Munday Prompt
1. How important is realism to you when you roleplay or write?
Realism, within the bounds of whatever world a story/RP is set in, is really important to me. I need to understand and know how the world operates before I feel comfortable writing in it. In my own writing, this means doing a lot of research even if I'm writing mundane things, and especially for stories set in other locales,cultures, time periods or fantasy locations.
2. What steps do you take to ensure a realistic character concept or setting?
I try to research as much as possible, and draw on my personal experiences when applicable. I also try really hard to be consistent- to me, people can suspend some disbelief if a consistent and valid explanation is given. When I do have to pull something out of my arse so to speak, I try to flesh out the idea and mix enough believable elements in with the fantastic- for example, the way that vampire culture works in the AU stories I write, I base off aspects of human cultural hierarchies with elements of the fantastic thrown in. I also often mix in mundane aspects even into fantasy stories- the vampires have to spend a lot of energy and time hunting and fighting to maintain their territories, magic has to be learned and practiced and precautions taken, and it has consequences and can go wrong, etc.
3. When is the right time to use the magic of handwavey goodness (ie: it just works because you say it works)?
I am always very reticient to do this, but I think at times for the sake of brevity in a story occasionally it is okay to gloss over a very long and tedious ritual, or vampire territory negotiations meeting, and merely give a detail or two in summary. I still do try to know in my own mind how things work, which comes down to world building and research and being consistent. In the vampire stories I write, there are a lot of demon species and various vampire clans. I don't give a rundown of the taxonomy of every demon that the vamps fight, but I generally know at least a few details about them in my own mind and throw them into the story for added realism- such as, unusual aspects of their appearance, interesting identifying characteristics, how they can be killed and what the result of their being killed is, etc.
4. How close to real world dynamics (science/physics/etc) do you keep?
I try to stay pretty close to 'reality', with some bending of what is possible in terms of a fantasy setting. A lot of my wriitng is strictly set in the mundane world of reality and sticks to the bounds of what is and is not possible- people cannot fly by using the powers of their minds, etc. In the fantasy writing/rp I do, magic is possible and nonhuman sentient supernatural entities exist, but I try very hard to be realistic in terms of sticking to the physics and science of what is possible within the fantasy setting. Vampires are faster and stronger than humans and have keener hearing, sight and sense of smell for example, but being shot still causes damage to their body tissues in the way a bullet tearing through human body tissue would- the vampires just are able to heal faster. And I try to stick to realism when it comes to the mechanisms of the healing even if it is accelerated.
When it comes to running, leaping, and combat scenes I try very hard to visualise how the physics would work- how a 240 lb Master vampire's accelerated speed would be affected by his mass and weight, how fast one would have to run to make a leap from one roof to another 15 feet away, or to land on top of a moving vehicle on the ground, the effects of having a limb struck by an axe in combat, etc.
5. How close do you keep to real world time? (ie: Do pregnancies, injuries, etc occur within a real world time frame, or are they abbreviated for story purposes?)
Everything in my stories happens in real world time. I might encapsulate the narration at some points to summarise long periods of time if necessary- that is to say, if a ritual took nine hours, or a week to gather the material for it, or injuries took a month to heal from, in writing I would probably summarise some of that time. In RP I don't summarise- in char actions have in char consequences that are played out in real time. If Spike were ever to be badly hurt in a 'real world' adventure (as opposed to within the magical realm of the 'fightloft' where injuries can be immediately dealt with), he would be injured for the time it would take his accelerated healing to restore his body to it's normal state.
Personally for me, this is essential for my roleplay and writing because if actions have no consequences then it seems incredibly pointless. It also adds to my characters' growth, in my opinion because it forces them to consider the consequences of what they do rather than just impulsively doing whatever comes to mind.
6. How realistic are the mechanics of your technology / weaponry? (ie: Does the hero ever run out of bullets, or does he have as much ammo as he needs as long as there are bad guys to shoot?)
In terms of technology/weapons I try to be realistic- the weapons have to be cleaned and sharpened and maintained, the guns can misfire, etc. A lot of my vampire stories take place in the Victorian era so the guns are all either real weapons that existed at the time, and subject to the mechanics and malfunctions of the day, or very occasionally I will allow a slightly steam-punk sort of cobbled together anachronistic weapon which is a modification of existing technology at the time, and also subject to real world physics and malfunctioning, etc.
7. Is realism important to tell the story, or is the overreaching plot more important than the minute details?
I think the overreaching plot is the key to a good story, but the realism in details is what makes a story concrete and believeable. I think the issue is knowing what mundane/minute details to emphasise and what doesn't need to be emphasised. For me, when I go into detail about an item or a historical bit of background or backstory, etc, I try to ensure it furthers the plot.
