 27, 2016 14:23:21 GMT -5 by Niji Amidasu
I'm not sure where this "solo threads aren't allowed in requests" fear is building from? As far as I know, that is not a rule. They are simply frowned upon if your story could have been better and more efficiently told w/ another player or two. The final thread in Jian's Prestige request was his solo. You're all good.
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Misread Roy Blue's post slightly. And yes, definitely agree for stories that require two or more. That'd definitely be a thing (I'm actually looking for people for those areas as well for when she goes into the Academy onward). Thanks Chesh ^_^.
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Takua Avatar
Jun 27, 2016 15:18:57 GMT -4 Takua said:
Solos can absolutely be used as part of a mastery, milestone, or release. One of the linked above is my own, and is the start of Takua's final arc- should he survive it, it is the second most important thread in it. It's a solo. Is this bad?
Well that depends. Your character is absolutely shaped and molded in large part by their interactions with other people, and your requests should absolutely reflect that. A request without another person in it is...not going to be looked at well.
But at the same time, there are some things that simply can't be explored in any other way. Intensely personal things, a story that you don't want to be deviated from...and that's also its weakness. A solo has no risk, no surprise, no potential change that you haven't envisioned. My own thread up there works, I believe, because it's A: Set in a place no one else should have access to, B: The lion's share of it takes place in an Inner World analog (not exactly but it's the closest thing so we'll just use that) and C: Deals with incredibly personal subjects. Another person would actually dilute that message and the tone I needed to set. For things like this, solos are fantastic.
I would recommend you not inundate your history with solos. If you want to highlight a few specific, very special moments that helped to form the character, then go for it.
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The few that'd define her that'd be Solo (When she first comes to after being Konso'd and get's placed in Rukongai, with her family abandoning her a few weeks in. ; Her time in the forest / training with her master; Her first time her Spiritual Powers awoke and harmed people before she ran; and her capture. That really covers her solitary life. And the impacting bits that shaped her.; A final one in the PoV of her spirits (giving major spoilers to the truth behind her current Zanpakuto).
After that I'm going to need to find a better way to get Shinigami who'd be interested in a thread that far back in the past rather than present events XD.