Writing Workshop - Fitting In
Nov. 10th, 2006 03:52 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
amberdiceless.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
mad_prophetsHere's my contribution to the Writing Workshop. As per Crowley's post, everybody feel free to add your two cents!
One of the biggest challenges in a game like Neutral Omens is how to get involved and fit in, whether you're playing a canon character who hasn't been seen before, one who's been through a few previous players, or a character from a completely different fandom. It can be intimidating to try to join an established group in any setting, and roleplaying games can be particularly daunting because relationships (both in and out of character) and personal chemistry are so important to the game.
When I first signed up for Neutral Omens, I didn't know a single other person in the game. All the major canon characters had already been claimed, and relationships were well on their way to being established. I almost didn't sign up, and when I did, it was with every intention of bringing John in as a very peripheral character and just hanging around the fringes, watching for an occasional opening to contribute something. Much to my surprise, he wound up right in the thick of things, and more of his backstory than I ever dreamed possible has now found its way into NO canon. So I thought I'd share what I did intentionally to try to get him into the story, the ways in which I believe I got extraordinarily lucky, and some of the issues I've had to deal with along the way, as well as offer some general advice on how to get involved and get other players interested in the story you want to tell.
1. Choosing a great character.
Obviously this is a non-issue for already established characters, but if you're thinking about picking up a new figment, it's worth considering. I settled on John because he comes from a diverse and colorful canon that has a lot of overlap with the basic underpinnings of Good Omens (the Judeo-Christian themes are very strong in both stories) and that isn't entirely incompatible with the Harry Potter setting, either (John's brand of sorcery is different enough from Harry's that I could explain it away by saying "real" wizards don't use it but it does work for Muggles.)
Better yet, canon!John already had serious history with versions of characters already in the game (Gabriel and Belial,) and lived in the same general area as Crowley and Aziraphale. So he came with some potential built-in "hooks" to connect him to the other PC's from the start. And finally, though this didn't really occur to me until some time later, he's a closer literary cousin to A&C than he appears at first glance--although I took a lot of his characterization from his own comic and Swamp Thing, I was also influenced a great deal by his appearance in The Books of Magic, which was written by none other than Neil Gaiman! (Ellie was similarly connected, but then she's from John's canon, so that just sort of follows.)
Hellblazer, of course, isn't the only story that dovetails to some degree with what's already in the game. Any story that deals closely with Heaven, Hell, Apocalyptic themes, or magic has possibilities. I'm not saying that only a character from that kind of story will work, but it's probably a good starting point for your search.
In short, don't just grab the first cool supernatural-related and/or English character you think of. Choose someone who has every possible advantage from the beginning and it'll make things much easier.
2. Talk to the other players.
This one was a little tough for me. I'm not a naturally outgoing person (as I'm sure some of you have noticed! ><) and it always makes me a little nervous to contact someone I don't know out of the blue. But I knew if I wanted to take advantage of some of the possible tie-ins I could see, I needed to make arrangements with some of the other players. So I got hold of Crowley's, Belial's and Gabriel's players, none of whom was familiar with Hellblazer, and explained some of John's backstory and asked if they would be willing to work with it. (In Crowley's case, there were never any plans for the two to become best friends, just casual acquaintances from down the pub. Everything else came later.)
This is one of those places where I got extremely lucky. All three of them were very accommodating, and we've got some great roleplaying out of the arrangement. But none of it would have happened if I hadn't taken the chance and asked. Not everybody is always going to go along with your ideas, but you'll never know if you don't try.
Also, some players are more communicative than others or better at taking the initiative. Sometimes the only way you're going to get something off the ground is if you get hold of the other person and say "Hey! Let's do this thread we talked about. I'll start it."
3. Be flexible.
Right from the start, I knew there were parts of John's canon (and by extension, the larger DC continuity) that just wouldn't fit in with GO and NO very well and would be more headache than they were worth to explain away. For example, in John's universe, Hell is no longer ruled by Lucifer, a development that came out of the Sandman comic. John himself has run into Batman, helped save the world during the Crisis of Infinite Earths, and at this point, has something like 200 issues of his own comic that I haven't read. So a lot had to be cut, ignored or rearranged slightly to shoehorn him into the game believably.
