by 33Kitty » Sat Jun 16, 2012 2:24 am
Brace yourselves, you guys. Way-too-long rant below. XD
Semi-lit is fairly easy for me to do. I mean really, most people speak in one or two sentences at a time to begin with, so once you add a sentence of description of their body language or something, and maybe a thought or explanation or two, you are good to go. Whether description annoys me or not depends on what it is that is being described. If you are in a new setting, then sure, weave in little descriptions as you will. If you aren't currently speaking with anyone, letting us know how your character is sitting/standing/moving will make it easier to know how to have our characters approach. But nobody cares about how the airship's faintly bronze-tinted hanging lanterns' soft, warm light turns you hair the color of amber honey. Really.
Literate roleplays rarely work out well for me for that very reason. They are fine at first, as long as I have a good idea of how the plot is going, or the surroundings are new and I have a basic idea of what they are supposed to be like. But then comes the inevitable parts where everybody is in the same, very familiar space, having a casual conversation. You can't describe your surroundings, you can't speak for a long period of time, and there is little you can do while trying to keep a conversation going, after all. So people describe their hair. (Or re-describe every already thoroughly described little detail, making the reader think your character is one of those "Ooh SHINYYYY" people) Its either that, or leave and do something else entirely, which is annoying because it limits contact between characters to ridiculous degrees.
The problem with literate roleplays is that with three or so posts, you have basically written a chapter's worth of text, but because you don't know how the others will react, or what they will do, you can't say much. And then, you end up with a chapter of description and one three-turn exchange's worth of dialogue. I saw a page worth of text once that looks like this with most of the description removed:
"Hi Xavier!" Ana called. "What's up?"
Xavier shouted back at her through the window of the boys' dorm. "Way too much homework. You?"
"None, I finished it all back at study hall with The Lump." she laughed, rolling her eyes.
Me: What. The. Hell. Was. That? -_-
We're both aboard on an airship as it flies
And it's chasing for a star hiding from our eyes
And before all our feelings will subside
Let's escape past the air, the atmosphere
My eyes they looked into the night sky a bit too much
And then found light it turned into a painful touch
If this world will keep on spinning in the time ahead
You should go and find a reason to live on instead
Saying bye this afternoon is really too soon
never fading, amaranth