8. Is there ever such a thing as too much realism?
Personally I don't think a story can be 'too realistic'. However, sometimes I think writers can choose to emphasise details that don't further the plot, and that bogs down the reader and can cause confusion and lack of interest. In fantasy writing or genre writing with a lot of jargon and technical details I think it's easy to get carried away with world building or describing tools, weapons and technology at the expense of the story. Personally, I am a great fan of world building but don't think all my knowledge necessarily has to be related to the reader- the large swaths of vampire cultural history, Lore, etc and the inter-familial politics don't need to be related in mundane detail, even if I know them.
Bits and pieces can be given, however, when they further the plot. Likewise, when I write non-fantasy stories, every class of a 13 year old's school day doesn't need to be related, and all their homework assignments don't need to be given, even if I know what those assignments are and what activities happened in every class. I can just briefly summarise the mundane aspects of the day that don't drive the story forward, and bring out the events that do.
9. What real life issues / mechanics / dynamics are too sensitive or difficult to tackle in roleplaying or writing?
I don't think there are any issues that are too sensitive to deal with, but I think a lot of issues are hard to handle well. The pregnancy/miscarriage story arc, the kidnapping/rape story arc, abuse of spouses and children, hate crimes and prejudice and terminal illness or handicaps are all issues that can be handled really well with sensitivity and can make for a layered story. They also can be seized upon by writers who don't handle them very well and use them for 'easy drama' or shock value and this makes for hackneyed, painful to read storytelling. As a person who often writes/rps in a semi-horror genre, and writes with villains-as-protagonists, I try very hard to balance the realism of the horrorific aspects of these characters lives against avoiding straying into the 'gore for the sake of gore' or exploitative shock value tactics.
I don't want my readers to forget that the characters they are reading about are vampires, and are predators, and so the grim reality of their existences has to be there. However, if I wax lyrical for 20 paragraphs with every minute detail of a torture scene, then I think that the writing loses its impact. Also, I firmly believe that suspense/horror/fantasy etc all are elevated when they are juxtaposed against the mundane.
Therefore, I try to be subtle when alluding to torture, murder, rape and the more horrible aspects of the vampire's existences, while keeping the reader aware that those things do occur.
10. Does a lack of realism always impact believability? Is it possible for a character to be unrealistic, yet believable within a certain setting?
For me, suspension of disbelief works up to a point. I can believe a supernatural character can exist, but if their actions are at odds with how I feel they realistically would act in a setting then it makes my suspension of disbelief a lot harder. Of course, characters are also supposed to be individuals, too, so if the writer can provide a believeable explaination to me then I can accept a character acting in a way that seems at odds to me with realism.
For example, in a story I am writing, one of the majour story arcs consists of a young vampire who is in his first post of authority. He is supposed to be a highly intelligent and skilled character, yet he makes some errors that cause a lot of repercussions. I have to balance convincing the reader that he is worthy of his post and intelligent, yet also capable of making these errors. Through the combination of showing the character as an individual, and showing the consequences of his misjudgment, as well as how it affects him and what he learns from it, makes the premise hold together believably, imo.
11. Does realism (or a lack thereof) impact who or what you will allow your characters to interact with?
Definitely- there are some characters that it is very difficult for me to RP with or that I just don't RP with because I of this. I also have a lot of chars of my own that I don't use for RP at all, because they are from strictly mundane worlds with no supernatural characters etc, and so would not be able to interact with those beings in any sort of positive way. If I were interested in changing those chars' worldview, that would be a great way to do it, however I'm not, their purpose is to be mundane people in mundane worlds.
I really prefer to interact in RP with people who also appreciate realistic consequences for in-char/in-game actions. Then I feel like deeper development of character and more satisfying story arcs can be dealt with.
12. How have real world issues and dynamics affected your character's development or plots?
Even the fantasy stories I write are set the backdrop of this world's reality. Real world historical events often are a backdrop for my writing and plots- they usually don't drive the plot, but are used for background detail and colour. And real world attitudes definitely drive how my characters are made- for example, the political and social attitudes of the time and the country and culture they lived in as a human definitely colours all my vampire characters. Murphy and Victor are somewhat ragged on by the English vampires because they are Irish and Scottish respectively. All the British vamps despise the French vamps. They are sexist and xenophobic and casually racist. This is all in keeping with the times they lived in. I feel that writers who attempt to whitewash history by implying that sexism and racism and classism did not exist are doing themselves and their readers a disservice.