Beyond that, canon!John isn't just a bit of a curmudgeon, he's a really nasty piece of work and has dealt with stuff so horrifying it would probably send Aziraphale and Crowley running for their lives. Good Omens is set in a gentler, more whimsical universe, and everything about John had to be toned down to match. The challenge there was to soften him up enough to do that without completely losing sight of the original character. This is why the possession subplot happened and why we now have Fiends--to take him back to his roots a bit and to explain some of what he's seen that didn't seem to work in the GO setting.
On a slightly different note, my John started out unambiguously, aggressively straight, so much so that it quickly became a running gag. I was forced to reevaluate that position slightly when Bel's player brought to my attention the fact that he's canonically bi, at least in some degree, and also by popular demand of the other players. So I'd say he's now something like 90% straight and 10% undecided, enough to allow for a little subtext here and there and occasionally let him notice or do things a totally straight guy wouldn't. It's not what I had planned, but it works.
If I'd stubbornly clung to my original intent, I'd have missed out on some really fun and rewarding scenes (like his rescue from Michael by Belial and his dozing off with Crowley the couple of times it's happened.) And if I'd insisted on trying to bring John's entire canon along with him despite the inconsistencies, I'd have created a continuity mess of monumental proportions. (If I had tried to do that, it definitely shouldn't have been allowed!)
So, always be willing to consider making a change in your plans and ideas, even backpedaling and retconning if need be, if it will work out better for the game as a whole or provide you with opportunities to expand your character's horizons.
4. Be interested to be interesting.
Once I actually got into the game, I didn't immediately go looking for ways to grab the other characters' attention and try to interest them in John. NO is first and foremost a Good Omens story, and Azi and Crowley are the heart and soul of Good Omens, so the first thing I did was look for some way John could get involved in their plot and help them out. It so happened he knew a spell that was highly relevant to their situation, so I came up with a rationale for why he might decide to give it to them, and went from there. (ETA: Forgot to add that Azi's and Crowley's situation closely parallels Ellie and Tali's in Hellblazer canon, which ended badly and provided an absolutely perfect excuse for both John and Ellie to take an interest.)
I've followed a similar pattern ever since. John has very little plot of his own in the game; he reacts to the things he sees happening around him, and has some strong motivations to involve himself in other peoples' business, with or without their approval. It doesn't work with every character, but if I can find something in the other character that pushes one of his buttons (like Loki's cancer or Pepper's similarities to Kit,) I can use it to make a connection and build on that.
If you find you're having trouble getting people to interact with your figment, look around at the other characters, talk to their players and see what they have in common and how you may be able to contribute to their stories. A timely offer of help or a judicious butting-in at the proper moment is a quick way to attract someone's attention and interest, provided you have something of real value to add to the scene. (But be selective, too...jumping into every thread that comes up is a quick way to annoy people!) :) Sooner or later somebody will take an interest in return.
5. Look outside the game.
Tadfield Manor does not exist in a vacuum, and neither do our figments. I'm sure you've noticed that John is constantly referring back in his head to people and events from his past. Just as in real life, it gives him a frame of reference in which to view what's going on around him and is at the root of just about all his motivations. I'm fortunate to have so much material to work with, but so do many of the other characters, and if yours doesn't, you can always invent some! Refer back to #1 and don't try to drag things into the game that aren't likely to fit well (ask for the general opinion if you're unsure,) but if it's not going to throw off anyone else's groove, don't be afraid to bring bits and pieces of the past and the outside world in just to flesh out your character and give us a little insight we wouldn't get otherwise.
This is what the no_npc_here account is for, btw, and it's available for any player to make a cameo with an "extra" the way I have with Chas, Alec and now Zatanna. If you need the password, ask a mod. Also, don't forget that Outside_Omens is there so our figments can take a vacation or run an errand.
