(no subject)
Sep. 11th, 2007 02:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skidmo_ficI’ve been meaning for quite some time to make a little post about how I think role-playing is improving my writing. I don’t do a lot of RP. Just the one game, really. And I only just started RPing in February (March? I think it was Feb.).
Anyhow, as I see it, here are the top two things RP has helped me with in writing fic.
It used to be, when I had a scene in mind for a story, I thought about it visually. How would this play out onscreen? But with RP, everything is described. If you don’t write it, it doesn’t happen. So now, I tend to think of scenes verbally. How would this play out on the page? Quite useful, that.
Also, I have kind of a strange way of speaking. I’ve been told that I talk like something from a script. I speak in movie lines. Not actual movie lines, potential movie lines. And I have a tendency to pick up expressions from other parts of the world, so my vocabulary is sprinkled with…well, mostly Britishisms, but a few from other areas as well. But my RP character is Lorne (big surprise), and he simply isn’t an Anglophile the way I am. So RPing him has made me more aware of the things I say that certain characters just wouldn’t.
Okay, so the real reason I decided to finally make this post is that we did this personality typing exercise at work today. Normally, I hate these sorts of things, but this was kind of fun. And, because I am incapable of focusing completely on something I kind of think is a waste of time, I thought about what Lorne’s personality type was.
The system we were using is the enneagram. I’m a five. Lorne is an eight.
But the way the enneagram works is that each type is connected to two other types. One it moves into when stressed and one it moves into when relaxed.
So here’s the thing with fives:
Focus on:
-data & analysis
-observing and understanding
Worldview:
-Life demands too much and gives too little
-The private and self-sufficient protect themselves using knowledge
Energy spent on:
-Observing from a detached place
-Learning all there is to know
-Thinking and analyzing in advance
-Maintaining privacy, boundaries and limits
Avoids:
-intrusive demanding people and situations
-strong feelings
Communication style:
-Prefers communication at a distance (i.e. email over phone calls)
-Rehearses ahead of time
-Appears cautious in interpersonal relationships
Learning style:
-Prefers to learn alone with computer and/or books
-Dislikes intrusive interactions
Decision-making style:
-Analytical, using theories and formulas
-Evaluates all alternatives & scenarios
-Wants decisions to be logical
-Takes time and space to process data
Leadership style:
-Provides clear direction, well thought-out strategies
-Masters of new & complex information
-Authority from expertise, knowledge, skill
-Unemotional, owl’s nest point of view
Things to work on:
-Learn to tolerate conflict & stay engaged
-Learn to balance my need to be alone with others’ need to have me present
-Share my opinions, ideas and feelings more often
Ways other can help:
-Respect my need for privacy
-Encourage me to be self-disclosing
-Give me time to think and respond
And here’s the thing with eights:
Focus on:
-Power and control
-Justice
Worldview:
-The world is a battleground where the powerful take advantage of the innocent
-I expose abusers, pretenders and fools
Energy spent on:
-Gaining respect by being strong
-Taking direct action and facing conflict
-Control and dominance of my space
-Protecting the weak & innocent
Avoids:
-Being weak, vulnerable, uncertain or dependent
-Losing the regard of people I respect
Communication style:
-Believes that truth comes out in combat
-Speaks directly and bluntly
-Asserts needs and states opinions
-Pushes buttons to see reactions
Learning style:
-Wants the big picture
-Provokes by asking tough questions and challenging leadership (Lorne’s not so much with the challenging leadership)
-Favors on-the-job training
-Needs to know practical benefits
Decision-making style:
-Makes decisions directly and decisively
-Doesn’t like to get bogged down in complexity
-Goes with “gut” feelings
-Solves tension of ambiguity by deciding
Leadership style:
-Takes charge
-Wants to be fair-minded and just
-Leads with high energy
Things to work on:
-Modulate my power and control
-Notice my intensity & its impact on others
-Acknowledge my own vulnerability
-Take quiet time
Ways others can help:
-Match my strength with your own
-Speak your own truth
-Give me feedback about my impact on you
-Support me in revealing my softer side
-Make it safe for me to show you my vulnerability
But you know what I find really interesting about this? Fives become eights when relaxed and eights become fives when stressed. So Lorne is me when I'm relaxed, and I’m Lorne when he's stressed.
