Online creative writing and role-playing is a unique experience. It’s extremely fulfilling, and it can be equally frustrating. Ask any seasoned Storyteller. They’ll tell you that the best plots and plans in the world never survive in full original integrity after first contact with players.

Some Storytellers spend hours or weeks carefully crafting plotlines and honing every detail of every encounter, only to toss it all out the window the moment a player decides to go left instead of right.

What players don’t realize is that their own plots and plans go through twists and turns in exactly the same way.

Think Fast!

In a creative writing game like Escaping Reality, players have a lot more freedom than in a tabletop gaming environment. In our game, time passes slowly and sometimes takes months to play out parts of plot.

That leaves players with free time to explore and enjoy the craft of writing a good story. Each new scene becomes a mini-story in itself.

As players write and develop their characters, Storytellers always watch for hooks and clues to enhance the game. Sometimes players put their characters in situations just too good for Storytellers to resist. The next thing you know, the unexpected happens and players have to figure out how to react to the sudden turn of events.

This unexpected improvisation is what keeps a role-playing game fun, alive and interesting for everyone involved. Players and Storytellers all work off of each other’s reactions, and no one really has any idea where the story will go next.

What Just Happened?

If you’re not used to playing on the fly, reacting on the spot or have some control issues, having the unexpected occur can seriously derail your momentum and unravel all your carefully thought out plans. You might have a knee-jerk reaction, get upset, not know what to do or think everyone’s out to get you.

Or you may think the Storytellers are specifically trying to keep you from reaching a specific goal you may have had in mind for your character or scene.

Time is On Your Side.

The pace of an online creative writing and role-playing game is as leisurely as it gets. Some scenes may move lightning fast if the players are all online, the scene is getting really good and everyone’s on a writing roll, but for the most part, most scenes take days or weeks to play out.

If you’ve just had a curve ball thrown at you and you’re howling that your plans are all washed up, take a step back to think about what just happened. You have time on your side. You may be surprised at just how great a reaction your character can have once you’ve taken a break to think it through.

Roll With It.

In life, no one gets to plan the future. They try, but as events unfold, everyone has to just roll with what they’re given and make it work.

The same is true with role-playing. Something unexpected happen? A scene went wrong at the worst possible time? Relax. Have fun with it. It’s a game, so find the humor in the situation, take it all in stride and roll with it.

Keep Your Temper in Check.

Remember that this is a game. No one is out to get you or make life miserable for your character out of malice and spite. The twists are meant to be enjoyable (even when they’re tough ones), and they’re designed to take character in directions the player may not have thought of before.

Twists help to keep anticipation high and make sure the game doesn’t become predictable or boring. They’re meant to keep the game as entertaining as possible. So keep your temper in check, don’t call foul all the time and don’t be a spoilsport because things didn’t go your way.

Throw a Curve Ball Of Your Own.

Storytellers like to play, too. In fact, most of them are delighted to have a player take initiative and toss in a curve ball of his or her own. There’s no reason why you can’t give back as good as you get.

Dish out a little of what Storytellers are dishing out themselves. Look for ‘ins’, loopholes, hooks and clues, and try to devise a little twist of your own.