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Rant: Write About Things You Know
Topic Started: Aug 31 2017, 09:04 AM (46 Views)
Castiel
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Destiel Trash. Deal With it. Also: GM, Admin
Okay, so I get it. This is a fantasy setting. There's gonna be some things that are impossible to know... beyond canon, which is a great compendium of things to work with. On that front, don't design high-fantasy level characters if you aren't familiar with canon, that goes pretty unspoken.

But there's other things that make people want to kick puppies.

If you've never seen the street a day in your life, you probably shouldn't try to write about surviving your whole life in the dark underground.

If you've never seen high living in your life, you probably shouldn't try to write about living like an oligarchist and how the power system works.

If you've never seen a fight in your life, you probably shouldn't play someone that's high combat (unless you want to lose a lot.)

I'm not saying you CAN'T. But when you have a complete disassociation with how these aspects of life work, your personal form of narrative can make people want to beat their heads off a wall while they're trying to write with some form of realism. Because yes, Supernatural is fantasy, but what we love about the setting is how tangible, human, and realistic it is in many areas despite the fantastic effects.

When someone is an author, they generally haven't lived everything they write about. But they at least have lived and traveled enough to see aspects of these things as the world turns.

Also guys... fighting is more than punching and kicking things. I know everyone can't have the actual real life combat experience some of our players including myself have, but I highly advise doing some research and study on actual combat schools if you're going to play a character you're presenting as some super badass, otherwise you're just inviting yourself to get your ass handed to you again and again. Pick a few martial schools and philosophies and watch training videos at least, read on their motion and chaining and all kinds of things, because if you just come at the wrong enemy like "i punch u" "I kicka u in da face", you're gonna have a bad time.

Many famous authors have come from journeyman ways of life; homeless, vagabonds and street rats, farmers and villagers in dark days. Even in fantasy, their stories and characters are interesting because they write about the parts of the world they've seen aspects of, and bring it into a tangible understanding rather than some random husk of a concept. As someone who has lived on the street, as someone who has attended underground fighting rings, as someone who has watched the streets work and can still call on a network of street dwellers in a city now across the united states, I can tell you, the average RP idea of what it was like "livin' on da street" or "being in the underground" makes me want to throw things half the time. And I'm sure people with first class first world life history feel the same about the opposite end of the spectrum. Hell, I've been big too. I've run with producers and Hollywoodites and famous fashion designers. It's not just a glam fest on that side either. Tangibility guys. A little thought. Plz.

This is a public service announcement.
Edited by Castiel, Aug 31 2017, 09:09 AM.
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