You probably didn’t need all that, so consider it a gift. Mostly, this is just me rambling on for a bit.
Anyhow, as I see it, here are the top two things RP has helped me with in writing fic.
It used to be, when I had a scene in mind for a story, I thought about it visually. How would this play out onscreen? But with RP, everything is described. If you don’t write it, it doesn’t happen. So now, I tend to think of scenes verbally. How would this play out on the page? Quite useful, that.
Also, I have kind of a strange way of speaking. I’ve been told that I talk like something from a script. I speak in movie lines. Not actual movie lines, potential movie lines. And I have a tendency to pick up expressions from other parts of the world, so my vocabulary is sprinkled with…well, mostly Britishisms, but a few from other areas as well. But my RP character is Lorne (big surprise), and he simply isn’t an Anglophile the way I am. So RPing him has made me more aware of the things I say that certain characters just wouldn’t.
Okay, so the real reason I decided to finally make this post is that we did this personality typing exercise at work today. Normally, I hate these sorts of things, but this was kind of fun. And, because I am incapable of focusing completely on something I kind of think is a waste of time, I thought about what Lorne’s personality type was.
The system we were using is the enneagram. I’m a five. Lorne is an eight.
But the way the enneagram works is that each type is connected to two other types. One it moves into when stressed and one it moves into when relaxed.
So here’s the thing with fives:
Focus on:
-data & analysis
-observing and understanding
Worldview:
-Life demands too much and gives too little
-The private and self-sufficient protect themselves using knowledge
Energy spent on:
-Observing from a detached place
-Learning all there is to know
-Thinking and analyzing in advance
-Maintaining privacy, boundaries and limits
Avoids:
-intrusive demanding people and situations
-strong feelings
Communication style:
-Prefers communication at a distance (i.e. email over phone calls)
-Rehearses ahead of time
-Appears cautious in interpersonal relationships
Learning style:
-Prefers to learn alone with computer and/or books
-Dislikes intrusive interactions
Decision-making style:
-Analytical, using theories and formulas
-Evaluates all alternatives & scenarios
-Wants decisions to be logical
-Takes time and space to process data
Leadership style:
-Provides clear direction, well thought-out strategies
-Masters of new & complex information
-Authority from expertise, knowledge, skill
-Unemotional, owl’s nest point of view
Things to work on:
-Learn to tolerate conflict & stay engaged
-Learn to balance my need to be alone with others’ need to have me present
-Share my opinions, ideas and feelings more often
Ways other can help:
-Respect my need for privacy
-Encourage me to be self-disclosing
-Give me time to think and respond
And here’s the thing with eights:
Focus on:
-Power and control
-Justice
Worldview:
-The world is a battleground where the powerful take advantage of the innocent
-I expose abusers, pretenders and fools
Energy spent on:
-Gaining respect by being strong
-Taking direct action and facing conflict
-Control and dominance of my space
-Protecting the weak & innocent
Avoids:
-Being weak, vulnerable, uncertain or dependent
-Losing the regard of people I respect
Communication style:
-Believes that truth comes out in combat
-Speaks directly and bluntly
-Asserts needs and states opinions
-Pushes buttons to see reactions
Learning style:
-Wants the big picture
-Provokes by asking tough questions and challenging leadership (Lorne’s not so much with the challenging leadership)
-Favors on-the-job training
-Needs to know practical benefits
Decision-making style:
-Makes decisions directly and decisively
-Doesn’t like to get bogged down in complexity
-Goes with “gut” feelings
-Solves tension of ambiguity by deciding
Leadership style:
-Takes charge
-Wants to be fair-minded and just
-Leads with high energy
Things to work on:
-Modulate my power and control
-Notice my intensity & its impact on others
-Acknowledge my own vulnerability
-Take quiet time
Ways others can help:
-Match my strength with your own
-Speak your own truth
-Give me feedback about my impact on you
-Support me in revealing my softer side
-Make it safe for me to show you my vulnerability
But you know what I find really interesting about this? Fives become eights when relaxed and eights become fives when stressed. So Lorne is me when I'm relaxed, and I’m Lorne when he's stressed.
You probably didn’t need all that, so consider it a gift. Mostly, this is just me rambling on for a bit.