Realism, within the bounds of whatever world a story/RP is set in, is really important to me. I need to understand and know how the world operates before I feel comfortable writing in it. In my own writing, this means doing a lot of research even if I'm writing mundane things, and especially for stories set in other locales,cultures, time periods or fantasy locations.
2. What steps do you take to ensure a realistic character concept or setting?
I try to research as much as possible, and draw on my personal experiences when applicable. I also try really hard to be consistent- to me, people can suspend some disbelief if a consistent and valid explanation is given. When I do have to pull something out of my arse so to speak, I try to flesh out the idea and mix enough believable elements in with the fantastic- for example, the way that vampire culture works in the AU stories I write, I base off aspects of human cultural hierarchies with elements of the fantastic thrown in. I also often mix in mundane aspects even into fantasy stories- the vampires have to spend a lot of energy and time hunting and fighting to maintain their territories, magic has to be learned and practiced and precautions taken, and it has consequences and can go wrong, etc.
3. When is the right time to use the magic of handwavey goodness (ie: it just works because you say it works)?
I am always very reticient to do this, but I think at times for the sake of brevity in a story occasionally it is okay to gloss over a very long and tedious ritual, or vampire territory negotiations meeting, and merely give a detail or two in summary. I still do try to know in my own mind how things work, which comes down to world building and research and being consistent. In the vampire stories I write, there are a lot of demon species and various vampire clans. I don't give a rundown of the taxonomy of every demon that the vamps fight, but I generally know at least a few details about them in my own mind and throw them into the story for added realism- such as, unusual aspects of their appearance, interesting identifying characteristics, how they can be killed and what the result of their being killed is, etc.
4. How close to real world dynamics (science/physics/etc) do you keep?
I try to stay pretty close to 'reality', with some bending of what is possible in terms of a fantasy setting. A lot of my wriitng is strictly set in the mundane world of reality and sticks to the bounds of what is and is not possible- people cannot fly by using the powers of their minds, etc. In the fantasy writing/rp I do, magic is possible and nonhuman sentient supernatural entities exist, but I try very hard to be realistic in terms of sticking to the physics and science of what is possible within the fantasy setting. Vampires are faster and stronger than humans and have keener hearing, sight and sense of smell for example, but being shot still causes damage to their body tissues in the way a bullet tearing through human body tissue would- the vampires just are able to heal faster. And I try to stick to realism when it comes to the mechanisms of the healing even if it is accelerated.
When it comes to running, leaping, and combat scenes I try very hard to visualise how the physics would work- how a 240 lb Master vampire's accelerated speed would be affected by his mass and weight, how fast one would have to run to make a leap from one roof to another 15 feet away, or to land on top of a moving vehicle on the ground, the effects of having a limb struck by an axe in combat, etc.
5. How close do you keep to real world time? (ie: Do pregnancies, injuries, etc occur within a real world time frame, or are they abbreviated for story purposes?)
Everything in my stories happens in real world time. I might encapsulate the narration at some points to summarise long periods of time if necessary- that is to say, if a ritual took nine hours, or a week to gather the material for it, or injuries took a month to heal from, in writing I would probably summarise some of that time. In RP I don't summarise- in char actions have in char consequences that are played out in real time. If Spike were ever to be badly hurt in a 'real world' adventure (as opposed to within the magical realm of the 'fightloft' where injuries can be immediately dealt with), he would be injured for the time it would take his accelerated healing to restore his body to it's normal state.
Personally for me, this is essential for my roleplay and writing because if actions have no consequences then it seems incredibly pointless. It also adds to my characters' growth, in my opinion because it forces them to consider the consequences of what they do rather than just impulsively doing whatever comes to mind.
6. How realistic are the mechanics of your technology / weaponry? (ie: Does the hero ever run out of bullets, or does he have as much ammo as he needs as long as there are bad guys to shoot?)
In terms of technology/weapons I try to be realistic- the weapons have to be cleaned and sharpened and maintained, the guns can misfire, etc. A lot of my vampire stories take place in the Victorian era so the guns are all either real weapons that existed at the time, and subject to the mechanics and malfunctions of the day, or very occasionally I will allow a slightly steam-punk sort of cobbled together anachronistic weapon which is a modification of existing technology at the time, and also subject to real world physics and malfunctioning, etc.
7. Is realism important to tell the story, or is the overreaching plot more important than the minute details?
I think the overreaching plot is the key to a good story, but the realism in details is what makes a story concrete and believeable. I think the issue is knowing what mundane/minute details to emphasise and what doesn't need to be emphasised. For me, when I go into detail about an item or a historical bit of background or backstory, etc, I try to ensure it furthers the plot.
