My recent experience PCing MM, and comparing that to my experience PCing Madrigal, has given me some at least tangentially related food for thought. In short, I found it waaaaaaay quicker and easier to "get into" PCing MM than into PCing Madrigal. Focusing on the bits most directly related to your core question:
I think PCing a game that was new and fresh to me really helped.
Hanging out IG mostly with people who I have not PCed with before (with a mix of "know and like OOG" and "don't know well OOG") really helped. Both this & the previous were great for staying in character, because I didn't have a big bucket of existing OOG associations to carry along with me to make it hard to be in character.
Playing a character who has a specific, easily engaged lens through which she views the world (someone different than me, and also different than many other characters I've previously played) also helped. I could engage that instead of plot brain or can't-get-in-character-Melissa-brain.
For Madrigal, having an accent helped as a crutch to stay in character even though everything was going to be familiar in other contexts. For MM, I had a very slightly different voice and made little bird noises sometimes (mostly in place of "um" or "uh-huh" or "hmm" type noises). Both these helped keep me grounded. Costumes that feel physically different or physical RP that's different than my usual way of moving are also great. The more in character I am, the easier it is to remember how to PC.
For MM, I gave myself something to do to engage other PCs during downtime (rune readings), though I never really had to use it because in MM there is always plenty to talk about with your fellow PCs (which is a big help). I think downtime is particularly pernicious for people used to staffing, because you feel like somehow YOU should be the one filling up the downtime with something for the PCs to do. So having something more PC-ish you can do during downtime may help. (For Madrigal, my downtime activity is keeping track of Rainiere, who I bodyguard, which I assure you is plenty to occupy my attention, because DAMN is he hard to keep track of.)
I think not being on a tight-knit team is good (for me, anyway). It gives me freedom to go with whatever is working for me at the time, and also keeps me away from "I has responsibilities" mindset and lets me PC as a player and worry about my own experience and not anyone else's. (Same would be true for not coming in as someone's twin, BFF who they're always with, etc, unless I was sure they wouldn't care if I abandoned them for the whole weekend if that's where the fun took me.)
I dunno if anything there is helpful to you, but there you go! Good luck!
I think PCing a game that was new and fresh to me really helped.
Hanging out IG mostly with people who I have not PCed with before (with a mix of "know and like OOG" and "don't know well OOG") really helped. Both this & the previous were great for staying in character, because I didn't have a big bucket of existing OOG associations to carry along with me to make it hard to be in character.
Playing a character who has a specific, easily engaged lens through which she views the world (someone different than me, and also different than many other characters I've previously played) also helped. I could engage that instead of plot brain or can't-get-in-character-Melissa-brain.
For Madrigal, having an accent helped as a crutch to stay in character even though everything was going to be familiar in other contexts. For MM, I had a very slightly different voice and made little bird noises sometimes (mostly in place of "um" or "uh-huh" or "hmm" type noises). Both these helped keep me grounded. Costumes that feel physically different or physical RP that's different than my usual way of moving are also great. The more in character I am, the easier it is to remember how to PC.
For MM, I gave myself something to do to engage other PCs during downtime (rune readings), though I never really had to use it because in MM there is always plenty to talk about with your fellow PCs (which is a big help). I think downtime is particularly pernicious for people used to staffing, because you feel like somehow YOU should be the one filling up the downtime with something for the PCs to do. So having something more PC-ish you can do during downtime may help. (For Madrigal, my downtime activity is keeping track of Rainiere, who I bodyguard, which I assure you is plenty to occupy my attention, because DAMN is he hard to keep track of.)
I think not being on a tight-knit team is good (for me, anyway). It gives me freedom to go with whatever is working for me at the time, and also keeps me away from "I has responsibilities" mindset and lets me PC as a player and worry about my own experience and not anyone else's. (Same would be true for not coming in as someone's twin, BFF who they're always with, etc, unless I was sure they wouldn't care if I abandoned them for the whole weekend if that's where the fun took me.)
I dunno if anything there is helpful to you, but there you go! Good luck!
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