A GUIDE TO BECOME BETTER AT PLOTTING & PLOTTING ETIQUETTE.
So, one thing I hear over and over again in my time in the RP community, is the sentence “I suck at plotting.” Understandably, plotting can be difficult. Maybe you don’t know much about the other person’s muse, that muse’s fandom or universe. Maybe you’ve already used all your ideas on other plots and can’t think of any new ones. Maybe you don’t have much practice with plotting or you just automatically default to winging things because it’s easier, so you’ve gotten a bit rusty. Regardless of the reason why you think you suck at plotting though, I definitely believe there are some tips and tricks to learn how to become a better plotter or refresh your plotting skills, and I want to share some of those tips and tricks in this post.
1) ASK QUESTIONS. This is probably the most important part of plotting if you’re stuck and can’t think of any ideas. If you don’t have any ideas, ask questions. Some examples of questions you can ask:
“What kind of theme are you interested in writing? (angst, fluff, ships, etc.)” or “What kind of dynamics would you be interested in? (romantic, friendships, enemies, frenemies, family, etc.)” or “Should we do a first interaction or something pre-established?”
The above are some questions that can narrow down on the millions of opportunities for plots that is only limited by your imagination, and instead give you a set direction when you try to come up with ideas. Think of it like a painter looking at a blank canvas. Staring a painting is always the most difficult because you have to figure out what to draw, and there are endless opportunities, which can be intimidating. But once you’ve figured out what to draw (for example a flower) it becomes a lot easier to put that painting brush down on that canvas and start painting.
If you’re still stuck after asking these questions, you can also ask questions directly about the other mun’s muse. Some examples: “How would your muse react to x, y,z?” or “.”
Some other questions you can ask. “Would you be up for doing an AU? / Would you be up for making a crossover verse for x,y,z fandom?” (If asking for the other mun to make a crossover verse for their muse, you can also offer to give information about said universe in case the other mun isn’t familiar with it.)
2) DON’T BE AFRAID TO SHARE YOUR IDEAS. If you have an idea, or even a part of an idea, don’t be afraid to share it. Even if the other mun isn’t interested in that particular idea, maybe that idea can spark an idea for them and they’ll probably tell you something akin to “I’m not sure my muse would fit in that setting, but I could see them x, y, z.” Oftentimes, even ideas that don’t work or interest your RP partner can help spark new ideas, maybe in the same direction or maybe in an entirely different, but just as much fun direction. It also shows your RP partner that you’re at least willing to make some effort with coming up with ideas, which will in turn, make them more interested in coming up with ideas of their own.
3) SOMETIMES, LESS IS MORE. A part of why some people seem to fear plotting is because they think they have to come up with intricate plots with lots of details and planning. And while that can definitely be fun, a lot of the time, LESS IS MORE. And by that, I mean, if you can just come up with the most basic of settings, sometimes, that’s more than enough to go on. Maybe that setting is something as simple as figuring out how your muses should meet. After all, if you plot out everything from how they should meet, to how their relationship should form, all the way to the end, there isn’t really a lot left to explore when you are going to actually sit down and write threads together and that can take away from the fun. It can also be that you plot out all these things, and when you start writing, you feel forced to take it in that direction when it just doesn’t flow naturally. So yeah, sometimes less is, in fact, more, and you shouldn’t ever be worried that you have to come up with big, detailed plots.
4) BACK-AND-FORTH / EXCITEMENT. Also what I like to call “Yelling about our muses to each other.” This can be a great way to plot without even thinking about plotting. It usually requires some good chemistry with the other mun, but if you are both excited about your muses and the potential for them interacting together from the beginning and show that excitement in your ooc messages, sometimes, just yelling those excitements at each other can spark a lot of ideas. Just a simple “I can see our muses becoming really good friends!!” will set in motion that back-and-forth yelling about your muses type of conversation that leads to ideas just spilling out naturally. Just the excitement in the messages themselves makes the plotting more fun and makes it come more naturally.
1) IF YOU’RE THE ONE ASKING TO PLOT / INTERACT. If you’re the one who approaches the other mun about plotting and / or interacting, DON’T leave the job of coming up with ideas to the other mun. If you’ve approached someone for plotting, chances are their muse caught your interest for some reason, and you could see an interaction between that muse and yours. Instead of putting all the job on them, express from the beginning why you could see an interaction between their muse and yours. Trust me, it makes the plotting so much more easier, not just for you, but for the mother mun, too. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to be asked to plot, and then the person asking never actually contributes to any ideas.
2) PLOTTING IS A GROUP-PROJECT. Kind of connected with the above, but if one mun alone ends up coming up with all the ideas, it can make that mun feel like you’re not really as excited or as willing to put in the work as they are. No one likes to feel like they’re the only one in a group project doing all the work.
3) IF PLOTTING WITH A MULTIMUSE BLOG… Help the mumu-mun out by telling them which of their muses you’re the most interested in interacting with from the get-go. Even if you are interested in all of their muses, it’s usually very helpful for a mumu-mun to have some options to choose between. Or at the very least, you can ask them which of their muses they are having the most inspiration for lately.
4) NON-CONTRIBUTING RESPONSES. If someone writes you multiple sentences with ideas when you’re plotting ooc, don’t just reply with one word sentences like “Yes!”, or non-contributing sentences like “Sounds good to me!” or “I’m fine with anything!” I’ll admit, this is something I’ve been guilty of, and I think pretty much all of us has at some point, and while I do think it’s something you can get away with if you only do it on occasion, if you give these types of responses multiple times to the same person throughout the same plotting session, it can get frustrating to the other mun after a while. It kind of ties in with #1 and #2, that you’re leaving the other mun to do all the work. At the very least, if you feel like you don’t have any IDEAS to contribute with, you can still show your excitement over the idea. For example “That sounds like so much fun! I can’t wait to write that out!” Maybe even ask something akin to “Is there anything else you think we should plot out, or do you want to start with what we’ve got so far?”
There are probably a lot more tips and tricks and do’s and don’ts that could be added to this list, but this is what I can think of at the top of my mind. Feel free to reblog if you feel like this was helpful and/or could be helpful to someone else!