6. Be patient.
People post at their own pace. The fact that it may sometimes take a while (even a pretty long while, in some cases) for folks to respond to your posts does not mean that you've been forgotten or are being snubbed. Real life problems, weekend distractions, school, work, and writer's block are just a few of the reasons why a thread may stall. Give it a few days before you poke another player who's dragging their feet, and if it seems like an unreasonable length of time has passed, you may want to just write that thread off and move on. There's nothing to stop you from going back and finishing it whenever, provided you take a little care not to mess up later game continuity (but do let Muri know so she can keep track of which threads are active!)
7. Talk to yourself.
Can't find someone to do a thread with? Post one all by yourself. Show us what your character is like, what they're thinking and feeling, what they're up to, what they want and need. Tag it as open for other players to join or closed just to give us a peek inside your figment's head. The more everyone knows about your character, the more likely it is that someone will find a reason to want to interact with them.
8. Play nice with others.
This is mostly an out-of-character consideration, and we've been over it before at various times, but it bears repeating. We rarely have problems with civility, but on occasion we've had players step on one anothers' toes, knowingly or otherwise. So please, try to get a general concensus before you try anything that's going to fundamentally alter the nature of the Universe or that could otherwise seriously impact other characters. Don't godmod, don't carry out-of-character-disagreements over into the game, and don't let anything bad that happens in the game bleed into real life. Let people you're actively playing with know if you're going to have to stop posting for a while. Apologize if you accidentally upset someone, and accept apologies gracefully. It happens, it's not the end of the world. Don't feel obligated to join a chat if you don't feel like it, but if you do join, be kind! Leave the drama at the door. It's a game. We're here to have fun. We want everyone to feel included and nobody to feel left out or unwelcome.
Speaking of which...
9. A word on the so-called OT5
Okay, so there's five of us--Crowley, Azi, Gabs, Bel and I--who have been nicknamed the "One True Five" due to a couple of slightly twisted drabbles and the perception that we constitute some kind of clique. I just wanted to clear up, once and for all, that there is no clique. As far as I'm aware, none of us were even acquainted before the game started. Our characters are closely tied due to history and circumstance, we all get along well and have good chemistry and similar interests as writers, we've all been here longer than most of the other players now, and that's it. Likewise, some of the other players got tagged as a clique at one point, for similar reasons. It's the nature of roleplaying games for this to happen. No conspiracy required.
Azi, Crowley and I are mods, but that's just because somebody has to run the back end of the game and make sure things don't get too far out of hand. It doesn't accord us some godlike status. Never be afraid to talk to us, ask us to play with you, disagree with us or interact with us in any other way. Everybody in the game has a voice, and by and large we operate pretty democratically. Nobody gets things exactly their way all the time, but we get what we've really got our hearts set on more often than not.
---
The single most important thing to remember is that you will get out of the game as much as you put into it. If you sit back and wait for the other players to get you involved, there's a good chance you'll be passed by, not because you're unwelcome, but because everyone is busy trying to tell their own stories here and it's really not fair to ask other people to do all the work for you. Which is not to say you shouldn't ask for help if you need it--we're more than willing to lend a hand--but the key word there is ask. Dare I say, make an effort.
Those players who have thrived best in this game have been friendly, persistent, inventive, patient, and willing to cooperate and compromise. I think it's safe to say we're all pretty proud of the story we've spun so far, and it wouldn't be what it is without the wonderful diversity of characters and players who've taken part in it. So jump in, find a niche your figment can fill and run with it. If your first attempt doesn't work out the way you planned, try again. If you need help or advice or an idea or a kick in the butt, give a yell at Mad Prophets or in the chat.
And above all else--have fun with it! 'Cuz that's the whole point.
One of the biggest challenges in a game like Neutral Omens is how to get involved and fit in, whether you're playing a canon character who hasn't been seen before, one who's been through a few previous players, or a character from a completely different fandom. It can be intimidating to try to join an established group in any setting, and roleplaying games can be particularly daunting because relationships (both in and out of character) and personal chemistry are so important to the game.
When I first signed up for Neutral Omens, I didn't know a single other person in the game. All the major canon characters had already been claimed, and relationships were well on their way to being established. I almost didn't sign up, and when I did, it was with every intention of bringing John in as a very peripheral character and just hanging around the fringes, watching for an occasional opening to contribute something. Much to my surprise, he wound up right in the thick of things, and more of his backstory than I ever dreamed possible has now found its way into NO canon. So I thought I'd share what I did intentionally to try to get him into the story, the ways in which I believe I got extraordinarily lucky, and some of the issues I've had to deal with along the way, as well as offer some general advice on how to get involved and get other players interested in the story you want to tell.
