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fleetfootmikeI've been doing a fair bit of writing lately, as some of my friends can attest. It's led me, over the course of that time, to a number of conclusions, some of which are obvious and probably rank as perceived wisdom, and maybe some don't...
First off, inspiration. Whoever it was said that invention is more perspiration than inspiration is right. I used to bemoan the fact that I rarely got inspired enough to write fiction, and when I did, the inspiration would dry up after a few pages... The old adage "if you want to be a writer, then write", is, I can attest, true. What I try and do is (say) pick up the scene that I'm stuck on, and just try and take it somewhere, anywhere. What then often happens is that I wind up with a few lines that I look at critically, grumble, and throw away, often more than once, till eventually something happens I like, usually in response to the inner muse/voice that says something akin to 'Oh, for ****'s sake - let me do it...'. It's kind of like practising difficult phrases on the guitar - you just have to keep trying, however discouraging it is, because eventually you'll get there.
I used to be staff on several online RPGs (MUSHes), and play on several more. I used to treat it pretty much as interactive writing with little or no chance for a rewrite. The aspect of MUSHing that is particularly magical for me, compared to writing, is the whole thing of having a world that is populated with people I can interact with that I don't control, and as a result the ability for the world, and the characters in it, to surprise the hell out of me in a very pleasant way that is impossible to describe to someone who hasn't experienced it. Granted, it's possible for a character one is writing to develop a life/mind of its own, but the act of roleplaying/interactively writing with others makes the experience much keener, because you only have control of one end of the interaction. And the bigger the world/player-base, the more likely you are to find multiple rewarding collaboration opportunities.
Having said that, it's also a downside. If the person or people you're roleplaying with don't share your vision of the world, the larger story, or even the crucial details you're hanging a characterisation or plot from, you are, in a nutshell, stuffed :-) And the bigger the world and the player/writer base, the greater the odds on this happening. Moreover, and perhaps the reason I gave up, the things that you create are both flawed and ephemeral. Flawed because, despite the spontaneity (which is wonderful), you are constrained, consciously or not, by the MUSH command format and the alternating, 'self'-based nature of the interaction, and also by the linear nature of the medium - no rewinding to revise things. Ephemeral - well, because it is. Not only is it transient, gone as soon as you log off (barring logging), it's not part of a greater story in the same way that a scene in a book is - it's part of your character's story, and theirs, but (unless you make the (flawed) log available, and explain how you percieve it fits into your perception of the bigger story), it's just one story in many. Moreso, even, it's one story in many and everyone else (with some noble exceptions) thinks it's Not As Important As Theirs.
Being selfish, though, I want to have my cake and eat it. I want both the control over the large scale plot that being The Writer gives me, but I really miss the 'oh my God...' moments that collaborating with someone inspired can bring. That's what I so miss from MUSHing: there are, I know, a number of people reading this who I've RPed with online. You know who you are, and I miss you.
So, I'm sitting here with my laptop on my knees, thinking: what am I looking for here? Some bits of story are best just told by The Writer, whoever he or she is, who has the large scale vision. But some bits aren't: sometimes the interaction between characters can be handled that way, sometimes it's better beyond all reason if the interaction is played out, with all the magical surprises that can bring, yet secure in the knowledge that it isn't flawed, isn't ephemeral, and that it Matters In The Story.
I want to write something this way. Heck, I'd even settle for helping someone else do it.
First off, inspiration. Whoever it was said that invention is more perspiration than inspiration is right. I used to bemoan the fact that I rarely got inspired enough to write fiction, and when I did, the inspiration would dry up after a few pages... The old adage "if you want to be a writer, then write", is, I can attest, true. What I try and do is (say) pick up the scene that I'm stuck on, and just try and take it somewhere, anywhere. What then often happens is that I wind up with a few lines that I look at critically, grumble, and throw away, often more than once, till eventually something happens I like, usually in response to the inner muse/voice that says something akin to 'Oh, for ****'s sake - let me do it...'. It's kind of like practising difficult phrases on the guitar - you just have to keep trying, however discouraging it is, because eventually you'll get there.
