Hi! Imma just write a bunch because I've encountered this problem before and this is how I combat it!
1) Reasons aren't that hard to come by with a little creativity - Unless your character is chained up in a basement or something, I think it is actually pretty easy to come up with some sort of reason to be at a certain place or talk to a certain person.
Maybe your character can seek out a friend for a conversation to gain feedback on the predicament he's currently in. Or maybe he has a couple evenings free and like you said he needs to go and relax because boy, whatever he is doing is a lot of work!Â
To give an example, my character (involved in a heavy plot but I had an RP itch to scratch and no one online scenario) has gone to meet with an 'informant' (aka someone I literally just made up for sake of plot) but they haven't turned up. In an effort to kill time, my character chats to other characters whilst he waits or maybe asks if they have seen the informant. It works, and I have an excuse to do tavern RP for two to three hours.Â
2) Alt characters - I'm a pretty heavy RPer, and have several characters in and out of plots. If a character is tied up in something, I can simply switch to another one that is free and can waltz down to the Quicksand for the sweet RP action. RPing an alt character can also help refresh your RP writing - sometimes being stuck with a certain personality or plot can be very draining, and switching to something different can be a nice reboot. Alt characters stop me from burning out on my main, for instance.Â
Of course, if you're a one-man band sort of person, or you got the itch to RP a certain character, this may not work for you.Â
3) Alternative Universes or Time Bubbles - For the situation I just mentioned above, where you really just want to RP that one character, I recommend using AUs or Time Bubbles. Maybe you have an RP buddy that you want to establish a pre-existing connection with? Like a childhood friend or an ex-lover. By using the magic of time bubbles, you can RP shit that happened in the past.Â
AUs can also be fun! Something to be taken casually, probably, since you don't want to upset what is actually happening to your character in their main scenario. For example, I'm RPing an AU where my main character still lives with his tribe. It's a one-to-one very casual RP, but it's fun and nice to do whilst my main character is stuck in his FC house at the moment.Â
If you do any of these, make sure to communicate with your RP partners what you and your character are up to. In past experiences, if you are getting a lot of RP and they are not, it can feel a bit disjointed and make your partner feel out of the loop if your character has had so much development in a short space of time in comparison to theirs.Â
Careful planning of when you will next RP your plot related stuff will also help, instead of it being a big "Huh, wonder if we'll actually manage to RP this week" kinda thing. If you schedule your RP and plot, you can plan around it so you can actually feel your character has a life and isn't trapped. Also, Discord/Skype/Google Doc RP is the best for RPing with someone with a wonky schedule! I hope this ramble helps!
1) Reasons aren't that hard to come by with a little creativity - Unless your character is chained up in a basement or something, I think it is actually pretty easy to come up with some sort of reason to be at a certain place or talk to a certain person.
Maybe your character can seek out a friend for a conversation to gain feedback on the predicament he's currently in. Or maybe he has a couple evenings free and like you said he needs to go and relax because boy, whatever he is doing is a lot of work!Â
To give an example, my character (involved in a heavy plot but I had an RP itch to scratch and no one online scenario) has gone to meet with an 'informant' (aka someone I literally just made up for sake of plot) but they haven't turned up. In an effort to kill time, my character chats to other characters whilst he waits or maybe asks if they have seen the informant. It works, and I have an excuse to do tavern RP for two to three hours.Â
2) Alt characters - I'm a pretty heavy RPer, and have several characters in and out of plots. If a character is tied up in something, I can simply switch to another one that is free and can waltz down to the Quicksand for the sweet RP action. RPing an alt character can also help refresh your RP writing - sometimes being stuck with a certain personality or plot can be very draining, and switching to something different can be a nice reboot. Alt characters stop me from burning out on my main, for instance.Â
Of course, if you're a one-man band sort of person, or you got the itch to RP a certain character, this may not work for you.Â
3) Alternative Universes or Time Bubbles - For the situation I just mentioned above, where you really just want to RP that one character, I recommend using AUs or Time Bubbles. Maybe you have an RP buddy that you want to establish a pre-existing connection with? Like a childhood friend or an ex-lover. By using the magic of time bubbles, you can RP shit that happened in the past.Â
AUs can also be fun! Something to be taken casually, probably, since you don't want to upset what is actually happening to your character in their main scenario. For example, I'm RPing an AU where my main character still lives with his tribe. It's a one-to-one very casual RP, but it's fun and nice to do whilst my main character is stuck in his FC house at the moment.Â
If you do any of these, make sure to communicate with your RP partners what you and your character are up to. In past experiences, if you are getting a lot of RP and they are not, it can feel a bit disjointed and make your partner feel out of the loop if your character has had so much development in a short space of time in comparison to theirs.Â
Careful planning of when you will next RP your plot related stuff will also help, instead of it being a big "Huh, wonder if we'll actually manage to RP this week" kinda thing. If you schedule your RP and plot, you can plan around it so you can actually feel your character has a life and isn't trapped. Also, Discord/Skype/Google Doc RP is the best for RPing with someone with a wonky schedule! I hope this ramble helps!