1. Choosing a great character.
Obviously this is a non-issue for already established characters, but if you're thinking about picking up a new figment, it's worth considering. I settled on John because he comes from a diverse and colorful canon that has a lot of overlap with the basic underpinnings of Good Omens (the Judeo-Christian themes are very strong in both stories) and that isn't entirely incompatible with the Harry Potter setting, either (John's brand of sorcery is different enough from Harry's that I could explain it away by saying "real" wizards don't use it but it does work for Muggles.)
Better yet, canon!John already had serious history with versions of characters already in the game (Gabriel and Belial,) and lived in the same general area as Crowley and Aziraphale. So he came with some potential built-in "hooks" to connect him to the other PC's from the start. And finally, though this didn't really occur to me until some time later, he's a closer literary cousin to A&C than he appears at first glance--although I took a lot of his characterization from his own comic and Swamp Thing, I was also influenced a great deal by his appearance in The Books of Magic, which was written by none other than Neil Gaiman! (Ellie was similarly connected, but then she's from John's canon, so that just sort of follows.)
Hellblazer, of course, isn't the only story that dovetails to some degree with what's already in the game. Any story that deals closely with Heaven, Hell, Apocalyptic themes, or magic has possibilities. I'm not saying that only a character from that kind of story will work, but it's probably a good starting point for your search.
In short, don't just grab the first cool supernatural-related and/or English character you think of. Choose someone who has every possible advantage from the beginning and it'll make things much easier.
2. Talk to the other players.
This one was a little tough for me. I'm not a naturally outgoing person (as I'm sure some of you have noticed! ><) and it always makes me a little nervous to contact someone I don't know out of the blue. But I knew if I wanted to take advantage of some of the possible tie-ins I could see, I needed to make arrangements with some of the other players. So I got hold of Crowley's, Belial's and Gabriel's players, none of whom was familiar with Hellblazer, and explained some of John's backstory and asked if they would be willing to work with it. (In Crowley's case, there were never any plans for the two to become best friends, just casual acquaintances from down the pub. Everything else came later.)
This is one of those places where I got extremely lucky. All three of them were very accommodating, and we've got some great roleplaying out of the arrangement. But none of it would have happened if I hadn't taken the chance and asked. Not everybody is always going to go along with your ideas, but you'll never know if you don't try.
Also, some players are more communicative than others or better at taking the initiative. Sometimes the only way you're going to get something off the ground is if you get hold of the other person and say "Hey! Let's do this thread we talked about. I'll start it."
3. Be flexible.
Right from the start, I knew there were parts of John's canon (and by extension, the larger DC continuity) that just wouldn't fit in with GO and NO very well and would be more headache than they were worth to explain away. For example, in John's universe, Hell is no longer ruled by Lucifer, a development that came out of the Sandman comic. John himself has run into Batman, helped save the world during the Crisis of Infinite Earths, and at this point, has something like 200 issues of his own comic that I haven't read. So a lot had to be cut, ignored or rearranged slightly to shoehorn him into the game believably.
Beyond that, canon!John isn't just a bit of a curmudgeon, he's a really nasty piece of work and has dealt with stuff so horrifying it would probably send Aziraphale and Crowley running for their lives. Good Omens is set in a gentler, more whimsical universe, and everything about John had to be toned down to match. The challenge there was to soften him up enough to do that without completely losing sight of the original character. This is why the possession subplot happened and why we now have Fiends--to take him back to his roots a bit and to explain some of what he's seen that didn't seem to work in the GO setting.
On a slightly different note, my John started out unambiguously, aggressively straight, so much so that it quickly became a running gag. I was forced to reevaluate that position slightly when Bel's player brought to my attention the fact that he's canonically bi, at least in some degree, and also by popular demand of the other players. So I'd say he's now something like 90% straight and 10% undecided, enough to allow for a little subtext here and there and occasionally let him notice or do things a totally straight guy wouldn't. It's not what I had planned, but it works.