I used to be staff on several online RPGs (MUSHes), and play on several more. I used to treat it pretty much as interactive writing with little or no chance for a rewrite. The aspect of MUSHing that is particularly magical for me, compared to writing, is the whole thing of having a world that is populated with people I can interact with that I don't control, and as a result the ability for the world, and the characters in it, to surprise the hell out of me in a very pleasant way that is impossible to describe to someone who hasn't experienced it. Granted, it's possible for a character one is writing to develop a life/mind of its own, but the act of roleplaying/interactively writing with others makes the experience much keener, because you only have control of one end of the interaction. And the bigger the world/player-base, the more likely you are to find multiple rewarding collaboration opportunities.
Having said that, it's also a downside. If the person or people you're roleplaying with don't share your vision of the world, the larger story, or even the crucial details you're hanging a characterisation or plot from, you are, in a nutshell, stuffed :-) And the bigger the world and the player/writer base, the greater the odds on this happening. Moreover, and perhaps the reason I gave up, the things that you create are both flawed and ephemeral. Flawed because, despite the spontaneity (which is wonderful), you are constrained, consciously or not, by the MUSH command format and the alternating, 'self'-based nature of the interaction, and also by the linear nature of the medium - no rewinding to revise things. Ephemeral - well, because it is. Not only is it transient, gone as soon as you log off (barring logging), it's not part of a greater story in the same way that a scene in a book is - it's part of your character's story, and theirs, but (unless you make the (flawed) log available, and explain how you percieve it fits into your perception of the bigger story), it's just one story in many. Moreso, even, it's one story in many and everyone else (with some noble exceptions) thinks it's Not As Important As Theirs.
Being selfish, though, I want to have my cake and eat it. I want both the control over the large scale plot that being The Writer gives me, but I really miss the 'oh my God...' moments that collaborating with someone inspired can bring. That's what I so miss from MUSHing: there are, I know, a number of people reading this who I've RPed with online. You know who you are, and I miss you.
So, I'm sitting here with my laptop on my knees, thinking: what am I looking for here? Some bits of story are best just told by The Writer, whoever he or she is, who has the large scale vision. But some bits aren't: sometimes the interaction between characters can be handled that way, sometimes it's better beyond all reason if the interaction is played out, with all the magical surprises that can bring, yet secure in the knowledge that it isn't flawed, isn't ephemeral, and that it Matters In The Story.
I want to write something this way. Heck, I'd even settle for helping someone else do it.
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Date: 2003-01-08 06:01 pm (UTC)On a MUSH, by its very nature, everyone who takes part views the game as a forum in which they can tell *their* story. However much people may want to treat it as a collaborative writing environment, it's not. It's a game, and must perforce be balanced. And there's no way you can get away from this, for the simple reason that part of the general contract between the creators and their players allows them the right to control their character how they want. Imagine a MUSH in which the creators said "Actually, this is Joe and Beth's story, and the rest of you are all just bit players': somehow I wouldn't expect it to get many players.
What I'm angling after is something closer to a semi-experimental film, or at least one made by a director with a great deal of faith in his actors. It's a film in which there's a general plot outline, the characters are pretty well detailed with their desires, loves, hates and personalities, and on the whole the director knows the story he or she wants to tell. But he doesn't necessarily know the fine details, and he believes in his cast enough to provide them with sketches for given scenes and let them improvise their dialogue in front of the camera. On top of that (like all but John Hurt in the famous scene in Alien) sometimes he keeps the actors in the dark about things their characters wouldn't know, simply so that he can capture the precious moments of genuine shock, surprise, wonder...
Improv
Date: 2003-01-08 06:12 pm (UTC)And, my answer is - you can do it. Set up a space (I'm wiz on a MOO or two if you want to use an existing space), assign sketches, determine the story arc, turn on logging, and there you go. If the story doesn't work out the way you like the first time, reset and start again. :) Have people swap characters and try again. Run scenes several times, and you'll find common things that arise each time, and that will tell you something. I'd participate gladly in something like that. Sounds like fun. :)
Re: Improv
Date: 2003-01-08 07:11 pm (UTC)