Forums » Smalltalk » How do I bring up problems with partners?

I'll be honest, in my time here in RPR, whenever RPs are just starting to get boring for me or frustrating me at the constant stalling, or maybe myself being a problem as well but I don't really know because I don't really receive critiques about myself, I tend to ghost people and just leave for many months.

Part of me just hates... confrontation, but part of me also hates leaving them hanging because I've been on that receiving end as well. I'm kind of tired of my tardiness in bettering myself so anyone got any advice on how to broach the main problems I would hypothetically have in the future with my partners?

This sounds like the sort of thing that was aimed at to address over in this thread: https://www.rprepository.com/community/forums/topic/71207

It's not the only thing, but it does tie in, and a number of folks had their own suggestions, tactics, and experiences that they shared.

Thanks for the link. I'll take a look through it and see what I can do for the future RP discussions. Thanks again!

What was easiest for me to do was to start small. I started with someone I was comfortable with and if we discussed ideas I'd try to say no if I truly didn't want to do something (I had a habit of doing everything someone else wanted). When that got easier then I could talk about what was currently happening in roleplay. Eventually I moved on to people who weren't friends and it became a bit easier. I'm not great at it and will still ghost if I feel too anxious about it (some people are very off putting) but at least I'm trying to improve.

A couple of methods have helped me over the years:

1. Plan the Plot
make sure your RP has an end-goal, and hash out w/your partner what the major conflict arc should be. not every story has to be an epic, and there's always room for sequels and extra storylines any time after the RP has concluded, and a clear finish line can give structure against any stalemates, so even if the end of the roleplay is a two-line conclusion "and then they slayed the dragon, the end" at least it's not a cliffhanger.

2. Zoom In!
lost for inspiration? find a minute detail that you or your character/s would focus on, and turn it into a narrative mood. maybe that sunny afternoon weather makes YC feel small and unseen, because their thoughts are always straying to memories of thunderstorms and [flashback of inciting incident here]. maybe there's a beetle on the sidewalk that YC decides not to squish while they're conversing with the other characters, and that beetle is a metaphor for hope.

take a small detail in the scene, mundane or extraordinary, and let yourself have some thoughts about it. a bird is flying overhead, its shadow keeps crossing the other character's shoulder. that doesn't mean anything, really, but it definitely sets a tone!

3. Add Conflict
ask your writing partner/s if there could be another or different conflict arc introduced, a secondary goal to get them to the big end goal, or even if there might be the arrival of a new villain to stir things up. some of the best roleplays are smaller conflicts all added up with their overlaying resolutions, which makes a character's downtime all the more special.

4. Consolidate your Efforts
try not to spread yourself too thin. some lull in storytelling inspo is totally normal (the 'second act' syndrome), but also be aware of how many plots you're trying to run at a time, and if you can supplement the time spent waiting on replies for writing your characters' backstories, fleshing out side characters, constructing world lore, thinking ahead for plot twists, et c. -- one of my favorite downtime hobbies is to draw the characters in the rp, even if i started out bad at it, to help cement character visual in my memory.

short stories, stand-alone scenes, and character introspection monologues are always a treat, too, so don't be afraid to gift your partner/s little sides of creativity and share the inspiration ~

5. OR Broaden your Efforts
sometimes my brain just wants to chew through storytelling and doesn't want to suspend that feeling waiting on replies. if you know you want to roleplay but feel obligated to wait for replies, take heart! your partners might be juggling several plotlines and wouldn't at all begrudge you for doing the same.

i limit myself to two or three character runs at a time, but that's just my current limit so as not to forget crucial detail.

I went and forgot about this page from the Help documentation: https://www.rprepository.com/help/drama

There are plenty of communication strategies, as the others in the thread have already provided, so I won't go into.

But I think the struggle is just hitting the 'send' or 'post' button to actually start the conversation.
The number of times I've typed a message, and then closed the tab without sending it - I know I'm not the only one. So if that's where you're stuck, then I feel you!

And the only thing you can do there.. is take the risk. When you bring up something uncomfortable, you're taking a risk that the other person won't take it personally, that they won't interpret your message in the worst possible way, that they want to make this a good experience for both of you, etc.
And the good news is, most people are worth taking that risk for. I haven't been here long, but those I have interacted with really want to make this thing work for everyone because they're here to have fun too. This place seem to have a good culture around collaboration and support.
Unfortunately, sometimes the confrontation will go sideways, and your message won't come off well - but then, here's another good news - they're a stranger on the internet, you can move on.