If I'd stubbornly clung to my original intent, I'd have missed out on some really fun and rewarding scenes (like his rescue from Michael by Belial and his dozing off with Crowley the couple of times it's happened.) And if I'd insisted on trying to bring John's entire canon along with him despite the inconsistencies, I'd have created a continuity mess of monumental proportions. (If I had tried to do that, it definitely shouldn't have been allowed!)
So, always be willing to consider making a change in your plans and ideas, even backpedaling and retconning if need be, if it will work out better for the game as a whole or provide you with opportunities to expand your character's horizons.
4. Be interested to be interesting.
Once I actually got into the game, I didn't immediately go looking for ways to grab the other characters' attention and try to interest them in John. NO is first and foremost a Good Omens story, and Azi and Crowley are the heart and soul of Good Omens, so the first thing I did was look for some way John could get involved in their plot and help them out. It so happened he knew a spell that was highly relevant to their situation, so I came up with a rationale for why he might decide to give it to them, and went from there. (ETA: Forgot to add that Azi's and Crowley's situation closely parallels Ellie and Tali's in Hellblazer canon, which ended badly and provided an absolutely perfect excuse for both John and Ellie to take an interest.)
I've followed a similar pattern ever since. John has very little plot of his own in the game; he reacts to the things he sees happening around him, and has some strong motivations to involve himself in other peoples' business, with or without their approval. It doesn't work with every character, but if I can find something in the other character that pushes one of his buttons (like Loki's cancer or Pepper's similarities to Kit,) I can use it to make a connection and build on that.
If you find you're having trouble getting people to interact with your figment, look around at the other characters, talk to their players and see what they have in common and how you may be able to contribute to their stories. A timely offer of help or a judicious butting-in at the proper moment is a quick way to attract someone's attention and interest, provided you have something of real value to add to the scene. (But be selective, too...jumping into every thread that comes up is a quick way to annoy people!) :) Sooner or later somebody will take an interest in return.
5. Look outside the game.
Tadfield Manor does not exist in a vacuum, and neither do our figments. I'm sure you've noticed that John is constantly referring back in his head to people and events from his past. Just as in real life, it gives him a frame of reference in which to view what's going on around him and is at the root of just about all his motivations. I'm fortunate to have so much material to work with, but so do many of the other characters, and if yours doesn't, you can always invent some! Refer back to #1 and don't try to drag things into the game that aren't likely to fit well (ask for the general opinion if you're unsure,) but if it's not going to throw off anyone else's groove, don't be afraid to bring bits and pieces of the past and the outside world in just to flesh out your character and give us a little insight we wouldn't get otherwise.
This is what the no_npc_here account is for, btw, and it's available for any player to make a cameo with an "extra" the way I have with Chas, Alec and now Zatanna. If you need the password, ask a mod. Also, don't forget that Outside_Omens is there so our figments can take a vacation or run an errand.
6. Be patient.
People post at their own pace. The fact that it may sometimes take a while (even a pretty long while, in some cases) for folks to respond to your posts does not mean that you've been forgotten or are being snubbed. Real life problems, weekend distractions, school, work, and writer's block are just a few of the reasons why a thread may stall. Give it a few days before you poke another player who's dragging their feet, and if it seems like an unreasonable length of time has passed, you may want to just write that thread off and move on. There's nothing to stop you from going back and finishing it whenever, provided you take a little care not to mess up later game continuity (but do let Muri know so she can keep track of which threads are active!)
7. Talk to yourself.
Can't find someone to do a thread with? Post one all by yourself. Show us what your character is like, what they're thinking and feeling, what they're up to, what they want and need. Tag it as open for other players to join or closed just to give us a peek inside your figment's head. The more everyone knows about your character, the more likely it is that someone will find a reason to want to interact with them.