8. Is there ever such a thing as too much realism?
Personally I don't think a story can be 'too realistic'. However, sometimes I think writers can choose to emphasise details that don't further the plot, and that bogs down the reader and can cause confusion and lack of interest. In fantasy writing or genre writing with a lot of jargon and technical details I think it's easy to get carried away with world building or describing tools, weapons and technology at the expense of the story. Personally, I am a great fan of world building but don't think all my knowledge necessarily has to be related to the reader- the large swaths of vampire cultural history, Lore, etc and the inter-familial politics don't need to be related in mundane detail, even if I know them.
Bits and pieces can be given, however, when they further the plot. Likewise, when I write non-fantasy stories, every class of a 13 year old's school day doesn't need to be related, and all their homework assignments don't need to be given, even if I know what those assignments are and what activities happened in every class. I can just briefly summarise the mundane aspects of the day that don't drive the story forward, and bring out the events that do.
9. What real life issues / mechanics / dynamics are too sensitive or difficult to tackle in roleplaying or writing?
I don't think there are any issues that are too sensitive to deal with, but I think a lot of issues are hard to handle well. The pregnancy/miscarriage story arc, the kidnapping/rape story arc, abuse of spouses and children, hate crimes and prejudice and terminal illness or handicaps are all issues that can be handled really well with sensitivity and can make for a layered story. They also can be seized upon by writers who don't handle them very well and use them for 'easy drama' or shock value and this makes for hackneyed, painful to read storytelling. As a person who often writes/rps in a semi-horror genre, and writes with villains-as-protagonists, I try very hard to balance the realism of the horrorific aspects of these characters lives against avoiding straying into the 'gore for the sake of gore' or exploitative shock value tactics.
I don't want my readers to forget that the characters they are reading about are vampires, and are predators, and so the grim reality of their existences has to be there. However, if I wax lyrical for 20 paragraphs with every minute detail of a torture scene, then I think that the writing loses its impact. Also, I firmly believe that suspense/horror/fantasy etc all are elevated when they are juxtaposed against the mundane.
Therefore, I try to be subtle when alluding to torture, murder, rape and the more horrible aspects of the vampire's existences, while keeping the reader aware that those things do occur.
10. Does a lack of realism always impact believability? Is it possible for a character to be unrealistic, yet believable within a certain setting?
For me, suspension of disbelief works up to a point. I can believe a supernatural character can exist, but if their actions are at odds with how I feel they realistically would act in a setting then it makes my suspension of disbelief a lot harder. Of course, characters are also supposed to be individuals, too, so if the writer can provide a believeable explaination to me then I can accept a character acting in a way that seems at odds to me with realism.
For example, in a story I am writing, one of the majour story arcs consists of a young vampire who is in his first post of authority. He is supposed to be a highly intelligent and skilled character, yet he makes some errors that cause a lot of repercussions. I have to balance convincing the reader that he is worthy of his post and intelligent, yet also capable of making these errors. Through the combination of showing the character as an individual, and showing the consequences of his misjudgment, as well as how it affects him and what he learns from it, makes the premise hold together believably, imo.
11. Does realism (or a lack thereof) impact who or what you will allow your characters to interact with?
Definitely- there are some characters that it is very difficult for me to RP with or that I just don't RP with because I of this. I also have a lot of chars of my own that I don't use for RP at all, because they are from strictly mundane worlds with no supernatural characters etc, and so would not be able to interact with those beings in any sort of positive way. If I were interested in changing those chars' worldview, that would be a great way to do it, however I'm not, their purpose is to be mundane people in mundane worlds.
I really prefer to interact in RP with people who also appreciate realistic consequences for in-char/in-game actions. Then I feel like deeper development of character and more satisfying story arcs can be dealt with.
12. How have real world issues and dynamics affected your character's development or plots?
Even the fantasy stories I write are set the backdrop of this world's reality. Real world historical events often are a backdrop for my writing and plots- they usually don't drive the plot, but are used for background detail and colour. And real world attitudes definitely drive how my characters are made- for example, the political and social attitudes of the time and the country and culture they lived in as a human definitely colours all my vampire characters. Murphy and Victor are somewhat ragged on by the English vampires because they are Irish and Scottish respectively. All the British vamps despise the French vamps. They are sexist and xenophobic and casually racist. This is all in keeping with the times they lived in. I feel that writers who attempt to whitewash history by implying that sexism and racism and classism did not exist are doing themselves and their readers a disservice.