8. Play nice with others.
This is mostly an out-of-character consideration, and we've been over it before at various times, but it bears repeating. We rarely have problems with civility, but on occasion we've had players step on one anothers' toes, knowingly or otherwise. So please, try to get a general concensus before you try anything that's going to fundamentally alter the nature of the Universe or that could otherwise seriously impact other characters. Don't godmod, don't carry out-of-character-disagreements over into the game, and don't let anything bad that happens in the game bleed into real life. Let people you're actively playing with know if you're going to have to stop posting for a while. Apologize if you accidentally upset someone, and accept apologies gracefully. It happens, it's not the end of the world. Don't feel obligated to join a chat if you don't feel like it, but if you do join, be kind! Leave the drama at the door. It's a game. We're here to have fun. We want everyone to feel included and nobody to feel left out or unwelcome.
Speaking of which...
9. A word on the so-called OT5
Okay, so there's five of us--Crowley, Azi, Gabs, Bel and I--who have been nicknamed the "One True Five" due to a couple of slightly twisted drabbles and the perception that we constitute some kind of clique. I just wanted to clear up, once and for all, that there is no clique. As far as I'm aware, none of us were even acquainted before the game started. Our characters are closely tied due to history and circumstance, we all get along well and have good chemistry and similar interests as writers, we've all been here longer than most of the other players now, and that's it. Likewise, some of the other players got tagged as a clique at one point, for similar reasons. It's the nature of roleplaying games for this to happen. No conspiracy required.
Azi, Crowley and I are mods, but that's just because somebody has to run the back end of the game and make sure things don't get too far out of hand. It doesn't accord us some godlike status. Never be afraid to talk to us, ask us to play with you, disagree with us or interact with us in any other way. Everybody in the game has a voice, and by and large we operate pretty democratically. Nobody gets things exactly their way all the time, but we get what we've really got our hearts set on more often than not.
---
The single most important thing to remember is that you will get out of the game as much as you put into it. If you sit back and wait for the other players to get you involved, there's a good chance you'll be passed by, not because you're unwelcome, but because everyone is busy trying to tell their own stories here and it's really not fair to ask other people to do all the work for you. Which is not to say you shouldn't ask for help if you need it--we're more than willing to lend a hand--but the key word there is ask. Dare I say, make an effort.
Those players who have thrived best in this game have been friendly, persistent, inventive, patient, and willing to cooperate and compromise. I think it's safe to say we're all pretty proud of the story we've spun so far, and it wouldn't be what it is without the wonderful diversity of characters and players who've taken part in it. So jump in, find a niche your figment can fill and run with it. If your first attempt doesn't work out the way you planned, try again. If you need help or advice or an idea or a kick in the butt, give a yell at Mad Prophets or in the chat.
And above all else--have fun with it! 'Cuz that's the whole point.
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no subject
Date: 2006-11-10 11:11 am (UTC)Thanks for posting this!
no subject
Date: 2006-11-13 10:14 pm (UTC)Couple of things to add... No, you're right. I didn't know anyone online before I started playing. When Azi posted the first sign-up, I was surprised that the personifications and the Them went first and no one had taken Crowley! So I asked for him. It was only later that I took on Adam, when the original player got stranded after the typhoon in southeast Asia last year. I threw myself into the game, playing with anyone who'd play with me and constructing plot as I went so as to have a base to play from in future. Then by generally hanging around and volunteering to do things around the comm when Azi was busy, I got to jump into the mod seat when our first Pollution (who was then the second mod) left. So, yeah, overall I got to be deeply involved in the game just by asking for it and working really hard. Not everyone is willing to have that level of commitment and that's perfectly okay. But like John says, "you will get out of the game as much as you put into it".
Excellent article! Thank you so much for writing it.
no subject
Date: 2006-11-14 02:17 am (UTC)It's especially nice for someone like me, who came in after the game was so long established. I was really nervous about it, seeing as most of the players already knew each other and plots were going, and I had never really used chatrooms or AIM effectively before. XD More than anything, it helps that everyone here is so incredibly nice. I was shocked at how quickly I made friends and felt comfortable, and that is a credit to everyone in this game.
no subject
Date: 2006-11-14 03:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-14 03:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-14 03:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-14 04:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-14 04:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-14 04:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-14 07:07 am (UTC)On another note, an excellent article. XD Including a lot of things I never even thought about when I first started the game, but... Well, I've survived, haven't I?
no subject
Date: 2006-11-14 09:08 pm (UTC)